State of USH - What's Next?

[ladiesman217]

I will say this. I don't want to divert this page into the political side of things so please don't get the wrong idea on this but the current state of things in LA are not good. Personally, I am being heavily affected by ICE and their operations as are a lot of my friends and family members. I go to the park a lot and had planned to go every week this summer if possible because of Mega Movie Summer but now I can barely even step out of my house without the worry of being kidnapped. I've talked to a lot of other locals/park enthusiasts and they also say that they're barely going to the park because of the certain circumstances. It makes me really sad knowing that I may have to miss out this summer entirely but I will at least absolutely make it to HHN no matter what. But if these things continue, this could take a toll on HHN attendance this year too despite the stacked lineup. This will also ultimately trickle down and affect lots of things operationally with staffing being the biggest problem. In short, less money being made=less desire for employees. To end this on a positive note, I hope things do get better because I miss the park, a lot, and do wish to go back soon.

 

[Mad Dog]

I recall looking at USH attendance figures of the late 80's through the present. It appeared to me that USH's history is that it's very much a new attraction/show park. Attendance generally spiked at high levels the first year or two with a new attraction/show. Then attendance would drop significantly until the next new attraction/show. Seems like it's still living up to that standard.

 

[Freak]

I recall looking at USH attendance figures of the late 80's through the present. It appeared to me that USH's history is that it's very much a new attraction/show park. Attendance generally spiked at high levels the first year or two with a new attraction/show. Then attendance would drop significantly until the next new attraction/show. Seems like it's still living up to that standard.

I mean….with the exception of Disney, isn’t that generally how most parks operate?

 

[Mad Dog]

I mean….with the exception of Disney, isn’t that generally how most parks operate?

Seems like the rise and subsequent fall off is more than the others I've looked at.....Even it's sister parks in Universal Orlando don't have such a wide spread........................One certainty that we could bet heavily on. Guests are 'not' boycotting USH because Universal closed the Fast & Furious tunnel.

 

[KlownzNskullZ]

Seems like the rise and subsequent fall off is more than the others I've looked at.....Even it's sister parks in Universal Orlando don't have such a wide spread........................One certainty that we could bet heavily on. Guests are 'not' boycotting USH because Universal closed the Fast & Furious tunnel.

The wild fires, the ice raids, and general economy, and with tourist not wanting to visit a not so friendly USA at the moment…. That’s pretty much why the parks dead. Did anyone else know it’s like 150$ to go to this park now?

 

[Freak]

The wild fires, the ice raids, and general economy, and with tourist not wanting to visit a not so friendly USA at the moment…. That’s pretty much why the parks dead. Did anyone else know it’s like 150$ to go to this park now?

FWIW I do know several people who aren’t super theme park-savy who have noted this and they really don’t believe the price is worth it for one day, especially since a lot of the rides are “lame” or “mostly simulators” or lacks any “real rides”. The park needs this F&F coaster than some of us even realize.

I personally don’t care as I always get the Gold pass, so the prices don’t matter too much to me, but when the GO sees those prices for how few rides they have, I think that is especially worth noting…especially with “peak pricing” on a holiday. I think the issue is that theme parks have hit their price ceiling.

 

[Mad Dog]

FWIW I do know several people who aren’t super theme park-savy who have noted this and they really don’t believe the price is worth it for one day, especially since a lot of the rides are “lame” or “mostly simulators” or lacks any “real rides”. The park needs this F&F coaster than some of us even realize.

I personally don’t care as I always get the Gold pass, so the prices don’t matter too much to me, but when the GO sees those prices for how few rides they have, I think that is especially worth noting…especially with “peak pricing” on a holiday. I think the issue is that theme parks have hit their price ceiling.

USH is such a small park (not counting the tour which is probably more tourist oriented than with locals) with not much in the way of attractions, especially compared to Disneyland nearby. Without a big new attraction to spur local interest, it's not really economically feasible without an annual pass. As you say, the park cries out for the F&F coaster and probably a nice E ticket indoor attraction soon after.

 

[DrStarlander]

USH is such a small park (not counting the tour which is probably more tourist oriented than with locals) with not much in the way of attractions, especially compared to Disneyland nearby. Without a big new attraction to spur local interest, it's not really economically feasible without an annual pass. As you say, the park cries out for the F&F coaster and probably a nice E ticket indoor attraction soon after.

I took my family to USH this winter, my first visit in about 35 years. I think it's a "just okay" park, sadly. We felt done late in the afternoon. Frankly, we waited for and "rode" Minions Mayhem and that attraction was so bad my family kind of just lost steam.

We did have some fun before that: FJ, Jurassic, and Waterworld were highlights we all enjoyed. But we didn't leave wanting to come back. There just wasn't enough theming and vibes we wanted to spend any time in, except in Hogsmeade.

With at least four new attractions coming to DCA (the park I think they are competing with, in terms of tourists), even with F&F, I suspect USH is going to fall significantly further behind in tourist appeal unless they unveil some heavy-hitting newness.

 

[KlownzNskullZ]

I took my family to USH this winter, my first visit in about 35 years. I think it's a "just okay" park, sadly. We felt done late in the afternoon. Frankly, we waited for and "rode" Minions Mayhem and that attraction was so bad my family kind of just lost steam.

We did have some fun before that: FJ, Jurassic, and Waterworld were highlights we all enjoyed. But we didn't leave wanting to come back. There just wasn't enough theming and vibes we wanted to spend any time in, except in Hogsmeade.

With at least four new attractions coming to DCA (the park I think they are competing with, in terms of tourists), even with F&F, I suspect USH is going to fall significantly further behind in tourist appeal unless they unveil some heavy-hitting newness.

This park needs more theme park and idk if the company will do that. Things do seem to hint they are trying to.

Hollywood is dead isn’t it let’s just make this place into a theme park lol

 

[bdubsCEO]

I know why they exist, but Simpsons and Minions are so bad that they literally bring the entire park down by like a point. It’s like having two fake rides that only exist to waste your time. Unfortunately I don’t see Minions leaving for a very long time as the IP is still decently popular and they can’t really fit any other type of ride there.

USH is my favorite park in the state, although Knotts is close. What it really needs is a Simpsons replacement with a timeless property like BTTF, Pokémon or another classic Universal movie, another several lands on the lower lot with some alternate form of Dark Universe being 100% essential, probably one more Nintendo series and a restored Kongfrontation. The roller coaster was also very needed and is going to add so much kinetic energy, spectacle and capacity.

It definitely needs more, but it has an incredible atmosphere as is with all the roaming actors and limited time events and offerings. The park really feels alive.

EDIT: Also, FJ needs a refurb. The dragon scene is consistently great with movement heat and “fire”, but like half the dementors barely move or have been stuck for almost a year. Upgrading the screens with whatever they did to Transformers would make this almost feel like a new ride, that ride seriously looks almost lifelike in a few places now.

Also if they aren’t going to demolish Mummy and build there and behind it for probably another decade, that ride could also use 8K screens, new effects and it desperately needs a different ending

 

[DrStarlander]

Actually, I'll post a bit more color to the anecdote above. I am a lifetime Disney fanatic and had become a "convert" to Universal during 2024 as I watched -- obsessively, my family would say -- the construction of Epic Universe (thanks Alicia, thanks Bioreconstruct). So the trip we made to USH at the end of Dec. was directly inspired by that "conversion" experience and feeling like "we are Universal fans now!" (like I said, even growing up in So. Cal. I hardly went to USH and hadn't been in decades).

So instead of going to Disneyland, as we usually do when dropping into So. Cal to see family, we went to USH. So at that time I was hyping my family up for a trip to Epic Universe, which they were enthused for, but the tickets offered required spending days at USF too. And after the lackluster visit to USH, the prospect of doing a Universal Orlando trip -- and spending multiple days at USF in order to spend multiple days at Epic -- was a non-starter with my family. No interest.

That is, USH "unsold" my family on a trip to Universal Orlando (so we went to Europa Park instead, as I've posted elsewhere).

It definitely needs more, but it has an incredible atmosphere as is with all the roaming actors and limited time events and offerings. The park really feels alive.

I do agree with the roaming actors, my teenage son's interactions with a Dracula character was perhaps the most memorable part of our day.

 

[Mad Dog]

Actually, I'll post a bit more color to the anecdote above. I am a lifetime Disney fanatic and had become a "convert" to Universal during 2024 as I watched -- obsessively, my family would say -- the construction of Epic Universe (thanks Alicia, thanks Bioreconstruct). So the trip we made to USH at the end of Dec. was directly inspired by that "conversion" experience and feeling like "we are Universal fans now!" (like I said, even growing up in So. Cal. I hardly went to USH and hadn't been in decades).

So instead of going to Disneyland, as we usually do when dropping into So. Cal to see family, we went to USH. So at that time I was hyping my family up for a trip to Epic Universe, which they were enthused for, but the tickets offered required spending days at USF too. And after the lackluster visit to USH, the prospect of doing a Universal Orlando trip -- and spending multiple days at USF in order to spend multiple days at Epic -- was a non-starter with my family. No interest.

That is, USH "unsold" my family on a trip to Universal Orlando (so we went to Europa Park instead, as I've posted elsewhere).


I do agree with the roaming actors, my teenage son's interactions with a Dracula character was perhaps the most memorable part of our day.

I understand where you're coming from. But perhaps you should re examine a trip to USF/IOA. They're really fine parks, very WDW like, with lots of really good and great attractions. Plus staying at one of the on site main campus hotels beats the WDW hotel experience by a mile. You can take a water taxi or a short walk to the parks on beautiful, interesting, landscaped walkways. That ease of movement adds a lot of leisure to a vacation. Then there's CityWalk, adjacent to the parks, where you can add to the theme park experience.....Myself, I've never really desired to go to USH, except for the movie set tour. So, I get your feeling, but USH doesn't seem similar to the Universal Orlando experience. To an outsider it looks like a downgrade from Disney or Universal Orlando. Not to knock USH, but there's only so much they can do with such a small theme park footprint. They do OK in such a small space. But it is what it is. Heck, without the tour, it's about the same size as our local 'amusement' park, Kennywood, that has a lot more attractions, though no major dark rides like USH......I vacation at WDW and Universal Orlando a lot. My opinion is the parks are pretty much equal, with the caveat that MK has way more to do than any of the other Disney & Universal Orlando parks.

 

[Ron101]

FWIW I do know several people who aren’t super theme park-savy who have noted this and they really don’t believe the price is worth it for one day, especially since a lot of the rides are “lame” or “mostly simulators” or lacks any “real rides”. The park needs this F&F coaster than some of us even realize.

I personally don’t care as I always get the Gold pass, so the prices don’t matter too much to me, but when the GO sees those prices for how few rides they have, I think that is especially worth noting…especially with “peak pricing” on a holiday. I think the issue is that theme parks have hit their price ceiling.

Most of the people I talk to share this same sentiment about the quality of rides at USH. According to them Universal is “boring” and “nothing to do” so they just end up getting Disney passes.

 

[Rideguy70]

Also, FJ needs a refurb. The dragon scene is consistently great with movement heat and “fire”, but like half the dementors barely move or have been stuck for almost a year

Just to add to this thought, it does seem really bad that 3 out of the 5 dementors that are supposed to move have been broken and just sitting there since at least September of last year. Didn't the ride have a refurbishment since then? What's going on there?

 

[DrStarlander]

I understand where you're coming from. But perhaps you should re examine a trip to USF/IOA. They're really fine parks, very WDW like, with lots of really good and great attractions. Plus staying at one of the on site main campus hotels beats the WDW hotel experience by a mile. You can take a water taxi or a short walk to the parks on beautiful, interesting, landscaped walkways. That ease of movement adds a lot of leisure to a vacation. Then there's CityWalk, adjacent to the parks, where you can add to the theme park experience.....Myself, I've never really desired to go to USH, except for the movie set tour. So, I get your feeling, but USH doesn't seem similar to the Universal Orlando experience. To an outsider it looks like a downgrade from Disney or Universal Orlando. Not to knock USH, but there's only so much they can do with such a small theme park footprint. They do OK in such a small space. But it is what it is. Heck, without the tour, it's about the same size as our local 'amusement' park, Kennywood, that has a lot more attractions, though no major dark rides like USH......I vacation at WDW and Universal Orlando a lot. My opinion is the parks are pretty much equal, with the caveat that MK has way more to do than any of the other Disney & Universal Orlando parks.

Oh, we will absolutely make a Universal Orlando trip eventually. The issue was that we wanted to do 2 days at Epic, given we're only going to get there from the west coast once and not likely to be back for a few years, it's brand new and I expected it would be crowded, and I wanted to take my time and see every detail, every attraction, shop, restaurant. But at the time (and maybe still, I've stopped paying attention), the only way to do 2 days at Epic was to buy two 3-day UOR park passes. That meant we'd also have 2 days at IOA and 2 days at USF. That was the turn-off. After one day at USH being quite enough.

So...in the future, when I can go to Epic for 2 days and IOA/USF for a day each, we'll go!

I know why they exist, but Simpsons and Minions are so bad that they literally bring the entire park down by like a point. It’s like having two fake rides that only exist to waste your time. Unfortunately I don’t see Minions leaving for a very long time as the IP is still decently popular and they can’t really fit any other type of ride there.

From what I can tell on Google Earth, Minion Mayhem and Toy Story Midway Mania are about the same size (40-45k sq. ft.). I can imagine a Minion attraction quite similar to TSMM being perfect for the IP/demographic and a significantly better attraction.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I don't know if things are changing or what but despicable me and Simpsons do still get lines but recently I've seen by later in the day both have like 20 mins or under wait times

Like SLOP gets 50+ mins lines most days and at the same time Simpsons and DM are much lower....and before Simpsons and DE had longer lines so I wonder if people are bored with those rides...not screen rides because Transformers is getting some great lines since it came back

I know it would not change everything but this summer Mega Movie event should have updated the Dreamworks theater to How to Train your Dragons. It just makes sense with the remake, a need for a new attraction and it fits the theme of the event, plus it is a family attraction

A lot of your have so much faith in the new coaster...and god I hope your right because USH needs more wins and I hope the park gets the boost it needs but...I just have not much faith because SNW which affected the parks more then Potter is still helping the park but even then they still can't fill the park out much now and thats an entire land based on one of the hottest IPS ever for families

I just hope this hotel makes the money people on here think it will because they are investing a lot into changing how parking works and a hotel when they could be plusing the park and giving us more lands and rides like a Lugi's Mansion ride, More Potter, BTTF, HTTYD and other Dreamworks IPs, Monsters land on the west coast and so on.

 

[Clive]

Remember, queue times aren't always indicative of popularity. Simpsons sometimes only runs with one dome, for example, cutting capacity in half and significantly driving up waits. Pets has an abysmal capacity, so even a small crowd can push it to lengthy queues.

I think Universal Studios Hollywood is paying for its decision to overinvest in motion simulator-like attractions. You've got Minions, Simpsons, Transformers, Dreamworks Theater, and arguably, Forbidden Journey (its physical sets and more dynamic ride system notwithstanding). For a park with only ~10 rides, that's a rough ratio.

 

[KlownzNskullZ]

Remember, queue times aren't always indicative of popularity. Simpsons sometimes only runs with one dome, for example, cutting capacity in half and significantly driving up waits. Pets has an abysmal capacity, so even a small crowd can push it to lengthy queues.

I think Universal Studios Hollywood is paying for its decision to overinvest in motion simulator-like attractions. You've got Minions, Simpsons, Transformers, Dreamworks Theater, and arguably, Forbidden Journey (its physical sets and more dynamic ride system notwithstanding). For a park with only ~10 rides, that's a rough ratio.

i just feel like USH has no identity anymore. It’s not really a “movie park”. I would say hopefully this next 10 years they figure it out

 

[OrlLover]

Not gonna talk about it much as I don’t know what forum policies are, but I don’t think it’s a matter of economy having a presence to why people are hesitant to go to a major tourist destination.

If it is, then it isn’t the sole reason.

Oh I didn’t want to go into any political rants but I know that’s a big part of it.

a lot of people are looking to confirm their priors based on limited (or bad, even!) data.

Exactly.

Trying to extrapolate data from things like wait times could be a tad misleading.

 

[KlownzNskullZ]

Oh I didn’t want to go into any political rants but I know that’s a big part of it.

Exactly.

Trying to extrapolate data from things like wait times could be a tad misleading.

This time last year we would have had 30k plus days… the parks barley reaching 15k