A friend and I recently went to Los Angeles for 3 nights during Halloween weekend.  I last visited back in August and did not get a chance to do everything I wanted at Universal Studios Hollywood.  This trip we will go both on Saturday and Sunday, plus the after hours event Universal Halloween Horror Nights.

Getting There

We stayed at Super 8 by Wyndham Hollywood/LA and was a quick 10 min drive from the hotel to theme park.  Rideshare drop off and pick up is on level 7 of Frankenstein garage.  We actually lucked out and got a wheelchair accessible Uber the entire weekend on the Uber app.  We made it early to Universal Studios as it was just about 10am.

Universal Studios Hollywood

Once we got to the gates to scan my annual pass on the Universal Studios app, there was an issue again.  We were told to go line up to get my annual pass reprinted.  I was told, once I get the new card, I would not have any issue with the bar code for future visits.  It did take a bit of time in line but finally made it inside the park.

We went to Guest Relations to get the Attractions Assistance Pass (AAP) since I didn’t get my doctor to fill out my application for the Accessibility Card yet.  It went a lot smoother this time compared to back in August.  The guy who gave us the AAP told us that it was only valid for the day and we would have to come back the next day to get another AAP.

By now, it was already past 11am and we were ready to start our day:  We saw that the Universal Studios Store wasn’t too busy so my friend went in to buy a power up band to be used for interactive games inside Super Nintendo World.  This is where we wanted to start because we wanted to book a reservation for Toadstool Cafe which requires scanning a QR code at the entrance.

Upper Lot/Lower Lot Transfers

Since the entrance/exit to the theme park was in the Upper Lot, we had to take some elevators near Springfield to go down to the accessible shuttles area.  The ride was short and the driver always ties the wheelchair down with straps to ensure safety.

Super Nintendo World

(Lower Lot)

As soon as we made it to Super Nintendo World, there was already a sign saying the Toadstool Cafe reservations were sold out for the day.  We got a return time for the only ride here with the AAP and decided to play the interactive games while waiting.  It really was neat to watch my friend tap his power band collecting coins and going into reserved areas for those with bands only.

Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge 

(Lower Lot)

I really enjoyed this ride the last time, so I wanted to go on it again.  The Mario Kart ride vehicle was not an accessible one but the one side can be taken off by a staff member to make it easier for transfers.  My friend then lifted me into the front seat of the 4 person Kart and secured me in with the 3D visors.

The ride was fun seeing all the characters racing around in the visors even though I couldn’t use the gun to shoot the bad guys.  The ride was never really too scary even with my bad balance.  Once we were done, my friend got to play a few more interactive games with his power up band before we left.  We stayed about 3.5 hours just at Super Nintendo World.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

(Upper Lot)

We wanted to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter next which required us to take the accessible shuttle bus back up to the Upper Lot.  We just missed the Tri-Wizard Tournament show but did take some pictures with the actors.  We then looked around more and was debating on going on a ride.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

(Upper Lot)

Wheelchair guests had to go in the queue a different way to access the ride vehicles.  While waiting for our turn for the ride, staff members were describing what the ride will be like.  The ride vehicle seats 4 and raises to fly around and tilts and reclines throughout.

Once I saw the ride vehicle and saw that there was no seatbelt, I got my friend to go without me to test the ride out for me.  I may possibly go on my next visit.  We then got our Butterbeer which is now $9 before leaving.

Springfield, USA

(Upper Lot)

We had a fun visit in Springfield just exploring the land around us.  I always feel like I am actually in the cartoon every time I visit because the detail of the buildings and characters are so exact.  We shared a signature Lard Lad giant pink donut which was still $9.99 since my last visit a few months prior.

By now it was almost 6pm as the theme park was only open from 8am to 6pm both days this weekend because of the after hours Halloween event that starts at 7pm.  With CityWalk having the hours 11am to 10pm, we wanted to check out what is happening there for Halloween weekend.

CityWalk

Universal CityWalk is the entertainment and retail district that is front of the theme park.  It does not require a theme park ticket and is open to the public.  It was quite busy when we went as it seems that most people who exited the theme park went straight to CityWalk.

Seeing that the sit-down restaurants were all full and had long lines, we took an elevator up to the 2nd floor food court and ate at Pink’s Hot Dogs.  There was also a seating area overlooking CityWalk and the 5 Towers Stage.  This stage has over 5000 LED lights and a huge sound system.

There was a Halloween dance party with a local DJ playing music and interacting with kids but it ended at 8pm.  We thought there would be more entertainment happening that night but it slowly started getting really empty by 8:30pm.  We got an Uber and left and wandered around Hollywood Walk of Fame for a bit before going to bed.

Final Thoughts

We both had an amazing day at Universal Studios Hollywood.  Since we knew we were coming back the next day, we did not try to do everything in one day.  I really enjoyed spending a long time at Super Nintendo World to watch my friend play the interactive games with the power up band.

We still managed almost 7 hours at the park despite having issues scanning my annual pass.  We also had fun at CityWalk but too bad there wasn’t too much going on after 8pm.  Our next day we got to do everything we didn’t do this visit so look for that post in the coming days.