Yesterday we used a free day to visit Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. I’m here a couple of days and intend to write a full ride guide on my day 32 blog!
I had heard some mixed reviews for the studios, particularly concerning accessibility, but I’m pleased to say that the park completely blew my expectations out of the water. It’s important to note that Universal has no rides you can ride in your wheelchair, unlike Disney, so my experiences are based on the principle that I’m able to transfer on to the ride vehicle.
We visited on a midweek day during term time, whilst the park was still fairly busy I can imagine it gets absolutely insane at busy times as it’s a relatively small park. Still there was amble accessible parking which is located in the ‘Frankenstein’ parking garage with a lift that takes you directly to the park entrance. The accessible entrance (bag check) is located on the far side and had no queue at all and even the ticket booths only had a one party ahead of us.
Once inside I went to guest relations with my IBCCES Accessibility card which I had applied for whilst still in the UK. Apparently I should have had a phone call from the studios which hadn’t happened, but the guest relations person quickly got me set with my priority pass and we were on our way. Priority passes work on return times so if a queue is an hour long you go to the entrance and receive a return time for an hours time. In this instance if the queue is 30 minutes or less you can go straight through. I have always found this system to work really well as you can access the rest room, eat, hydrate and have some rest in between rides.
On the rides themselves, staff could not have been more helpful. Most of the transfers were very easy as there are no time limits or moving platforms and many of the rides are simulator style so the restraints are not too restrictive. I am unable to bend my legs very much so ride cars can sometimes be challenging or even impossible depending on design. The only ride I couldn’t get my legs in was Flight of The Hippogriff, due to there being a bar on the lap restraint that sat across the shins.
Other than that, all the other rides were easy transfers, even the Jurassic World ride which was a boat vehicle was easy to get into and out of. There are assistive devices available for those who need extra support and the staff assured me that I would never have to rush.
The park consists of an upper lot and a lower lot, there are a series of escalators between the two areas which I was unable to do. So there’s a platform area in each where an accessible vehicle collects you and drives you to each area. You can transfer to a seat or there are 4 point tie downs available on the vehicle for you to travel in your chair.
The studio tour is celebrating its 60th year in operation. I won’t spoil it for anyone but the tour is certainly a must-do activity if you’re visiting and the only moving attraction in Universal where you can remain in your chair the whole time.
We are visiting again on Thursday, and I’m really looking forward to it, overall I was pleasantly surprised by how easy the whole experience was, and by the feel of the park.
Rest day today but I’ll do a bit more of a breakdown on the access of the rides on Thursday!
Image Description: Me and Mel in the evening in front of the beautifully lit Universal Studios fountain.
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