I've never been to USH and, while I've heard and read a lot about the individual attractions, I never hear anything about the park you walk around in. Is it themed into lands, or is it just sort of stuff shoved wherever it fits? If themed, is the theming immersive, like DL's, or is it more like what it's like out at the CityWalk (just went there recently) except that there are rides? Do the outsides of the ride buildings look like structures from the movies they're based on, or just general buildings.

In a more abstract sense, is there a "magical" feeling as there is at DL? Or something similar, I'm pretty sure no-place that's not Disney has that Disney feel.

For example - I like a lot of the rides at SFMM, but I don't ever feel sentimental about Collosus County Fair the way I do about Main Street, or about Gotham City the way I do about Toontown. I feel kind of like a lot of the theming at Magic Mountain (though some is well done) was just tacked up to "compete" with DL. Was just wondering where USH stands in that regard.

And, while I've got you, how are the lines in the off-season?

UH is a movie studio that has added high quality attractions over the years, but it was never designed as a theme park. The attractions beyond the shows and backlot tour have only come about in the last 20 years. I remember standing at a viewpoint in UH a few years ago, and the sweeping vista of soundstage buildings is not the same as a shady spot on TSI watching the Mark Twain glide past. So while the attractions are often top-notch, IMO you do not get the immersive quality of DL.

There are many that seem to think you can like Disney OR Universal, but not both. I'm not one of them. In fact, I first responded to this thinking it was about Orlando, not Hollywood, and my response in that case, left intact below, is quite different.


Both of the Universal Orlando parks are exceptionally themed. IOA in particular has very distinct (is)lands, from the music to the visuals. The other park is just as detailed, however, the areas aren't as "seperated" from each other like IOA, and the themeing is various American cities. Unlike in Hollywood with it's backlot, everything is Florida is open, but there aren't any western sets, foreign sets, or anything beyond big cities, and, well, I've been to the big city.

If by magic you mean the feeling of escaping with no thoughts of worries back home, then I get that at WDW, Yosemite, Maui, Key West, etc. I find the magic in vacation myself.

After our Florida Safari last summer, I returned home feeling that the best 2 theme park attractions I've ever experienced were in Orlando. I wonder if Mickey ever goes to Universal to ride them?

Cheers.

Thanks for your well-written reply, ralfrick. That's about what I figured about USH. I still might want to go, though.

Boy, I really, really, really want to go to IOA. That's the only non-Disney park I've ever seen on TV that looks anything to me like a Disney theme park. I love dragons and I want to ride "Fire and Ice".

Too bad we don't have an IOA Hollywood.

I've never been to USH and, while I've heard and read a lot about the individual attractions, I never hear anything about the park you walk around in.

We visited about a month ago (still need to write that trip report...), and being a regular at Disneyland, I have to say I was really disappointed. A few of the rides were ok, but overall, I was not happy with the visit at all. Most of the "being in the park" involved announcements being made over the loudspeaker often and/or loud music being played. I really missed the many parts of Disneyland where there is just quiet ambient music or just the sounds of the people.

I can't say that I'd recommend Universal at all. I visit Knott's Berry Farm periodically, and I like the atmosphere of that park much better.

Since I have now used my new free Annual Pass three times this year (courtesy of the blue mailer I got this summer), I feel I should post my opinion.

Universal Studios Hollywood is not themed.
There is an UPPER LOT and LOWER LOT but all attractions are all movie/tv based concepts, most movie, but with a nod toward some television like the I LOVE LUCY tribute being one of the exceptions.

The facades of the buildings are one story, typically, which contrasts with Disneyland's facades of hiding whatever may lie behind. There is no "behind" at USH because USH is already at the top of a hill, and needs no 3-tier mountain or facade for camoflage.
I mention this because this is the key reason you don't feel "in" the park, as the average visitor would feel in DL.

The entrace gates are modest security gates, and look like "gates."
DL's gates, as you know, down-play the security bars, whereas USH does nothing to hide the fact that it is plainly gated.
This is another minor factor in the overall "feel."
There is no magic in passing thru the gate, since you can visually see the main walkway as you wait in line to enter.

DL, as you remember, has the train depot hiding Main Street USA, and there are two entry tunnels which hide Main Street USA.
So, as you enter DL, you will come from an entry plaza into a whole new environment.

Contrast this with USH, where you can see the walkway of the Upper Lot plainly before you even enter.
Thus there is no "land"-kind of feel, just an ordinary feel similar to Six Flags Magic Mountain -- you are there, but with lots of concrete under your feet, and lots of space between kiosks and buildings. The illusion -- well, there is no illusion of time or space in USH or SFMM.

If you visit the web site of USH, you will notice that the number of attractions is small, probably less than DCA.
In the book, "The Unofficial Guide To Disneyland," (author: Bob Sehlinger), which includes USH in one of its chapters, the map makes USH look absolutely puny.

But just being small does not mean that the rides/shows are!
The TOUR is a must. MUMMY is a must. BACK TO THE FUTURE is a must. JURRASIC PARK is a must. TERMINATOR is a must.
Less so for me, but surely "musts" for others, would be the STUNT SHOW; SHREK 4-D; VAN HELSING.

I visit USH on non-holiday days, so I cannot speak to the line lengths. They are always short for me!

With my Annual Pass, I can now justify a side trip to USH and/or Citywalk (outside the park) as a secondary diversion to/from the San Gabriel Valley (home) and the San Fernando Valley, as the 210/101 freeway connects the two places.

Parking is a killer. $17 for preferred, $10 (if i remember) for regular.
The Citywalk movie theaters have some kind of arrangement whereby you get $10 off something, which I am not sure can or cannot be applied to parking.
Someday I will do the math and figure if the METRO line, which stops at the base of the big hill, plus the courtesy shuttle up the hill to USH, is cost effective. If it is cheaper than $10, it will justify the slowness in travel. (Driving to USH from home is less than a half hour, with non-rush hour traffic.)

I guess I've spilled my guts or vented my spleen, enough.

All valid points potzbie and I have no arguments against them. But I do want to point out that gates at both DL and USH are very similar. USH gates are bigger for one, and the only difference is DL has moved their security checkpoint away from the entrance gates while USH still has theirs at the turnstyles and into big yellow circus tents. I don't know how much you know about the park itself, USH, but almost all of the buildings located on the upper lot house offices and park operations centers, much like DL does along Main Street and in other areas in the park.

Also, in regards to your parking, have you considered upgrading to a Premium CAP? Premium passes get free parking during box office hours which are currently 9am-4pm.

My biggest problem with the layout of Universal is the upper lot/lower lot thing. It takes a REALLY LONG TIME on the escalators from hell to get from one to the other, so once you're in the lower lot, you're basically stuck trying to do everything there all in one shot since it would waste a ton of time to go back and forth between the upper lot and lower lot.

You don't have anywhere near the same problem getting from one part of Disneyland to another.

My biggest problem with the layout of Universal is the upper lot/lower lot thing. It takes a REALLY LONG TIME on the escalators from hell to get from one to the other, so once you're in the lower lot, you're basically stuck trying to do everything there all in one shot since it would waste a ton of time to go back and forth between the upper lot and lower lot.

You don't have anywhere near the same problem getting from one part of Disneyland to another.

Disneyland is built on even ground that's why. If Disneyland was built on two levels of a mountain, they would have the same issue.

Disneyland is built on even ground that's why. If Disneyland was built on two levels of a mountain, they would have the same issue.

Then I guess the people who built Disneyland were a lot smarter in choosing a good location than the people who built Universal.

And there didn't use to be this problem at Universal. The special effects stages were part of the tram tour, so the tram took you down and then back up. But then someone came up with the bright idea of not only removing the special effects stages from the tram tour, but of also building more attractions down there and installing said escalators of death (I misused my own term previously). I've heard about the extra hell one has to go through if they can't use the escalators to get to the lower lot and need to use the elevator and shuttle instead.

You do realize that Universal was built long before Disney don't you? That property was owned long before Disney was even considering building a theme park. So the fact that Universal should've learned something from Disney cannot apply to this. Universal wasn't built originally as a theme park. It was built as a movie studio and very much still is a movie studio before a theme park. The reason why USO and IOA works better than USH is because like WDW, there was land to develop a theme park on.

This is exactly what a theme park would look like if Warner Brothers or Paramount or Fox attempted to build a theme park in and around their studios. The only attraction that was ever designed from the beginning was the studio tour. It was the attendance and popularity of putting the general public into the movie atmosphere that helped drive Universal into building the theme park.

So the fact that Universal should've learned something from Disney cannot apply to this.

I'm sorry, where exactly did I say this?

Universal wasn't built originally as a theme park. It was built as a movie studio and very much still is a movie studio before a theme park.

And except for places where they shoot, all of the studio is on flat ground. Yes, I know Universal is more studio than theme park. So maybe they shouldn't have just haphazardly created a theme park adjacent to the studio? Disney certainly didn't. I'm sorry, but "they didn't plan to build a theme park - it just sort of happened without any planning" doesn't work with me.

This is exactly what a theme park would look like if Warner Brothers or Paramount or Fox attempted to build a theme park in and around their studios.

Last I checked, neither Warner Bros., Paramount or Fox are located on a mountain. (Warner Bros. might be close to one - I forget.) Oh, and Paramount does own theme parks. They just bought someone else's. Never been to one of theirs myself. But none of those studios should shoehorn a theme park next to their studios either.

Then I guess the people who built Disneyland were a lot smarter in choosing a good location than the people who built Universal.
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But then someone came up with the bright idea of not only removing the special effects stages from the tram tour, but of also building more attractions down there and installing said escalators of death (I misused my own term previously).

Seems to me that attractions like JP and the Mummy are worth the time it takes to get up and down the escalator, and that installing these attractions down there was a wise use of space.

But, that may just be me. :) I happen to like USH.

He wasn't implyin that one park "learned" from other, just that one did a better job.

Seems to me that attractions like JP and the Mummy are worth the time it takes to get up and down the escalator, and that installing these attractions down there was a wise use of space.

I like Jurassic Park, though they really tamed the ride a lot. We barely got wet and actually got more wet doing other things in the park than on the WATER RIDE. How weird is that?

And Mummy wasn't worth the time I had to wait in line, which was only about 10 minutes and that was because they were having technical difficulties. When we were ready to leave the lower lot, I noticed the line was out the door, so probably at least a 30 minute wait. I'd have been really irritated if I had to wait 30 minutes for that lame-o ride. I'd rather ride the Pooh ride at Disneyland over and over again.

well it goes to show everything can be taken from say one amusement and brought to another. The thing is whoever thought of it sell the other person the right to it and they can change it to their likens

After our Florida Safari last summer, I returned home feeling that the best 2 theme park attractions I've ever experienced were in Orlando. I wonder if Mickey ever goes to Universal to ride them?

Which ones? Just curious. I haven't been there in about 4 years. When we went, I was floored by Spider-Man and the Terminator movie. Spider-Man may be the most amazing ride I have ever been on. I still think IOA Orlando's rafting ride [Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barge] is better than any Disney rafting ride I've been on, not counting water parks [never been to a water park]; it's longer and wetter than Grizzly or Kali River Rapids in Orlando WDW.

But I have never been to Univerrsal in CA. Soounds like Orlando has it beat for the attractions, and CA is better for the movie-related sights.

USH doesn't have the Disney *magic* (but then again, IMO, neither does Orlando!) ;)

It is just a different type of park. The *original* attraction was a chicken dinner and watching the silent movies being filmed for $0.25.

It IS a working movie studio, and the attractions were built around it, so the *magic* is in getting to see the behind-the-scenes workings of movies & TV magic. Go on a weekday, and there is a good chance of seeing acutal filming or even a "star."

The Backlot Tram Tour takes you through both the front & back lots at Universal (essentially the sound stage areas for inside filming & the outside facades, including "Wisteria Lane.")

The "Lower Lot" area of USH houses the Jurassic Park Ride, Backdraft, the Mummy Ride, and the Special Effects Stage (all but Jurassic Park were built inside existing sound stages) Up the escalators (yeah, long, but enjoy the view! They are on the side of the hill with great views of the San Fernando Valley) The "Upper Lot" is the theme park, with the Terminator & Shrek 4D attractions; the Fear Factor, Waterworld, and Animal Planet show; the entrance to the tram tour; and the Back to the Future attraction. The buildings in the upper lot do house offices, storage, etc. There is very mild "theming" (if you call it that) in the buildings...there is a "Parisian" courtyard (where Donna & Brenda's hotel was, in some Beverly Hills 90210 episodes), a "Western" street, etc. (Theming has been lost a bit with the changing of attractions over the years.)

OK, that is long! Anyway, summary version: no, it isn't DL; but it does have its certain appeal if you are a movie fan. It isn't a fairytale escape from reality, it is a "behind the scenes" type look at the secrets of movies & TV.

It is just a different type of park. The *original* attraction was a chicken dinner and watching the silent movies being filmed for $0.25.


Sounds like you just watched the USH orientation video!

I know it's a long dead topic, but while the USH escalators can seem time consuming, it really only takes about eleven minutes to do the whole thing, and you get a good view along the way.

There aren't many one way paths like this at DL, except maybe Toon Town, which only has one point of entrance. I'm sure if you were in that section of the park and had to make it over to Adventureland for a Fast Pass appointment it might take around the same travel time.:)

Sounds like you just watched the USH orientation video!

LOL!! I worked there for 8 years...so it has a "magic" for me. :)

LOL!! I worked there for 8 years...

Coming up on 2 years for me.

I know it's a long dead topic, but while the USH escalators can seem time consuming, it really only takes about eleven minutes to do the whole thing, and you get a good view along the way.

11 minutes on an escalator is an extremely long time. I'm gonna disagree about the good view though.

11 minutes on an escalator is an extremely long time. I'm gonna disagree about the good view though.

Well, at least about 8 days / year there is a good view (after it rains!) ;)

I'm gonna disagree about the good view though.

It depends where people are from really. If you have never been to the area, perhaps being able to see the Warner Brothers water tower is somewhat an exciting view. It would be better if Universal embraced it and had a guidemap that showed which studios were where while people went down the escalator. Then they might not complain so much.

My favorite view is of the roof of the Revenge of the Mummy ride, where if you look closely, you can still see "E.T. 20th Anniversary" written on the roof, since that's where E.T. was previously housed.

My favorite view is of the roof of the Revenge of the Mummy ride, where if you look closely, you can still see "E.T. 20th Anniversary" written on the roof, since that's where E.T. was previously housed.

Yeah, I thought that was funny too, but I think that's just for us geeks and not something that's really marketable to the general public. ;)