Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is about to unveil Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and with soft openings running sporadically of late, we decided to drop in last week to check out the Hogsmeade in Los Angeles. This post covers our review of “Wizarding World Hollywood” with a focus primarily on the differences between this version of Hogsmeade and the ones in Florida and Japan. The post also includes photos I took of the Wizarding World during our visit (fortunately, we were able to straggle into the evening, so I got some dusk and night shots with my tripod).
While there are a lot of entertainment options in Southern California, we expect to see a huge interest surge for Universal Studios Hollywood, particularly among those planning trips to Disneyland. Before we do a full-bore guide to Universal Studios Hollywood, we thought it might be worthwhile to post a review of the new Hogsmeade to see if any Disneyland visitors were also interested in heading to the nearby park in Hollywood.
Well, perhaps “nearby” is a bit of an overstatement. Thanks to Los Angeles’ lovely traffic situation, Universal Studios Hollywood can be anywhere from 45 minutes to ??? hours away from Disneyland. From our location in Orange County, Universal Studios Hollywood can be 2 hours or more away. Suffice to say, we don’t get nearly as much mileage out of our Universal Annual Passes as we do our Disneyland APs. Still, we have found Universal Studios Hollywood to be a great park that compliments Disneyland and Disney California Adventure nicely.
Let’s take a look around Hogsmeade to see how Wizarding World Hollywood compares to its predecessors…
In terms of general design, the layout feels very similar to the versions of Hogsmeade in Orlando and Osaka. This one is definitely the most cramped, with other lands immediately outside the perimeter of the land. Other changes for the better have been made, such as tweaks to Ollivanders Wand Shop, which has a large queue behind the building for what has become a surprisingly long wait in the Florida version. Surprisingly enough, it felt like Universal Studios Japan’s incarnation of Hogsmeade had been iterated upon more than this one.
It is a bit of a disappointment that Wizarding World West does not really bring anything substantively new to the table with Hogsmeade. Even minor new areas to explore and added details would be appreciated. However, the practical reality is that outside of those obsessed with theme parks, direct clones don’t matter. A good 90%+ of Hollywood’s guests will never visit Orlando or Osaka’s versions. Still, something new would be nice, and I hope that arrives when the rumored demise of Shrek 4D occurs.
There is a new Hogwarts Express photo op, but you aren’t allowed to take photos of it with your own camera. File that decision under “super lame cash grab.”
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is the star of the show, so let’s start with it. Forbidden Journey is arguably one of the top 10 theme park attractions of all time, and easily one of the best of the last decade. Universal Creative wisely left well enough alone in terms of the layout and substance of the experience here.
They did, however, add 3D. I’ve heard rumors that this is specially-designed 3D and the glasses for the ride have yet to arrive, so generic glasses are presently being used. I sure hope this is the case, as the 3D was a tremendous disappointment. The screen and scenes were too dark, and I found myself cycling between wearing the glasses for screen scenes and removing them for show scenes.
Among theme park fans, Universal Creative has developed a reputation as being screen-obsessed. The same could be said for 3D. I would argue that Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey perfectly balances screens and physical sets, and only uses screens when the constraints of physical sets require it. I can think of no such argument for what 3D brings to the table here. If anything, the prevalence of 3D at Universal attractions is an annoyance for the decent chunk of the population that already wears glasses or is made nauseous by 3D.
Even so, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey remains one of the best theme park attractions of all time, and is an absolute must do regardless of the wait time (thankfully, there’s single rider). I just worry that come 2013 when 3D is passé, all of these 3D attractions will be a bit much.
Flight of the Hippogriff is the land’s kiddie coaster, and it’s cute for what it is. The total ride duration is 1 minute, tops, but I could see this offering enjoyable views at sunset or night when Hogwarts is looking dopest. There’s also an Audio Animatronics Hippogriff that is pretty cute. For those non-Potter fans, from what I can ascertain, a Hippogriff is basically a slightly modified griffin. Not a hybrid of a hippopotamus and griffin, as I was hoping. (How badass would that be?!)
With no wait, we also stopped in Ollivanders for a demonstration. Honestly, I’m not sure why this has become so popular. There is some charm to it and decent effects, but if I waited more than 20 minutes for this, I’d feel like I wasted my time. Maybe it’s because I’m overly-cynical, but it ultimately feels like a dressed up sales pitch for the wands they sell.
There’s also a stage where shows are performed throughout the day, all of which are fine diversions.
On an unequivocally positive note, there’s the food. We had lunch at Three Broomsticks with Guy Selga (who has done his own excellent review of Wizarding World West), who had already dined at Three Broomsticks once. While some options are the same as the Orlando menu, they have upped the ante on quality across the board. Several menu items are exclusive to Universal Studios Hollywood, and these are the best of the bunch.
Our meals last year in the Springfield (The Simpsons) area made us suspect the food was better at Universal Studios Hollywood, and Three Broomsticks confirmed that suspicion. Our ribs, chicken, and stew were all excellent and high quality (I really wanted to try the “Beef Sunday Roast” but the $21 price tag scared me away), but those pale in comparison to the desserts.
For dessert, we all shared the Butterbeer Potted Cream and Sticky Toffee Pudding, which was a huge mistake. These desserts were so mind-blowingly awesome that sharing here is an atrocious idea. The Sticky Toffee Pudding was decadent, moist, and thick, and one of the best theme park desserts I’ve ever tried.
Much like gluten, I don’t even know what “potted cream” is, but I know I need it in my life. As I write this post, I find myself craving both desserts, and much like Butterbeer originally, I think these treats are going to be surprise hits of Wizarding World Hollywood. Of course, they also have the various varieties of Butterbeer (which I’ve compared and contrasted in The Wizarding World of Butterbeer post), but these two desserts should also rank as must-dos. Make sure to wear pants with an elastic waistband (after all, this is L.A., so only the flyest style will do) to Universal Studios Hollywood, because the dessert scene is excellent.
Let’s wash down dessert with a bit of the ugly: sightlines. Without powerful zoom lenses or viewing Hogsmeade from odd angles, the real world and other areas of the park intrude upon Hogsmeade with regularity. We are talking hotels, office buildings, show buildings, and other lands of the park. In fact, there is seldom a view in Hogsmeade that is not interrupted by something that does not belong. This is wholly unacceptable. I understand that Universal Studios Hollywood has a small plot of land in one of the largest metropolitan areas on earth. That doesn’t excuse this complete and utter disregard for show.
It’s one thing when we are talking regional amusement parks and their slipshod attention to detail, but Universal deserves to be held to a higher standard. Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley have raised the bar on themed lands. Ironically enough, it would be a disservice to Universal to hold them to a lower standard when they themselves are clearly aspiring to more. Universal is now a viable pretender to the throne previously held by Disney alone, and it deserves to be judged as such.
While there is no way to totally quarantine Hogsmeade from the outside world, we aren’t talking about building the land in a bubble or anything impractical. Most of this could have been fixed by planting adult trees at the edge of the land to obscure office and show buildings (likewise, there should be trees between the wooden fence and security fence around the Flight of Hippogriff coaster). J.K. Rowling has a reputation as a bit of a perfectionist, and I wonder whether she has seen this version of the finished land yet and given it her seal of approval.
For a land with an undoubtedly lavish budget, it’s mind-boggling to me that a few hundred-thousand dollars (drops in a bucket) more wasn’t spent ensuring that the illusion of Hogsmeade was maintained to the greatest extent possible. Ever been to an opulent home that is devoid of furniture and decor inside because its owners are “house poor”? Well, it feels as if Universal is “Hogwarts poor” when viewing the sparse and undersized trees around the perimeter of the land. They get no pass because the trees will grow in 5+ years from now. Time to fully shed that bush league image, Universal.
The easy retort to this is that Disneyland is far from perfect when it comes to sightlines. You can see the Matterhorn from multiple lands, Big Thunder Mountain from New Orleans Square, and so on. One of my favorite blogs, Passport 2 Dreams, recently covered the sightlines topic, with the ultimate crux of the issue being whether it really matters to the casual guest, or if this is all academic fodder. Definitely worth a read if you’re intrigued by this.
I think that it does matter to average guests, even if only subconsciously, and it’s more an issue of plausibility and suspension of disbelief than anything else. In the generic lands of fantasy, adventure, frontier, future, etc., otherwise-themed visual intrusions are easier to process and accept. Seeing a castle and Swiss mountain from Frontierland isn’t visually jarring, for me at least, because (among other reasons) the concepts are vague and somewhat blurry.
I’m sure there’s an analytical way to judge this, but for me it comes down to the smell test. The sightlines at Disneyland that might be problematic on paper or in isolation don’t raise any cognitive red flags or interrupt my suspension of disbelief. Perhaps it’s the deft mastery of Walt’s original Imagineers or maybe personal bias and familiarity, but most things that could be dubbed sightline issues at Disneyland pass muster for me. About the only thing I find troubling is the view of Splash Mountain from New Orleans Square.
On the other hand, when you have a narrow thematic concept, such as the world of Hogsmeade or a planet in the Star Wars universe, the bounds on that are clear and viewers are far less forgiving. Narrowly-defined lands that succeed based upon their ability to allow visitors to step into a very specific story and experience those environments necessarily require more. No first-timer walks into Adventureland with a preconceived mental notion of what the land should and should not entail, but you better believe they do with Hogsmeade. The bar is likewise high with Star Wars Land, and I hope Wizarding World West serves as a cautionary tale for Disney.
Neither these sightline issues nor anything else in this review should dissuade anyone from making a visit to Universal Studios Hollywood. While the sightlines do put an asterisk on an otherwise impeccable land, the emphasis should be on the impeccable land not on the asterisk. Along with Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade is one of the most exceptional theme park lands ever created. It rivals the best of Tokyo DisneySea, and of its United States contemporaries, only Cars Land gives the Wizarding Worlds a run for their money. It’s important to remember that this review is largely a compare and contrast exercise to other versions of Hogsmeade, which is why there’s an (admittedly) undertone of disappointment. Were this the first and only Hogsmeade, the prevailing tone here would be, “OMFG, THIS IS $%&$ AWESOME!”
Consequentially, the ultimate take-away here should be that if you’re heading to California and have never visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios Hollywood is a must-do. Even if you have been to the Orlando version, USH is worth considering for the true star of the park: the iconic Studio Tour. While the park has a reputation as being small with a short list of attractions, the Studio Tour (even with the laughably bad Fast & Furious segment) alone almost justifies the cost of admission. That, plus a solid slate of attractions and shows (including a great version of Springfield from The Simpsons) makes Universal Studios a full day park that is worth the cost and effort of braving Los Angeles’ traffic. Just be sure to arrive early if you’re coming this spring or summer, as it’s sure to be busy.
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Your Thoughts
What is your take on Wizarding World Hollywood? Is the sightline thing a big deal or non-issue for you? Thinking of visiting Universal Studios Hollywood on your next visit to Disneyland? Would you like to see a complete guide to the park from us? Share any other questions or thoughts in the comments below!
good article
I want to share a horrible experience my family went through in USH during the 2019 Christmas break. After going through this ordeal, my family will never go back to any universal studio resort and I will certainly ask my friends and relatives not to go. It is humuliating and heart broken to my family.

Here is what happened:
My families and other relatives planned a Christmas trip to LA from bay area in California. We bought 12 tickets online. During the buying process, there was absolutely no message displayed to indicate the tickets are not transferable.

So our big families went to LA with great expectation for an enjoyable trip. On Dec 26, two of my brother’s children were sick and their families decided not to go. The others went to the resort and I tried to sell the 4 never unused tickets to a resort goer with a price $10 lower than my original price for each ticket.

After exchanging the tickets and money, our families were suddenly circulated by a group of securites. We were told by security officer Grigor Altunyan with an absolute rude tone: “we saw you sold tickets. This was not allowed and you need to give the money back to the other park goer. The only reason we did not call the sheriff to arrest you is that we saw you had a big familiy and is not trying to make a living out of it”.

I replied saying there was no sign to indicate tickets are not transferable and also no message to indicate so when we bought tickets online, but I complied and gave the money back and the other park-goer passed the ticket to officer Altunyan. Then Officer Altunyan said he was going to confiscate the tickets because I broke their rule. I said I did not agree because those were tickets I paid fully out of pocket, and they were never used and worth a few hundred dollars. I would like them back so that we could use them in the future. I indicated firmly that I want the tickets back and if they intend to keep them, I need a receipt to indicate what rule I broke so that I could fight it in the future. Finally he let me took a picture of his security badge but refused to issue me a receipt for the confiscation. Then officer Altunyan said I had better stop arguing, otherwise they would kick us out of their properties. My wife asked me to stop arguing, fearing that they would do kick us out and ruin the kid’s vacation, so we went to the park with the tickets taken away from us.

The next day I phoned universal studio’s adminstrative office and was told once the secuirties took thge tickets, there was nothing they could do. It seems that the corporate was endorsing this outrageous treatments of their customers.

All our families think our treatments were totally unfair and humuliating and have the following questions/comments:

1. Is it necessary for them to confiscate the tickets while they did a poor job in indicatingh the tickets are not transferrable? Shouldn’t be a warning enough, so that our families can use the tickets in the future?

2. We were threatened by Mr. Altunyan several times with calling for sheriff to arrest me and throwing my families out of the park if I insisted in arguing. Is it necessary to treat our big families like criminals with rediculously rude and threatening languages? Is this the technique he used consistently to force people to comply and stop arguing against the ticket confiscation?

3. I do not think I broke any federal, state or municipal laws and I am sure I will not be arrested for selling the tickets. This is nothing more than Mr. Altunyan’s threatening technique. The only reason I gave up in arguing is that I did not want to ruin our children’s vacation.
We just returned from 2 days at USH. It has been 10 years since our last visit. There has been a huge improvement with the addition of HP Land. I found it to be top notch in the “experience.” It gets even better at night. A must see in my opinion.
Yes, the rides are heavy 3D but many of them use a combination of real movement and 3D. As someone who only sees out of 1 eye many 3D experiences are wasted on me but most here worked (exception being Shrek).
The shows were serviceable but nothing great. The exception being the tri-wizard show in HP land. I’m including the studio tour with this. I think part of it was our guide was just not into it. And the addition of the 3D points just made it super cheesy. The animal actors show is always a fun time.
Compared to Disneyland it is a step down but they are a step closer. I could see visiting the park again in 5 years or so.
Tom, I am so glad to see this review — your information about Disneyland and DCA has guided my trips there. Do you have a recommendation about where to buy tickets for Universal Studios Hollywood?
As of right now, directly from USH’s website. Starting in 2017, that may change (depending upon whether they start doing bundle offers again).
I was SO happy to see your review of HP at Universal. As a die hard Disney fan with yearly passes since I can remember…I have never been to Universal Studios. But, as an equally big HP fan, I knew I had to make the trip. I will be turning 30 this Friday at universal, then making the trip “Home” to disney for the rest of the long weekend. Thank you for your blog…it makes waiting the rest of the week tolerable. 🙂
Thank you for the information on Harry Potter World at Universal California. It’s good to know the good, the bad and the ugly before you get there so your expectations can be tempered with a reality check. I’m so glad we will be going to Harry Potter before Disneyland. Our trip is in the planning stages, so it would be great if there was a step by step guide. I hope it also includes information on where to stay nearby as that can be a huge expense to those of us on a tight budget. By the way, your pictures are amazing.
One thing for sure – original stuff is original stuff. I had recently visited Universal Studios @ Hollywood – it is much better than the one in Singapore (visited in 2013).
I feel a sense of history – like an antique – perhaps it is just a mind game (i am a history fan). But I definitely recommend folks visiting this place
I agree with previous posters that Universal was a bit of a let down. However, we did go to Disneyland/California Adventure first where the rides are thrilling and much longer. Most of the rides at Universal, including the Harry Potter’s The Forbidden Journey, were basically sit in a chair and watch a 3D movie. While it was fun I would not say it’s a top 10 ride, I would say it’s a top video experience. And the flight of the Hippogriph was all of 30 seconds. Seriously. Shortest. Ride. Ever. If I were recommending to a friend planning a trip to Disney and Universal I would suggest going to Universal Studios first then go to Disneyland/California Adventure so that you are not let down by Universal’s ride selection. And I would set the expectation that Universal is not really about the ‘rides’ but more about experiences and 3D graphics.
Visited last week and thought the Forbidden Journey ride was pretty lame. My 11-year old agreed. It was our first time visiting Universal. Unfortunately, nearly all the rides at Universal follow the same formula: Sit in a vibrating chair in front of a 3D screen and periodically have water sprayed on you. It gets old quickly.
I’ve been to a decent number of theme parks–Universal ranks last. Recommend spending your hard earned elsewhere. That said, if you have kids under 7, then this might be a good option as they will be able to meet height requirements and won’t chicken out like they may for a large roller coaster (after you waited in line for an hour).
Tom, I would LOVE a Universal Hollywood guide to the park! We are huge HP fans and of course will be visiting Universal next time we go to Disneyland. I’ve been to Disneyland dozens of times, but Universal only once years and years ago… I’d love some tips from a trusted pro!