With so much to see and do at Universal Studios Hollywood, you might find you need to prioritize slightly and only target the Best rides in town, especially on busy days. Our list of the 10 Best Rides at Universal Studios Hollywood 2023 Gives you a full rundown of the best rides operating in the Park Today.
Treat this as a Must do list and get these rides ticked off and you are sure to have a very memorable day. We have included the Shows into consideration (only one made it) as these are something you need to queue for and will cost you time, but are not technically rides.
Alternatively, you can check out our full list of EVERY ride and attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood here.
10 – Revenge Of The Mummy
Woah, This is awkward, one of the Parks headline rides and one of its highest-rated rides at number 10, last place? Well, to be honest, we hoped to leave it off completely. For some reason, we do just not get on with this ride. It’s violent and jerky, like almost no other ride we have experienced, and generally just find it a painful experience.
We understand this ride has a lot of fans and critical plaudits, The Themeing, queue line, and ride story are all great and it should be right up there but the tight turns, sharp drops,
9 – Waterworld Show – Stunt Show
Most people are surprised this show is still running and can’t really figure out why. The film was critically panned, Commercially Catastrophic, and generally a bit of a stinker, and it is now nearly 25 years old so half the people visiting don’t even remember it while the other half choose to forget it! So why has this “stage show” version kept running for over 20 years?
Well the simple reason, unlike its film cousin, it’s actually really very good! It is fairly easy to see Universal could have scrapped this for something far more commercially attractive, so it is really good to see it being retained simply for artistic merit. It’s just too good to can, they even tried, and had to reopen due to demand.
It’s 16 minutes of intense stunt action with Fire, explosions, effects, and incredible Stunt work. There is even a crash-landing airplane that will take your breath away. It’s still on a pretty tenuous grasp commercially and it could be replaced soon so catch it while you can.
8 – Flight Of the Hippogriff
This is definitely a family ride. And really it’s not that great of one either. It’s a very basic coaster that offers very little in terms of thrills and excitement, even for quite young children. Being a family ride doesn’t require it to be boring and tame if appropriate imagination is used.
We don’t hate the Flight of the Hippogriff, just wish it was a bit more. However, you do get some of the best views of the Wizarding World and the theming in the ride queue is quite decent. We just wish it had a little more oomph…
8a – Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Not an actual Ride so we are not giving it a full entry but we have to mention it. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is utterly fantastic. A full recreation of the village of Hogsmeade, Hogwarts Castle looming in the distance, filled with Magic, wonder, food, and Butterbeer, it really is a must-see.
There are currently two rides operating in the area and we will see the second ride a little later on.
7 – Jurassic World – The Ride
A Full Re-theming of the Original Jurassic Park Ride. The Ride is unchanged but the theme and the story are brought right up to date with the new Film Franchise.
Incredible Special Effects, stunning Ananmatronics, and really detailed theming make this a pretty impressive overhaul. But there are a few little points that really let it down in terms of storytelling and suspense.
Jurassic World at the Park – While the ride has a few issues, it’s still pretty awesome and on top of this there are loads of great Dino attractions to see at the Park. Raptor Encounters, Dino Play, Triceratops Encounter, some nice restaurants, and even a Mosasaurus Aquarium (Of Sorts!). Definitely, a great place to hang out for a while. The raptor encounter can e really funny and give children nightmares for the next 10 years!
6 – Dreamworks Theatre Featuring Kung Fu Panda
This is Universal’s New ultra-high Tech Motion Simulator Theater. Developed to help promote the Newly acquired Dreamworks Studios Properties. Starting with Kung Fu Panda.
The Theatre is set to change the mini-film often based on big releases from the Studio as the technology is in the theatre itself, not the Films. It’s a hell of a piece of kit and immerses you into the world in a really incredible way.
5 – Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
A Kid’s ride that kicks bottom! Yes, the humor is largely slapstick and crude but the immersion is brilliant and the wacky ride through the crazy world of the minions is pretty hilarious for all ages. The minions were the Star of the Despicable me Franchise and Becoming one of them lends itself perfectly to this sort of ride tech. This is what Family rides can and should be!
4 – Simpsons Ride
Everyone loves the Simpsons, So a ride is an obvious money-spinner. But with such a no-brainer idea it’s easy to be lazy and come up with something a bit sub-par. Fortunately, this is not the case and the Simpsons Ride is both a technological and comical success. This 3D Motion Simulator romp through the Simpsons universe is phenomenal fun as universal takes aim at all things theme park in a familiar Simpsons style. We love it and the reason it’s “only” at number 4 is simply the quality of the reaming contenders!
3 – Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey
As we stated before, We love the Wizarding World Of Harry Potter, and the centerpiece of this part of the park is the Replica Hogwarts Castle, and what is contained inside it. The Queue area for this ride is worth queuing for by itself as you meander through recreations of various scenes from the films.
However, the ride itself is a technological masterpiece that uses Robotics, animatronics, visuals effects, and stunning 3D projections to fully immerse you into the wizarding world as you take a ride on a broomstick around the castle with Dragons, Wizards, Dementors, and more. This is world-class entertainment.
2 – Transformers The Ride
Transformers is probably our number one overall ride at any theme park in North America let alone Universal Hollywood*! It’s not got the thrills of a big coaster, but the fear factor can put people off those, whereas the Transformers ride really hits all the marks in fun, thrills, theming, immersion, innovation, story, and everything that really just makes a ride fun and exciting. It’s a perfect blend.
Its biggest criticism is it’s standing on the shoulders of “The Amazing Spiderman” ride at Universal Orlando. And, to be fair, yes it is, But you can reach so much higher standing on someone’s shoulders and the Transformers ride really is a fantastic evolution of that ride with better visuals, story, and
It would normally get our top spot but Universal Hollywood has something so utterly unique and brilliant it has to take the top spot. As a ride, Transformers is better, but as an experience, it can’t top our winner.
* It’s a tough call between Transformers and Pandora Flight of Passage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which is a truly staggering experience.
1 – World Famous Studio Tour
Easily the Number one attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. This Is the tour that started it all and is a very unique tour around a real working movie set. Not only is it a wonderfully interesting look at how Hollywood works but it integrates several ride segments and special effects set pieces into the tour. It is really like nothing else in the world and the number one reason to visit the Park. We really cannot recommend anyone visit Universal Studios Hollywood and not Take the Studio Tour. It is that good!
You May Also Like:
- Universal Studios Hollywood Ride Guide – Every Ride
- Universal Studios Home Page
- Where to Buy Cheap Tickets for Universal Studios
Have Your Say
What do you think of our list? Do you agree with our rating? Have we left out your favorite? Do you hate one of our top Rides? Let us know in the comments below what you think. We always love discussing Rides with our Readers.