Universal Studios Hollywood: Why the Express Pass is a GAME CHANGER!!!

Last month, my selfless, amazing, one of a kind momma turned 55. FIFTY FIVE! So we packed our bags and headed down south (southern California, not the south south) for a weekend of family fun! [#Hosted*] Our second to last stop on the four day extravaganza was none other than Universal Studios Hollywood. And believe it or not, in her 55 years of life, 48ish of residency in California, she had NEVER been before!

In fact, fun fact, Koda and I actually went for the very first time in our lives in February (but he is from the East Coast and has been to the one in Orlando), so we weren’t too far off. But when we went in February, it went a little like this:

  • Enter the park, wait for 40 minutes, ride, wait for an hour, ride, wait for 40 minutes, ride, eat, watch special effects show, wait for 40 minutes, ride, wait for 40 minutes, ride, wait an hour, ride. Count that. 6 rides in a little under 12 hours, with about 40% of our time spent in line.

This time, we were lucky enough to be hosted by our friends at Universal Studios Hollywood and got upgraded Express Passes!

ENTER EXPRESS PASS

  • Enter the park, decide to go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – 5 minute wait inside. Ride it (get stuck – watch the YouTube video it’s actually quite hilarious), decide on Studio Tour, ride it, drinks, decide on Jurassic Park, wait 5 minutes, ride it, decide on the mummy, wait 15 minutes, ride it, decide on Transformers, snack while family rides it, back to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter because Ari wanted a want. Ari is given the option to ride the Minions Ride or Kung Fu Panda and surpasses both so she can play with the wand in the interactive windows.

So we rode a total of 5 rides, but had time for 7 and get this, we were only there for six hours. That’s right, HALF the time of our first trip.

Now if you look at the price tag, you may be thinking “uh uh no way” – and you may be right. If you live in Southern California and have access to the park on any given weekend, this may not be the most cost beneficial option for you. But here are three times I think it is totally worth it and why I would absolutely invest in the future myself.

1. If you are only in the area for a limited time – We have to either drive down six hours or take a plane to get to the park from Sacramento, so when we visit we usually run a tight schedule. We may be visiting other parks on other days or doing some other activity that limits us to a one day visit. Also, if you’re from out of state, your rate for a two day pass would be equal to the rate for a one day Express Pass. Save yourself a day and relax at the beach or visit another fun attraction in the area!

2. If you’re of the mindset that “time is money.” – Again, time is the deciding factor here. Sure, you can see the whole park in two days on a regular pass (Californians have a cheaper option than out of state visitors), but if you’re visiting in July when the sun is beaming on you for an hour while waiting for the Studio Tour, trust me you’ll wish you had invested.

3. If you are visiting the park with children – Kids have a tendency to not do so well in lines. They get bored, hungry, have to potty – you name it it’s gunna go down while waiting in line for Forbidden Journey for an hour and a half, and likely riiiight before you get on the ride. 🤣 Not to mention small children can’t get on most rides to begin with, so if you’re taking turns watching baby do you and your significant other (or in our case Yaya) a favor and don’t make it more than an hour between handoffs!

What’s Happening Now

It’s Holiday time around Universal Studios! Christmas celebrations kick of On Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 28, 2019 and run through Sunday, December 29, 2019. This year’s highlights are Christmas in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Grinchmas!

If you think Hogwarts is magical in and of itself, imagine it illuminated with thousands of animated lights synced with a musical arrangement from the Harry Potter movies! And Christmas cheer doesn’t stop at the decor. Make sure to pick up HOT Butterbeer during your visit to Hogsmeade village (only available during the holidays) and take home a mascot ornament so Santa can decide if your house has been naughty or nice. 

And right around the corner from the magic of Hogsmeade is a great big Who-lebration! 55 feet of dancing lights dress up the giant “Grinchmas” tree at the center of it all and Max, the Grinch himself and a team of Whos can be spotted when snow falls at the tree lighting ceremony every night. It’ll be so magical even the Grinchiest of guests’ hearts will warm. 

Unfortunately we’ve taken all of the trips 2019 has to offer our family so we won’t get to experience it this year, but just writing this makes me want to put it into our schedule for 2020. 

Thank you again so much to the Universal Studios Hollywood team for making our trip (and our kids & Yaya’s first trip) such a fun experience! We can’t wait to get back and do it all over again. 

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