In December we were delighted to be invited to spend the day at Universal Studios Hollywood. Jess and I hadn’t been there for at least 15 years, so we were pretty astounded as to how its transformed into such a phenomenal park with fun for the whole family.
Grinchmas
When we were there in December, the central area, Universal Plaza, was decorated as Whoville, and it was truly impressive! The Christmas decorations had a decidedly Dr. Seuss Grinch vibe, and the team members dressed as Whos were truly convincing. The center stage in front of the massive, twisted tree held shows approximately every half hour, and the feature evening show was a Tree-lighting ceremony featuring none other than the Grinch! The kids loved sending letters at the Whoville post office and talking to all of the characters there. Grinchmas typically runs throughout December, so if you’re in LA during that time, you won’t want to miss it!
Super Silly Fun Land
We continued on to Super Silly Fun Land, the themed area from the Despicable Me franchise. The main attraction there is a 3-D ride called Minion Mayhem. For kids that are under 48″ tall, there is a “child switch” section here (as well as in many other rides) where the adults and older kids can take turns going on the ride while the younger kids stay in a small play area. There is also a playground in the middle of the section that our 3-year-old daughter Nora had a blast playing! There’s also a splash area, which was basically closed when we went since it was a chilly December day.
Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest
This show takes place at the brand-new DreamWorks Theater, which just opened in the summer of 2018. This is an animated show that lasts about 10 minutes, and follows Kung Fun Panda and his companions on a journey to retrieve a legendary item. This experience truly activates all the senses, and a state-of-the-art wraparound screen provided action from all angles and kept the kinds enthralled and entertained for the entirety of the show. If you’re a fan of DreamWorks or animation in general, you should not miss this attraction.
Character Encounters
No theme park experience ever feels complete unless you get to meet some characters, right? Santi had fun chasing down minions and Puss in Boots, while Nora was obsessed with giving Princess Poppy from Trolls a big hug. Santi even got to pose with the one and only Frankenstein! I was surprised by the number and variety of characters that were wandering around the park, and they made for some great picture moments!
The Simpsons’ Springfield
I used to watch The Simpsons growing up, so it was great to walk around the show’s city of Springfield and see some of the popular buildings from the show. From Moe’s Tavern, to Homer’s nuclear reactor workplace, to the Duff Brewery, it all looked so authentic. The signature ride in this section takes you through Krustyland, a really cool 3D ride that followed a fun original plotline involving Krusty, the Simpsons, Sideshow Bob and many more characters from the show.
The Studio Tour
If you’ve done the studio tour before, just know that this one is probably not going to be like you remember! Aside from touring the studios (some of which were actively filming) on a tram, there were a variety of surprises along the way. Two impressive experiences in particular were the King Kong and Fast & Furious sections. These 360 degree 3D HD experiences provide the thrills of car chases and dinosaur battles from the comfort of your tram seat. It was also neat to see some notable movie sets, from War of the Worlds, to Psycho. And I haven’t even mentioned the Jaws Lake, which provides some classic shark action. Santi was thoroughly entertained during the one hour tour, while Nora fell asleep and napped during it 😅. If you think that the one hour duration is too much, it didn’t feel like it at all since you were constantly being shown new and different things along with movie trivia and famous sets.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Now to the section you probably have been waiting for! Ever since The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened, we’ve had it on our bucket list. Jess and I are big fans of the series and it truly did not disappoint. I’ve always wanted to taste Butterbeer, and interestingly enough, it tasted just like I imagined! It has a sweet butterscotch and cream soda taste that seemed to get better the more you had it. I wish I could take some bottles of it home! Upon entering the area, you feel like you’re smack dab in the middle of Hogsmeade, with plenty of storefronts that look like they came straight from the movie set. Santi and I enjoyed the Flight of the Hippogriph, which is Universal Studios Hollywood’s first outdoor rollercoaster, and a quite kid-friendly one at that. Jess and I were also both able to ride “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey,” which takes place inside Hogwarts castle and is a great 3D ride that takes you through many of the series’ iconic moments. A visit here wouldn’t feel complete unless we got Santi his very own wand, which he could utilize to perform “magic” and see some pretty cool effects!
The signature show in this section of the park was “The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle.” It is essentially a beautiful light show that illuminates the facade of the castle with Christmas themes and animations, all set to the music from the films. This takes place during December and early January, and it gets pretty packed, so make sure you get to the front of the Castle entrance early to get the best view.
Final Thoughts
Overall, we had a jam-packed day at Universal Studios Hollywood, and we all left the park happy and tired. We absolutely recommend getting the Universal Express tickets, which gives you fast access to each ride once. It saved us a lot of time and allowed us to experience more of the park while we were there. And even with the pass, we didn’t get to see everything! We missed the Transformers Ride along with some shows like Waterworld, the Special Effects show, and the Animal Actors show. This gives us a lot of reasons to come back and experience the magic of Universal Studios Hollywood!
