The red carpet rolls out for guests once again at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 16th, 2021. But we were lucky to check out the park on the 15th for their annual passholder preview. With a brand new Secret Life of Pets ride, as well as massive enhancements to the Jurassic World attraction, there were some big new things for guests to enjoy. We’ll show you what’s open, closed, and everything you need to know before heading to UniStudios for yourself.
Now . . . curtains up . . . light the lights . . . We’re headed to Uni to see the sights. . .
Universal Studios Hollywood Reopens April 16th, 2021
That’s right, another theme park is reopening in Southern California. After a very successful first attempt at a food festival in March and early April, titled A Taste of Universal, the park has finally reopened as a full-fledged theme park. Though, some lucky folks did get to experience some surprise attraction reopenings during the final days of the festival . . . lucky ducks.
Theme Park Reservations – Like all California theme parks, Universal requires park reservations in order to visit. We recommend that you book dates as early as you can to make sure you don’t miss out on popular days (expect weekends to fill up quickly).
Theme Park Hours – The park currently shows only a couple of weeks of hours. All days are listed as 10am to 6pm with the exception of April 19th and 20th, which have no hours listed at all.
The “You Already Know This” Section – Expect all the usual things at opening: social distancing, masks, hand sanitizer, some things are closed due to state mandates, etc.
What you really want to know is what’s open and closed…
LIVE with Dusty at Universal Studios Hollywood
We took a walk around the upper lot to show you what opening day looks like. Check it out:
https://www.facebook.com/MiceBook/videos/170538114930536
Later in the day, Dusty took a look at the Lower Lot, which saw the debut of an updated Jurassic World and is the future home of Super Nintendo World.
Attractions Open
Most of the big attractions are open:
- The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash
- Jurassic World
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
- Flight of the Hippogriff
- Transformers
- Revenge of the Mummy
- Studio Tour (including Fast & Furious Supercharged and King Kong 360 3-D)
- Silly Swirly Fun Ride
- Universal’s Animal Actors
But you’ve likely noticed a few things missing…
Attractions Expected to be Closed
- DreamWorks Theatre – Featuring Kung Fu Panda
- The Simpsons Ride
- Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
- Ollivanders
- WaterWorld
- Special Effects Show
- DinoPlay
- Super Silly Fun Land play areas (however, the Swirly Ride is open!)
The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash
Just before the parks shut down, Universal had sent us an invite to a press event for their brand new Secret Life of Pets ride. Unfortunately, that event never happened as all the parks in the state (and most around the world) all shut at approximately the same time. So, this expensive new family attraction, filled with animatronics, sat unused for a year. Yesterday, we finally got a chance to ride…
Before you can ride, you’ll need to get in a virtual queue. You can do so from the Universal app on your phone, or from a kiosk next to the attraction entry.
The moment you enter the queue, you’ll recognize that this attraction is special. The line snakes through various rooms in the residences of the building from The Secret Life of Pets. You’ll see the pets themselves throughout. Some are projected in windows, but many of them are actual animatronics . . . in a queue! Making the walk through the line a really fun experience.
Here’s an overview of the new ride, to give you a taste:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNsvODLhFfD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The attraction casts the guests as stray puppies and puts you in the middle of the action. The queue contains fully themed sets. It’s here you’ll realize that you’ve become a pet yourself. The images you see of yourself are really your own actions. Move your head, and blink your eyes and so does your puppy. It’s a magical effect that provides an important level of interaction that doesn’t require you to shoot anything in order to feel like you are part of the action.
As far as modern rides go, this one is an epic animatronic effort with 64 animated figures from the animated films, including Max, Chloe, Duke, Gidget, Snowball, and others.
This is the family dark ride that Universal has been missing since the closure of the E.T. Ride. It’s a great addition to the park and another asset in the Illumination animated films section of the park (just across from Despicable Me and near Super Silly Fun Land).
Guests exit the attraction into a new shop. It’s cute and filled with items for you and your pet. However, it’s very small.
Nearby, guests can enjoy a brand new dining spot, the Minion Cafe.
To see all the fluff in action, we’ve got a video of the full ride:
Jurassic World Enhancements
When Jurassic World opened in the summer of 2019, we loved it. Sure, we felt that the original Jurassic Park version of the ride was iconic, but the update took the things we loved about the ride and turned them up a few notches. Better special effects, bigger and better animatronic dinosaurs, and an amped-up sense of impending doom. But there was also something missing that left us feeling a little let down.
One of the big show elements just wasn’t ready for prime time when the ride first made its debut. While the parks were shut down, Universal Creative was able to install and program a final show scene which has guests clapping all the way to the exit dock. The enormous new Indominus Rex animatronic creates the ultimate climax to the big drop at the end of the ride.
Here’s a taste of what you may find on Isla Nublar:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNtSrzahgPB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
But expect waits to be long. Due to social distancing requirements, they can only seat a handful of guests in the boats (generally one party every other row). You might just see 5 or 6 people riding in some boats. Dusty’s boat had 3 single riders, so it was launched with just 3 guests! We’re sure they’ll figure out ways to increase the efficiency of boat loading as time goes on.
For those brave enough to come face to face with the Indominous, the full video is below:
Character Counts
Universal knows that guests love seeing the characters. And, instead of them being at the end of lines, they are now located in areas where you can see them and take a selfie from a safe distance. It also means you don’t spend as much time waiting to see them, which is a huge bonus.
The Adventure Continues…
With a low overall capacity in the park, many areas feel open and not crowded. Hogsmeade is usually wall-to-wall people on a busy day, but on reopening day, the park was sparsely populated in open areas.
Dusty went to the Three Broomsticks for lunch at noon and walked right up to a register to order with no wait at all. Tables were available for seating inside with lots of open spots to sit (plentiful outdoor seating is also available).
Three Broomsticks still remains a favorite…
Waits
In spite of low crowds, the posted wait times for rides can get fairly long. Jurassic World was already a 180-minute wait by midday.
Your mileage may vary with posted wait times, though. Dusty was practically the only person in the entire queue for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, which had a posted 20 minute wait time. So it’s worth it to keep the Universal Hollywood app open to check wait times and avoid the busier attractions. Wait times fluctuate throughout the day. The lower lot is empty earlier and then waits swell, but they drop again by the end of the day. So, while everyone else is swarming Harry Potter and Secret Life of Pets on the upper lot, head to the Studio Tour and lower lot. Then switch direction and head to the upper lot while most other guests are finally making their way to the lower lot.
Empty queue for Harry Potter.
That Universal Vibe
This is Universal Studios Hollywood, so you never know what you’ll find on the world-famous Studio Tour. But one thing you won’t find any more is the Whoville set from “How The Grinch Stole Christmas,” which was demolished recently. An exhibit of movie cars is currently in its place. Dusty went live for the whole tram tour (he was seated just behind the tour guide) which you can watch here:
https://www.facebook.com/MiceBook/videos/829708457642779
In the Lower Lot, construction continues on the upcoming Nintendo World.
Like its sister land in Japan, Super Nintendo World will be about all things Mario and Luigi. The land will feature a state-of-the-art Mario Kart ride, which has a novel augmented reality cap that adds digital effects.
Right now there’s isn’t much to see besides rolling hills and mushroom towers.
For more about Super Nintendo World, don’t miss our coverage of the opening of the Japanese version of the land:
Here’s Everything We Know About Universal Studios NEW Super Nintendo World
While you’re down in the Lower Lot, though, you can stop at the new-ish Isla Nu-Bar, Jurassic World’s own tiki bar. Dusty recommends the Painkiller.
The bar even has its own tiki-mugs.
Be sure to check the park app to see what’s open and closed for dining. But you can’t go wrong with Three Broomsticks, Krusty Burger, or the new Minion Cafe. You might find other establishments open or closed depending on crowd levels.
Theme Park Travel Deals
(Discount Theme Park Tickets and Travel Packages)
It’s time to give the family something to look forward to. Our travel partners at Get Away Today are here to help you with that by planning a future theme park vacation. There are all sorts of new theme park tickets and travel deals, including a 2 free days offer at Walt Disney World, hotel discounts, ticket deals to various theme parks, and SOON TICKETS TO DISNEYLAND: More details and to get a quote (HERE)
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Let’s Hear From You
Are you ready to return to Universal? We had a very relaxed day in the park with few crowds to deal with, an easy lunch experience, and fun exploring a theme park again. However, your milage may vary on attraction waits. Take our advice above about creating a visiting plan that has you touring opposite the typical crowd flow. With attractions operating well below their capacity, waits can swell even with a small number of guests in the parks.
Who’s ready to ride the movies?!
