Having visited Universal Studios Florida just over a year ago, it made me want to visit Universal Studios Hollywood sooner than later.  Hearing that Super Nintendo World was opening soon at the Hollywood location, I had to combine it to a trip that included a cruise on the Disney Wonder.  A friend and I booked a trip to LA for a few days in early March before going on the cruise.

Getting There

We stayed at The Hotel Hollywood which was only a 10 minute drive to Universal Studios Hollywood.  We actually managed to get a an accessible taxi that had a side portable removable ramp.  This way my friend could save his energy for the long day at the theme park.

Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood started out as a movie studio in April 1912 and by July 1964 it started to become a theme park.  It still is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use.  I ended up buying an annual pass online ahead of time because I knew Super Nintendo World would be crazy busy only 2 weeks after its opening.

After entering the park, we went directly to the right to Guest Relations to get an Attraction Assistance Pass (AAP).  This helps guests who find it difficult to wait in a standard queue due to a disability or health problems.  At participating rides and attractions, a staff member will write down a certain time to come back if it is longer than a 45 minute wait or let you in the appropriate queue if shorter.

We actually never ended up using the AAP as we were busy moving around and doing other things besides the rides.  Universal Studios Hollywood is actually divided in two areas on different levels called the Upper Lot and Lower Lot.  They are connected by a few escalators called the Starway.  Here is how our day went and which area we went to:

Character Encounters

(Upper Lot)

After entering, we were automatically in the Upper Lot and right in Universal Boulevard that features a large Universal Plaza.  After looking around the area for a bit, we see a taxi driver character from the movie Blue Collar right beside the original yellow taxi.  We got a picture with her as there wasn’t a line.  There were other character encounters we saw later in the day like Homer Simpson and the Super Mario Brothers but didn’t get in line for pictures.

Springfield 

(Upper Lot)

We then went to Springfield area since it was right by Universal Plaza.  We wanted to eat so we went to Krusty Burger restaurant.  We chose this place since we knew that Universal might lose the rights to The Simpsons characters in a few years and would have to close the whole area.  The restaurant was connected to Moe’s Tavern and everything looks exactly like it does in the cartoon.

We both ordered the Krusty Burger which came with fries and it had a similar sauce to the Big Mac.  It got quite busy and there was an elevator to an upper floor with extra seating but luckily we found an accessible table on the ground floor.

After our food, we explored the rest of Springfield and my friend bought a giant pink donut from Kwik-E-Mart.  We ate a little of it since it was too huge and saved the rest for later.  My friend didn’t want to go on The Simpsons Ride, so we continued on.

Studio Tour

(Upper Lot)

Even though the Studio Tour is located in the Upper Lot, to get on the accessible tram we needed to go the Lower Lot.  There is an elevator right by Springfield to take us down to wait for an accessible shuttle bus.  It then takes us to the accessible queue where we wait for the accessible tram to come.  There is only 1 wheelchair spot in the few multi-car trams that go by so the wait is long.

The tour is almost an hour and a staff member accidently let another wheelchair user on the accessible tram before us so he apologized and gave us express priority passes for any attraction which we never used.  The Studio Tour is the theme park’s signature attraction so we couldn’t miss it at all.

After getting on the tram on a portable ramp, my wheelchair was tied on and placed at the wheelchair spot at the front.  The tour is led by a prerecorded video guide by Jimmy Fallon.  We then travel through the Front Lot, Backlot, attractions, sets and buildings from several movies along the way.

It was really cool seeing movie sets like Psycho, Back to the Future, Nope, War of the Worlds and more.  My favorite parts of this tour were the sections where some special effects are used like the King Kong 360 3D, a simulated flood, an earthquake, Jaws swirling around a lake, and even a high speed chase with the cast from the Fast and the Furious. The production value is excellent and I want to go on it again already.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

(Upper Lot)

We then headed over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  This area looks very similar to Universal Studios Florida which is equally amazing.  Everything looks like its from the movie and we had fun checking out some of the shops and watched some of the Tri-Wizard Tournament at the front stage.  We then each got a cup of the famous Butterbeer before leaving the area.

Minion Land

(Upper Lot)

We then went through the mini Tour de France area real quick and ended in Minion Land.  We didn’t get to spend too much time here as our reservation for Super Nintendo World was fast approaching.  Minion Land seems to be geared for younger children as Super Silly Fun Land is a splash waterpark.  The Secret Life of Pets ride is wheelchair accessible so I will definitely go on that my next visit.

Super Nintendo World

(Lower Lot)

It is now time to get to our reservation to Super Nintendo World.  We took the elevator back down to the Lower Lot to visit this brand new area that just opened 2 weeks before our visit.  I actually wrote a separate post for that here.  It was super crowded and we didn’t get to do too much and by the time we left the area, it was already dark outside.

Transformers Metrobase

(Lower Lot)

My friend and I then went to the small area of Transformers Metrobase.  We didn’t have that much time here because we didn’t want to miss or be late for the WaterWorld show in the Upper Lot.  We just saw some of the robot toy and figures and some of the Transformers merchandise.

WaterWorld

(Upper Lot)

We quickly took the elevator back up to the Upper Lot and went to get our spots for the WaterWorld show.  Being the last show of the night, it was not crowded at all.  The wheelchair seating was just a blank spot in front of the bleachers and we chose to be in the non splash zone.

Based on the 1995 movie, this longest running show is just under 20 minutes and is highly rated among guests.  The action packed live show features jet skiers, firefights, explosions and plane crashes that you would have to see to believe.  I enjoyed this high tech show almost as much as the Bourne Stuntacular show at Universal Studios Florida.

Universal CityWalk

With the park about to close, we spent over 10 hours at the theme park and wanted to eat a late dinner at CityWalk before it closes.  CityWalk is located at the entrance to Universal Studios Hollywood and is a 3 block dining, shopping and entertainment district.  It opened in 1993 and was quite busy as it seems that everyone exiting the theme park is either eating or shopping at CityWalk.

Bubba Gump’s restaurant was quite busy so went to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville.  Surprisingly, there were only a few people inside and we got a table right away.  I had the Beef Island Kabobs which came with rice and it was amazing.  Being an annual pass member gave us 10% off the total bill which was a nice bonus.

Leaving Universal Studios Hollywood was a bit of a pain.  Before finishing our dinner, we got a staff member to call an accessible taxi from the same company as when we arrived.  We were told that it is on its way and when it was late, we had to go back to the restaurant to call the taxi company again.  It was still on its way and after an hour late with no inclination it was coming, my friend just booked a regular Uber to take us back to the hotel.

Final Thoughts

We had an awesome time visiting Universal Studios Hollywood despite not going on any other ride except for the signature Studio Tour which was a fun 1 hour ride and attraction.  With the day being sold out and it being super crowded, we still spent over 10 hours at the park and over an hour at CityWalk.  Super Nintendo World was definitely worth the hype and with my annual pass, I will revisit later this summer and will use the Attraction Assistance Pass this time.