Universal Studios Hollywood in One Day: An Hour-by-Hour Itinerary (2026)
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This is the hour-by-hour plan I use for one day at Universal Studios Hollywood as an annual passholder, and it covers every ride, the Studio Tour and lunch at Toadstool Cafe between a 9am opening and a 6pm close. It assumes a 9am opening, so shift every time by the same amount on days the park opens later.
Arrive at 8am, ride Hollywood Drift or Mario Kart at 9am, take the Studio Tour before lunch and leave the Upper Lot rides for the afternoon.
| Time | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00am | Gates | Park, clear security, wait on Main Universal Way |
| 9:00am | Upper Lot or Super Nintendo World | Hollywood Drift for thrills, Mario Kart for everyone else |
| 10:00am | Lower Lot | Jurassic World, Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers |
| 11:30am | Studio Tour | The one-hour tram, before the queue builds |
| 12:45pm | Toadstool Cafe | Lunch on the virtual queue you joined at 9am |
| 2:00pm | Wizarding World | Forbidden Journey, Hippogriff, Butterbeer, Ollivanders |
| 3:30pm | Upper Lot | Minion Mayhem, Pets, Kung Fu Panda, Silly Swirly, WaterWorld |
| 5:00pm | Last hour, then CityWalk | Whatever posted the longest wait, then dinner outside the gates |
8:00am: Park, Clear Security and Wait at the Gates
Eat breakfast before you leave the hotel, because the first hour after opening is the quietest of the day and you do not want to spend it sitting down. Aim to be at the gates an hour before the published opening time, which leaves time to park or get dropped off, clear security and have your tickets scanned.
The turnstiles usually open around 30 minutes early, and you are held on Main Universal Way, between the Hello Kitty store and Starbucks, until the official time. That is where the Starbucks coffee happens, not before security.
9:00am: Hollywood Drift or Mario Kart First
The gates open and everyone runs for one of two rides. Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is on the Upper Lot to your right, and Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge is at the bottom of the hill inside Super Nintendo World, and the right one depends on your group.
If you are there for thrills, go to Hollywood Drift first. It is the park’s first outdoor coaster and its most intense ride, and for its first few months it will hold the longest queue in the park. I rode it in preview two weeks before it opened, and it is the one I would run for.
If you have young children, or Drift is not for you, walk straight past the Wizarding World, round through Springfield and down the StarWay escalators to the Lower Lot. It is about 10 minutes at a brisk pace, and the Super Nintendo World entrance is on the left past Transformers.
Inside the land, join the Toadstool Cafe virtual queue on the app before you do anything else, then ride Mario Kart while you wait.
On the quiet Tuesday I visited it posted 10 minutes late in the day, and Universal Express now covers it, which it did not at first. On a weekend or a school holiday, being first into the land is still the way to ride it without a long wait.
After the ride, the Power-Up Band key challenges and the two character meets fill the rest of the hour. You do not need a band to enjoy the land, but with a child of six or over it turns Super Nintendo World into a game rather than one ride.
10:00am: The Rest of the Lower Lot
Stay on the Lower Lot and ride Jurassic World, Revenge of the Mummy and Transformers while everyone else is still working through the Upper Lot in front of them. On 1 September 2026 every Lower Lot ride was posting five minutes at 5:14pm while Minion Mayhem on the Upper Lot was posting 35.
Ride Jurassic World last of the three. It is the only water ride in the park and you will be wet for an hour afterwards, so it is better to walk it off on the way to the tram than to sit in a soaked seat on the Mummy.
I skip Transformers because the simulator makes me ill, and if you are the same, ride it before anything else spins you rather than after.
11:30am: The World Famous Studio Tour
Take the StarWay back up and go straight to the Studio Tour. The tram takes about an hour, it has no height requirement, and it is the one thing at Universal Studios Hollywood no other theme park can copy.
The last tram goes well before park close. On 1 September 2026 the board already showed it closed at 5:14pm with the park open until 6pm, so ride it before lunch rather than gambling on the afternoon.
The sets you pass depend on what is shooting, but the fixed scenes on my September 2026 tour were:
- The Bates Motel and the Psycho house
- The War of the Worlds plane crash
- Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives
- The flash flood, which comes far closer to the tram than you expect
- Jaws
- King Kong 360 3-D, the only 3D segment left on the tour
During Halloween Horror Nights season parts of the backlot are closed for the houses, so the daytime route runs shorter.
12:45pm: Lunch at Toadstool Cafe
Toadstool Cafe is the best place to eat inside the park, and the virtual queue you joined at 9am should be returning by now. Head back down to Super Nintendo World, check the app for your return window, and go in when it opens.
If the return time has run away from you, the Upper Lot has three quick alternatives without a queue system:
- Three Broomsticks in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which is where you are heading next anyway
- Minion Cafe next to Super Silly Fun Land
- Bumblebee Man’s taco truck in Springfield
2:00pm: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Hogsmeade sits just off Main Universal Way on the Upper Lot, and by 2pm the morning rush on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey has thinned. Ride that first, then Flight of the Hippogriff if you have children with you, because it is short and mild and the queue moves.
Forbidden Journey is a simulator too, but a gentler one than Transformers, and I can stomach it. If the standby wait is short, walk through the castle queue even if you do not plan to ride, because the interior is the best set in the park.
Aside from the rides, give the land an hour for the things that make it:
- A cold Butterbeer from the cart outside the Three Broomsticks
- The wand choosing the wizard at Ollivanders, where you are under no obligation to buy
- Casting spells around Hogsmeade with an interactive wand if you bought one
3:30pm: Upper Lot Rides and Shows
The last area is the rest of the Upper Lot, and its rides lean young. Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, The Secret Life of Pets, DreamWorks Theatre Featuring Kung Fu Panda and the Silly Swirly Fun Ride are all rides built for children, so with adults only I skip most of them and with children I do the lot.
Minion Mayhem is the exception whoever you are with. It drew the longest posted wait in the park on 1 September 2026, 55 minutes at 4:45pm, while every Lower Lot ride showed five, so if it matters to you check the board and be ready to leave it for the last hour.
WaterWorld is the one attraction up here with fixed show times, and the front rows get very wet on purpose. Check the last show time on the board when you arrive, because it changes with the season.
Between rides the Upper Lot is also where most of the character meets happen, from the Minions and Gru to Hello Kitty, Scooby-Doo and Beetlejuice.
5:00pm: The Last Hour, Then CityWalk
The last hour before close is the second quietest of the day, so use it on whatever posted the longest wait at lunchtime, which on my visits has been Minion Mayhem. If everything is short, ride Hollywood Drift or Mario Kart again, since a second go on the best ride beats a first go on the worst.
Then leave through the gates and eat at CityWalk rather than inside the park. CityWalk needs no park ticket and stays open later than the park, so you are not racing the clock.
Toothsome Chocolate Emporium is the table to book ahead, and I ate at NBC Sports Grill and VIVO on my September 2026 trip, both a few minutes from the gate.
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions I get asked most about doing Universal Studios Hollywood in one day.
Can you do Universal Studios Hollywood in one day?
Yes. The park has 12 rides across two levels and one hour-long tram tour, and this plan covers all of them between a 9am opening and a 6pm close. The only reasons to add a day are Halloween Horror Nights or the VIP Experience.
What should you ride first at Universal Studios Hollywood?
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift if you are there for thrills, because it holds the longest queue in the park. Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge if you have children or Drift is not for you, and join the Toadstool Cafe virtual queue as you walk in.
What time should you arrive at Universal Studios Hollywood?
An hour before the published opening time. The turnstiles usually open around 30 minutes early and you are held on Main Universal Way until the official time, so an 8am arrival for a 9am opening puts you at the front of that crowd.
When should you do the Studio Tour in a one-day plan?
Before lunch. The last tram leaves well before park close, and on 1 September 2026 the board showed it closed at 5:14pm with the park open until 6pm. Riding it at 11:30am means it is done before the afternoon queue and the early cut-off.
