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Los Angeles, California: home to movie stars, $30 smoothies, and some of the country's most popular theme parks. Universal Studios Hollywood is a wildly popular theme park nestled amongst the Hollywood Hills and dozens of active film studios, some of which are even part of the park! The park has multiple themed lands ranging from the Simpsons to Jurassic World and even Despicable Me! With over a dozen rides and attractions including an hour-long studio tour this theme park will easily take up your entire day. We visited the park in July and they were running a promotion for bogo tickets. For $109 each we got two-day access to the park!
Where to stay near Universal Studios Hollywood:
Universal City has two main hotels near Universal Studios Hollywood Park, The Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City, and the Sheraton Universal. Both hotels are within walking distance of one another and offer easy access to the park entrance. For this trip, we opted for the Hilton since we have a rewards card with them and earned points on our stay. The location of the hotels is unbeatable when it comes to ease of access to the parks!
We enjoyed our stay at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City and would stay there again. It was clean, had multiple dining options, a shuttle to and from the park, and a direct walking route to the park. The walk to Universal from the Hilton is only 5-10 minutes, and there were walking directions on the sidewalk leading you there. A shuttle was also available, and ran frequently, taking you right to the park's front gates. Our full review of the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City is here.
The Sheraton Universal, is right next to the Hilton. We have not stayed there yet, but the hotel has good ratings online, and offers similar perks as the Hilton. The Sheraton Universal offers a shuttle to and from the park, and has a walking route for guests to get to the park on foot as well. Both hotels are priced competitively with one another, depending on the date one is more expensive than the other, but they tend to be within about $20 of each other.
Getting to Universal Studios Hollywood:
The two main airports closest to the Universal Studios Hollywood Park are the Hollywood Burbank Airport/Bob Hope Airport (BUR) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Depending on which airport you are flying into will determine which transportation options are available to get you there.
From Hollywood Burbank Airport/Bob Hope Airport:
The Hollywood Burbank Airport (Bob Hope Airport) is only 6 miles away from the Universal Studios Hollywood Park. There are a range of transportation options available to get to and from the park from the airport including; ride-share, taxis, rental cars, and public transportation.
Ride-share like Uber and Lyft is abundant in the Los Angeles area and easy to come by, especially at airports. Depending on the time of day and traffic conditions an Uber ride is about $35 to $50 from the airport to the park.
Taxis are also available at the airport and do not offer any set rate pricing. Taxi services are operated off of a meter, in addition to mileage, airport fees, and a starting fee of about $3. Because of all of the variables that go into determining a price an estimate for the cost is unavailable. Expect it to be similar in price to an Uber, with the potential to be more expensive.
Rental cars are available at the airport and can be a good option if you plan on visiting other spots in the city like the Griffith Observatory or even Venice Beach. A rental car is about $500 for five days without additional insurance. Parking can also add up quickly, parking at Universal can cost $35-$70 per day. Budget Rental Cars offers Universal guests up to a 25% discount here!
Public transportation can be found at the airport's Transit Center located on the ground level of the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center. To get to the park from the airport there is a Metrolink line running from the airport RITC to the downtown Burbank station, and from there you can get on the Burbank bus pink line which runs to Universal City. The metro link is $2 one way from the airport to the downtown Burbank station and the bus ride from the downtown Burbank station to Universal City is $1 one way.
From Los Angeles International Airport (LAX):
The Los Angeles International Airport is further away from Universal City than the Burbank Airport, and because of this transportation is going to be more expensive. LAX is 16 miles away if you take the shortest route, but three freeways can get you there. The other two routes are 26 and 29 miles. Similar transportation methods are available from the LAX airport to the Universal Studios Hollywood park. Ride-share, taxis, rental cars, shuttle services, and even public transportation options are available.
There are always ride-share drivers near LAX and it is easy to get a ride. An Uber ride from the LAX airport to Universal is $70 to $150 depending on the time of day and the severity of traffic. If you are getting a ride-share or taxi ride during peak traffic in LA (7:00 AM-10:00 AM/ 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM) you can expect to pay more because of how long the ride will take. Make sure to scroll down on the app since sometimes the cheapest price is not listed at the top!
Taxis picking up at the LAX airport often charge an additional fee for picking up and dropping off passengers at the airport. The average price for a taxi ride from LAX to Universal Hollywood is about $80. However, this price can change depending on the taxi company and the severity of traffic.
Rental cars are available at the airport and can be a good option if you plan on visiting other spots in the city like the Griffith Observatory or even Venice Beach. A rental car is about $500 for five days without additional insurance. Parking can also add up quickly in the city, and at the park. Budget rental cars offer up to a 25% discount to Universal guests, you can book your rental car here, on the Universal website!
There are also a few companies that offer shuttle services, but these can be more expensive than ride-share or a taxi depending on the time of day. LAX Airport Shuttle offers $85 rides for the first guest, and then $10 for each additional person from the airport to Universal Studios. If traffic is extremely bad this could be a cheaper option since it is a set rate, but otherwise, it is more expensive.
There is public transportation available as well, but the route is long with multiple transfers. There are multiple different route options, but all take close to two hours and have multiple transfers. If you are interested in taking public transit check out this article from Welcome Pickups where they go into detail about the public transportation options to get you from LAX to Universal.
Tickets/Reservations:
Tickets to the park can be purchased online, or at the front gate when you arrive at the park. We recommend buying tickets online in advance so you can be sure you have tickets for the day you plan on visiting. The Universal website also states that tickets are cheaper online than at the gate, but does not provide any numbers on how much cheaper! We bought our tickets about a day or two in advance online and had no problem getting them, but during busier times of year, I would not wait until the last minute. For example the week of big holidays like Christmas and Halloween, or during busy holiday weekends like Memorial Day.
Make sure to check for promotions when booking online, we were able to score BOGO tickets for $109. We got two days of park admission and only paid for one day. The second day did not have to be used consecutively, and we were given a four month span to use it. Tickets tend to be cheaper during the week, than weekends or around holidays! We went on a Monday and got the bogo tickets for $109 per person, while tickets later in the week were closer to $140. You can purchase tickets here on the Universal website!
Rides:
Universal Studios Hollywood has 12 rides, 2 play areas, and one immersive experience. Of those 12 rides, 8 are motion simulation-based using screens and a shaking seat to simulate an actual ride. With so much of the park being made up of these rides it got repetitive quickly! The park only has about 3 real thrill rides, The Mummy roller coaster, the Jurassic World water ride, and the Flight of the Hippogriff ride. A popular experience at the park is Ollivander's Wand Shop, where you can see a wand choose a wizard, and even purchase one of your own.
The most unique, and our favorite ride at the park was the Studio Tour. If there is one ride you have to go on during your visit to Universal Studios Hollywood it is the Studio Tour! It's about 45 minutes to an hour long with multiple immersive ride-like sections throughout. We happened to be there during the 60th anniversary of the park and even got to walk through a prop yard and take pictures with some well-known movie monsters like the shark from Jaws, and even King Kong himself.
Park App:
Downloading the park app is a good idea before your visit. On the app, you can check the current ride times, make dining reservations, order food, and have access to the park map at the touch of your fingers. Showtimes and locations are also available on the app.
There is also an option to view all guest amenities on the park map, this makes it easy to find the closest bathroom, ATM, locker, or first aid station. Knowing where things are in the park can make it easier to enjoy the day! You can even use the app to create parking reminders with an image of where you parked and notes to help you find the location.
Parking:
Universal Studios Hollywood offers a few parking options. General parking, preferred parking, front gate parking, and valet are all available but come at different price points. There are five parking lots available at the park; the Frankenstein Garage, Jurassic Parking Garage, ET Garage, Curious George Garage, and the Woody Woodpecker Lot.
The parking prices are as follows:
General Parking Before 5:00 PM - $35
General Parking After 5:00 PM - $10
Preferred Parking Before 5:00 PM - $50
Preferred Parking After 5:00 PM - $20
Front Gate Parking - $70
Valet parking for first two hours - $25
Valet parking after longer than two hours - $60
Guests with electric vehicles can find charging ports in the following locations at a rate of $0.40/kWh:
Frankenstein Garage: 4 ports (Level 2 and Level 7)
Jurassic Parking Garage: 8 ports (Level 1 and B1M)
ET Garage: 16 ports (Level B1)
Woody Woodpecker Lot: 1 port (near Front Gate Parking)
Curious George Garage: 2 ports (Level 1)
Dining:
There are many dining options inside the park, ranging from sit-down restaurants to casual grab-and-go places. Many places within the park offer mobile ordering, and allow you to order from the park app, and pick up your food without having to wait in any more lines! This can be a lifesaver on a long day when you are trying to squeeze in as many rides as possible.
There are many themed restaurants within the park. One we enjoyed was the Power-Up Cafe, a Mario/Nintendo-themed quick service restaurant with a small themed menu. We tried the Super Mushroom Calzone and were shocked at how much we enjoyed it! Each calzone is themed like a powerup mushroom and comes in a question mark box. The calzone was in the shape of a mushroom powerup, and even came out colored red! We were surprised at how much the calzone resembled the power-up from the Mario games. For $13 we were able to enjoy a tasty and fun-themed treat. Other themed foods are spread throughout the park; giant donuts in Springfield, the famed butterbeer in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and various other food items in each of the worlds.
There are also plenty of casual snack stands with hotdogs, popcorn, drinks, and other quick grab-and-go items. Some of the lines for these did get long, and often only one person was manning the stand. We waited longer at some of these than at the quick-service restaurants. Food prices are about the same inside the park as in the surrounding Los Angeles area, and we would estimate a price of about $15-$25 per person per meal within the park. Drinks however are expensive! A bottle of water within the park was about $5-$7.
You are allowed to bring outside food and drinks to the park, but some guidelines must be followed. You can find the full list of allowed and prohibited items here.
There is a 2-liter maximum for water
Small snacks are allowed
No glass containers
No large or hard-sided coolers
No coolers or bags with wheels
CityWalk:
CityWalk is an outdoor shopping center with dining, shopping, and entertainment located next to Universal Studios. There is a 4-D theater, indoor skydiving, 25 restaurants, and dozens of shops all within CityWalk. It is right next to the park, but there is no admission required!
Other Advice/Tips:
We entered the park around 11 compared to right at opening and we had no line to get inside. We still had enough time to ride everything we wanted, try a few places to eat, and shop!
We do not think it is worth the 20 extra dollars to get into the Nintendo world early. There is only one ride, the area is small, and everyone else who paid to get in early will be lined up for the ride. We were also severely let down by the ride!
You can order food from popular restaurants on mobile order to skip the lines.
Do not skip the studio tour! It's so cool!
What to bring:
Backpack
Water
Light snacks
Poncho/change of shoes/flip flops for water ride
Summary:
Universal Studios Hollywood is a unique experience in Los Angeles, it is one of the only places where you can explore film lots in the city! Not only will you get up close and personal with some of the film's most famous towns, but you may even meet some of the residents! For just over $100 you can enjoy two days of access to Universal Studios Hollywood, and enjoy the day surrounded by classic characters, immersed in your favorite towns, and screaming on some of Hollywood's most exhilarating rides.
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