How has Super Nintendo World affected USH?

[dtk07]

As the title says, how has Super Nintendo World affected USH? We will be USH first timers, going in early June. We are WDW/DL vets, Universal is a new beast to us.

I'm assuming Spring Break will be the closest equivalent to summer with this new land. What should we expect for crowds? It sounds like Nintendo stays busy and requires entry times, how has the rest of the park been? Anything else to know?

 

[Ryan120420]

I was there this past Wednesday and the park was slammed. Some of the most intense theme park crowds Ive ever seen. They turned on the virtual queue to enter Super Nintendo World just 90 mins after park open, and that filled up in less than an hour. Mario Kart got up to a 180min wait, and the rest of the rides in the park were anywhere from 45min to 120min waits.

Take advantage of Single Rider lines at Forbidden Journey, Jurassic World, Mummy, Transformers, and Mario Kart. Thanks to those, I was able to everything I wanted and left the park at 4pm. Longest I waited for anything was 1 hour in the Single Rider line for Mario Kart mid day.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

We went on March 26th for our first ever USH and it was madness. Nintendo World was the main reason for our visit, so we purchased the hour early entry as well as the Express Pass tickets. I am so glad we did! As soon as the park opened for regular hours it was the most packed I have ever seen a park. We were able to ride Mario Kart in the morning and do a few things in the land before leaving to experience other things knowing we could return to the land for dining reservations at Toadstool Cafe using our Express Pass. All the rides averaged a 70 minute wait after the first hour of park opening with Mario Kart consistently at 180 minutes. Here are my tips:
-If Nintendo World is important to you then try to buy the hour early entry. It cost our family a six $150 that day and I think it was worth every penny after I saw what the land was like after opening.
-Get there first thing in the morning. It seems like many rides had short wait times the first hour of park open. You also have the best chance of getting a virtual queue for Nintendo World.
-Buy the Express Pass if you can. We visit DL twice a year, but had never gone to USH and did not plan on going again. So we sprung for the Express Pass. Unlike Disney's lightening lanes, Express Pass makes *almost* everything a walk on. Also unlike Disney, there are not many rides. So it's not like you can go find a smaller ride (like It's a small world) that tends to never have much of a wait. Everything there was a 45-75 min wait, even their smaller rides.
-Be prepared for massive crowds, especially in the lower lot. I told my husband it felt like all day we were walking through Main Street during fireworks. The chaos of Nintendo World just spills over the entire lower lot and it just made for a very unpleasant time.
- Go on the Jurassic World ride and everything in Harry Potter. Those were the highlights of our day, and we don't even like Harry Potter!

 

[LSK]

How do you make reservations for Toadstool? We splurged for the early entry and express pass but will want to come back for lunch if we can. We are going on a Saturday in June so I'm imagining the park will be absolutely packed.

 

[mdmost]

Before you get in the land, there's a picture on the left that shows the QR code for Toadstool Cafe. You scan the image and it brings up the reservation site. It's also on the sign outside the actual cafe. I believe it opens at 8am or 9am depending on the park opening. Ours didn't open until 9am. I wrote this on a different thread but it fits here as our trip was solely to hit up Super Nintendo Land. We went last Friday. Honestly, you may just want to stay in the land or get an early reservation. I think you're good with the Express Pass to get back in whenever you need to. We couldn't get another return time so we went ahead and booked an early time.

So we just got back from our 2 days at UH. Definitely get there as soon as you can and get straight onto Mario Kart. If you plan on getting Power Bands to interact with the land, get them in advance at the Citywalk store the day before. If you can't do that, get it as soon as you get inside the gate at the shop on the right. If you try to get them down in the lower shops, it will be a pain. They do have the kiosks on the left side of the land that dispenses them but then you have to get them set up quickly in the app. I set them up as we were going down the multiple escalators.

If you get the bands, as soon as you're done with Mario Kart, head to the 4 key locations. Those book up really fast after the crowds come after opening. And then it is just a steady stream of people that does not stop. We waited 45 minutes to do the 4th key because it was so crowded. You only need 3 keys to do Bowser Jr's challenge. The POW, Clocks, and Tile Challenge are all pretty good. All are out of the sun so it's nice. The crank one is kinda dull and in full sunlight. That was the one we had to wait 45 minutes for. You really have to commit to waiting about an hour if you want to meet any of the characters. And that's in full sun. One thing I didn't like was the refreshments being outside of the land except for the Toadstool Cafe that you can't go into unless you have a reservation and the small Coke kiosk. We got a 10:45 reservation and just decided to go ahead and have an early lunch. We got our food around 11:30.

We had a great time walking on the Harry Potter rides in the evening. We also walked on the Mummy twice before closing. That's a great coaster. We were a little bummed that the Studio Tour for some reason didn't take us through King Kong. Not sure if it was down. We also couldn't go see the Back to the Future town square since they were doing pre-production on it. A bit disappointing on both fronts. The WB Studio Tour we did later was much better.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

Before you get in the land, there's a picture on the left that shows the QR code for Toadstool Cafe. You scan the image and it brings up the reservation site. It's also on the sign outside the actual cafe. I believe it opens at 8am or 9am depending on the park opening. Ours didn't open until 9am. I wrote this on a different thread but it fits here as our trip was solely to hit up Super Nintendo Land. We went last Friday. Honestly, you may just want to stay in the land or get an early reservation. I think you're good with the Express Pass to get back in whenever you need to. We couldn't get another return time so we went ahead and booked an early time.

So we just got back from our 2 days at UH. Definitely get there as soon as you can and get straight onto Mario Kart. If you plan on getting Power Bands to interact with the land, get them in advance at the Citywalk store the day before. If you can't do that, get it as soon as you get inside the gate at the shop on the right. If you try to get them down in the lower shops, it will be a pain. They do have the kiosks on the left side of the land that dispenses them but then you have to get them set up quickly in the app. I set them up as we were going down the multiple escalators.

If you get the bands, as soon as you're done with Mario Kart, head to the 4 key locations. Those book up really fast after the crowds come after opening. And then it is just a steady stream of people that does not stop. We waited 45 minutes to do the 4th key because it was so crowded. You only need 3 keys to do Bowser Jr's challenge. The POW, Clocks, and Tile Challenge are all pretty good. All are out of the sun so it's nice. The crank one is kinda dull and in full sunlight. That was the one we had to wait 45 minutes for. You really have to commit to waiting about an hour if you want to meet any of the characters. And that's in full sun. One thing I didn't like was the refreshments being outside of the land except for the Toadstool Cafe that you can't go into unless you have a reservation and the small Coke kiosk. We got a 10:45 reservation and just decided to go ahead and have an early lunch. We got our food around 11:30.

We had a great time walking on the Harry Potter rides in the evening. We also walked on the Mummy twice before closing. That's a great coaster. We were a little bummed that the Studio Tour for some reason didn't take us through King Kong. Not sure if it was down. We also couldn't go see the Back to the Future town square since they were doing pre-production on it. A bit disappointing on both fronts. The WB Studio Tour we did later was much better.

Did you get the bands at the regular US store in city walk? I’m hoping to drop in there sometime on Sunday 5/14 before our early park day on Monday and want to make sure I’m going to the right place. Thanks!

 

[mdmost]

Did you get the bands at the regular US store in city walk? I’m hoping to drop in there sometime on Sunday 5/14 before our early park day on Monday and want to make sure I’m going to the right place. Thanks!

No, we got in late on Thursday evening with a Friday morning early entry. We got into the park about 7:45 and went right into the shop on the left inside the gate since they had a big stand up banner that showed the power bands. It was pretty fast. There's a shop on the right as well that's specifically Mario merch.

We bought from here:

https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/shopping/universal-studio-store

This is on the right side:
https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/shopping/feature-presentation-store

There's a Mario shop in Citywalk that was advertising the bands with a "Get them before you enter" tag line.

https://www.universalstudioshollywo...tywalk/super-nintendo-world-store-on-citywalk

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

No, we got in late on Thursday evening with a Friday morning early entry. We got into the park about 7:45 and went right into the shop on the left inside the gate since they had a big stand up banner that showed the power bands. It was pretty fast. There's a shop on the right as well that's specifically Mario merch.

We bought from here:

https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/shopping/universal-studio-store

This is on the right side:
https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/shopping/feature-presentation-store

There's a Mario shop in Citywalk that was advertising the bands with a "Get them before you enter" tag line.

https://www.universalstudioshollywo...tywalk/super-nintendo-world-store-on-citywalk

Awesome! Thank you so much. We are staying at the Sheraton so I figured at some point on Sunday we can drop by City Walk and pick them up. It’s going to be hard enough to be up and at the park by 8:00 am without adding that into the mix.

 

[mdmost]

Just gear yourself up for that steep hike up the hill. I guess you're closer to the parking structure so you can take the escalators. You'll definitely get your steps in. I laughed a bit because the Hilton looked like it once had a path that goes straight through the parking lot that leads over to the pedestrian bridge so you can avoid climbing the hill. That's now chained off and is overgrown.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

Just gear yourself up for that steep hike up the hill. I guess you're closer to the parking structure so you can take the escalators. You'll definitely get your steps in. I laughed a bit because the Hilton looked like it once had a path that goes straight through the parking lot that leads over to the pedestrian bridge so you can avoid climbing the hill. That's now chained off and is overgrown.

It’s so hard to tell just how bad the walk will be but hopefully it won’t be horrible. It does look like it would be better if you could cut through parking lots and stuff though. LOL

 

[mdmost]

It’s so hard to tell just how bad the walk will be but hopefully it won’t be horrible. It does look like it would be better if you could cut through parking lots and stuff though. LOL

So we were one level up from you. It's a hill with private roads for each hotel. So the Sheraton will have a road that leads to Universal Hollywood Drive. It's a decent climb up the hill so if the Sheraton offers a shuttle, I'd take it. They'll drop you off at Citywalk but that's a straight shot. From the Google map directions, it looks like they would route you to the pedestrian bridge we went over. Our hotel is the one just to the right of yours on this map. Security starts in the half circle under the red pin. You have to enter down that way.

The other way you could try is to enter the parking garage that's across the street from Sheraton Drive and take the escalators all the way up. Might save your feet a little hurt. It was just to the left of us but we felt it was easier just to head up the hill.

When we took the shuttle from our hotel, it dropped us off next to the NBC Sports Grill. I'd ask when you get there if they offer a free shuttle.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

So we were one level up from you. It's a hill with private roads for each hotel. So the Sheraton will have a road that leads to Universal Hollywood Drive. It's a decent climb up the hill so if the Sheraton offers a shuttle, I'd take it. They'll drop you off at Citywalk but that's a straight shot. From the Google map directions, it looks like they would route you to the pedestrian bridge we went over. Our hotel is the one just to the right of yours on this map. Security starts in the half circle under the red pin. You have to enter down that way.

The other way you could try is to enter the parking garage that's across the street from Sheraton Drive and take the escalators all the way up. Might save your feet a little hurt. It was just to the left of us but we felt it was easier just to head up the hill.

When we took the shuttle from our hotel, it dropped us off next to the NBC Sports Grill. I'd ask when you get there if they offer a free shuttle.

View attachment 757899

They do have a shuttle. It says it runs based on park hours so I guess it depends on if the early entry would count for it.

 

[mdmost]

Yeah, not sure how early they run. We just lucked into the shuttle being right out front on day 2 so we hopped aboard. That was around 7:40 when the park opened at 8 on Saturday. The hotels might actually share the same shuttle. Ours just said Universal City Shuttle on it.

I was amazed at how steep those hills are. The most amazing part is how many escalators it takes to get from the upper lot to the lower lot. I think it was at least 5. A great use of the space though.

 

[ecorr724]

For anyone that has done the early access ticket, what is a good time to arrive before the park opens?

 

[mdmost]

We got there at 7:40 for a 8am Friday early entry. No issues. Security was a breeze. We walked down the main street and were allowed to go down to the entrance for the land. I think by the time we got down all the escalators, it was 8am and they were letting people in. We had no issue getting right on Mario Kart. I guess if you want to be the first person, get there earlier than 30 minutes before your time.

 

[ecorr724]

We got there at 7:40 for a 8am Friday early entry. No issues. Security was a breeze. We walked down the main street and were allowed to go down to the entrance for the land. I think by the time we got down all the escalators, it was 8am and they were letting people in. We had no issue getting right on Mario Kart. I guess if you want to be the first person, get there earlier than 30 minutes before your time.

Thanks, I was hoping that would be the case.

 

[DLgal]

Thanks, I was hoping that would be the case.

Are you driving in? If so, and you are willing to splurge, pay for "front gate parking." It's worth EVERY PENNY. You literally park right at the security checkpoint, like within 50 feet of it. It's $70.

 

[ecorr724]

Are you driving in? If so, and you are willing to splurge, pay for "front gate parking." It's worth EVERY PENNY. You literally park right at the security checkpoint, like within 50 feet of it. It's $70.

We will be staying in LA, one stop away on the subway. We won't have a car and I think the subway will be the easiest way to get there?

 

[mdmost]

We will be staying in LA, one stop away on the subway. We won't have a car and I think the subway will be the easiest way to get there?

I just want to caution you that from the Metro stop you have to climb a pretty steep hill to get up to gate. If you're able, I would catch an Uber or Lyft from where you are staying.

 

[DLgal]

I just want to caution you that from the Metro stop you have to climb a pretty steep hill to get up to gate. If you're able, I would catch an Uber or Lyft from where you are staying.

Agree. That is a brutal walk.