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Today I want to Universal Studios Hollywood and what a disappointment.

First for my the highlight of the Park was the Simpson's ride it was great. The back stage ride on the tram was short do to the fire that the studio had in the fall. It need to be up dated bad.

I found the Park very dirty trash cans over flowing (as the pictures shows).

Simpson ride 5 stars
Waterworld 2 stars
Terminator 3 stars
Sherk 3-d 2 stars (need up date)
Animal Actor 1 star
House of Horrors 2 stars

Grinchmas 3 stars
Grinch's Winter Playground 1 star (what a joke a small area to play with man made snow.)
Parade 0 stars ( a car and a trolley with some character in them )

Over all I give it 2 star Disneyland it is not.

Wow, shocked to hear this, I would have thought you would given them a better rating than what you gave them. True, it ain't no Disneyland, and doesn't compare up to Universeal Orlando, but I still feel it's worth a visit. This is still an actual studios, about 60% working studios, 40% theme park, which is probably why the low ratings. USF is 90% theme park, 10% working studio, and I don't think they're doing anything over at DHS anymore. As for the show ratings, Terminator is by far the best 3D show ever put together, even though it is pretty dated. I'm going to assumem that their stage setup is similar to that of USF's down here that includes live action going in and out of the screens. As for Shrek, that's a more recent show, doesn't really need to be updated yet but I do feel it's not as repeatable as terminator. I have yet to see Waterworld, but have heard great things about it and the reason why they brought it over to Japan and I'm sure they're including it in Sentosa, right? And then the other shows can fend for themselves, haven't seen them and don't have an interest in, but I'm sure some of them might be worthwhile, because USF has the Horror Makeup Show which gets often overlooked but is such a great show that is fun to watch. As for the Grinchmas area, it is their first year doing this, so I'm sure they'll see what worked well and what didn't, and will work on improving it. I think it's great that they're trying to offer more for the park though, even though it may not look as impressive. I'll be sure to check out your pictures, I'm sure you got some great shots of the place

I used to go to Universal Studios Hollywood growing up in So Cal. But, as far as the 'theme park' aspect goes, I have to say that it's lackluster. I enjoy the Florida version more as well.

But, it still has that 'old Hollywood' feel here and there and I like it for the nostalgia side of it. So, I understand the low ratings....especially if the park wasn't being kept neat and clean. But, you have to put it into perspective that the park is going through a restructure from the fires.

I'm glad that the rest of your trip has been good enough to keep this from messin' with the overall fun factor

I have never been to a Universal Park before this was my first time sorry I wasn't impressed with it. Only one ride I liked was the Simpson Ride. I thought the staff at the Park was lacking in Customer Service and with the trash problem they had (I was told they have laid off 1500 employees) it was a let down. I dont think that Universal Studio's Hollywood isnt even close to Disneyland.

1500? Ouch! I'm not sure what the numbers are here at USF, but I know they're doing everything they can to prevent cutting jobs, hence the reason why they had to shut down the water vortex in Poseidon's Fury.

Anyways, just a general word of advice when visiting other non-Disney places: Don't set your expectations, you're there to have fun and enjoy yourself, so don't ruin your trip by comparing it to Disney. I know you had no idea what to expect and thought Universal is a big name just like Disney, so I think that's probably why you didn't have that great of a time than you probably would have. Great pics btw

I cant agree to that. Disney is the gold standard for Theme Parks. They all want to be a like a Disney Park. IMO

I agree that Disney is the "gold standard" and it's hard to surpass (or even come close) because of the level of service that we've been treated to for so many years.

But, by saying that you shouldn't compare the park to Disney isn't really a good argument to use. For example, something like the trash overflowing should not be seen by guests. I mean, that's wrong at my local mall, wrong at the McDonalds down the street and especially wrong at a tourist destination. That gives the park, the brand and anything associated with the company a bad name.

But, I must say...I always try to avoid comparing places to Disney. But, it is hard not to. When Walt said "keep the place as clean as you can keep it" among many other things....he wanted the quality to be superior. And, when you have trash overflowing as Greg showed in his pics or a ladder and some 2x4s laying in a very visible area at my local Zoo here...it's just 'bad show'. And inevitably we say something like..."you wouldn't see this at a Disney park".

Okay, I've said my peace

Thanks for posting the pics. Got some good ones. Im surprised to see the trash cans overflowing. Then again I was surprised at how much DisneyLand went down the tubes from when I used to go when I was a kid. Here in Florida Universal and Islands of Adventure have been kept in as good a condition as Disney World. At least when we went to MGM studios and the Magic Kingdom.