We took a day trip to Universal Studios Hollywood from San Diego and packed in a lot of fun experiences! I’ve been wanting to take the kids to Universal ever since our trip to Hollywood years ago. We got to explore the whole park in one day and have to share our favorite adventures with you. Thanks to Universal for partnering with us to bring you our top picks!
Must See Attractions at Universal Studios
Universal Studios is a great amusement park for families to explore. I remember it being much different from when I went as a kid. These attractions are our favorites from our one day adventure.
- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
- Mario Cart: Bowser’s Challenge
- Jurassic World
- The Studio Tour
- Minion Land
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
When you first arrive into the park at Universal Studios, there’s a bunch of shops, restaurants and photo opportunities. The first world we visited was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
The Butter Beer is worth the hype. It’s similar to a cream soda in taste and has a creamy float on top. They also have a frozen version available.
The rides in the Harry Potter World are super fun. The flight of the Hippogriff is a family friendly roller coaster which was our favorite ride of the day. I also enjoyed the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. It’s a movie simulator ride that is really cool but also a bit scary.
Mario Cart: Bowser’s Challenge
I loved Super Nintendo World. The whole area is designed to look like you’re inside a video game and is so cute.
The Mario Cart Ride is really fun to do with friends or family. You get to wear a hat and special glasses so you can view the 3D elements while throwing shells and collecting digital coins.
Jurassic World
We also really enjoyed Jurassic World for the raptor encounter and lunch. We didn’t go on the ride here because nobody wanted to get wet but the ride looks really fun and James loved seeing the dinosaurs.
James really wanted to see the raptor so we waited a few minutes in line and got right to the front to get a photo. The attendant asked if James wanted to make the dinosaur speak so he showed him what to do and the Dino let out a big rawr!
The Studio Tour
The Studio Tour is an hour long bus ride which is a must for the full Universal Studios experience. Jimmy Fallon is on video throughout the tour dropping secrets of Hollywood moviemaking along with the bus tour guide.
The tour starts out in the backlots of the Hollywood studios. Then tours through some of the buildings they use in popular movies like the Back to the Future scene with the clock seen in the image above.
It’s definitely not a boring bus ride through buildings though. The bus drives over a bridge from the scenes of Jaws and flames spark all around. The bus also goes through a few more scenes from movies that pack in floods, fire, rain and more.
Minion Land and Super Silly Fun Land
We almost completely missed the Super Silly Fun Land and Minion Land on the way out. We spotted another area of buildings and walked over to find the cutest little town looking like Paris with mopeds, a Moulan Rouge restaurant and more spots to explore.
We missed the Secret Life of Pets and Minion ride but we would definitely try these next time. They looked super fun.
Exploring Universal Studios Hollywood made for a fun filled summer day!
📍 Universal Studios Hollywood
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
Hours: 9AM-9PM
What’s your favorite experience at Universal? Let me know in the comments. xo, Bri
We received tickets and fast passes from Universal Studios. All opinions are my own.
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