Thursday, April 7, 2022

A day at the Universal Resort Beijing

The Universal Studios opened up in Beijing last Summer, but with the initial crowds and then a long winter we decided to wait for our trip.

Finally Spring has arrived in Beijing and with the school closed for a term break we decided to go mid week which would mean lesser crowds.

We bought the ticket on the Universal Official app which was quite smooth and easy. On the day we took a Didi Taxi and arrived in 45 minutes.

The park is open to visitors from 10am to 7pm and we had enough time to cover the whole park.

There are Seven Theme lands in total. Using the app we could plan to cover the rides and shows as per our preference and also could check waiting times in real time.

Abraham wanted to do as many rides as possible so we chose to do that than go for the shows.

1. We started our day at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter as little Abraham is a big fan. 

First we took the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey which is an interactive ride which takes you through the classrooms of Hogwarts. Next we took the Flight of Hippogriff which is a mini roller coaster.

The last one was the Ollivanders which is a 5 minute show where a wizard performs some tricks and helps someone from the audience pick a wand. We waited in queue for about 20 minutes and were disappointed. I would suggest to totally skip this one and just head directly to the souvenir store if your planning to pick a wand.  

We then picked up some Butter Beer at the Three Broomsticks and walked around to take pictures.


2. The Minion Land

We got there in time for lunch so picked up food from the Silly Snax Counter and were also right outside where the Parade was passing by for the show at 1pm. While waiting for lunch Abraham did the Super Swirly (themed car merry go round) and Loop Dee Drop Dee (mini roller coaster). After lunch we witnessed the Parade which we really enjoyed. Music , dance and lot of energy.

Also at the Minion Land there is also a Despicable Me Movie themed ride which we skipped.


3. Jurassic World Isla Nublar 





In to the Jurassic Themed Land we began with a Raptor Encounter. An interactive Live session with a Velociraptor. Abraham having watched the movie series did get a scare when the dinosaur came a little too close to him 😁

The Jurassic flyers is a Roller coaster ride and the Jurassic World Adventure is an experience ride which takes you through Jurassic Park to meet the dinosaurs.

4. Transformers Metrobase - The best ride in the entire park the Decepticoaster.  It was truly an exhilarating ride that gives you a total adrenalin rush. You come out shaking after the ride! 

We skipped the Bumble Boogie ride which is also a merry go round /dashing cars kind of ride and headed to the Battle for the AllSpark which was an experience ride (similar to the one at the Singapore Universal Studio) and has all the effects as in the movie. 


5. Kungfu Panda Land of Awesomeness - As you enter the area, the effects of the lighting and music transport you  right in to the the heart of the movie. All the little details are immaculate. There are Carousel and Themed rides here and also a large free play area. As with each world there is a Meet and Greet with the Theme Character. We took pictures with Po the Panda here. 

This area is perfect for families with toddlers or younger kids as all the rides can be taken for those less than 1.2m in height.




6. Hollwood - There's only one ride in this land and it's called Lights Camera and Action! and we ended our day here. This is more like a show where you get to view all the special effects in a movie. Quite thrilling and the perfect end to our day.

We finished by 6.30 pm and since the park closes at 7pm we headed to City Walk to grab dinner at Jumbo Seafood and then headed home after the long exhausting but fun day.

The 7th is the Water World -there are no rides open here yet but has a Stunt Show at 1pm which we missed as we chose to see the Parade instead.

The City Walk is bustling even after Park hours. There are souvenir stores and plenty of restaurants to choose from. Currently due to Covid restrictions I think they're only allowing those with tickets for the day.

Considering the park is within Beijing City limits, we'd definitely go back to take some of those rides again and watch shows we missed. The entire atmosphere makes you feel you're on holiday.



Tips:

  • We had to scan the Beijing health code before we got on each ride.
  • Masks are required to be worn throughout the park, but they were okay for us to take it off while taking pictures.
  • Commentary and dialogues for all theme rides are in Chinese, but doesn't take away the experience of the rides.
  • Extremely friendly and (mostly)bilingual staff.
  • Toilets are very clean 
  • Free drinking water is available.
  • Most rides require you to keep your belongings in the provided lockers including mobile phones.
  • Without an express pass we managed to go on all rides smoothly. Waiting time varied from 5 to 20 minutes. (We went mid-week on a regular working/school day)
  • The APP is very useful, it helps navigate and plan your way through the park.
  • Taxis are easily available throughout the day. Both Beijing taxis and ride hailing taxis.

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