Universal Studios Hollywood Touring Plan

[GrandCanyon]

Hi, this is my touring plan for US in Hollywood. We will be going on a Monday in August. Please review this and offer advice. Thanks.

Morning:
1. Simpsons
2. Studio Tour (45 Min)
--sit on right side, third coach.
3. Shrek 4D

Mid-Morning:
4. Revenge of the Mummy
5. Jurassic Park
6. Special Effects Stages (30 Min)
7. Backdraft (admitted every 10 Min)

Afternoon:
8. Terminator 2:3D
9. Waterworld (15 Min)
10. universal's House of Horrors
11. Universal's Animal Actors
12. Curious George
13. Blue's Brothers

Another option would be to attend part of the afternoon/evening on Sunday, and complete the trip on Monday morning.

 

[ozvisiter]

i'm interested also!!!

 

[Cali_Sparrow]

"2. Studio Tour (45 Min)
--sit on right side, third coach."

From my experience, this may be hard to coordinate. They basically open the gates and everyone floods in to a random seat, it's a madhouse.

But your schedule looks perfect for timing, the Simpson's ride should definitely be the first thing you hit to avoid a long line. I went a few weeks ago and we went right to it and stood out front until they opened it and walked on to make the first batch of riders for the day. The queue is kinda fun though, it was almost a shame we didn't get to wait so we could see everything!

House of Horrors is intense, if you have young kids or problems with people jumping out at you and grabbing you, I would not go. People were screaming and crying as they ran out of it when I was eating lunch nearby.
Must be a good scare though!

Animal Actors is not that great. Mostly it's dogs and birds doing very simple commands and tricks, but if you have pets and/or have no experience with animal training it will be a lot more fun! I think my animal experience ruins this show...

Waterworld is excellent! But beware that if the seats say you will get wet... you WILL, and much worse than you anticipate. They have the jetskis and buckets of water they spray all over everyone. And I find that girls around my age are often targeted by the actors. Often they would aim the buckets and water guns right at me and everyone would laugh as I sat there soaking wet and praying for some nice fire effects to show up! Haha.
In summer, this is a great show - keeps you cool. Great acting too.

The lines are usually not very long, especially for the lower lot rides and attractions... You can ride The Mummy and Jurassic Park many times in a row and it's pretty fun. The Special Effects show is a lot of fun and Backdraft is neat but not as pleasant in summertime!

I've never done the Terminator Show...
But haha, don't expect not to get wet at Universal. Almost every single attraction uses water effects - even the Simpson's.

You will have an AWESOME time.
I also suggest seeing a film at the Imax screen on the CityWalk, maybe to unwind after your day at the park. Oh and do preferred parking ($20 as opposed to $10) if you expect to be there late, it's a very long walk to the parking structures when you're tired and the preferred spots are right by the exit.

 

[Disneylvrforever]

I would suggest doing Shrek 4D later in the afternoon or even at night bc it runs continously throughout the day.

 

[GrandCanyon]

So how does this look? I will either (1) do everything on Monday; or (2) do Part Two on Sunday afternoon, and Part One on Monday morning.

PART ONE
--Arrival--
1. Simpsons
2. Revenge of the Mummy
3. Jurassic Park
4. Special Effects Stages (30m)
5. Backdraft

PART TWO
--Lunch--
6. Studio Tour (45m)--sit on right side, third coach.
7. Terminator 2:3D (20m)
8. Waterworld (15m)
9. Shrek 4D
10.House of Horrors
11.Animal Actors (15m)
12.Blue's Brothers (20m)

 

[Cali_Sparrow]

I think you'd be fine doing Studio Tour after the Simpson's if you got there and wanted to. The lines for the lower lot with the Mummy and Jurassic Park don't change very much until late afternoon. It's basically 5 minutes (which means you walk right on usually) all the time. You'll probably do them more than once too, it goes soooo quickly.

Studio Tour can fill up a bit faster though, you might actually have to wait for that if you don't go early. When we did the Simpson's first thing in the morning and then studio tour, we walked right onto both. It was pleasant.

 

[mousiemom]

we did universal a couple of weeks ago and had so much fun! i've been to orlando's many times but i loved how it was layed out in cali. my dh and 7yr dd couldn't wait to go in hoh and loved it! they went twice. we did the simpson's ride 1st w/a 5 min wait. it was fun. then, we headed down to mummy/jurassic park and like the other posted said we got to ride more than once. the mummy was different from ours.
we loved the backlot tour and waterworld! we did a hollywood by night tour after universal closed and it was awesome. this was such a pretty area to me! of course, we couldn't see the hollywood sign this day cause of the smog. we did the all u can eat meal deal and it was a really good deal. we even got some food to take back to the hotel to put in our backpack.
have fun!
mousiemom

 

[GrandCanyon]

DOES ANYONE HAVE A SHOWTIME SCHEDULE THAT WE COULD REVIEW?

Thanks for everyone's help (including the infamous "HydroGuy"), this is what I've determined our Monday schedule will be.

8:30 Arrive @ Universal’s Gates
Simpsons
Studio Tour
Revenge of the Mummy
Jurassic Park
Special Effects Stages
Backdraft

~ Lunch ~

Shrek 4D
Waterworld
Terminator 2:3D
House of Horrors
Animal Actors
Blue’s Brothers

~ City Walk ~

Dinner @ El Torito in Beverly Hills (Wilshire Drive)

When it comes right down to it, Universal Studios in Hollywood is not that big. I'm really hoping we can leave by 3:00 PM.

 

[Cali_Sparrow]

You should have no trouble getting done by about 3 pm, that's what I usually do and I ride all the rides multiple times.

If you can during this trip, I suggest going to the original Bob's Big Boy restaurant for a meal, I believe it's in Glendale. Pink's Hot Dogs is a locals favorite and it has a lot of history, you might want to try eating there too if you guys like hot dogs. C: Both of these are casual restaurants so you should feel very comfortable.
However, as an El Torito fan, I have to give you props for that choice as well!

Unfortunately I kept my schedule in my backpack and it got RUINED by the water effects or else I'd share with you. Did you check the website? I forget if they have show schedules or not.

Oh I was going to tell you this!!! Very important!
Put your wallets, cameras, and cell phones in zip-lock baggies or they WILL get ruined. Everything involves some kind of water effect and this in inevitable. Also do not take a backpack or purse unless you absolutely have to, the people on The Mummy's Revenge will make you put it in a locker and it is the absolute biggest pain ever on busier days! I find it quite rude how they do it too.
Either take a very small bag that you can put in the extremely small holders on the Mummy seats (they basically only fit a pair of sunglasses) or leave your backpack with a non-riding party member so you don't have to keep taking your stuff in and out of lockers to avoid paying a fee.

I learned that the hard way. D:

 

[disneylandhunni]

Hey there. I just came back from California and I went to Universal. I have one piece of advice... If you don't want to go around the park soaking wet, then don't go on Jurasic Park in the morning or before lunch. We made that mistake !

 

[mousiemom]

Hey there. I just came back from California and I went to Universal. I have one piece of advice... If you don't want to go around the park soaking wet, then don't go on Jurasic Park in the morning or before lunch. We made that mistake !

my only advice on this is to ride in the middle towards the back. i never get too wet on this ride.
mousiemom

 

[audrabolster]

Also, if you want good seats for backdraft, show up at LEAST 15-20 mins before the show starts!

 

[mrsmoore]

Does Universal have a child swap type option? We may go in Feb and our DD will be 3.5 but probably won't meet the height restrictions yet. DH and I would both like to do Jurassic and Simpsons.

Thanks!

 

[Disneylvrforever]

Does Universal have a child swap type option? We may go in Feb and our DD will be 3.5 but probably won't meet the height restrictions yet. DH and I would both like to do Jurassic and Simpsons.

Thanks!

US has 4 attractions w/ child swap: Jurassic Park, the Simpsons ride, the Mummy ride, and House of Horrors.

 

[remfam5]

Also, if you want good seats for backdraft, show up at LEAST 15-20 mins before the show starts!

Just curious... we've never been before. Where should we sit for the "good" seats?
Thanks

 

[Disneylvrforever]

Just curious... we've never been before. Where should we sit for the "good" seats?
Thanks

Well for a lot of the shows, there isn't really a "good seat." It just depends how close you want to sit. Of course being in the middle is always good!

Shrek: Anywhere in the middle.

Terminator: The row w/ the big aisle is good bc you don't have anyone infront of you and the actors run through there. If you don't mind the front, there's lots of empty seats there.

Waterworld: Anywhere in the middle section infront of the "stage." If you want to get wet, sit in the front.

Animal Actors: Sitting towards the front is fun bc you can see the animals better.

Fear Factor: Anywhere in the middle.

Special Effects: You'll be in a crowd of ppl before you go inside, so you kinda can't tell where you're going to sit. But any row in the middle is the best!

 

[perlster]

Fear Factor Live has closed permanently.

There are no "good seats" for Back Draft, simply because there aren't any seats! Perhaps the idea was to arrive early, move to the far left in the first room, where you see the movie, so you can exit to the walkway in the next room, face the fire scene on your left as you enter, and not have people standing in front of you.

 

[fenila]

Very systematic plan. It may have been a great fun touring Hollywood.

 

[Tink91]

6. Studio Tour (45m)--sit on right side, third coach.

I would sit third carriage on the left.......

 

[obe]

waw thats really organized trip