Top Tips For Visiting Universal Studios Hollywood

Looking for something fun to do for all ages? One place to consider is Universal Studios Hollywood. This film studio and theme park is one of the most popular theme parks in California! If you’re planning on visiting Universal Studios Hollywood soon, a little planning and preparation can go a long way! Take a look at the tips below. Hopefully this will help you navigate Universal Studios Hollywood like a pro.

Ticket options

1. Order you tickets in advance. Online general admission tickets are typically cheaper and range between $99 – $129.

2. If you’re not really sure on what day you’re planning on visiting, you can purchase their Anytime Admission tickets online. You can visit Universal on any date you choose.

3. Get Early Park Admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter when you purchase online tickets. The Early Park Admission allows you to enter the park one hour before it opens and is subject to availability. Check out their calendar for availability.

4. Get in front of the line to all attractions and shows when you purchase the Universal Express Pass. This will cut your wait time in half and helps during busy days like weekends and holidays. Prices typically run $169 and up.

5. Children two years of age and younger get to enter the park for free. Just keep in mind that there’s a height requirement to various rides.

6. Want to get the VIP experience? The Universal Studios Hollywood VIP Experience package gives you valet parking, unlimited access to shows and rides, a personal tour of the park, breakfast in the VIP lounge, access to sound stages, prop warehouse, and other restricted areas, an all-you-can-eat lunch at the Moulin Rouge dining room. Children under the age of 5 are not allowed for this package. Prices are currently around $349 and up.

7. Planning on going with a big group? Universal offers discounts for group of 10 or more. For more information and to reserve tickets, call 1-800-959-9688.

8. Stay away from third party resellers and buy directly from the park.

Best time to go to the Park

9. If you can help it, avoid going to the park when children are out of school.

10. Fall and spring are the least congested. The busiest season is the summer.

11. Want to see a celebrity? Check out the Universal Studios Hollywood calendar to see which celeb will be at the park.

Tips on the Park

12. Get to the park early to beat the crowd.

13. Try visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter first, which is located at the front. This area can get extremely packed later in the day.

14. The park has two lots, the Upper and the Lower lot. Build out your day so you’re not going back and forth between lots. Also, the Lower lot (the smaller of the two) is usually less buy and is near some of the most exciting rides; Revenge of The Mummy The Ride, Transformers: The Ride 3D, and soon, Jurassic World, which is set to open next year in 2019.

15. Download the Universal Studios Hollywood app. The app gives you information on upcoming shows, ride wait times, restaurant and shop locations, as well as character meet and greets.

16. Free WiFi is available at the park. While at the park, use it to view wait times HERE.

17. Make sure to bring an empty water bottle into Universal Studios Hollywood and fill it up at one of the fountains inside the park. The theme park can leave you dehydrated with all the excitement and walking.

18. Non-english speakers can visit Guest Relations for tour times. Studio Tours are offered in Mandarin and Spanish.

Tips on Rides and Shows

19. Don’t care to split up from your group? Single Riders Line is a great option for you and one of the fastest ways to get on a ride.

20. Also, did you know the park offers a “child switch” program? If a child isn’t old enough or tall enough to ride—one or two adults can wait with the child in the Child Switch room while the rest of their party enjoys the attraction. When the party returns, the adults can switch with the ones waiting, without having to wait in line all over again.

21. Express passes are not accepted at Ollivanders Wand Shop. This line is the longest in the mornings when children and adults are buying their wand for the day. Wands allow you to perform magical spells at most of the Harry Potter world.

22. If you’re a die-hard Potter fan, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the place you have to visit! Here you’ll be transported into a magical world the moment you step in.

23. Consider taking the Studio Tour if you decide to visit the park. Guests will get to see some of the most iconic movies that have been filmed like JAWS and Psycho. In addition to that, you’ll also get to experience King Kong 360-3D and a ride along tour with the cast of Fast & The Furious, a hyper-realistic journey with  a crazy car chase adventure.

24. Looking to attend one of the most popular shows in the park? Make sure to see WaterWorld. Run time for this show is 20 minutes, so head on over when you need a break or are tired of standing.

25. The old Jurassic Park closed earlier this year. Universal Studios Hollywood plans to update the ride as Jurassic World in 2019.

26. Looking for a perfect cool down option for the little ones? The Wet Zone area known as Super Silly Fun Lands, offers more than 80 water play features.

Tips during Holiday Time

27. Enjoy a dazzling light show by Night Time Lights at Hogwarts Castle. This is available during the summer and in the winter time as well.

28. From November 17, 2018 to January 6, 2019, enjoy holiday themed everything at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Expect Christmas décor, and holiday themed food and drinks.

29. During the holidays, enjoy the return of “Grinchmas”. This annual event will take place weekends on December 1 and 2, 8 and 9, and daily from December 14 – 30. Here you can catch performances by Martha May Who-vier and the Who-liday Singers, as well as see a 60-foot tall “Grinchmas” tree.

30. Don’t have plans for New Year’s Eve yet? Universal Studios Hollywood will have various party areas filled with drinks, music, and dancing. At midnight, enjoy a countdown and fireworks!

31. Another fun time to visit Universal Studios Hollywood is during the Lunar New Year. For 2019 the park plans to have a Dragon Warriors Kung Fun training show, live performances, and Mr. Ping’s Noodle Shop.

Eating Options

32. Feast on Hogwarts approved British fare at the Three Broomsticks in Wizarding World. This rustic tavern has a menu that includes Fish & Chips, Beef Sunday Roast, and Shepherd’s Pie. For a group of five, consider “The Great Feast” which includes roasted chicken, ribs, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, and steamed vegetables.

33. Harry Potter fans can enjoy a taste of Butterbeer inside Hogs Head Pub. Here you can order the exclusive Hog’s head Brew or the Pumpkin Juice, wine, spirits, and other beer selections.

34. For a variety of food options, consider Springfield U.S.A. This place has many eateries, bars, and items from the show.

35. Also, CityWalk has many food options such as Karl Strauss, Margaritaville, and Voodoo Doughnut.

36. So, remember you can go in and out of the park. Hold on to your ticket and get your hand stamped.

Weekend Events: Oct. 26th-28th

With all the hustle and bustle of our weekday routine we bring you a curated list of the weekends top activities happening throughout the city of stars.

The time has finally come. You’ve picked up your costumes and allotted yourself at least a handful of candy this weekend. Halloween may fall on a Wednesday but the main events are just a round the corner. So don’t stay inside and cue on the slasher films, you’ve had all month for that. It’s time to throw on your Dracula cape and paint the town red. Read below for our round up events happening this weekend!

Discover your inner Angeleno!

Limited engagements taking place this Oct. 26th-28th.

friday oct. 26th

Disco Dining Club’s The Flowering of the Strange Orchids

The Flowering of Strange Orchid Presented by Disco Dining Club
The Flowering of Strange Orchid Presented by Disco Dining Club

Date: Oct 26, 27, & 28, 2018

Location: Private residence in Pico-Union

“Botanical horror’ and man-eating plants are at the center of this elevated Halloween dinner party. The lofty price tag of $300 will provide you with a tantalizing 5 course meal from Chef Laurent Quenioux, cocktail pairings and wine, coffee and tea service, desserts, and optional edible bug pairings by Bugible. Lavish set design by The Grim Weather will sprawl indoors and outdoors of the secret location,. This will be complimented by theatrical activations, puppets, live music and dance performances throughout the evening. Your favorite holiday…exaggerated with all the opulence, grandeur and hedonism of any Disco Dining Club soiree.

Click here for more information

Pageant of the Monsters

Pageant of the Monsters-Laguna Beach, CA
Pageant of the Monsters-Laguna Beach, CA

Date: Oct 26, 27, 28, 31, 2018

Location: 650 Laguna Canyon Rd., Laguna Beach

Patrons of Pageant of the Master’s will know this live performance as artwork coming to life. Pageant of the Monsters is the ghoulish re-enactment of notable tableaus that awakens from their slumber every 5 years. This year’s theme is “Raiders of the Lost Art”. The fest includes a haunted house, Halloween arts and craft, and activities for children. The haunted house is suitable for even the tiniest of terrors, sans gore and recommended for children 5 and older. Food and non-alcoholic berates will be available for purchase.

Click here for more information

saturday oct. 27th

KCRW Masquerade Ball

KCRW Masquerade Ball

Location: Downtown LA Historic Core

While this isn’t quite the traditional masquerade, one can expect all the treats and tricks customary with an extravagant night on the town At the KCRW annual Masquerade  Ball patrons will be priledged to enjoy the soiree at a new location in DTLA. From themed rooms to various DJ sets and costumes galore, what more can you ask for in the spirit of Hallows Eve.

Click here for more information.

The Fanged Fete

The Fanged Fete

Location: Downtown L.A. at The Ace Hotel

If you haven’t gotten your fill at the masked ball above, there are plenty of parties to go around in DTLA. The Fanged Fete at The Ace Hotel’s lavish theatre warrants you arrive in your best fangs and vampiric couture(or just vampire-ish clothes). This swanky event will feature Restless Nites DJs, drinks and “dark arts”. Be advised to wake from your crypt early if you’d like to catch the screening of the 1932 surrealist horror film Vampyr alongside a reimagined live score courtesy of the LA opera before the festivities commence.

Click here for more information.

Haunted Hotel at Viceroy Santa Monica

Haunted Hotel at The Viceroy

Location: Viceroy Santa Monica

Spend your ghoulish activities on the westside at the Viceroy Santa Monica’s annual soiree. Over 1,000 guests descend upon the “haunted” hotel(Three Rule has been hired to deck out the entire property from the lobby to the drinks). Wander between to realms..sorry dance floors and lay your stake at a chance to win one of the amazing prizes being served out to the best costumes around(well at the party that is). That being said, costumes are required so you can’t just go as “a mouse..Duh” open to all 21 and over.

Click here for more information.

NoHo Monster Bash

NoHo Halloween Party

Location:  The Federal, North Hollywood

The Valley needs its go-to Halloween bash to which is what you’ll find at the Federal this year with a promise of performances on its main stage every half hour. Patrons can expect costume contest, eerie cocktails and an evening of ghastly fun. Bonus: This years theme is Pirates of The Caribbean. Perfect chance for you to bust out that Johnny Depp impression you’ve been “working on”.

Click here for more information. 

A Night of the Macabre with Poe and Gorey

Drama After Dark at The Huntington Library

Location: The Huntington Library, Pasadena

If your less for the partying and more for the ghoulish tales, then don’t miss this frightening telling of the famed poets held at the Huntington Library. Thrill to the tales of Edgar Allan Poe and Edward Gorey in an evening of chilling drama presented by the actors of the Guild of St. George. Haunting works will be enacted throughout the moonlit grounds, including “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Gashlycrumb Tinies,” and more. Ages 10 to adult. (May be too intense for younger children.)

Click here for more information.

sunday oct. 28th

Dia de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever

Dia de los Muertos

Location: Hollywood Forever Cemetary

Billed at the largest Day of the Dead celebration in California, Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s event is a Halloween must. The grounds of the cemetery are covered with art exhibitions, dance rituals, musical performances, and children’s arts and crafts spread throughout. While you enjoy the bounty of food vendors, peruse through the altars created for the departed by community artists. Patrons can also take part in the calico(skeleton) costume contest if they so please. This years theme, Coatlicue “Mother of Gods”, honors the Aztec goddess mother of the moon, sun and stars. For more information click here.

Pumpkin Festival

Pasadena Pumpkin Patch

Location: Pasadena

Bring the whole family and explore the Pasadena Pumpkin Patch and Costume Parade. This fun event includes a petting zoo, pony rides, bounce castles, carnival games and seasonal crafts with all proceeds benefitting the Kidspace Children’s Museum. Kidspace Children’s Museum Kidpspace works to provide free and discounted admission to all programs for those in undeserved communities. Click here for more information.

Halloween & Mourning Tours

Heritage Square Museum

Location: Heritage Square Museum, NE DTLA

You probably spent the majority of the weekend getting glitter spray out of your hair. If thats the case spend Sunday with educational frights instead of fruit cocktails at Heritage Square Museum’s annual Halloween celebration. This Victorian era event takes you through a true horror. Life before iPhones. Enjoy period games, 19th century harvest crafts and spooky stories that even the kid swill enjoy.

Click here for more information. 

The Nightmare before Christmas at the Hollywood Bowl

Nightmare Before Christmas

Location: The Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood

“This is Halloween, this is Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! “

Don’t miss the 25th Anniversary concert special of The Nightmare Before Christmas at The Hollywood Bowl. Danny Elfman along with Catherine O’Hara and Ken Page will be leading the evening soiree. Arrive early for a fun themed costume contest and enjoy the spectacular light projections while singing along to this Halloween Classic. Friday and Sunday tickets are still available.

Click here for more information 

 

Out and About: East L.A. Edition

We know what your thinking, East L.A. edition? Isn’t that a bit broad. And where is East L.A.? Isn’t everything past WEHO just L.A? This edition is for the locals, your where’s where of places to dine, shop, and see as a true Angeleno would care to do.

On the list of up-and-coming neighborhoods you can relocate to, we share with you East L.A.’s most noteworthy stops to the best restaurants in Los Feliz.  You’ll wonder why you don’t step outside your zip code more often.

Morning

Skylight Books

Swing by the airy Skylight Books and peruse the independent shop’s well-curated staff picks for some morning reading material, then take your paperback of choice up the street to the small patio at caffeine-fix mainstay Bru Coffeebar. If you’re after a decadent breakfast, claim a booth and order up something from the griddle at 24/7 throwback diner Fred 62. Wait out your inevitable food coma with a $6.50 early matinee in the plush, Egyptian-style Vista Theatre.

Vista Theatre

Afternoon

Soap Planet Wacko

Work your way down Vermont Avenue and its collection of shops, from radical decor courtesy of queer feminist-owned Otherwild to an indescribable assortment of pop culture at Soap Plant Wacko. Then cross over Hollywood Boulevard and climb up to Barnsdall Art Park for a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s landmark, the temple-like Hollyhock House.

Hollyhock House

Make your way back to the other side of town and into Griffith Park for a sandwich and slice of pie from the Trails Cafe, which overlooks the lovely Fern Dell, a shaded, rustic oasis equally stocked with relaxing strolls and hiking trailheads.

Evening

Feeling intrepid? Hike the two-mile trail up to Griffith Observatory. Otherwise, drive up and settle in for a sunset with shimmery city views from the Art Deco hilltop observatory.

Alcove Cafe

Trek back down for dinner on one of L.A.’s most idyllic patios at Alcove Cafe and Bakery, which serves up large, unfussy plates in its twinkle-lit courtyard, with top-notch whimsical cocktails at the adjoining Big Bar. Afterward, make sure to visit lounge legends Marty and Elayne at the Dresden before swinging by House of Pies for a midnight slice of banana cream pie.

House of Pies
Courtesy of: Time Out L.A.

13 Spookiest Movies on Netflix for Oct. ’18

Grab your popcorn, comfort blanket, and sit tight. It’s the best time of the year to watch the spookiest flicks streaming right now. Whether your more on the Hocus Pocus(sidetone: no Hocus Pocus on Netflix–but it’s playing at El Capitan Theatre ALL of October) side or wish to take a chance with the cringeworthy, there are plenty of options to chose this fall.

 1. Hold the Dark

Hold the Dark
Hold the Dark

Hold the Dark will leave you with your fair share of chills, and not just because it’s set in Alaska. Jeremy Saulnier’s psychological thriller stars Westworld‘s Jeffrey Wright as a retired wolf expert who receives a disturbing letter from a grieving mother (Riley Keough), pleading with him to investigate the wolves that she thinks killed her son in their small Alaskan village. He agrees to go but soon finds himself tangled up in a web far more dangerous than he ever could have expected

2. Veronica

Veronica
Veronica

In Veronica, which is based on true events, a high-schooler decides to experiment with a Ouija board with some of her classmates but ends up getting followed home by an evil spirit. As her and her siblings’ sanity begins to crumble due to the haunting, you’ll find yourself questioning what’s actually real and what’s in Veronica’s imagination.

 3. Malevolent

Malevolent
Malevolent

A brother and sister earn a living by faking scary paranormal occurrences for cash, but when they’re tasked with investigating some strange phenomena at a supposedly haunted estate, things take a turn for the worse.

4. The Ravenous

Ravenous
Ravenous

This is actually a pretty introspective and beautiful movie, as far as films in the zombie genre go. That being said, watching a small group of desperate survivors attempt to navigate the aftermath of a zombie-like outbreak in rural Quebec is going to come with some nauseating moments.

5. The Conjuring

The Conjuring
The Conjuring

If you haven’t seen modern-day horror classic The Conjuring yet, I’m honestly a little jealous you get to experience the film’s excellent thrills and chills for the first time. It’s a superb entry into the genre, following a family of young women possessed by the demonic spirit of a murdered witch who used to live on their property and the paranormal investigators who set out to help them.

6. Children of the Corn

Children of the Corn
Children of the Corn

Even Stephen King’s short stories translate to terrifying, full-length pictures. Children of the Corn is about a group of murderous children, so expect to say goodbye to restful sleep for a bit.

7. The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House

No, Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House isn’t a movie. But I would be remiss if I didn’t include the upcoming 10-episode series, which is just as scary as any of the streaming giant’s selection of horror movies. Billed as a “reimagining” of Shirley Jackson’s iconic 1953 novel, the show follows five siblings who grew up in America’s most famous haunted house and how the home’s deadly secrets are still plaguing them decades later. Mike Flanagan (HushOculusGerald’s Game) is on board as director and executive producer, while the cast is led by Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Timothy Hutton, Elizabeth Reaser, Kate Siegel, McKenna Grace, and more.

8. Apostle

Apostle
Apostle

Occult horror-thriller Apostle stars Beauty and the Beast‘s Dan Stevens as Thomas Richardson, who returns home to London in 1905, only to discover that his sister has been captured by a cult led by the dangerously charismatic Prophet Malcolm (Michael Sheen) and is being held for ransom. Thomas sets out to rescue his sister, infiltrating the cult’s island community and eventually uncovering an evil secret.

9. Hush

Hush
Hush

Easily one of the best horror movies to come out of Netflix’s original slate, 2016’s Hush follows a deaf writer over the course of one night as she’s hunted by a masked maniac. Prepare for multiple people getting shot by a crossbow — King Joffrey-style.

10. Train to Busan

Train to Busan
Train to Busan

This South Korean zombie movie was a box office hit, for good reason. The terrifyingly claustrophobic horror film centers on a father and daughter who must survive a gory outbreak of the undead on a lengthy train journey to the country’s only remaining safe city.

11. The Reaping

The Reaping
The Reaping

Hilary Swank stars as a former missionary who loses her faith after the tragic deaths of her family members and now makes a living debunking religious phenomena. That’s what brings her to the Louisiana swamp, where a series of biblical plagues are destroying a small town with evil at its center.

12. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina 

Netflix gives Sabrina the Teenage Witch a very, very creepy new makeover in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which sees the titular witch (Mad Men‘s Kiernan Shipka) on the cusp of celebrating her 16th birthday when she has to sign her soul away to the devil. The trailer evokes old-school horror movies like Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, so even though familiar faces like Harvey Kinkle (Ross Lynch), Aunt Hilda (Lucy Davis), and Aunt Zelda (Miranda Otto) make appearances, this is going to be a totally different series than the one Melissa Joan Hart starred in years ago.

13. The Shining

The Shining
The Shining

A writer’s decision to spend the Winter at a deserted hotel with his wife and son majorly backfires when it becomes clear that they’re definitely not alone in the grand building — but they’re not accompanied by the living, either.

Enjoy the feature and beware!

Captions and content Curated by PopSugar, Simplified by us.

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