Universal Studios

whitneyebz said:

Hi all! I hope this is the right place. We are trying to plan a Universal Hollywood trip this spring, visiting the Sequoias on the way. I have asked about hotels before, but specific suggestions for where you like to stay would be awesome- it does not have to super close, we don't mind driving 30 minutes or so if it's cheaper. We're only doing one day.

What do we need to know? Can you only buy the Harry Potter wands (the ones that do the spells) there? We are thinking of a Monday in late April/early May...are there any grad nights like at Disneyland? Isitpacked shows lighter crowds (and we are used to Disneyland crowds so crowds don't scare us TOO much). Will Jurassic World be open by then?? Anything I haven't thought of? Thanks!!

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dina444444 said:

The only place I’ve seen the interactive wands sold is in a universal theme park. Universal can get busy but if you are there at park open and stay till park close you can usually ride everything once and see most of the shows. Grad nights aren’t until late May and are on Thursday and Friday’s and they only get a few hours of mix in time. Express pass will also help with rerides etc. I’m not expecting Jurassic World to open before Memorial Day at the earliest. They are enclosing part of the ride into a show building that was previously outdoor.

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whitneyebz said:

Oh darn, we will probably miss out on Jurassic World this time then (I am sure we will go again in the future). I don't want to do summer. I've narrowed it down to one of the first 2 Mondays in May. We don't do the express pass- just too expensive for 6 people, and we are fine with waiting in lines and riding everything just once. Besides, I know there's not a ton of rides there, so I think we can fit it all in! We will definitely be there from open to close!

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whitneyebz said:

Oh darn, we will probably miss out on Jurassic World this time then (I am sure we will go again in the future). I don't want to do summer. I've narrowed it down to one of the first 2 Mondays in May. We don't do the express pass- just too expensive for 6 people, and we are fine with waiting in lines and riding everything just once. Besides, I know there's not a ton of rides there, so I think we can fit it all in! We will definitely be there from open to close!

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whitneyebz said:

You guys are awesome, thank you! I didn't know that about 30 minutes early to HP. Oh, and where is the best place to buy one day tickets? Are there discount places like for Disneyland?

We won't be doing single rider- wish we could, but all of our kids except one will be riding everything and I don't think they'd want to sit next to strangers (ages 5-11). Our 5 year old won't be tall enough for the main HP ride which makes me so sad! But I think there is rider switch, right?

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dina444444 said:

Yes there is rider switch and universal has rider switch rooms so your whole party will enter the queue then right before boarding you will break off for the rider switch. For one day tickets I recommend buying straight from universal online. They offer a small discount for buying online versus at the gate. I would also check if your work offers tickets and if those come with early entry etc.

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