The VIP Experience at Universal Studios Hollywood

Posted By : thegrinch28
This is brilliant, well worth the money. First up you arrive and the valet takes your car, all included. A short walk to the entrance and there is a VIP entrance where you get your passes and then go upstairs to relax with some breakfast. Whilst there we met Doc Brown and saw Dracula on the prowl. After 30 minutes our guide Danielle S met us and said we would gather together at 10.15 where she told us the plan, and got to know everyone and what their priorities were on the tour.

Soon after we were whisked off to the tour. Our VIP trolley was shared with another group of 12 but when we got off they did their thing and we did ours. And yes we got off 3 times which you do not do on the normal tour. We saw a props warehouse, a set for Quantum Leap and got to walk in town square whilst the nornmal tour drove by. Sadly due to 60th anniversary construction we did not see Earthquake, the movie cars and the flood but we were more than happy that we had a good tour with Danielle and in a small group of 1 tram which is stocked with complimentray water.

Tour over Danielle suggested we did Harry Potter before lunch, and stright to the front we went. She looked after any bags and waited with anyone who did not want to ride. The Forbiden Journey is very good but the Hufflegruff rollercoaster was not the best and over too soon. But HP world is WOW, better than Galaxy Edge IMO. Our daughter loved it and I think the adults did a bit too.

So to lunch which is normally at Moulin Rouge in the park, currently closed we went out of the park to Margaritaville which was nice after the recent passing of Jimmy Buffet. And a buffet is what was on offer, plus a choice of 3 or 4 main courses which were very nice. Unlimited soft or hot drinks but you can pay for alcohol too. OK you are out of the park but the 1 hour window was more than enough and we also got to see behind the scenes again going in and out of the park with Danielle.

A quick chat and our guide said how about this list of rides and things, and it was then pow pow pow as each one was knocked off including Mario which you can only queue jump as a VIP. Off to the Watereold show for 5.15 and reserved VIP seating too.

Danielle bid us farewell (she was great) and we used our passes to go on anything VIP style for the rest of the day.

Look these parks are hard work, long days and not always as fun as they look. It can be tough being out 12 hourd trying to do everything with kids and in the hot sun. But this VIP pass made it a super chilled experience, one I would pay to do again.

And overall we really liked Universal Hollywood. Perfect size, the shops and bars outside better than Downtown Disney and everything so clean. Only gripe is alot of the rides are screen based simulator sort of things but the best ones are very good none the less.

Go to Universal and be a VIP, you won't regret it especially if you have 1 day only to go there.

Thanks Danielle S, and Zan too.
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Posted On : 2024-04-23 10:00:23

Posted By : rosieru8
This was sooo disappointing. It was our last day in LA and we contemplated where to go and this was the spot that won! Got our tickets, got a cab, and got there. The tour was only 15 minutes in and I was loving hearing the stories, and there was a fire that broke out. We were shuffled to an area, in full sun as there was limited sitting or shade with a large group of people. We weren't being told much, and after a long while, we were told we had to leave. It was very disorganised. Refund took ages to do as we couldn't hang around as we had a flight to get to. Sad we missed it and had no time to do anything else.
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Posted On : 2024-04-08 00:33:33

Posted By : Compass596361
Do not waste your money on the VIP experience. They will lie and say 12 people max on your tour but will allow much more. They lie and say there is an age requirement but plan on having toddlers on your tour and making frequent stops so you are waiting in front of an attraction for a solid 10 minutes so they can go to the bathroom and put the stroller away. The gourmet meal you get is the opposite of gourmet. They walk you outside the park to margaritaville and tell you to be back in exactly 50 minutes, if you aren't you will not be allowed back in the park the rest of the day. Well the food takes forever to get and my daughters steak came out sour, like it was rainbow colored meat. We only had 10 minutes left so not enough time to order something else. So she didn't get to eat and it was her birthday we were celebrating. This was my 3rd and last time ever doing this. The first time it was amazing the second time you could see it going down and this time was all the way down and we will never spend another penny at Universal. Time to go back to Disney, that tour is AMAZING and everyone should do Disney tour, skip Universal.
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Posted On : 2024-04-07 12:48:28

Posted By : Inamarie F
This was our first VIP experience, and I did my research prior to our visit and one of the highlights I was looking forward to was the gourmet lunch buffet included with our tickets, if you check it out on youtube it really looked fabulous and was a highlight, the tour started well ( our tour guide was very good), then lunch time arrived and with no heads up we were literally told we would not be having the gourmet buffet but instead was cattled off through a side door through security, and out of the park to a margaretaville restaurant. The lunch was poor, the options were very limited, burger, chicken tenders etc it wasnt the whole menu, not what i would have chosen, it was very poor and honnestly didn't taste great...we were there for the whole universal experience, not margaretaville, I would have preferred, given the option to stay in the park gone to a universal themed place to eat and enjoy the experience as the buffet was off limits. Apparently the buffet is closed down and will be out of commission for quite a while. It would have been nice to have been told, some transparency, especially when lunch was going to be the highlight for us, looking back I could have bought fast track tickets, and bought lunch in a fun themed restaurant in the park, and saved a ton of money, i bought 6 VIP tickets (around $2700 it was premium price because of half term), I did call to make my feelings known, they offered $60 worth of food vouchers (10 dollars per person) but I feel that was a bit of an insult..I am disappointed :0(
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Posted On : 2024-04-04 17:19:22

Posted By : Kandi T
Amazing way to do the park- VIP tour. If you book in advance it really isn’t that much more than a skip the line ticket… and the VIP ticket comes with a light breakfast, full lunch, and bottled water. It also gets you on the Mario Kart ride skip the line while the express pass doesn’t work there.

Ramon was our guide and he was terrific. He was very interactive and gave a lot of great information. He always asked if anyone had to use the restroom and ensured our group of 12 didn’t get lost. The studio tour was the best part because we got to visit a soundstage (Quantam Leap), a props room, and walk amongst one of the outdoor sets. It was really cool. We also had premium seats for the Waterwold show which was incredible. If we wanted to sit in the wet seats we could have but it was a bit too chilly for that - and those people were getting soaked.

You could have left the tour at anytime but no one in our group did because we were seeing everything and getting on rides extremely quickly. They also gave us ponchos for the Jurassic world ride. Our tour didn’t start until 10:45 and I didn’t realize we could have checked in when the park opened and enjoyed the VIP express pass until the tour but we accomplished everything even starting when we did. But if you get a late tour time just know you can go right when the park opens and get your lanyard to explore the park.
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Posted On : 2024-03-30 12:17:18

Posted By : caxers2024
we loved this place!! we're from las vegas but this is the best in the world, perfect to come with family and kids, we loved the friendly people, we can't wait to come back!!
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Posted On : 2024-03-29 13:07:44

Posted By : nicolegY9105IR
Best tour ever! Worth every penny. Our guide was Sara. She was so sweet, helpful, and funny! I really enjoyed having her. We had a small bite to eat in the VIP lounge then proceeded to our tour. Lunch was so much better than I thought it would be. So good. Tony was also a great source of information during the prop tour. Walking past long lines and straight onto rides was Aaah-Mazing! We ended the day with the Water World show. Do not skip this show. It was great.
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Posted On : 2024-03-24 00:11:40

Posted By : emilyoE6451DN
As we only had one day for Universal Studios, we opted for the VIP experience and it did not disappoint! Christopher L. was our guide and he was fabulous. He was clearly passionate about his job and my husband loving talking movies with him. Even our 7 year-old, who is normally very shy around new people, opened up quickly and was chatting with him like old friends! We all enjoyed the expanded studio tour and skipping the lines was definitely the best part for the rides. I will say, if you care more about exploring each area, meeting characters and/or shopping/buying snacks, the VIP experience may not be for you as there is virtually no time for any of that during the tour (unless you opt to skip a ride). But for us, it was the perfect way to enjoy USH for a day. We had a later tour start time (11:15 am) and you're able to check-in and get your VIP lanyard as soon as the park opens, so we did get there early so we had time to explore the Harry Potter area before the tour, and then our tour ended in Super Mario land where we spent the last hour of the day before park closing.
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Posted On : 2024-03-22 15:08:18

Posted By : Paradise46800916997
The trip was amazing and our guide was Robert A. And he was fantastic did he job and goes above and beyond. Would recommend to all
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Posted On : 2024-03-19 16:28:03

Posted By : sikorskymilfordct
My teenage son and I decided at the last minute to upgrade from general admission to vip experience... Cost about $350 but with that we got a fun free breakfast buffet that was funn entertaining as characters went around chatting with us prior to our tour.. They give you groups of 14 or 15 people and you get a tour guide that takes you to everything so you don't miss anything and you could have skipped all the Lines... Without a doubt it was well worth than wait an hour or 2 in line. Without a doubt it was well worth the money rather than wait an hour or 2 in line. They also give you a free lunch and park and is included in the price of VIP
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Posted On : 2024-03-18 22:08:53