Universal Studios Hollywood is located in the heart of Los Angeles and is billed as the largest working studio and theme park in the world. From studio tours to thrill rides and water activities, Universal Studios Hollywood is sure to make the list of your must see attractions in Southern California. Easy freeway access and accessibility via the subway from Hollywood, visitors can easily spend an entire day here. Adjacent to Universal is City Walk where you can dine and shop to your hearts content where restaurants and shops remain open after the theme park is closed.
Although you can see some beautiful weather year round in Southern California, summers can be hot and the park crowded. If you can arrange it, winter and fall are the Best times to visit Universal Studios Hollywood. The park is set up on 2 levels with a large escalator to get to each level. Plan on arriving early and riding the main thrill type rides first because the lines can get very long for these attractions. Although the Tour can get crowded, the line moves very quickly so it’s ok to save this until later in the day.
Even though Universal Hollywood has many dining choices, I found them to be crowded with long lines. Try to avoid the peak dining times by eating early or late.
I had a good time however, after visiting with 2-10 year old girls, I wasn’t impressed with Universal Studio’s Hollywood’s activities for children. Unless you want to spend most of your day watching your kids play in the Blast Zone or catching a show at Animal Planet Live, there are basically no activities for younger children. Most rides at Universal are too intense for younger children (and some 10 year old girls).
Universal Studio Tour
A must see at Universal Studios-Hollywood, the Studio Tour takes guest through real movies sets both old and new! I must admit, they have come a long way since I first took this tour back in the 70’s.
The tour is more organized and the old tour buses have been replace with comfortable trams that accommodate a lot of people so no matter how long the line looks, it moves very quickly.
Although a little outdated and few children understand the concept, you will spend a few minutes on Amity Island where you WILL meet up with Jaws. The tram continues though Jurassic Park, Back to the Future and Psycho sets. You will experience flash floods, a King Kong encounter as well the airplane crash set from ‘War of the Worlds’. There is something for everyone on this tour. Some places can be a little intense for children but I do recommend this for all ages.
Revenge of the Mummy – The Ride
OK, I’m not really one for action movies but I did watch and enjoy The Mummy! I was looking forward to riding this attraction because I did read a little about it before I arrived. Billed as Universal’s answer to ‘Rockin Rollercoaster’ which I LOVE, I couldn’t wait! The queue is huge and you are basically eves dropping on the making of the new Mummy Movie when an archeologist accidentally digs up ancient artifact which upsets ‘mummy’ (you know you are in trouble now). It’s at this point the queue leads you right towards the Mummy and aboard the 16 seat coaster, yes I said COASTER! What follows is a very dark, fast ride full of surprises and if you are not great with BUGS, be prepared! I highly recommend this attraction and although it’s billed as a “family” ride, I personally think it’s too intense for younger children even if they do meet the 48’ required height.
Shrek 4-D
This is an attraction I had to ride alone since my 10 years old wrote off 3-D experiences a long time ago. I do like the 3-D attractions (other than the creep, crawly things running across my feet) and decided to give it a try if only to understand what 4-D meant. Other than the jabs at Disney (yes, I laughed), this was a great show! All the great characters from the original Movie including donkey (my favorite) are here and as far as the 4-D, I am not giving it away so you will just have to experience this ride for yourself.
Jurassic Park…The Ride
I’ve seen this ride compared to ‘Splash Mountain’ but there is really only one stimulatory. The ride begins as a peaceful water ride in a land filled with plant eating dinosaurs, but don’t get too comfortable! It quickly turns into a fast moving ride for your life while being chased by the T-Rex who just broke loose. There is only one was out and it happens to be straight down! This ride can get very wet so, bring your ponchos and something to keep your valuables dry.
Terminator 2: 3D
Yet another 3-D experience that is based on the movie Terminator 2. I don’t recall a lot of the plot because I was too busy dodging things fling out of the screen at me. It is definitely an action show and again, may be too intense for smaller children.
WaterWorld
This was one of those attractions I’ve seen but never took the time to experience. It just so happened we were leaving the park and saw the show was getting ready to start. Everyone (almost) voted to see it. It’s a very large stadium full of sets from the movie ‘Water World’. Never having the desire to see the movie, I was not prepared for what was to come. This is a high action performance with real actors and I was not disappointed. At times there is so much going on that it’s difficult to keep up but it is a show worth seeing. When they say ‘you will get wet if you sit here’, believe them and a lot of the time, it’s not by accident!
Nickelodeon Blast Zone
If your plans do not include getting WET, stay at least 100 feet away from this area! Since this is a relatively new area, I wasn’t prepared and it ended up costing me about $75.00 for suits, towels and water shoes! Don’t get me wrong, this is a great area for kids (and Adults) to cool off on a hot day but come prepared! Pack suits, towel and water shoes (shoes are required) for the kids (and maybe yourself because they WILL attempt to get you wet). The major activity here seems to be targeting children and adults with a barrage of water from many different devices. At first I was a bit shocked when I saw the unsuspecting Mom trying to show her child the many activities only to get totally soaked by the mischievous kid behind the water canon but, after a few minutes of watching this I admit I did chuckle (I know, not nice). After awhile, I actually found myself assisting the kids by pointing out new targets (yes, I was also a target!).
Van Helsing: Fortress Dracula
This attraction is basically a walk through carnival type attraction much like the old wax museums (reminded me of the horror part of the Hollywood Wax Museum in Hollywood). Although it took a lot of convincing to get 2 girls to try this, one ended up turning around and running out about 15 seconds into the walk and the other, although she made it through practically ran the entire way with her eyes closed. This attraction includes some of the actual sets and costumes from the movie so if you are familiar with Van Helsing, you may enjoy this. Personally I wasn’t impressed and thought it was a little out of place in a high tech park like Universal. I never once noticed a line and employee’s actively try to get people into the attraction. For this reason, I doubt this attraction will last long. The character meet with Van Helsing was enjoyable for both the girls and Mom! ;).
Animal Planet Live
Most children are familiar with Animal Planet from TV! Live onstage interaction with Animals, a short movie advertising Animal Planet along with a small amount of audience participation make up this show. This attraction seems more like an advertisement for show and although entertaining, is something mostly smaller children will enjoy. It is shaded making it a nice break on a hot day.
Tour History
From its humble beginnings in the silent film era to its present position as the premiere behind-the-scenes Hollywood experience, the World Famous Universal Studio Tour has given over 100 million guests from around the world the rare opportunity to take a sneak peak into the inner workings of a Hollywood movie studio. In just under an hour, guests travel through a 415-acre movie lot that encompasses virtually every location and time period in the world (Ancient Rome, The Wild West, modern day New York). The one-of-a-kind guided tour includes face-to-face encounters with Hollywood icons (Jaws, King Kong), exclusive behind-the-scenes commentary from Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers (Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg, Stephen Sommers) and visits to some of the most famous sets in movie history (Psycho House, Whoville). Over 8,000 films and countless television shows have been shot on the Universal lot, making Universal Studios the most filmed location in the world and the Universal Studios Tour one of the most unique entertainment offerings in the world!
The Tour was officially founded in 1964, but it’s roots go all the way back to earliest days of film.
The Tour in the Silent Film Era
In 1914 Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle laid down a whopping $3,500 to purchase the Taylor Estate in Lankershim Township (the present site of Universal Studios Hollywood) and moved his burgeoning film studio from New York City to Southern California. Uncle Carl (a nickname he received because he had so many relatives on the pay roll) was the consummate showman and wanted Gala Opening, 1915to find a unique way to generate publicity about the move so in 1915 he held a grand opening ceremony where he invited the public to visit, “The World’s Only Movie City!” Thousands of people attended the gala opening including such luminaries as Thomas Edison, Buffalo Bill Cody and Valentino. In a bizarre foreshadowing of things to come, the entertainment for Uncle Carl’s grand opening included a western stunt show, the demolition of a bridge and a simulated flash flood; three attractions that would later become fixtures of the early Universal Studio Tour.
After the gala opening, Mr. Laemmle continued to let the general public visit his “Movie City.” For an admission price of 25 cents (which also included a boxed lunch) guests sat in outdoor bleachers and were encouraged to cheer for the heroes and boo the villains! The advent of sound meant the end of the early Universal Studio tour (as the noise the visitors made now disrupted filming) and Universal closed its gates to the general public. Three decades would pass before the studio gates would open again.
The Modern Studio Tour
Ironically, the modern Universal Studio Tour was initially reborn as a way to sell more lunches in the Studio Commissary. The late 50’s and early 60’s were a difficult time for Hollywood studios. The arrival of television had weakened movie attendance and more and more productions were going on location to save costs. The grand old movie back lots were quickly becoming a thing of the past. In the mid 1950’s, Universal began letting bus companies drive on to the property (the same bus companies that offered guided tours of the homes of Hollywood stars) as a way to increase revenues. The studio charged the bus companies a small fee and also benefited from the extra lunches they could sell to the tourists in the Studio Commissary. The bus drivers were given a hand-typed script to read that highlighted the studio facilities as well as hyped upcoming Universal releases like Bonzo Goes to College and Monster on the Campus.
When MCA purchased Universal in the late 1950’s, they began to look for a way to revive the old Studio Tour as part of a new image for Universal City Studios. In 1963 legendary movie mogul Lew Wasserman, then president of MCA/Universal, asked Vice President Al Dorskind to look into the feasibility of creating a permanent tour.
Despite these early hiccups, the first tour opened on June 17th 1964* with tickets being sold out of a temporary trailer on Lankershim Blvd. The Universal Studio Tour at that time consisted of two trams and a handful of eager young tour guides; including John Ford III (grandson of famous western director John Ford) and Dan Milland (son of Academy Award winning actor Ray Milland). The early tour was 90 minutes and included a stop off at the studio commissary for lunch and a make-up show (presented by Mike Westmore of the famous Westmore family of make-up artists) held in the commissary basement. 38,184 guests rode the Universal Studio Tour in its first year.
Today the Studio Tour continues to evolve. In the Summer of 2000 Universal brought the tram into the 21st Century with the debut of The New Studio Tour. This exciting update of Universal’s time-honored attraction transformed the tram into a “Movie Theater on Wheels” with the inclusion of LCD video monitors, a state-of-the-art audio system, on-board video cameras and DVD players containing over 200 pieces of custom produced media. For the first time ever, guests are able to see examples of how the Universal lot has been used for motion picture and television production and learn about filmmaking from the world’s greatest filmmakers.
Although you can see some beautiful weather year round in Southern California, summers can be hot and the park crowded. If you can arrange it, winter and fall are the Best times to visit Universal Studios Hollywood. The park is set up on 2 levels with a large escalator to get to each level. Plan on arriving early and riding the main thrill type rides first because the lines can get very long for these attractions. Although the Tour can get crowded, the line moves very quickly so it’s ok to save this until later in the day.
Even though Universal Hollywood has many dining choices, I found them to be crowded with long lines. Try to avoid the peak dining times by eating early or late.
I had a good time however, after visiting with 2-10 year old girls, I wasn’t impressed with Universal Studio’s Hollywood’s activities for children. Unless you want to spend most of your day watching your kids play in the Blast Zone or catching a show at Animal Planet Live, there are basically no activities for younger children. Most rides at Universal are too intense for younger children (and some 10 year old girls).
Universal Studio Tour
A must see at Universal Studios-Hollywood, the Studio Tour takes guest through real movies sets both old and new! I must admit, they have come a long way since I first took this tour back in the 70’s.
The tour is more organized and the old tour buses have been replace with comfortable trams that accommodate a lot of people so no matter how long the line looks, it moves very quickly.
Although a little outdated and few children understand the concept, you will spend a few minutes on Amity Island where you WILL meet up with Jaws. The tram continues though Jurassic Park, Back to the Future and Psycho sets. You will experience flash floods, a King Kong encounter as well the airplane crash set from ‘War of the Worlds’. There is something for everyone on this tour. Some places can be a little intense for children but I do recommend this for all ages.
Revenge of the Mummy – The Ride
OK, I’m not really one for action movies but I did watch and enjoy The Mummy! I was looking forward to riding this attraction because I did read a little about it before I arrived. Billed as Universal’s answer to ‘Rockin Rollercoaster’ which I LOVE, I couldn’t wait! The queue is huge and you are basically eves dropping on the making of the new Mummy Movie when an archeologist accidentally digs up ancient artifact which upsets ‘mummy’ (you know you are in trouble now). It’s at this point the queue leads you right towards the Mummy and aboard the 16 seat coaster, yes I said COASTER! What follows is a very dark, fast ride full of surprises and if you are not great with BUGS, be prepared! I highly recommend this attraction and although it’s billed as a “family” ride, I personally think it’s too intense for younger children even if they do meet the 48’ required height.
Shrek 4-D
This is an attraction I had to ride alone since my 10 years old wrote off 3-D experiences a long time ago. I do like the 3-D attractions (other than the creep, crawly things running across my feet) and decided to give it a try if only to understand what 4-D meant. Other than the jabs at Disney (yes, I laughed), this was a great show! All the great characters from the original Movie including donkey (my favorite) are here and as far as the 4-D, I am not giving it away so you will just have to experience this ride for yourself.
Jurassic Park…The Ride
I’ve seen this ride compared to ‘Splash Mountain’ but there is really only one stimulatory. The ride begins as a peaceful water ride in a land filled with plant eating dinosaurs, but don’t get too comfortable! It quickly turns into a fast moving ride for your life while being chased by the T-Rex who just broke loose. There is only one was out and it happens to be straight down! This ride can get very wet so, bring your ponchos and something to keep your valuables dry.
Terminator 2: 3D
Yet another 3-D experience that is based on the movie Terminator 2. I don’t recall a lot of the plot because I was too busy dodging things fling out of the screen at me. It is definitely an action show and again, may be too intense for smaller children.
WaterWorld
This was one of those attractions I’ve seen but never took the time to experience. It just so happened we were leaving the park and saw the show was getting ready to start. Everyone (almost) voted to see it. It’s a very large stadium full of sets from the movie ‘Water World’. Never having the desire to see the movie, I was not prepared for what was to come. This is a high action performance with real actors and I was not disappointed. At times there is so much going on that it’s difficult to keep up but it is a show worth seeing. When they say ‘you will get wet if you sit here’, believe them and a lot of the time, it’s not by accident!
Nickelodeon Blast Zone
If your plans do not include getting WET, stay at least 100 feet away from this area! Since this is a relatively new area, I wasn’t prepared and it ended up costing me about $75.00 for suits, towels and water shoes! Don’t get me wrong, this is a great area for kids (and Adults) to cool off on a hot day but come prepared! Pack suits, towel and water shoes (shoes are required) for the kids (and maybe yourself because they WILL attempt to get you wet). The major activity here seems to be targeting children and adults with a barrage of water from many different devices. At first I was a bit shocked when I saw the unsuspecting Mom trying to show her child the many activities only to get totally soaked by the mischievous kid behind the water canon but, after a few minutes of watching this I admit I did chuckle (I know, not nice). After awhile, I actually found myself assisting the kids by pointing out new targets (yes, I was also a target!).
Van Helsing: Fortress Dracula
This attraction is basically a walk through carnival type attraction much like the old wax museums (reminded me of the horror part of the Hollywood Wax Museum in Hollywood). Although it took a lot of convincing to get 2 girls to try this, one ended up turning around and running out about 15 seconds into the walk and the other, although she made it through practically ran the entire way with her eyes closed. This attraction includes some of the actual sets and costumes from the movie so if you are familiar with Van Helsing, you may enjoy this. Personally I wasn’t impressed and thought it was a little out of place in a high tech park like Universal. I never once noticed a line and employee’s actively try to get people into the attraction. For this reason, I doubt this attraction will last long. The character meet with Van Helsing was enjoyable for both the girls and Mom! ;).
Animal Planet Live
Most children are familiar with Animal Planet from TV! Live onstage interaction with Animals, a short movie advertising Animal Planet along with a small amount of audience participation make up this show. This attraction seems more like an advertisement for show and although entertaining, is something mostly smaller children will enjoy. It is shaded making it a nice break on a hot day.
Tour History
From its humble beginnings in the silent film era to its present position as the premiere behind-the-scenes Hollywood experience, the World Famous Universal Studio Tour has given over 100 million guests from around the world the rare opportunity to take a sneak peak into the inner workings of a Hollywood movie studio. In just under an hour, guests travel through a 415-acre movie lot that encompasses virtually every location and time period in the world (Ancient Rome, The Wild West, modern day New York). The one-of-a-kind guided tour includes face-to-face encounters with Hollywood icons (Jaws, King Kong), exclusive behind-the-scenes commentary from Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers (Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg, Stephen Sommers) and visits to some of the most famous sets in movie history (Psycho House, Whoville). Over 8,000 films and countless television shows have been shot on the Universal lot, making Universal Studios the most filmed location in the world and the Universal Studios Tour one of the most unique entertainment offerings in the world!
The Tour was officially founded in 1964, but it’s roots go all the way back to earliest days of film.
The Tour in the Silent Film Era
In 1914 Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle laid down a whopping $3,500 to purchase the Taylor Estate in Lankershim Township (the present site of Universal Studios Hollywood) and moved his burgeoning film studio from New York City to Southern California. Uncle Carl (a nickname he received because he had so many relatives on the pay roll) was the consummate showman and wanted Gala Opening, 1915to find a unique way to generate publicity about the move so in 1915 he held a grand opening ceremony where he invited the public to visit, “The World’s Only Movie City!” Thousands of people attended the gala opening including such luminaries as Thomas Edison, Buffalo Bill Cody and Valentino. In a bizarre foreshadowing of things to come, the entertainment for Uncle Carl’s grand opening included a western stunt show, the demolition of a bridge and a simulated flash flood; three attractions that would later become fixtures of the early Universal Studio Tour.
After the gala opening, Mr. Laemmle continued to let the general public visit his “Movie City.” For an admission price of 25 cents (which also included a boxed lunch) guests sat in outdoor bleachers and were encouraged to cheer for the heroes and boo the villains! The advent of sound meant the end of the early Universal Studio tour (as the noise the visitors made now disrupted filming) and Universal closed its gates to the general public. Three decades would pass before the studio gates would open again.
The Modern Studio Tour
Ironically, the modern Universal Studio Tour was initially reborn as a way to sell more lunches in the Studio Commissary. The late 50’s and early 60’s were a difficult time for Hollywood studios. The arrival of television had weakened movie attendance and more and more productions were going on location to save costs. The grand old movie back lots were quickly becoming a thing of the past. In the mid 1950’s, Universal began letting bus companies drive on to the property (the same bus companies that offered guided tours of the homes of Hollywood stars) as a way to increase revenues. The studio charged the bus companies a small fee and also benefited from the extra lunches they could sell to the tourists in the Studio Commissary. The bus drivers were given a hand-typed script to read that highlighted the studio facilities as well as hyped upcoming Universal releases like Bonzo Goes to College and Monster on the Campus.
When MCA purchased Universal in the late 1950’s, they began to look for a way to revive the old Studio Tour as part of a new image for Universal City Studios. In 1963 legendary movie mogul Lew Wasserman, then president of MCA/Universal, asked Vice President Al Dorskind to look into the feasibility of creating a permanent tour.
Despite these early hiccups, the first tour opened on June 17th 1964* with tickets being sold out of a temporary trailer on Lankershim Blvd. The Universal Studio Tour at that time consisted of two trams and a handful of eager young tour guides; including John Ford III (grandson of famous western director John Ford) and Dan Milland (son of Academy Award winning actor Ray Milland). The early tour was 90 minutes and included a stop off at the studio commissary for lunch and a make-up show (presented by Mike Westmore of the famous Westmore family of make-up artists) held in the commissary basement. 38,184 guests rode the Universal Studio Tour in its first year.
Today the Studio Tour continues to evolve. In the Summer of 2000 Universal brought the tram into the 21st Century with the debut of The New Studio Tour. This exciting update of Universal’s time-honored attraction transformed the tram into a “Movie Theater on Wheels” with the inclusion of LCD video monitors, a state-of-the-art audio system, on-board video cameras and DVD players containing over 200 pieces of custom produced media. For the first time ever, guests are able to see examples of how the Universal lot has been used for motion picture and television production and learn about filmmaking from the world’s greatest filmmakers.
2 comments:
Hello. I like your blog. And I'd like to ask you to write a review about credit cards for my site. Is that possible to arrange? How much will it cost me?
I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully, Nellie Hawkins
Post a Comment