This video was super helpful!! We are taking our first trip to Universal in October, and as usual Disney visitors, we felt clueless! But this really helped a lot!!
I watched sooo many videos about universal to prepare for our trip this summer and this is BY FAR the most informative and helpful one I have seen!! Nobody else mentioned the wristband and mini games in the Mario area! THANK YOU !!!
Last year I had the California Resident pass. After going quite a few times, I realized that getting the Gold Pass is a much better option because it has almost no blackout days and includes parking. So if you go at least 3 times, the pass is a bargain. Now I have the Gold Pass. If you use the payment plan it auto-renews, but you can cancel anytime after that and not end up paying for another full year.
Thank you so much for all the tips!!! I’ve been searching for good universal videos and there aren’t many out there. Your videos are the best!!You always do such a thorough job! 😊
Absolutely NOTT staying at the Sheraton/Hilton when the Nite Inn is a block away from them AND $600-$900 LESS. Just as clean. Just as convenient. Just looks “cheap” from the outside. Same perk with having free shuttle to and from said hotel destinations.
I bought a wand about 8 years ago at Universal Hollywood. Took it to use in Universal Orlando about 4 years after purchase. The tip broke in Orlando so I asked about getting it fixed in the store. They switched it out for us no questions asked. 20:55
Thanks for the Universal info. Am a huge Disney fan, but wild about Harry Potter. Will be down your way later ... your videos are great. Love your low key style ... good info
Thank you for very helpful video as usual! Will you be doing a video of the City Walk? That’ll be great if you do…like the ones you’ve done for Downtown Disney 😊
We're heading over from the UK at the end of April (thanks for the advice on the Star Wars event tickets - I did get them!!) - your videos are so helpful and if we see you in the parks we'll say hi!
We actually just went to universal March 8th and got early access to Mario world. We went to the tram around 12:30pm and I asked the employee if we were to late to get the express pass since it was past 11am and he said that it can be used all day now. Good to note. 🎉
I go to Universal Studios Hollywood often as it's the closest theme park to me, and yet I still very much enjoyed this video. Really love your content, keep up the amazing videos!!
Thank you! This answered just about every question I had about Universal! We plan to visit for the first time in August, in between our DL days. My specific question is what the travel is like between Disney and Universal? We are staying at the Disneyland Hotel and will be driving. I have read the I-5 can be 45 min to 3 hours…is there a round about way to go that you’d recommend or just leave suuuuper early and take the I-5 before commuters? I’ll check out your ride guide next! Awesome videos, thanks again!
@@SoCalDisneyDad where is it stated that we get an express pass to Studio Tour for SNW early entry? We bought early entry but don’t see anything about express for studio tour.
I’m not aware of any Animal Show. At least not in the year I’ve been going to Universal. WaterWorld is the only show they have. I’m not sure on the tram. Today, it closes at 7:15, but the park is open until 9 PM. Sometimes the park closes at 7. So it would go to close in that instance. (That’s my guess anyway). It might also stay open later as the days get longer. It could be related to the amount of light outside.
I really just want to go to Universal so I can try the Butterbeer. It's been a very long time. I was 19 last time I went. Now 47. But I really want to go to Orlando.
The only time I’ve been to Universal Studios Hollywood, they had some sort of power outage in the middle of the day so most of the rides went down, many took a couple hours to get online again, and some didn’t reopen for the rest of the day! It was kind of a nightmare bc the few remaining rides all had lines that were like 2-4 hours long 🫠🫠 we were there all day and only got to ride like 4 rides, and IIRC it was during an off season too!…but I at least had fun playing Heads Up on my phone in line with my friend lol
I'll be there on Tuesday. I should be making roughly two videos out of the visit that'll be on the channel in the next week or so. If you check those out when they land you'll see what the current crowd levels are like. They shouldn't be too much different 2-3 weeks from now.
Great vid, I keep hearing lower lot first but I’m planning on a leisurely day and splurged on fast pass, in that case does it matter where I start? I do want to do Bowser’s so hoping maybe just maybe line gets a bit shorter later in the day? 😁
Because of early entry, Bowser will be busy first thing in the AM, so later towards the end of the night is probably the better option. With Express Pass it doesn’t matter what you do when you do it. Attack the day how you see fit. That Express will be wonderful for you.
Thanks for the view of Universal. I love your videos ... good info, excellent video, with always a happy beat. Am vegan so don't eat with you, but the rest is a fit!
We tend to hit all the upper lot first .. even with the tram it’ll only take about 3 hours. Then head to the lower after lunch.. the wait times lower because most people are headed back up.. oh and if it’s off season choose a weekday if possible.
I usually find the lower lot to be significantly more crowded in the afternoon, where I can barely walk around without there being people everywhere. That was even the case in this video, though I did a fairly okay job of finding corners out of the way to talk. Where the upper lot was significantly less busy during the same time frame. I will say that I start with the upper lot in the sense of rope dropping Hogsmeade, but then I usually head down right after riding both rides.
From what I’m able to gather with some research, there is an elevator by the first escalator that will take you to a tram station where a tram will take you the rest of the way down the hill. I’ve never needed to pay attention to this before, so I can’t say how it works with 100% certainty, but they do have a way for you to get to the lower lot. If signage doesn’t make it obvious, you can ask any worker in the area and I’m sure they’d be able to assist you.
Okay. Planning on going in the summer and want to ride Forbidden Journey desperately at least once. The problem- I have bad motion sickness. Does have any medication or things that any fellow people who struggle with this recommend?
If I can’t afford to get early admission to the Super Nintendo world would you recommend I hit that attraction first and then maybe hogwarts since Ik how popular that attraction is would love to get that in as soon as possible
We had so much fun at universal this past visit! Did you get the Super Nintendo world one year anniversary button? We got the gold power up band too. We'll be going to legoland tomorrow and I'm hoping my 11 year old won't be bored! I heard it's geared towards younger kids.
Either the Hilton or Sheraton right outside the park. They have a shuttle that will drop you off at the CityWalk. They are also close enough to walk if you prefer. Though for walking the Hilton is better as it’s at the top of the hill. The Sheraron is a little ways down the hill and the walk up can be quite steep. Still doable, but for practically the same price the Hilton is better.
Games? The lockers are needed for rides. And it’s Mummy and Forbidden Journey. Those are the only two that require lockers I believe. The new coaster likely will when it opens, whenever that will be.
Most of the rides are okay for people that are older people Minions. Secret life of pets. Transformers the Simpson ride. The studio tour. And yes most of them are accessible with a scooter. I went with a wheel chair once and had no issues getting around
My family is going to Disney and universal this year in October. It does not look like they are going to offer early passes for Nintendo land and the park closes early for a Halloween event. When is the best time to do Nintendo land?
Hey thanks for video. - How much crowd do we expect on dates 29-30 July 2024 ? - Do i purchase express pass ? Or general admission is fine ? I have 5 yrs and 10 yrs with me. And they are least patient on waiting queue ! - 1 day admission is sufficient or 2 day pass ?? Advise please..
It’s hard to say what crowds will be like, but I went mid-July last year and it was fine. I wouldn’t buy Express. Very few days actually need it. And you can buy it while you’re there if you feel you want it. 1-day is more than enough for Universal.
@@SoCalDisneyDad Thanks a lot for quick response !!! Can you help list rides for 6 years old. i know you mentioned swirly, kungfu… what about harry potter or Jurassic ? Can she ride them ? She is ~45 inches roughly.
@@mhammadhanif 48 inches for Mummy and Forbidden Journey, but everything else should be fair game. Though Simpson’s ride can be frightening. Here’s a look at the rides: All 12 Universal Studios Hollywood Rides 2023 | Ultimate Guide ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fF8xBe4SZfE.html
No. You can enter any time throughout the day. It’s not nearly as busy as it used to be. But it’s still a congested land. So it’s not empty or anything. But no reservations.
So do you think that the 2 day pass is really not worth it? I'm going in July with my husband and 2 sons, 8 and 5. I was thinking a 2 day pass would give us more flexibility and time.
I really don't think 2 days is necessary. You can do it if you like. I'm not telling you NOT to. But there are only 10 rides and I got all 10 of them done without issue last year in July and I didn't have Express Pass.
Hi! I am planning to visit Universal Studios with my family on May 24th (Friday). We are confused whether we should take express pass or not. What would you recommend?
That’s a tough one given that it’s Memorial Day Weekend. In general, I would say it’s unnecessary. But given the very busy weekend, it might be. You can grab it if you think you can handle the cost. But otherwise, you could wait and see and buy it that day. But it sometimes sells out. So that’s a concern too.
@@SoCalDisneyDad Yes, that's exactly why I'm confused. Anyways, thanks for your suggestion, and also thank you for this amazing video. It was super informative.
No. If you purchase early entry for Mario you get an express pass for Studio Tour only. The paid express pass is good for every ride EXCEPT Mario Kart.
@@purpx33purp91 You buy it as a ticket add on. Visit Universal’s website, click “Buy Tickets Now” and then select the Super Nintendo World early entry option. It’s in the $20-$30 per person range. But you do also need a ticket for that day. Early entry is not a ticket. Just access to the land an hour before the park officially opens.
Hi, will be going to USH for the first time within the next couple of months and have purchased the SNW early entry pass and would like to maximize the full hour, if possible. When does USH's parking open prior to early entry?
Hello, I actually just went today with the Early Access to SNW. Early access began at 9, however we got there at parking at 8:30 and they were letting people through the gates around 8:45. Definitely get there as soon as possible and don't forget about the express access to the studio tour before 11 AM (with SNW early access ticket)
We are visiting week of April 9, and can allocate 2 days for this park visit. Do you suggest us to buy single day express pass of $269 or two days of general admission pass in $189?
I haven’t been paying attention to the wait times this week. But I can tell you that if you buy express pass, you definitely won’t need two days. So the single day will be fine. If you have a better use for the second day somewhere else. Generally speaking, a single day without express is enough for Universal. But it being Spring Break, I know Disney was slammed today. So Universal might be in a similar boat. But you’d definitely be okay with the Express Pass. I’d suggest going down to Super Nintendo World first if you intend to ride Mario Kart as it’s the only ride NOT on Express Pass. So the earlier the better as it’ll get busier as more people show up to the park. Then you can use Express on everything else at your leisure. Another strategy is to standby some other rides in the AM if the waits aren’t too terrible then use Express on them later to ride them again when the lines are longer. But if you only intend to ride everything once, then just use the Express.
Unfortunately not. A band is required to play. The only thing you can do without a band is hit the coin blocks around the land. They make the coin sound, but without a band that’s all they do. You don’t need a band for every person though. One is sufficient for your group to play. But to fight Bowser Jr, I’ve heard it’s one band per 2 people. So if you have 4, you need 2 bands, both with 3 keys earned from minigames.
The only time I went to Universal I was so excited for Harry potter world and the forbidden journey ride, only for the staff to fat shame me and my husband and tell us in front of the entire standby line we wouldn't fit - be aware if you're a slightly bigger person- some of the rides are not going to be doable ):
Omg, that’s crazy! I’m sorry that happened. I know you wanted to go on it, but that ride made my sister sick ( too much motion on the screens and the ride was very bumpy/jerky. )
@@dadvssoncocopuffs9187 Paid by RU-vid because I put work and time into my thoughts and opinions. Not paid by Universal, and I couldn’t care less what they think. They don’t even know I exist. I make content to help people plan vacations.
