Los Angeles: Universal Studios

Universal Studios. One of the most famous attractions in LA. It also was one of the attractions that I enjoyed the most during my stay in LA when I was 13 years old. This time, however, I was unsure whether to go or not. My first thought were to skip it, because I might have grown too old to properly enjoy it, and also because I wanted to better explore the city. One week in LA is definitely not enough time! Therefore, I asked many people whether Universal Studios is worth visiting, hoping to hear that I can safely skip it. But no.. everyone told me it is a must! Therefore, I went on and bought the ticket. I waited until the evening before, and luckily the price was still the same. I had some doubts about going on a Sunday, but I though it would be the best option, as I had to check out from my Airbnb anyway. I had no Airbnb or hotel for the next night, because I was going to sleep on the overnight bus to Reno! Luckily my Airbnb host let me keep my luggage in the apartment for a small fee, because storing luggage at the Universal Studios is apparently not an option. Keep that in mind! You can only store small handbags/backpacks but not hand-luggage size trolley bags like mine.

I planned to leave for Universal Studios as early as 8 am in the morning. That of course did not happen. As I wrote in my previous post, I had some drinks the night before, and I definitely felt the next day. I think I ended up going there more towards 10 am, after I bought all kinds of cures at the 7eleven next door. Yes, that was the 7eleven that everyone warned be about (apparently it is not the safest one). I took an uber to Universal Studios. It was actually further away than I had thought. Once I got to the Universal Studios, I instantly remembered why I enjoyed it so much over there last time, and I felt like a little kid again. It completely did not matter that I was there alone.

The lines to enter the park at this time of the day and week were long, but the whole process of getting inside the park went much faster than I had imagined. It may have taken longer if I would not have bought a ticket in advance. Shortly, I was inside the park, and I was amazed about the park’s inside. Suddenly, all the memories came back and I remembered why I always wanted to come back here!

The Studio Tour

My friends advised me to do the Studio tour first, and it was the best idea ever. I was still pretty hungover and I could not think of riding any rollercoaster at this point. The studio tour was just perfect at this moment; I could relax and it almost felt like I was watching a movie (but then in a live setting). I loved watching all the movie settings and recognising them from the movies. I think this is the best part of the whole Universal Studios experience! The studio tour does also take quite long, so everything was just perfect. In addition, the lines to the studio tour at this time of the day were very short; there was zero waiting time! A couple of hours later, when I passed by, I saw that the waiting time had already become 2 hours!

Express Ticket: Is it worth it?

After the studio tour, I must admit I was still not feeling extremely well, but I decided to do all the rides. I quickly found out that with the long lines that would NOT be possible. So I went on and updated my ticket to the express ticket. Extremely expensive, but I at this moment I simply did not care. I am not in Universal Studios everyday I thought, and the express ticket is really necessary if you want to ride all the rides! And it is just so much more comfortable, because you don’t have to stand in line (almost) at all! I remember the waiting line for Jurassic Park (the new ride) was like 3 hours! However, with the express ticket it took me 10 mins maximum. It really does make a difference.

The New Jurassic Park Ride

I must admit I did not notice any difference between the old Jurassic Park ride and the new one. Was it the aquariums in the beginning that was the main difference? Of course, I might have forgotten exactly how the old one was, but I clearly remembered there were dinosaurs in the beginning, the final drop and getting extremely wet! There was no difference regarding these parts.

Panda Express

Between the rides I also went to Panda Express. When I am hungover, I need to eat. That was the worst part of the whole Universal Studios experience! The line was extremely long, I lost at least one hour by going there, and then, after I got the food, I had to eat it while standing because there were no seats. Or actually there were lots of seats but people were keeping them for other people who were standing in the one hour long line! It got me a bit upset, because by the time I finished my food people were still only half way in that super long line, so how much harm would it do to if I could “borrow” one empty chair for 5 minutes.

The Harry Potter ride

I saved the Harry Potter ride until the end, because everyone told me that I could get extremely nauseous from it, so I was very afraid of what was awaiting me. The Harry Potter village at Universal Studios was really beautiful. I am not a Harry Potter fan, but I really liked what they made of it. And the castle looked amazing! After waiting a long time, I decided to finally go for the Harry Potter ride. To be honest, I think it was the best ride! Yes, I did become nauseous, but only because I already was nauseous and because there was a technical issue or something: the ride all of the sudden stopped and we were just hanging there in the air with our legs hanging down…yes, people started panicking. Otherwise it would not have been bad at all, and I don’t know what I was so afraid of! Do definitely not skip this ride!

Other rides

All the rides at the Universal Studios are fun and worth riding. It is worth noting that many of the rides are simulators! This includes the following rides: The Simpsons, Transformers, Despicable Me (Minions) and the Kung Fu Panda. One of the rides that I really enjoyed, that was not a simulator was the Revenge of the Mummy. In fact, this was the only high speed rollercoaster ride.

Shows

After riding all the rides, I went to see the WaterWorld show. It is a pretty cool show, so it definitely is worth seeing it, and it is a good idea to see it all the way in the end. Another show that I enjoyed was the Special effects show, which gives you an insight of how special effects are made. Shortly after the WaterWorld show, my stay at the Universal Studios came to an end. I rode all the rides, thanks to the Express ticket. I did, however, not attend all the shows. I could have easily done it, but I wanted to meet my friends for dinner before heading to Reno. Despite feeling horrible and being by myself, I had an amazing time! I was afraid there would be kids only, but that was definitely not the case! Surprisingly, there were many more adults than children! In the end, I am very happy that I decided to go to the Universal Studios. It was a great ending of my stay in LA before heading to Reno!