If you are wondering if it’s possible to tackle Universal Studios Hollywood in one day then read on. I happened to visit Universal Studios Hollywood on opening day of Super Nintendo World so my experience might be slightly different than yours. I didn’t plan on attending opening day on purpose but it just so happened I was there with my sister during a long layover on our way to Tahiti.
We took an Uber from our hotel near LAX ($52 including tip), arriving shortly after opening. We went straight to the gate because we’d pre-purchased tickets from Undercover Tourist, which I highly recommend doing to save a few dollars. There was a massive line of people wanting to get into Super Nintendo World but we wanted to go straight to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!
After wandering around Hogsmeade for a bit, we wanted a frozen Butterbeer, even though it wasn’t even 9am yet! This probably wasn’t the best idea since it’s straight up sugar and we hadn’t had breakfast yet. To solve that problem we popped into the Three Broomsticks for a spot of breakfast. The pancakes were delicious but I didn’t really like the sausage.
After we rode the two Harry Potter rides we headed over to Springfield, home of the Simpsons. At this point I secured a reservation time to get into Super Nintendo World. At the time of this post, Universal is requiring people to make a reservation to enter the land through the app. I recommend that you check the app right when you get into the park to see if a reservation is required for that day.
Next up was the Studio Tour that takes you behind the scenes of a real working movie studio. We saw Amity Island and Jaws, wreckage from War of the Worlds, Jupiter’s Claim set from the movie NOPE (is it just me or was this such a strange movie?) and a lot more. The tour is very entertaining and well worth the hour long excursion. An added bonus is that it’s a great break from all the walking.
We loved Minion Land and had too much fun taking pictures with all the Minions we could find.
We finally got into Super Nintendo World just before 6pm. We lingered for about 15 minutes before our reservation time of 6pm and they let us in at 5:55pm. It was packed inside so if you go anytime soon, plan for that. We wanted to ride Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge but we didn’t want to wait 120 minutes (the posted time) so we opted for the single rider lane and it ended up taking just about an hour.
There is a lot going on in Super Nintendo World including a large store, café and interactive activities. If you have a Power-Up Band (which we didn’t have) you can collect digital coins and keys. It looked like people were having a lot of fun doing this, although I am not sure its a necessity as each band costs $40 and can only be bought at select stores. After having enough of Super Nintendo World we made our way back to Hogsmeade where we ate (again, ha!) and then went to the Hogwarts nightime light show.
Final Thoughts
We ended up riding every single ride at Universal in one day! We even sat down for three full meals, spent lots of time interacting with characters and wandering around all the different lands. I definitely think it’s doable to experience Universal Studios Hollywood in one day and not be rushed. Depending on crowd levels, you might not be able to see and do as much as we did so if you decide to go for 2 days I don’t think you’ll have trouble finding things to do. And if you see King Julien walking around he might dance with you in the street like he did with me, ha!
Planning a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood? Pin this for later!
