I enjoy Universal Studios...

I happened to be at the park the day before the fire, and then the day after.

What was burned down was basically one major section of Backlot scenes. It was known as the "New York" section. It was pretty much burned down to the ground. In the area, some warehouses and one "show" building that featured the King Kong attraction were hidden behind the Facades that made up New York Street.

But the difference in the Tram Tour is that King Kong is not available, and your tram does not drive down the Facades. But to be honest, there was many times in the past that Trams had to avoid the area due to the fact that the area was being used for active filming. And that is the case with the USH tram tour, there are many designed routes and paths to allow the tour to operate with active filming in the area. But the Tram Tour is pretty much the same as before, heck, in fact, the New York area is now a part of the tour as a photo op.

The rest of the park is operating normally, and the fire really had no impact except forcing the park to close on the day of the fire.

So I would say the park is 99% open.

Friday is a good day, especially if you opt to not drive yourself and use Gray Line to take you there, since Friday rush hour traffic can get bad. Better to relax on the bus and let the driver deal with the headaches. In fact, I would get the "Combo" ticket for about $8 more and take the sightseeing tour of the Hollywood area on the way back from USH, that should help the traffic lighten up on the freeways.

As for the Front of the Line Pass, I would enter the park with a "regular" ticket, and then if the lines seem too much for you, you can go to the Ticket Outlet, which is located on the Upper Level near the Blues Brothers Stage and you can pay about $40 and buy them. But at least you know you need them. Many folks buy them prior to entering and then find the crowds to be fairly light, and that they didn't need them. This way, you can see for yourself prior to paying the extra fee.

One other option, especially with teenagers, Knott's Berry Farm, good for the entire family, but has quite a few roller coasters. (USH has a couple of rides, I love the new Simpson Ride (Motion Simulator), but that is one of 3 rides, with Jurassic Park (large water flume) and Revenge of the Mummy (Indoor Roller Coaster) being the others. Most of the park is shows and the Tram Tour.

Knott's is closer and cheaper.

Thanks for the info-it is very helpful. If we opt to drive--what time is rush hour? from when to when? With four people can we use the car pool lane?

We decided to do a rental car so we could control our schedule a little better.

Thanks,

CoffeeequeenJ

Friday Rush Hour on the 5 (and the direct route is North to the 101 North to Universal Studios Blvd). is from 6 AM until 10 AM Northbound, but it doesn't get much better, as there is a lot of truck traffic mid-day.

Way home (South) on a Friday, just before 3 PM until at least 7 PM and sometimes later, especially in the Downtown area (the 101).

Alas, no carpool lanes for the vast majority of the trip.

The 5 and the 101 are very old freeways, at many parts just 3 lanes wide.

Even though I live in the area, I prefer taking the Metrolink to USH as compared to driving.

Heck, the trip I mentioned earlier, we did it driving Northbound on Friday, left after 10 AM on purpose, but still didn't get to the park until after 1 PM, spent the weekend north of USH (Sylmar) since we had a major commitment on Sunday, and then planned to go back to USH on Monday (took time off work) since we could avoid a lot of the traffic, and enjoy the park with low crowds (since it was before the summer peak season).

If you don't want to take Public Transport, it would make me think more about Knott's.

But some folks are big movie/TV fans, and therefore USH is the place to go, but others want Theme Parks with Rides and Shows, and that is Knott's.

I don't have nearly as much information to share as darkbeer but I just wanted to say that I went to USH when I was a teenager and LOVED it. For teenagers I think it's a great park, it's really interesting and the rides, although there's only a few, are more "grown up" than at Disney.

Have fun! We're going in September and I can't wait!

Darkbeer,

I can't thank you enough for the info. We are movie junkies so we have our hearts set on USH. Is it hard to catch the metrolink from Anaheim or is there a place where we can park our rental car and get on?

Living in a small town in Northern Cal. I'm not sure if we are ready to take on the heavy LA traffic.

We are buried in smoke up here and it sounds like you are rocking and rolling down there.

Thanks again for the help.

CoffeequeenJ

Darkbeer,

I can't thank you enough for the info. We are movie junkies so we have our hearts set on USH. Is it hard to catch the metrolink from Anaheim or is there a place where we can park our rental car and get on?

Living in a small town in Northern Cal. I'm not sure if we are ready to take on the heavy LA traffic.

We are buried in smoke up here and it sounds like you are rocking and rolling down there.

Thanks again for the help.

CoffeequeenJ