Universal Studios Hollywood One Day Itinerary: Strategy and Tips from a Theme Park Expert
If you only have a day at Universal Studios Hollywood, you’ll want to make every ride, bite, and minute count.
As your resident obsessive travel planner, this Universal Studios Hollywood one day itinerary isn’t just a ride list.
It’s built from my own personal experience (because it’s not a Universal day until you’ve bonded with strangers on four consecutive escalators). Plus, it answers the most common first-timer questions and gives you a clear, step-by-step game plan so you can tackle the park like a pro.
Whether you’re here for Hogwarts magic, Jurassic thrills, or Minion mischief, I’ll help you hit the highlights, dodge the crowds, and leave with both your phone battery and your patience intact.
Lights, camera…action!
Get Started Here
🛎️ Where to stay:
- Hilton Los Angeles / Universal City ($279+ per night) — free shuttle to park, AAA 4 Diamond hotel, large rooms
- Sheraton Universal Hotel ($455+ per night) — free shuttle to park, modern amenities, nice pool
🎟️ Get theme park tickets here
Setting the Stage: How to Start Your Universal Day Right
Start with Early Park Admission
Before I get into the nitty gritty, there’s a ticket add-on that will change your itinerary and subsequent planning.
It’s Early Park Admission. This add-on gives you an extra hour in the morning to enter the park before everyone else. Specifically, during Early Park Admission, the only part of the park that’s open is Super Nintendo World.
However, given that the cost of Early Park Admission is $20-30 (depending on crowd calendars), I’d say it’s worth it!
I visited most recently on a summer day and because of Early Park Admission, we did all of Super Nintendo World before the park even opened. AND, we were already on the Lower Lot, so we could hop in line for The Mummy and then Jurassic World, to get it all done by 9:45 am.
Arrival and Parking
Knowing all that, let’s talk about timing your arrival.
You want to arrive at the park around 30 minutes before you intend to enter. Depending on your ticket type and park hours, the exact time for your arrival may vary.
For example, if you have Early Park Admission and the park opens for everyone at 9 am, that means you can get in with early entry an hour before that at 8 am. So, you’d want to arrive at 7:30 am.
If you don’t have Early Park Admission, you can plan to arrive 30 minutes before park opening.
Parking is at CityWalk, the entertainment and retail area outside the park. It costs $35 per car.
You can also get to Universal Studios by taking the Metro, specifically the Red Line to Universal Studios station. There’s a pedestrian bridge that takes you over the road to the base of the hill that leads up to Universal Studios, where you can catch their free shuttle.
Breakfast Recommendation
If you need breakfast before entering the park, I’d go with VooDoo Doughnuts, which is a Portland, Oregon donut chain with a location in CityWalk. You can grab a donut and coffee before entering the park.
I know there’s been a lot of preamble before diving into the itinerary, but I want to make sure you’re set up to understand it if you’ve never been to the park before.
Universal Studios Hollywood is split into two areas – the Upper Lot and the Lower Lot.
The Upper Lot has all the Illumination and Dreamworks Animation stuff (Minions, Secret Life of Pets, Kung Fu Panda, Shrek), Wizarding World of Harry Potter, access to the Studio Tour, Waterworld show, and Springfield USA: Home of the Simpsons.
The Lower Lot has Super Nintendo World, Jurassic World, and the Transformers and The Mummy rides.
To get between the Upper and Lower Lots, there is a series of 4 escalators. It takes 7 minutes to ride them (yes, I’ve timed it…what did you expect from a former scientist’s travel blog?).
This itinerary was designed to reduce the number of times you travel between the two areas, because even though it’s only 7 minutes each way, it feels very time consuming to go back and forth.
If you’re unable to take an escalator, there is a shuttle that is handicap accessible as well that travels between the Upper and Lower Lots.
Universal Studios Hollywood Itinerary for 1 Day
Morning Game Plan: The Lower Lot
Assuming you have Early Park Admission, you’ll enter Universal Studios an hour before the park’s official opening.
You’ll be corralled to Super Nintendo World. During your early hour, you can knock out this whole area.
Start with Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, the only ride in the area. It’s a real life Mario Kart game where you get interactive visors that allow you to see the other players, consumables (like red shells and bananas), and parts of the tracks.
The ride itself takes you through a ton of familiar Mario Kart tracks like Cloudtop Cruise, Rainbow Road, and Grumble Volcano, just to name a few.
Once you get off the ride, you can interact with the world using a Power Up band. These are available for purchase at any of the shops, or you can buy them secondhand. That’s what I did to save a bit and it was so easy to restart the band’s history by connecting it in the app.
The main to-do with the Power Up bands is to unlock Bowser Jr.’s Shadow Showdown. This is a muti-player game that you need 3 keys to gain access to.
You can play various mini games around Super Nintendo World to get the keys. Once you have 3, you’ll be able to enter Bowser Jr.’s Shadow Showdown.
Aside from the key games, there are other mini games and interactive spots. Plus, you can meet some characters like Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Peach!
All that should be pretty doable within 45 minutes to an hour.
Ten minutes before the park officially opens, make your way out of Super Nintendo World to line up for The Mummy. This way, when it opens, you’ll have virtually no wait.
Then head across the way to Jurassic World: The Ride. I’ll admit that a water ride this early in the morning might not be the right move depending on what time of year you visit. However, they do adjust the water level accordingly.
For example, when I visited in July, they raised the water level calling it the Mosasaurus Splash and we got SOAKED. But it was summer! We dried off within a couple hours.
My biggest tip is that for some reason, there are no free lockers for the Jurassic World ride, even though they have them for other rides like The Mummy. I recommend bringing a plastic bag to put your belongings in. You can get them at any shop in the park – just ask nicely!
The final ride at The Lower Lot is Transformers: The Ride-3D. Get that one out of the way too and you’ll have knocked out 4 rides and the entire Lower Lot before lunch.
If you still have time before lunch, I’d stick around for the first meet and greets for the dinosaurs and Transformers, and any you missed in Super Nintendo World.
Lunch at Toadstool Café
For lunch, go to Toadstool Café in Super Nintendo World.
I was so pleasantly surprised by the food here, probably because I like to keep my theme park food expectations in check.
I had the Luigi burger, which was pesto chicken and the garlic knots. The burger was incredible, the truffle fries with the pesto aioli even more so, but the garlic knots were lacking flavor, so I’d skip those.
You need a reservation to dine at Toadstool Café, which you can do ahead of time in the app, or the morning of by scanning the QR code outside the restaurant. If you scan the code in person, add that to your Super Nintendo World list for the morning.
Afternoon at The Upper Lot
After lunch, make your way to The Upper Lot.
Take a breather with the Studio Tour, where you’ll board a tram that takes you to the Universal Studios backlot, which is an active film studio. You’ll see sets that have been used throughout movie history and some fun ride elements to learn about the movie making process.
You’ll see cars from the Fast and Furious franchise, the airplane set from War of the Worlds, Amity Island from Jaws, and even the motel and house from Psycho!
A note here that while it might seem like a boring ride, it’s actually very bumpy and intense at times. I wouldn’t recommend it for small children who are sensitive to loud sounds and can’t distinguish real danger from staged danger.
The Studio Tour is about an hour long, so be sure to go to the bathroom first!
After the Studio Tour, visit the Wizarding World and Springfield USA, the Simpsons area. I’d choose whichever one has shorter wait times at the moment. You can also do these before the Studio Tour if the wait times are low right after lunch!
Knock out Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Flight of the Hippogriff, and The Simpsons Ride.
If you need an afternoon pick-me-up, grab a frozen butterbeer! It’s one of my favorite Universal parks snacks and always hits the spot on hot summer days.
Now is also a great time to try your hand at the spell locations in Hogsmeade with an interactive wand. Those are for purchase in the shops, and similar to Power Up bands, you can buy them secondhand!
They also work park-to-park, so if you purchased one at Universal Orlando, for example, it will still work!
And if you already have a wand, but aren’t sure where the spell locations are, you can ask a team member in shops that sell wands for a map. They come in the wand boxes, so if you already have a wand or even just want the souvenir, you can ask for one for free!
You can also look out for the markings on the ground that show you which mark the spell locations and indicate which spells to cast.
I’d aim to see the first or second show of Waterworld. It’s one of the best things to do in the park and similar to the Studio Tour, one of the most classic, one-of-a-kind things.
It’s based on the movie Waterworld, but no worries if you haven’t seen it. They explain the story very well so it’s easy to follow.
The show is a water and stunt-tacular! Think jet skis, speed boats, ziplining, high dives, and more! Because the show has a water element, you may get wet, especially if you sit in the lower bleachers.
The show lasts for 20 minutes, and I’d recommend getting there 20-30 minutes before show time.
An Animated Evening
The last area of the park is dedicated to popular animated franchises from Dreamworks and Universal’s Illumination.
Minions Land is home to three rides: The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, and Silly Swirly. I’d monitor wait times and ride those accordingly. I found that as the day went on and kids got tired, families left the park, so this area had lower wait times the later and later the day got.
There’s also some activities to do that are not wait time dependent like meet-and-greets with the characters from Shrek, carnival games in Minion Land, and the Dreamworks Theatre: Kung Fu Panda experience, which is a 4-D motion simulator theatre with frequent show times.
Dinner at The Three Broomsticks
For dinner, I like the Three Broomsticks. Again, theme park food can be daunting, but they really do it well at The Three Broomsticks.
They have British food where a favorite of mine is the fish and chips. I’ve also had their vegan shepherd’s pie, kids mac and cheese, and butterbeer potted cream. All delicious!
At night, if they’re showing it, stick around for the Hogwarts light show. While it doesn’t run every night, when it does, you can watch it starting at sunset and every 15-20 minutes. Ask a team member for more information if it’s running the day you’re there and at what time.
It’s a nice send off for the evening! If you still have time, the evening is also a great time to do the spell locations around Hogsmeade. That’s because the windows are a lot easier to see inside when there’s no glare from the sun!
Close Out Your Day at CityWalk
If you have time and energy, I’d honestly venture to CityWalk for dessert or drinks, or even some shopping. This entertainment and retail complex has lots of options to keep you entertained, which can be really nice if Universal Studios closes early.
Toothsome Chocolate Emporium is a favorite for dessert and drinks, especially the crazy shakes, chocolate mousse, and bread pudding. Try their espresso martini or a flight of sweet whiskeys like peanut butter whiskey and chocolate whiskey.
For shopping, don’t miss Take 2 in the back near Bucca Di Beppo. This shop has merch directly from the theme park that’s heavily discounted, similar to an outlet!
Related read >> Guide to Universal’s CityWalk
FAQ’s for Planning Your Universal Studios Trip
Can you do this itinerary without Early Park Admission?
If you don’t have early park admission, I would honestly do the exact same thing, knowing that you’ll have a bit longer ride wait times at The Lower Lot.
Alternatively, if Super Nintendo World becomes crazy crowded quickly, I would skip straight to The Mummy, Jurassic World, and Transformers. Return to Super Nintendo World as your last area of the day.
Just don’t forget to make reservations at Toadstool Café if you still want to dine there!
How much does it cost for a day at Universal Studios Hollywood?
- Park Tickets: $109+
- Early Park Admission: $20-30
- Parking: $35
- Food: $50
Is one day enough?
Unlike Universal Orlando, Universal Studios Hollywood is much more compact. There’s 1 park, 13 rides, and 2 shows.
If you only have 1 day, that’s truly enough time. I will say, however, that they often have ticket deals where if you buy a day, you get a second day for free. So, if you’re concerned you need more time, this could be a worthwhile option to plan your trip around.
When is the best time to visit?
Summer is certainly peak season, so if you’d like to avoid crowds, any time other than summer is a better bet.
Be mindful of popular events, too, like Halloween Horror Nights, which is September and October.
I’d opt for a late winter trip in January or February, if you don’t mind a cooler theme park day, or May for warmer weather right between spring break and summer crowds.
Is the Express Pass worth it?
It certainly can be. If you’re visiting in peak season and are worried about wait times, an Express Pass will help alleviate that stress. It gives you access to a quicker queue.
However, with the right strategy, I don’t think it’s needed at Universal Studios Hollywood.
My main hesitation in recommending it to you is that the cost is often 80% of regular ticket prices. So you’re paying almost double total if you opt for Express Passes.
For example, if your ticket is the minimum at $109, Express Passes are $80 minimum. That’s a big chunk.
And, there is an option for Express Pass Select, which gives you Express entry into three attractions: Jurassic World, the Studio Tour, and Waterworld. But, I truly think with the right strategy, you don’t need an Express entry.
Are there lockers?
For certain rides (i.e. The Mummy and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey), there are free lockers you can use during your ride time. I will say, unlike at Universal Orlando or even Epic Universe, the lockers here are a weird shape. They’re about 3.75 inches wide, 11.75 inches tall, and 12 inches deep.
They fit most water bottles, but nothing wider.
The long-term lockers at the front of the park are:
- $10 for small lockers measuring 14 (high) x 11 (wide) x 17 (deep) inches
- $15 for large lockers measuring 18 (high) x 11 (wide) x 17 (deep) inches
Where should I stay nearby?
Universal Studios Hollywood is actually in Universal City and while you can stay anywhere in LA and be a 30 minute drive tops to the theme park, there are two hotels within walking distance to consider.
- Hilton Los Angeles / Universal City ($279+ per night) — free shuttle to park, AAA 4 Diamond hotel, large rooms
- Sheraton Universal Hotel ($455+ per night) — free shuttle to park, modern amenities, nice pool
Overall, I hope this helps you feel confident in your strategy for tackling Universal Studios Hollywood in one day! Have fun!
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