Unique Things to Do in Universal Studios Hollywood | A Guide for East Coasters
Universal Orlando Resort is our “home base”: we’ve been passholders for a few years now, and we usually visit Florida parks several times a year. This summer we finally visited Universal Studios on the West Coast.
We only had one day at Universal Studios Hollywood before moving on with the rest of our California adventure, so we made sure we hit all attractions that are unique to the West Coast that we cannot experience on the East Coast.
If you’ve visited Universal Florida resort and are looking for not-to-miss Universal Studios Hollywood attractions, this post is for you!
Universal Studios Hollywood is situated on two "tiers": Upper and Lower lot with the set of loooong escalators/stairs separating them. You will want to get familiar with the park layout and have a "plan of attack" with the attractions you want to visit to use the time in the park most efficiently.
Studio Tour
The crown jewel of Universal Studios Hollywood, The World Famous Studio Tour, is an absolute must.
You get to go behind the scenes of the real working movie studio and learn about movie-making secrets.
There is so much to see, including:
- Amity Island and encounter with Bruce (Jaws)
- Flash flood and earthquake experiences
- Wreckage of the Boeing 747 from Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds
- Bates Motel (Psycho)
- Collection of automobiles from your favorite movies
Some parts of the tour like King Kong 360 and Fast and Furious will be familiar to you as they are stand-alone rides in Orlando.
Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash
Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash is a brand new ride where you get “turned into a puppy” and meet the residents of the Secret Life of Pets universe on your way to get adopted. The ride will for sure be a hit with everyone in your family.
It is one of the few rides where you don’t want to skip the queue!
Keep an eye out on Snowball while you are in the area. He pops up on the balcony above Otto’s Toys to interact with the park guests.
And make sure to try Secret Life of Pets fruit bars!*
*they are available in Universal Orlando too but we think they taste better on their home turf
WaterWorld Stunt Show
WaterWorld show is everything you want to see in a stunt show: firefights, jet skis, a crash landing plane, and of course, a ton of pyrotechnics. The daring stunts will capture the attention of even a tween girl with zero interest in action movies.
My daughter was impressed with the list of actors’ credentials announced at the end of the show.
“Were they the REAL actors?” Yup! So close to the Hollywood, of course, they are!
Super Silly Fun Land & Minion Cafe
Super Silly Fun Land is Minion-inspired land featuring a water play area, arcade games, and Silly Swirly Fun Ride (a copy of Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl from the Orlando park, just with Minions overlay).
There are 53 Minions located in the land. See if you can find them all!
Don’t forget to stop by the recently-opened Minion Cafe. We loved the Felonious Float (raspberry Icee, banana frozen yogurt, banana candy, and whip cream).
CityWalk
I must say we liked Hollywood’s CityWalk better than Orlando’s. There was a larger variety of stores and restaurants for us to check out. We enjoyed grabbing treats from Popcornopolis, Mini Monster, and Sparky’s Mini Donuts and Chocolates between shopping at Hot Topic, It’s Sugar, Things From Another World, and many others.
See the full list here.
Upcoming: Super Nintendo World
Universal Studios Hollywood is getting a smaller version of Super Nintendo World that opened in Universal Studios Japan in March 2021.
The opening date is yet to be announced but you can see the construction progress on the way from Upper Lot to Lower Lot, and it is definitely moving along.
The Florida resort will also be getting Nintendo Super World. It will be included in the new Epic Universe theme park. However, the park construction was delayed due to the pandemic, so Universal Studios Hollywood will be the first US park to get the Nintendo Land.
Check out how cool the Super Nintendo World is in Universal Studios Japan here.
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