How To Let Universal Studios Hollywood Help You Enjoy The Last Few Weeks Of Summer!

Summer’s almost over! So if you’ve been wanting to visit Universal Studios Hollywood before school starts, you better hurry and now is the perfect time! The park is open to all guests again, not just California residents, and all attractions are back open except for the Special Effects which is closed temporarily. The summer definitely brings
the crowds so I highly recommend choosing the Universal Express tickets if you can. The express tickets give you one-time express access to each ride, attraction, and seated show and it makes a huge difference. Wait times for Jurassic World and other rides were reaching up to two hours, but with the Express pass your wait is usually no more than 5-10 minutes. In the eight hours we were there we did every show and ride, minus a couple that my kids didn’t want to go on, and it’s all thanks to having that Express ticket.

If you grew up in the Valley than you probably visited Universal back in the 90s and early 2000s. Rides like Back to the Future, E.T., Backdraft and Jurassic Park were the highlights of the park. Flash forward to today, and Universal Studios Hollywood is like a whole new amusement park! Characters are found around every corner like Dracula, Beetlejuice, Bumblebee, and Blue the Velociraptor, while entire blocks are turned into visual worlds like The Wizarding World of Harry Potter or the Super Silly Fun Land.

Meet The New Indominus Rex!

The Jurassic Park ride has been transformed into “Jurassic World-The Ride,” with even more realistic dinosaurs than before. You’ll come face to face with a Mosasaurus as the boat takes you straight through its aquatic enclosure, and dinosaurs like the Parasaurolophus and Dilophosaurus are waiting around the corners to surprise you with a bit of water. You know as many times as I have been on Jurassic Park and now Jurassic World, I am never prepared for the giant waterfall drop at the end, now with the Indominous Rex roaring and clawing at you
from above. PS- Prepare to get wet, especially if you’e in the front row!

Universal Studios Hollywood Pets!

Another new ride at Universal Studios is “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!” inspired by Illuminations film The Secret Life of Pets. This is the perfect family ride that brings back the magic of slowly rolling through a ride as you move room to room watching fun scenes unfold with technologically-advanced animated figures. Think rides like The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, or Monsters Inc from Disneyland. Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! is the perfect
experience for Universal guests of all ages and will keep you smiling the whole time. Wait for the surprise at the end when you turn into a furry and funny puppy on the screen. This ride requires a virtual line pass that you need to get when you arrive at the park and reserve a time. NOTE: If you have the Express pass you don’t need to wait or get a virtual line pass ticket.

Dine With The Minions

Universal Studios Hollywood is not short on food options, but this time we tried the newly opened Minion Café and
it’s officially my new favorite spot. Right in the heart of the Super Silly Fun Land and next-door to the Minion Mayhem ride is the Minion café. The kids got the chicken strip meal which comes with fries and a small corn on the cob and I got a pulled pork sandwich with banana BBQ sauce which was absolutely delicious. The cafe also has loaded nachos, grilled cheese with tomato soup, rotisserie chicken, and pork ramen bowls. Collectible minion sipper cups are available in the cafe as well as minion cookies, and the Felonious Float: raspberry ICEE,
banana frozen yogurt, banana and and whip cream.

NBC Sports Grill & Brew on CityWalk

On your way out of Universal Studios, you can visit CityWalk for endless dining and shopping experiences including the brand new NBC Sports Grill & Brew offering over 40 beers and an array of HDTV screens to watch all the popular sporting events. It’s the perfect dinner spot after a long day at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Overall it was a great day and on top of Jurassic World, The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!, and the Minion Cafe, our favorite must do/see attractions that we recommend are the WaterWorld show, the Universal’s Animal Actors Show, and of course EVERYTHING in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Stop into Ollivander’s Wand Shop to purchase an interactive wand and then move through Hogsmeade casting spells by the store windows. Don’t forget to pop into Honeyduke’s for a chocolate frog and visit the outdoor carts for a delicious Butterbeer,
which I highly recommend choosing the frozen version of.