lffam
Disney/Marvel Nutty Dad
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
- Messages
- 903
We visited USH on Labor day in September. You might see this review on Tripadvisor also.
This review goes on a bit, so my quick summary is, thoroughly recommend going to Universal Studios Hollywood and getting the Front of Line passes, they are well worth it. We went on a busy (and hot) day and they made life so much easier and gave us great seats at all the major shows. Be aware that some shows (like Blues Brothers) have no reserved seating at all, but if we were to do Universal again (and we would based on our trip) we would get Front of Line Passes again. We found great value in them and we didn't even do many of the rides, but then we do put a value on convenience and time saving, so if you don't then maybe you would have a different view. Certainly if you were going to do rides also then in my view they would be of great value to you. If going in the hot weather and with kids take swimmers or a change of clothes as they have a Curious George Water Fun area which all the kids seem to be having a great time in. Probably the only thing we were a little disappointed with after seeing was the NBC Experience. Nothing really to interesting so would probably give it a miss next time.
The park itself, was allot bigger than I thought and I was a bit 50/50 if i was going to like it based on some of the reviews I had read, but I would thoroughly recommend going and next time we are back in LA we would do it again.
The Studio Backlot tour, Animal Actors and Waterworld were our favourite. Yes I said Waterworld! I wasn't even going to see it based on how old and bad the movie was and some reviews I read but just goes to show that you cant believe everything you read and that we all have different tastes. We all thought it was great. We left the park for lunch (make sure you get a stamp) and ate at some steak/ribs/burger place just outside the park. It was a nice break from the crowds and gave us a spur on for the afternoon
So a big thumbs up from us for Universal and the Front of Line Passes. next time, we might even try the VIP Experience! If you want more detail, then read on....
We had read allot of reviews and were in two minds between the VIP experience and the Front of Line Pass. We sent off emails to Universal to clarify some questions about the VIP experience. In particular the "guided nature" of the experience vs being free to go and see what we wanted when we wanted or if something we passed took our interest could we just go and see it. The response we got I have shown below..
We didn't particularly know which ones we wanted and which we didn't, but we knew there were some which would not suit us. Not knowing how/if we would be able to arrange an experience that suited us ( 2adults + 7yo) given that there would be others in the group also and that there is quite a price difference between the VIP & the front of Line ($239 vs $129 at time of writing) we opted for the Front of Line Pass.
We took the Metro from right under the Highland Centre in Hollywood ( we stayed at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel and Spa - GREAT hotel). $1.50 each one way and 1 stop to Universal City, then up to street level and diagonally across the road to wait for the Universal Studios (free) shuttle bus. I thought the signage from the Metro to the shuttle stop could be better, but we just followed the crowds as most getting of at this station were going there. Short shuttle ride (up a large hill) and you are dropped of at Universal City Walk area. then around the corner to the familiar Universal Spinning Globe and we were there.
We had bought our Front of Line Passes online. We had read a few reviews about delays in getting through security and then through the entrance, but we suffered none of this. Straight through bag check and then headed to the turnstiles. Presented print outs ( think we may have had to do a thumb/finger print ?) and we were in just after 10am.
We went on Labour day holiday in September. It was quite warm 30Cish (86F) and very busy. Our son spotted one of his favourites ( and one of my most disliked!) Spongebob, so a few photos with him first. They had the official Universal photographers but they were more than happy to take photos with your own camera which I thought was great.
We then headed down to the Studio Tour which already had a huge line. Thanks to our Front of Line, we skipped it and were directed to where to board our tram car. A few dirty looks later from those in the line, we were on the tour. The tour is great and shows you through the backlot with commentary from the tour guide and Whoopi Goldberg on the monitors. Only thing I will warn anyone with children was when the tram went in for the King Kong 3D experience. We didn't realise it was actually part of the Studio Tour, we thought it was a ride you choose to go on. Our son did get a little scared in this, but if we had gone in knowing what was coming, he would have been fine, so hope this helps someone.
We would recommend everyone to do this Studio backlot tour and do it early, when we arrived back ( it last about 45min from memory) the line had almost doubled! As we had gone a public holiday there was no chance that we were going to see any of the open sets in action, so if you have a choice of going during the week or the weekend/public holiday, then go during the week.
While we didn't do to many ride, we did see all the shows and they were all really good. Our favorite were Animal Actors, Water World, Blues Brothers show. We were surprised we liked Waterworld so much. We had heard varying reports, we saw it as the last show in the day ( we just missed the second last one) we all really enjoyed it. First 10 or so rows you will get wet so beware! The Special Effects show probably wasn't as good as what I was hoping for, a bit cheesy at times, but a bit of a laugh and had good audience interaction. Lots of people got chosen to participate and those people and the group they were with got brought to reserved seating next to the VIP/Front of line reserved seating. But the clear winner was Animal Actors show (though probably not quite as good as the Animal show at San Diego Sea World) The show was very funny and entertaining and of the animals, the dogs were our favorites especially the Yellow Lab as we have one of those ourselves. The Shrek 4d Experience was a laugh, though we again got a few dirty looks from cutting to the Front of the Line. We met various characters throughout the park like, Shrek & Fiona, Donkey, Spongebob, Scooby Doo, Daphne & Shaggy and some others.
We wouldn't hesitate to go back to Universal Studios on our next trip.
This review goes on a bit, so my quick summary is, thoroughly recommend going to Universal Studios Hollywood and getting the Front of Line passes, they are well worth it. We went on a busy (and hot) day and they made life so much easier and gave us great seats at all the major shows. Be aware that some shows (like Blues Brothers) have no reserved seating at all, but if we were to do Universal again (and we would based on our trip) we would get Front of Line Passes again. We found great value in them and we didn't even do many of the rides, but then we do put a value on convenience and time saving, so if you don't then maybe you would have a different view. Certainly if you were going to do rides also then in my view they would be of great value to you. If going in the hot weather and with kids take swimmers or a change of clothes as they have a Curious George Water Fun area which all the kids seem to be having a great time in. Probably the only thing we were a little disappointed with after seeing was the NBC Experience. Nothing really to interesting so would probably give it a miss next time.
The park itself, was allot bigger than I thought and I was a bit 50/50 if i was going to like it based on some of the reviews I had read, but I would thoroughly recommend going and next time we are back in LA we would do it again.
The Studio Backlot tour, Animal Actors and Waterworld were our favourite. Yes I said Waterworld! I wasn't even going to see it based on how old and bad the movie was and some reviews I read but just goes to show that you cant believe everything you read and that we all have different tastes. We all thought it was great. We left the park for lunch (make sure you get a stamp) and ate at some steak/ribs/burger place just outside the park. It was a nice break from the crowds and gave us a spur on for the afternoon
So a big thumbs up from us for Universal and the Front of Line Passes. next time, we might even try the VIP Experience! If you want more detail, then read on....
We had read allot of reviews and were in two minds between the VIP experience and the Front of Line Pass. We sent off emails to Universal to clarify some questions about the VIP experience. In particular the "guided nature" of the experience vs being free to go and see what we wanted when we wanted or if something we passed took our interest could we just go and see it. The response we got I have shown below..
"Guests can choose which attractions to participate in and which attractions to forego. You'll simply want to make certain that you discuss your needs with your tour guide on the day of your tour."
We didn't particularly know which ones we wanted and which we didn't, but we knew there were some which would not suit us. Not knowing how/if we would be able to arrange an experience that suited us ( 2adults + 7yo) given that there would be others in the group also and that there is quite a price difference between the VIP & the front of Line ($239 vs $129 at time of writing) we opted for the Front of Line Pass.
We took the Metro from right under the Highland Centre in Hollywood ( we stayed at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel and Spa - GREAT hotel). $1.50 each one way and 1 stop to Universal City, then up to street level and diagonally across the road to wait for the Universal Studios (free) shuttle bus. I thought the signage from the Metro to the shuttle stop could be better, but we just followed the crowds as most getting of at this station were going there. Short shuttle ride (up a large hill) and you are dropped of at Universal City Walk area. then around the corner to the familiar Universal Spinning Globe and we were there.
We had bought our Front of Line Passes online. We had read a few reviews about delays in getting through security and then through the entrance, but we suffered none of this. Straight through bag check and then headed to the turnstiles. Presented print outs ( think we may have had to do a thumb/finger print ?) and we were in just after 10am.
We went on Labour day holiday in September. It was quite warm 30Cish (86F) and very busy. Our son spotted one of his favourites ( and one of my most disliked!) Spongebob, so a few photos with him first. They had the official Universal photographers but they were more than happy to take photos with your own camera which I thought was great.
We then headed down to the Studio Tour which already had a huge line. Thanks to our Front of Line, we skipped it and were directed to where to board our tram car. A few dirty looks later from those in the line, we were on the tour. The tour is great and shows you through the backlot with commentary from the tour guide and Whoopi Goldberg on the monitors. Only thing I will warn anyone with children was when the tram went in for the King Kong 3D experience. We didn't realise it was actually part of the Studio Tour, we thought it was a ride you choose to go on. Our son did get a little scared in this, but if we had gone in knowing what was coming, he would have been fine, so hope this helps someone.
We would recommend everyone to do this Studio backlot tour and do it early, when we arrived back ( it last about 45min from memory) the line had almost doubled! As we had gone a public holiday there was no chance that we were going to see any of the open sets in action, so if you have a choice of going during the week or the weekend/public holiday, then go during the week.
While we didn't do to many ride, we did see all the shows and they were all really good. Our favorite were Animal Actors, Water World, Blues Brothers show. We were surprised we liked Waterworld so much. We had heard varying reports, we saw it as the last show in the day ( we just missed the second last one) we all really enjoyed it. First 10 or so rows you will get wet so beware! The Special Effects show probably wasn't as good as what I was hoping for, a bit cheesy at times, but a bit of a laugh and had good audience interaction. Lots of people got chosen to participate and those people and the group they were with got brought to reserved seating next to the VIP/Front of line reserved seating. But the clear winner was Animal Actors show (though probably not quite as good as the Animal show at San Diego Sea World) The show was very funny and entertaining and of the animals, the dogs were our favorites especially the Yellow Lab as we have one of those ourselves. The Shrek 4d Experience was a laugh, though we again got a few dirty looks from cutting to the Front of the Line. We met various characters throughout the park like, Shrek & Fiona, Donkey, Spongebob, Scooby Doo, Daphne & Shaggy and some others.
We wouldn't hesitate to go back to Universal Studios on our next trip.
