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Clive's Universal Hollywood Trip Report & Thoughts

May 26, 2010
5,801
16,072
Took my first post-pandemic trip to Universal Hollywood this past Sunday (the 20th). Figured I'd pass along my thoughts and observations.

  • Parking, security, turnstiles, and overall park entry were all on-point. Very efficient - no complaints whatsoever.
  • I got the Gold Pass now that they've relaxed the overall number of blackout dates. It's honestly an excellent value, and we are fortunate that - outside of Disney - it really is a buyer's market for theme park fans in terms of affordable passes.
  • Guests were let in prior to 8:45am (not sure of the exact time) ahead of a 9am opening. Potter rides opened first, but Pets was open when we rounded the corner at 8:50.
  • Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash is a much-needed addition to the park and an excellent dark ride in its own right. A staggering number of animatronics, a pleasurable loose storyline, a series of inventive and amusing gags... it all comes together into something very sweet and entertaining. The best part of the Pets movies were the anecdotal incidents where pets got up to comical mischief, and that's basically the entirety of the ride's content. It translates beautifully, even if you aren't familiar with the franchise. Had to say I loved the dark alley cats the most, particularly the "creepy piano crawler" and the "painting." Great stuff.
  • As a quick aside, including queer and multicultural couples for the adoption portion is an appreciated touch.
  • Loading and ops for Pets are atrocious, and something is going to have to give - especially as the park returns to normal. We were fortunate enough to walk on to Pets twice - first when the park opened, and then again after we hit the Lower Lot attractions. By 1pm or so, it had switched to virtual queue - we were able to easily grab two times and had plenty of options. However, upon actually returning, we found the virtual queue filling a great deal of the improvised switchbacks near Minions. That might be fine if the line moved faster, but it doesn't. The throughput on this ride is bizarrely low and gets worse whenever they have to slow the belt for larger guests that don't fit (which is its own preposterously limiting design choice) and those with disabilities/mobility issues. This happens almost constantly, so you have situations where only Express guests can board. We bailed on our first time after we barely moved after 20 minutes (keep in mind we hadn't even yet entered the building itself). We stopped by for the last virtual queue slot - they stopped around 7 for a 9pm park close - and ended up waiting 65 minutes. That's unacceptable, and Hagrid has a similar issue - "virtual queue" has always been presented as a means of avoiding physically waiting line, not having permission to wait in a long, slow-moving line. Guests around us were not happy, and it definitely dampened our third and final ride. (They reopened the stand-by queue once they got through the excess virtual queue folks.) The solution here may be to... cut Express, which I don't see them doing.
  • Jurassic World upgrades are very good and make the experience feel far more complete. We got a flawless ride with all effects working. The additional moving bushes and shrubbery in Predator Cove add a lot of kinetics and tension to the scene, and the compies/shattered Gyrosphere are vastly more arresting than the pteranadon corpses from the previous iteration. The extra Indominus head also fills what had been an awkward and vacant moment. The full-bodied Indominus feels like the glorious and intentionally terrifying figure that's rarely made anymore - the Yeti feels like the closest comparison in that they both figure into the ride's climax and loom menacingly over the riders. It is a pity that only the back two rows really get a good look at the T-Rex/Indominus face-off, which is inherently limited by the setting/medium but still rings chaotic and impressive. The ride struggled and stalled on our second ride much later in the day, but we did get the full Indominus profile by the time we rounded the corner. While sitting on the lift (and letting my eyes adjust to the darkness), I noticed that the left-side platform for the defunct first raptor is still sitting there unused. Bizarre.
  • Revenge of the Mummy looked as good as it has for the past several years. The E.T. figure is back on the right side of the treasure room on top of the chest. Both warriors dropping, Imhotep motion profile looked great (included a neat jaw unclench I hadn't noticed before), and leg ticklers doing their thing. The projections in the Scarab room could really use an upgrade, however, as they look very low-res and out of focus. I'll even say the finale turntable looked better than it usually does - they pumped a substantial amount of fog in there, effectively masking the edges of the final projection screen and the lack of any other visible room elements. I worry about the park's balance when this inevitably goes, as the park does need a semi-serious coaster of some kind.
  • Transformers looked fine but predictably paled in comparison to Spider-Man, which I rode in Orlando just a few weeks ago. This could definitely use the projection upgrades that Orlando got a few years back - a few screens seemed fuzzy.
  • Isla Nu-Bar is great - and they brought over the tasty Jurassic World IPA, complete with custom tap! - but man, practically of the park's bars are now forcing you to pay a several buck premium to get your beer served in a dinky plastic "collectible." There's no option to get a basic plastic glass, and the result is the Jurassic World IPA costs a minimum of $17. It's now literally cheaper to buy a (fairly strong!) mixed drink at $15 than it is to buy a beer that must also come with a glass you don't need. Does anyone know if you can bring back the glass and have the fee waived?
  • I do miss Walking Dead a bit. It was always a weird outlier for the park, but it was something you could easily slot in between other attractions and didn't require much of a time investment.
  • Waterworld cast was in great form, and boy, did they manage to fill up that stadium. Some of the pre-show stuff is back, complete with guest drenching and call/response crowd work. The gaiters feel completely performative and pointless to me, and it looks like they were annoying the performers. Hopefully those get dropped soon.
  • Park handily managed the crowds on Sunday - which were nothing like the deluge that resulted in 180 minute waits on Saturday - but it could still really use the Special Effects Show. My guess is we won't be seeing that for quite some time, sadly.
  • Some signs around the park need help. Despicable Delights was practically unreadable, and some of the Simpsons facades are fading.
  • Citywalk restaurants are clearly having serious staffing issues. Antojitos had ample available seating but not enough staff to fill them, meaning it had pretty substantial waits for lunch before noon. Margaritaville and Vivo were both not offering lunch service, and NBC Grill & Brew is still sitting there finished but open. That doesn't leave you with a lot of options if you want something outside the park - we ended up at Dongpo Kitchen, which we did not initially realize was open. They're running a limited menu right now, but I'd recommend them - the service was prompt, the food good, and the drinks significantly cheaper than what you'd find in the park (Angel City IPA was $7).
  • Despicable Me is also having serious operations issues. Not exactly sure what was going on, but we faced a rough delay in the second preshow where the poor team member had to vamp for a solid 5 minutes. Once we were inside, everyone loaded quickly, but they were having issues lowering the lap bars, padding the experience by another solid 3 minutes.
  • 2D Despicable Me is a serious downgrade and made me appreciate the attraction less. Without the benefit of the 3D frames, it was always apparent to me that I was watching a static movie screen with other simulator bays around me. The first preshow is also now a ho-hum recap of the films instead of a clever satire of ride safety videos.
  • Forbidden Journey was looking pretty good. The dragon had more motion than on my last visit and had the full fog blast. Some of the spiders had a bit of a jangly shake to them upon descending in the forest - not sure if that was a new animation or cause for concern, but either way, it looked nice. I find myself really preferring Hollywood's dementor finale to Orlando's, though I deeply miss Orlando's improved locker situation.
  • Queue estimates throughout the park were pretty off-base. A 25-minute wait for Jurassic World was 5 minutes, while a "10 minute wait" for Hippogriff was closer to 25. Despicable Me reported 50 minutes throughout the day but was clearly only 20 or so. Simpsons was reporting 90 minutes from opening on, which made me wonder if they only had enough staff to run a single dome or something. (We didn't bother to ride.)
  • They have the Fast & Furious 9 cars out with some signage in Universal Plaza. Nothing really to report on the HHN construction front.
  • Looks like construction on Super Nintendo World has stalled. No idea what the deal is - or maybe they're all working inside the show building - but I saw no progress on the exteriors throughout the day.
  • Studio Tour was a good time, and the insane waits that some were reporting over the past few days are no longer really a thing. Can confirm the guides are no longer really trying to set up Fast & Furious, for better or worse. Jaws and Earthquake both looked great.
Overall, I had a great time - was terrified by a nightmare crowd scenario but was presently surprised. Very excited to return more often and make the most of my pass.
 
  • Loading and ops for Pets are atrocious, and something is going to have to give - especially as the park returns to normal. We were fortunate enough to walk on to Pets twice - first when the park opened, and then again after we hit the Lower Lot attractions. By 1pm or so, it had switched to virtual queue - we were able to easily grab two times and had plenty of options. However, upon actually returning, we found the virtual queue filling a great deal of the improvised switchbacks near Minions. That might be fine if the line moved faster, but it doesn't. The throughput on this ride is bizarrely low and gets worse whenever they have to slow the belt for larger guests that don't fit (which is its own preposterously limiting design choice) and those with disabilities/mobility issues. This happens almost constantly, so you have situations where only Express guests can board. We bailed on our first time after we barely moved after 20 minutes (keep in mind we hadn't even yet entered the building itself). We stopped by for the last virtual queue slot - they stopped around 7 for a 9pm park close - and ended up waiting 65 minutes. That's unacceptable, and Hagrid has a similar issue - "virtual queue" has always been presented as a means of avoiding physically waiting line, not having permission to wait in a long, slow-moving line. Guests around us were not happy, and it definitely dampened our third and final ride. (They reopened the stand-by queue once they got through the excess virtual queue folks.) The solution here may be to... cut Express, which I don't see them doing.

What are the options if this were to be, say, cloned at another Universal resort? Modify ride vehicles to be less restrictive and put more RVs on the track?
 
What are the options if this were to be, say, cloned at another Universal resort? Modify ride vehicles to be less restrictive and put more RVs on the track?

Tough to say. The omnimover approach works for show delivery, but I think they would need to go with a different variant of the ride system with a more accommodating vehicle. There is no reason for the seats and restraints to be so prohibitively restrictive - it's a family ride with no elevation changes.

I'd also say they either need to design a vehicle that seats 4 (instead of 2) and/or find a way to add more vehicles to the track (there are fairly large gaps between RVs in the current setup). The problem with the former is you'd probably lose a little proximity and intimacy to the show elements to accommodate the wider berth, and the problem with the latter is several of the show effects are clearly designed with the current spacing and would need to be rethought.

The overall issue is you've got a ride with the capacity of Mr. Toad trying to field Express guests with vehicles that are not easy to board for many guests... so you've got to find some way to increase the number of seats available and, ideally, make it easier for more guests to ride, preventing avoidable slowdowns, stops, and bummers.
 
Yes, they ruined a really good attraction when they removed 3D from Despicable Me in Orlando too. And the small Orlando screen and theater don't help matters. As I said in another thread, I actually prefer Shrek 4D to Despicable Me now.
The world is upside down. A really bad decision on DM by Universal.
 
Really good summary of the current park conditions. As for Nintendo they are working on it. Every Saturday I see a few workers doing stuff and I guess more during the week. Sunday’s are probably slow work wise.
Took my first post-pandemic trip to Universal Hollywood this past Sunday (the 20th). Figured I'd pass along my thoughts and observations.

  • Parking, security, turnstiles, and overall park entry were all on-point. Very efficient - no complaints whatsoever.
  • I got the Gold Pass now that they've relaxed the overall number of blackout dates. It's honestly an excellent value, and we are fortunate that - outside of Disney - it really is a buyer's market for theme park fans in terms of affordable passes.
  • Guests were let in prior to 8:45am (not sure of the exact time) ahead of a 9am opening. Potter rides opened first, but Pets was open when we rounded the corner at 8:50.
  • Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash is a much-needed addition to the park and an excellent dark ride in its own right. A staggering number of animatronics, a pleasurable loose storyline, a series of inventive and amusing gags... it all comes together into something very sweet and entertaining. The best part of the Pets movies were the anecdotal incidents where pets got up to comical mischief, and that's basically the entirety of the ride's content. It translates beautifully, even if you aren't familiar with the franchise. Had to say I loved the dark alley cats the most, particularly the "creepy piano crawler" and the "painting." Great stuff.
  • As a quick aside, including queer and multicultural couples for the adoption portion is an appreciated touch.
  • Loading and ops for Pets are atrocious, and something is going to have to give - especially as the park returns to normal. We were fortunate enough to walk on to Pets twice - first when the park opened, and then again after we hit the Lower Lot attractions. By 1pm or so, it had switched to virtual queue - we were able to easily grab two times and had plenty of options. However, upon actually returning, we found the virtual queue filling a great deal of the improvised switchbacks near Minions. That might be fine if the line moved faster, but it doesn't. The throughput on this ride is bizarrely low and gets worse whenever they have to slow the belt for larger guests that don't fit (which is its own preposterously limiting design choice) and those with disabilities/mobility issues. This happens almost constantly, so you have situations where only Express guests can board. We bailed on our first time after we barely moved after 20 minutes (keep in mind we hadn't even yet entered the building itself). We stopped by for the last virtual queue slot - they stopped around 7 for a 9pm park close - and ended up waiting 65 minutes. That's unacceptable, and Hagrid has a similar issue - "virtual queue" has always been presented as a means of avoiding physically waiting line, not having permission to wait in a long, slow-moving line. Guests around us were not happy, and it definitely dampened our third and final ride. (They reopened the stand-by queue once they got through the excess virtual queue folks.) The solution here may be to... cut Express, which I don't see them doing.
  • Jurassic World upgrades are very good and make the experience feel far more complete. We got a flawless ride with all effects working. The additional moving bushes and shrubbery in Predator Cove add a lot of kinetics and tension to the scene, and the compies/shattered Gyrosphere are vastly more arresting than the pteranadon corpses from the previous iteration. The extra Indominus head also fills what had been an awkward and vacant moment. The full-bodied Indominus feels like the glorious and intentionally terrifying figure that's rarely made anymore - the Yeti feels like the closest comparison in that they both figure into the ride's climax and loom menacingly over the riders. It is a pity that only the back two rows really get a good look at the T-Rex/Indominus face-off, which is inherently limited by the setting/medium but still rings chaotic and impressive. The ride struggled and stalled on our second ride much later in the day, but we did get the full Indominus profile by the time we rounded the corner. While sitting on the lift (and letting my eyes adjust to the darkness), I noticed that the left-side platform for the defunct first raptor is still sitting there unused. Bizarre.
  • Revenge of the Mummy looked as good as it has for the past several years. The E.T. figure is back on the right side of the treasure room on top of the chest. Both warriors dropping, Imhotep motion profile looked great (included a neat jaw unclench I hadn't noticed before), and leg ticklers doing their thing. The projections in the Scarab room could really use an upgrade, however, as they look very low-res and out of focus. I'll even say the finale turntable looked better than it usually does - they pumped a substantial amount of fog in there, effectively masking the edges of the final projection screen and the lack of any other visible room elements. I worry about the park's balance when this inevitably goes, as the park does need a semi-serious coaster of some kind.
  • Transformers looked fine but predictably paled in comparison to Spider-Man, which I rode in Orlando just a few weeks ago. This could definitely use the projection upgrades that Orlando got a few years back - a few screens seemed fuzzy.
  • Isla Nu-Bar is great - and they brought over the tasty Jurassic World IPA, complete with custom tap! - but man, practically of the park's bars are now forcing you to pay a several buck premium to get your beer served in a dinky plastic "collectible." There's no option to get a basic plastic glass, and the result is the Jurassic World IPA costs a minimum of $17. It's now literally cheaper to buy a (fairly strong!) mixed drink at $15 than it is to buy a beer that must also come with a glass you don't need. Does anyone know if you can bring back the glass and have the fee waived?
  • I do miss Walking Dead a bit. It was always a weird outlier for the park, but it was something you could easily slot in between other attractions and didn't require much of a time investment.
  • Waterworld cast was in great form, and boy, did they manage to fill up that stadium. Some of the pre-show stuff is back, complete with guest drenching and call/response crowd work. The gaiters feel completely performative and pointless to me, and it looks like they were annoying the performers. Hopefully those get dropped soon.
  • Park handily managed the crowds on Sunday - which were nothing like the deluge that resulted in 180 minute waits on Saturday - but it could still really use the Special Effects Show. My guess is we won't be seeing that for quite some time, sadly.
  • Some signs around the park need help. Despicable Delights was practically unreadable, and some of the Simpsons facades are fading.
  • Citywalk restaurants are clearly having serious staffing issues. Antojitos had ample available seating but not enough staff to fill them, meaning it had pretty substantial waits for lunch before noon. Margaritaville and Vivo were both not offering lunch service, and NBC Grill & Brew is still sitting there finished but open. That doesn't leave you with a lot of options if you want something outside the park - we ended up at Dongpo Kitchen, which we did not initially realize was open. They're running a limited menu right now, but I'd recommend them - the service was prompt, the food good, and the drinks significantly cheaper than what you'd find in the park (Angel City IPA was $7).
  • Despicable Me is also having serious operations issues. Not exactly sure what was going on, but we faced a rough delay in the second preshow where the poor team member had to vamp for a solid 5 minutes. Once we were inside, everyone loaded quickly, but they were having issues lowering the lap bars, padding the experience by another solid 3 minutes.
  • 2D Despicable Me is a serious downgrade and made me appreciate the attraction less. Without the benefit of the 3D frames, it was always apparent to me that I was watching a static movie screen with other simulator bays around me. The first preshow is also now a ho-hum recap of the films instead of a clever satire of ride safety videos.
  • Forbidden Journey was looking pretty good. The dragon had more motion than on my last visit and had the full fog blast. Some of the spiders had a bit of a jangly shake to them upon descending in the forest - not sure if that was a new animation or cause for concern, but either way, it looked nice. I find myself really preferring Hollywood's dementor finale to Orlando's, though I deeply miss Orlando's improved locker situation.
  • Queue estimates throughout the park were pretty off-base. A 25-minute wait for Jurassic World was 5 minutes, while a "10 minute wait" for Hippogriff was closer to 25. Despicable Me reported 50 minutes throughout the day but was clearly only 20 or so. Simpsons was reporting 90 minutes from opening on, which made me wonder if they only had enough staff to run a single dome or something. (We didn't bother to ride.)
  • They have the Fast & Furious 9 cars out with some signage in Universal Plaza. Nothing really to report on the HHN construction front.
  • Looks like construction on Super Nintendo World has stalled. No idea what the deal is - or maybe they're all working inside the show building - but I saw no progress on the exteriors throughout the day.
 
Tough to say. The omnimover approach works for show delivery, but I think they would need to go with a different variant of the ride system with a more accommodating vehicle. There is no reason for the seats and restraints to be so prohibitively restrictive - it's a family ride with no elevation changes.

I'd also say they either need to design a vehicle that seats 4 (instead of 2) and/or find a way to add more vehicles to the track (there are fairly large gaps between RVs in the current setup). The problem with the former is you'd probably lose a little proximity and intimacy to the show elements to accommodate the wider berth, and the problem with the latter is several of the show effects are clearly designed with the current spacing and would need to be rethought.

The overall issue is you've got a ride with the capacity of Mr. Toad trying to field Express guests with vehicles that are not easy to board for many guests... so you've got to find some way to increase the number of seats available and, ideally, make it easier for more guests to ride, preventing avoidable slowdowns, stops, and bummers.

I wonder if they could add a second row to the vehicles (as in new vehicles designed for two rows) without encroaching so much on the spacing that it throws off the timing of scenes. It would certainly require less space than adding entire additional vehicles, I would think.

And I really don't know why the seats aren't just basically a bench with a single lap bar spanning the the distance (i.e. like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, for example). Perhaps certain California regulations that might not be in effect if built in Florida?
 
You came at a much better time the lines have been bad for a while but now are much much better
 
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