Dark ride · The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
A robotic-arm dark ride through Hogwarts that pitches you past screens and practical sets, and the most intense ride in the park.
48" minExpressSingle rider
Universal Studios Hollywood · Universal City, California
Universal Studios Hollywood
A working studio backlot with a theme park built on top, and one day is genuinely enough.
Universal Studios Hollywood is the oldest continuously operating attraction in this industry, and it is still built around the thing it started as. The tram tour opened in the summer of 1964 to sell tickets to a working film studio, and sixty years later that tour remains the single best reason to buy one. The coasters, the Wizarding World and Super Nintendo World were all added later, around the edges of a backlot that was never laid out to be a theme park.
The park sits on a hillside and is cut into two levels. The Upper Lot holds the entrance, the Studio Tour boarding area, all of the shows, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Super Nintendo World. The Lower Lot holds three of the park's biggest rides and very little else. The two are joined by the Starway, a chain of four long outdoor escalators. Going down takes four or five minutes when they are all running. Coming back up takes longer and feels longer still. The single most useful planning decision you will make here is to go down once and come up once, rather than criss-crossing all day.
One day is enough, and that is a compliment rather than a complaint. You can finish this park — every ride, both shows worth seeing, the tour — inside a normal operating day with time to sit down. That makes it a genuinely different proposition from Universal Orlando, where three days is the honest minimum. It works as the anchor of a Los Angeles trip rather than as a trip in itself, and it is the one US Universal park you can reasonably do without booking a hotel.
Several attractions here are shorter or smaller versions of Orlando counterparts, and you should know which before you decide the coasts are interchangeable. Revenge of the Mummy is a compact version of the Orlando coaster. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is the same ride, but Hollywood's Wizarding World is one village rather than two connected lands with a train between them. Super Nintendo World here has one ride where Epic Universe has more. What Hollywood has that Orlando does not is the backlot, and no amount of construction in Florida is going to replicate a real one.
The weak spot is food. There is no table-service restaurant inside the gate, the quick-service prices run above what the same food costs at Disneyland forty minutes down the freeway, and the best eating on the property is at CityWalk, outside the turnstiles. Same-day re-entry is allowed, which turns that from a complaint into a plan.
Last verified July 2026
At a glance
- Best for
- Anyone who cares how films actually get made · One-day visits and half-day add-ons to a Los Angeles trip · Travelers without a car · Older children, teenagers and adults · West-coast fans of Harry Potter and Nintendo who cannot get to Orlando
- Less ideal for
- Families whose youngest child is under 40 inches · Anyone who struggles with stairs, long escalators or sustained inclines · Guests prone to motion sickness — this is a screen-and-simulator park · Anyone looking for a multi-day resort holiday
- Days needed
- 1 day minimum
- Tallest requirement
- 48in (122cm)
Everything about this park
All 24 attractions
The complete list, sortable and filterable
Best rides, ranked
An actual ranking, defended one by one
Height requirements
9 rides with a minimum height
Where to eat
18 restaurants, carts, and lounges
Best snacks
35 tracked items with prices
Park map
Printable, works offline
Accessibility
Transfers, rentals, quiet spaces
First-timer guide
A plan you can actually follow
Headliners
The rides you plan the day around
If you only get a handful of long queues in you, spend them here.
Water ride · Lower Lot
Jurassic World — The Ride
A boat ride through a dinosaur park that goes badly wrong, ending in an 84-foot drop in the dark — the best big ride here.
42" minExpressSingle rider
Dark ride · Super Nintendo World
Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge
An augmented-reality dark ride through a Mario Kart course, technically remarkable and genuinely frustrating to play.
40" minExpressSingle rider
Roller coaster · Lower Lot
Revenge of the Mummy
An indoor launched coaster in total darkness with fire, a reverse section and a false ending — the park's only real roller coaster.
48" minExpressSingle rider
Transportation · Upper Lot
The World-Famous Studio Tour
An hour-long tram tour across a genuinely working film backlot, and the only attraction of its kind anywhere in the world.
Any heightExpress
Dark ride · Lower Lot
Transformers: The Ride-3D
A motion-base dark ride through a Transformers battle, technically excellent, extremely loud, and hard on the inner ear.
40" minExpressSingle rider
5 distinct areas
The lands
Walking order from the entrance. Each land page carries its full attraction and dining list.
Opened 1964
Upper Lot
The park's original level: the entrance, the Studio Tour boarding area, every show, and most of the walking.
10 attractions5 places to eat
Opened 2015
Springfield
A built-out corner of the Simpsons town, with one ride and a genuinely funny run of themed food windows.
1 attractions6 places to eat
Opened 2016
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Hogsmeade village and Hogwarts Castle, built into the hillside on the Upper Lot and better than the Orlando original at ground level.
4 attractions3 places to eat
Opened 2023
Super Nintendo World
A built environment of pipes, blocks and moving Koopas, with one ride, one interactive game layer and a restaurant worth eating at.
3 attractions1 places to eat
Lower Lot
The bottom of the hill: three of the park's biggest rides, reached by four long escalators and very little else down there.
6 attractions3 places to eat
Food
What to eat here
Our highest-priority items in Universal Studios Hollywood. Mark them on the tracker and they save to your device.
Chicken and Waffle Sandwich
Fried chicken between two waffles instead of a bun, fried to order at the window rather than held under a lamp.
Our take: The best savory thing inside this park after Toadstool Cafe, and almost everyone walks past it to queue at Krusty Burger next door. Order this instead.
Flaming Moe
A sweet orange-forward drink served in a tall souvenir glass over dry ice, so the whole thing smokes over the rim while you carry it. Available with or without alcohol.
Our take: You are buying an effect, not a cocktail, and it is worth it once. The non-alcoholic version is identical in every way that matters, which makes it the single most entertaining thing you can hand a child at this park.
Frozen Butterbeer
Butterbeer Cart
A slushed version of the cream-soda-and-butterscotch drink, served with a thick foam head that sits on top rather than mixing in. Non-alcoholic, like every version of it.
Our take: The one to order. The cold version is sweet and thin by the third mouthful; the frozen version stays drinkable in Los Angeles heat, which is the whole argument.
Question Block Tiramisu
A cube of tiramisu built and finished as a Mario question block, complete with the question mark on the face, served with a mushroom-shaped garnish.
Our take: The single best dessert inside this park and the rare themed item that people photograph and then finish. If you order one thing at Toadstool Cafe, order this.
Banana Cream Dessert
A layered banana cream dessert in a themed vessel, part of the banana program that a Minion restaurant was never going to avoid.
Our take: The desserts are the part of this kitchen that clearly enjoys itself, and this is the best of them. Better than the savory food it follows.
Chocolate Milkshake
A thick hand-spun milkshake served in a tall glass with the surplus in the metal cup alongside, the way a diner is supposed to do it.
Our take: The best thing on the Mel's menu by a distance and one of the better sweet items in the park. The burgers are ordinary; the shake is not.
Things worth knowing before you go
Go down before you go anywhere else
At opening, the arriving crowd turns toward Super Nintendo World and the Wizarding World and stays on the Upper Lot. Take the Starway straight down instead. Jurassic World, Revenge of the Mummy and Transformers can all be done in the first hour with waits under 15 minutes, and the same three rides cost you two hours in the afternoon.
The Starway is a tax, so pay it twice and no more
Four long outdoor escalators, four to five minutes each way when everything is running, and considerably longer when a section is down. Plan a day that goes down once and comes up once. People who bounce between levels lose the better part of an hour without ever noticing where it went.
The Studio Tour is the park, not a curiosity
It is a real working backlot, and there is nothing else like it anywhere in the world. Sixty minutes including the queue, no height requirement, and the only attraction here that a first-time visitor would regret missing. Treat it as the headliner it is and build the day around when you ride it.
Single rider lines are the cheap version of Express
Jurassic World — The Ride, Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge all run single rider queues. For two adults willing to ride apart, that is most of what an Express Pass buys, for nothing. It does not help a family that wants to sit together.
Eat outside the gate at least once
There is no table-service restaurant inside this park, and the quick-service prices run above Disneyland's for comparable food. CityWalk is thirty seconds outside the turnstiles, has real restaurants, and same-day re-entry is free. Walking out for lunch is a plan rather than a defeat.
This park is smaller than Orlando's, and several rides are the shorter versions
Revenge of the Mummy here is a compact version of the Orlando coaster. The Wizarding World is one village rather than two lands and a train. Super Nintendo World has one ride where Epic Universe has more. If you are choosing between coasts on the strength of shared attractions, Orlando wins on scale and Hollywood wins on the backlot.
Forty inches is the number that decides your day
Transformers, The Simpsons Ride, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge are all 40 inches. Jurassic World is 42. Forbidden Journey and Revenge of the Mummy are 48. A child at 38 inches can do the Studio Tour, the shows, Super Silly Fun Land and not a great deal else.
Count how many screens you are riding
Minion Mayhem, The Simpsons Ride, Transformers, Forbidden Journey, Mario Kart and King Kong on the Studio Tour are all screens with motion, and they stack. Space them across the day and put the two roughest — The Simpsons Ride and Forbidden Journey — as far apart as you can.
Buy interactive wands, not ordinary ones
The spell-casting locations scattered around Hogsmeade only respond to the interactive wands, which cost noticeably more than the standard ones. Children who get the wrong one find out at the first spell location, and it is a bad twenty minutes. Check the box at the counter.
Budget 45 minutes from your car to the turnstiles
Parking, the walk down through the structure, the escalators up through CityWalk and security screening add up to considerably more than people expect. Arriving at the posted opening time means walking through the gate closer to 45 minutes later, which is the entire quiet hour gone.
Getting there
Parking
Universal parks in a set of structures below the park, off Universal Hollywood Drive and Lankershim Boulevard. General parking runs roughly $35 to $40 per car as of July 2026, with Preferred and front-gate tiers costing meaningfully more for a shorter walk. The walk from general parking is genuinely long: down through the structure, along a walkway, then up a series of escalators through CityWalk to the gate. Budget 30 to 45 minutes between parking the car and standing at the turnstiles, and considerably more on a weekend morning.
At the entrance
The park gate sits at the top of CityWalk, so almost everyone arrives on foot up a series of escalators regardless of how they got to Universal City. Security screening happens at the top before the turnstiles. Once inside, the entrance plaza is on the Upper Lot, and the Studio Tour entrance is a short walk to your right — which is where you should be heading if you have not already decided to take the Starway down to the Lower Lot first.
How to get here
- Metro B Line to Universal City/Studio City station, with a free shuttle running up the hill to the park entrance — the rare Los Angeles attraction genuinely reachable without a car
- Driving from Burbank Airport, about 15 minutes and the least stressful option
- Driving from LAX, anywhere from 30 minutes to well over an hour depending on traffic and time of day
- Rideshare drop-off at the designated zone, which puts you at the bottom of the same CityWalk escalator climb as the parking structures
- Hotel shuttles from several Universal City and Studio City hotels, some within walking distance of the entrance
Universal Studios Hollywood questions, answered
Is one day enough at Universal Studios Hollywood?
Yes. With an early arrival you can ride everything, see the Studio Tour and WaterWorld, and still eat properly. A second day is only worth buying if the first was cut short. This is the clearest difference between Universal Hollywood and Universal Orlando, where three days is the honest minimum.
What is the best attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood?
The Studio Tour, and it is not close. It runs about an hour, crosses a genuinely working backlot, and includes King Kong 360 3-D, the earthquake subway sequence and the Fast and Furious finale along the way. No other theme park anywhere can offer a real film lot, and most guides bury it under the coasters.
How does the Upper Lot and Lower Lot split work?
The park is built on a hillside in two levels. The Upper Lot has the entrance, the Studio Tour, both shows, the Wizarding World and Super Nintendo World. The Lower Lot has Jurassic World — The Ride, Revenge of the Mummy and Transformers. They connect via the Starway, four long outdoor escalators that take four to five minutes each way. Plan to make the trip once in each direction.
Is Universal Express Pass worth it at Universal Studios Hollywood?
On a busy day, usually yes. On a quiet weekday in the off season, usually no. Pricing is per day and swings sharply with the date, and unlike Orlando there is no hotel tier that includes it. Check the price for your specific date, and if you are two adults willing to ride apart, the free single rider lines cover most of the same ground.
What are the height requirements at Universal Studios Hollywood?
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Revenge of the Mummy are 48 inches. Jurassic World — The Ride is 42. Transformers: The Ride-3D, The Simpsons Ride, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge are 40. Flight of the Hippogriff is 39 and The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash is 34. The Studio Tour and both shows have no requirement at all.
Is this park good for young children?
Only partly. Below 40 inches the list is short: the Studio Tour, WaterWorld, Animal Actors, the DreamWorks Theatre, Super Silly Fun Land, the Wizarding World village and The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash at 34 inches. That is a solid half day rather than a full one. Above 40 inches the park opens up sharply.
How does it compare to Universal Orlando?
Orlando is bigger in every direction — three parks, more rides, longer versions of several attractions Hollywood also has, and a hotel system that includes Express Pass at the top tiers. Hollywood has the backlot, which Orlando cannot replicate, and it fits into one day. If you only ever visit one, visit Orlando; if you live on the west coast or you are already in Los Angeles, Hollywood is a genuinely good day out rather than a consolation prize.
Can you leave the park and come back the same day?
Yes. Same-day re-entry is allowed, and CityWalk sits immediately outside the turnstiles with a full range of restaurants. Given that there is no table-service restaurant inside the park, walking out for a proper lunch and coming back in is one of the better moves available here.
Do you need a car to get to Universal Studios Hollywood?
No, and that is unusual for Los Angeles. The Metro B Line stops at Universal City/Studio City, and a free shuttle runs up the hill to the park entrance. Burbank Airport is the closest and least stressful airport; LAX is cheaper to fly into and anything from 30 minutes to well over an hour away depending on traffic.
Which rides have single rider lines?
Jurassic World — The Ride, Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers: The Ride-3D, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge. They are the most effective free time-saver at this park, and on a busy day they routinely cut a posted wait by more than half.
Is Super Nintendo World worth it here?
Worth walking through, yes. Worth planning a whole day around, no. It is one ride, a good restaurant and a game layer that children get far more out of than adults. Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge is technically impressive and frustrating to play, and it is not worth a ninety-minute wait. Go at opening or in the last two hours.
Does anything here use a virtual queue?
Nothing permanently. Super Nintendo World has used a timed virtual entry system on peak days to stop the courtyard overfilling, so check the app when you arrive, but no attraction requires you to set an alarm and grab a boarding group the way some rides have elsewhere.