The holidays are here and it’s time to share special moments with family and friends. And if you’re like me, it’s also time to visit Universal Studios Hollywood, where the seasons come to life with movie-making magic and exciting, interactive rides, attractions, light shows and more.
Story and some photos by Greg Aragon.
My son and I visited the park last holiday season and it was so amazing, we are planning on returning this season to replay the adventure.
For the holidays, Universal Studios has brought back some of its most popular seasonal attractions, such as “Grinchmas” and “Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” as well as exciting seasonal enhancements to the Mushroom Kingdom at SUPER NINTENDO WORLD.
One of my favorite attractions at the park is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and during the holidays, this adventure land is turned into something that must be experienced to truly appreciate. In fact, “Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” is the most amazing and realistic, virtual reality-type light display I’ve seen.
To celebrate the holidays, the theme park has transformed “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” attraction, including the “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” thrill ride, Hogwarts Castle and the surrounding Hogsmeade village, into a Christmas wonderland, with snow, characters, decorations and a mesmerizing array of projection lights and images.
The adventure begins each night in Hogsmeade Village, where Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry projects realistic, ghost-like images around the outside Hogswarts Castle for all to see. The animations fly and dance across the castle along with a musical arrangement from the Harry Potter movies.
Before experiencing this spectacle, my son and I rode “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey,” a mesmerising and thrilling virtual reality coaster, designed in hyper-realistic 3D-HD. The multidimensional ride features robotics, fused with elaborate filmed action sequences and immersive visceral effects.
While in Hogsmeade Village, guests can sample hot Butterbeer from carts and eat delicious and fun British fare such as Bangers & Mash, Shepherd’s Pie, Fish & Chips and more at one of the village restaurants. Also within “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” is the fun, family coaster, “Flight of the Hippogriff.”
Universal Plaza in the heart of Universal Studios also comes to life, as it is transformed into “Grinchmas,” with fun holiday music and a towering 60 ft-tall “Grinchmas” tree covered in lights. Here, guests are swept into the whimsical world of Who-ville with The Grinch, his faithful dog Max and a bunch of Who-ville Whos – all ready to take photos with the kids and play in fresh made “snow.” Grinchmas returns December 1, 2, 8, 9 and 14 – 30.
Besides the exciting holiday attractions, Universal Studios still has all the rides that make it one of the best theme parks around, such as the Studio Tour, The Simpsons, Jurassic Park – The Ride, The Mummy, Transformers, and more.
One of my all-time favorites at the park is the world-renowned Studio Tour, which takes guests behind-the-scenes of the world’s biggest and busiest movie and television studio where they can also discover immersive thrill rides such as “Fast & Furious—Supercharged;” and the intense “King Kong 360 3-D.” The tour also drives past the infamous “Bates Motel” from the movie “Psycho,” the harbor where “Jaws” lurks, and numerous other famous movie sets.
And then there is “Jurassic Park —The Ride,” where visitors hop on a boat and cruise through Jurassic World. While floating down a serene river, through Predator Cover, guests encounter a huge Mosasaurus eating lunch and a cute baby Stegosaurus. The ride is relaxing, until alarms start going off and everything goes haywire: the two scariest dinos around, Indominus rex and T-rex, are on the loose, looking for food and no human is safe.
Next to “Jurassic Park —The Ride” is “Raptors Encounter,” where guests can come face-to-face with 15 ft-tall carnivorous, predatory dinosaurs. The beasts are walking around, kept in line by expert handlers.
Another memorable attraction is Transformers: The Ride-3D, an immersive thriller, blurring the line between fiction and reality. Fusing HD 3D media and flight simulation technology, this epic excursion took us into a futuristic world where alien robots from the planet Cybertron fight it out on earth.
Based on the popular movies, this mind-blowing ride had us screaming and dodging car parts, robot pieces and other objects as they flew at our 3D glasses, while we fought alongside Optimus and tried to protect the AllSpark from Decepticons over four stories tall. Out in front of the ride, we encountered a couple of the huge transformers interacting with guests and taking pictures with youngsters and their families.
From battling transformers, we went thousands of years back in time to experience Revenge of the Mummy – The Ride. This heart-pounding roller coaster begins by slowly creeping past an ancient Egyptian tomb full of gold artifacts and hieroglyphics before catapulting riders 45mph in virtual darkness. And when the train stops and guests try to regain their composure, the Mummy returns and the coaster zips in reverse for a thrilling climax.
As 2025 ends, Universal Studios Hollywood is looking forward to 2026 and the long awaited debut of “Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” roller coaster. This mesmerizing new coaster will feature 360-degree rotation of the individual ride vehicles as guests travel along 4,100 feet of elaborate track.
The innovative ride features groundbreaking technology designed to create a seamless sensation of drifting cars as guests spin in motion at fast speeds while speeding along an aerial track that winds its way over sections of the theme park, including the multi-level escalator that connects the Upper and Lower Lots.
To begin the ride, guests will queue up within an expansive garage-like structure before settling into one of four ride vehicles, designed to look like the iconic cars from the films, including Dominic Toretto’s 1970 Dodge Charger. For more information on Universal Studios Hollywood, visit www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com; follow @UniStudios on Instagram and X and like Universal Studios Hollywood on Facebook.
