United States of America

The Wildest Rides at Universal Studios Hollywood: What’s New, What’s Gone, and What’ll Break Your Neck

By Justin Jamieson, still recovering from The Mummy’s betrayal

It’s a blue-sky morning in Los Angeles, and I’m standing at the gates of Universal Studios Hollywood, trying to pace my coffee intake so I don’t barf on a velociraptor before midday. Today, I’ve come for the blockbusters, not the kind you stream at home in pyjamas, but the kind you physically live through while being hurled sideways at 60km/h in a theme park that insists your chiropractor stay on speed dial.

First stop: Transformers: The Ride–3D. This beast of a ride redefined theme park tech when it launched back in 2013 with a build budget of US$100 milllion and Steven Spielberg in attendance. Gone were the days of rickety rollercoasters and cardboard cut-out villains. Suddenly, we were inside the film. I'm dodging Decepticons, flying through cityscapes, and feeling flames on my face while Optimus Prime yells something vaguely inspirational in Dolby Surround. It’s hyper-real, hyper-fast and hyperventilation-inducing. It was revolutionary back then, and honestly, still is. Transformers proved rides didn’t need tracks, they just needed motion simulators, 3D glasses, and a healthy disregard for your equilibrium.

I stagger off, already questioning my life choices, but this is Universal. You don’t ease into it. You commit. You charge headfirst into cinematic chaos like a stunt double with something to prove.

Next, I make a beeline for Jurassic World—The Ride, which has evolved from its original Jurassic Park incarnation like a raptor discovering Instagram filters. The bones are the same: you’re in a boat, you drift through foliage, and things go dramatically wrong. But now, it’s sleeker, meaner and more immersive. The screen effects are seamless. A mosasaurus tries to eat me through a digital aquarium. Velociraptors snarl with upgraded teeth. And that final T-Rex drop? It’s bigger. It’s wetter. It’s a full-blown Jurassic panic attack with a soundtrack.

I emerge completely soaked and totally alive, which is more than I can say for the churro I accidentally sat on.

Now, once upon a time, Revenge of the Mummy was the crown jewel of Universal thrills. It had fireballs, backward launches, and an actual curse, at least that’s what my neck told me after whiplashing into 2004. But here’s the kicker: The Mummy is on the way out. That scream-inducing classic is being transformed into Universal’s next juggernaut, Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift.

Yes, you read that right. The Mummy is trading in its scarabs and sarcophagi for muscle cars and NOS. I get it, mummies are out, high-speed stunts are in. Soon, where you once screamed through ancient tombs, you’ll be burning rubber with Dom Toretto and the family. A part of me is devastated. I loved that curse-flinging lunatic, but another part of me wants to Tokyo Drift my face off.

To prepare for this spiritual transition, I hop on the Studio Tour, the OG experience, the one that’s been dragging tourists through movie backlots since the dinosaurs were in beta testing. But even this staple has had a glow-up. Gone are the days of a bored guide mumbling facts about soundstages while you squint at a beige warehouse. The modern Studio Tour is a full-blown hybrid of nostalgia and high-tech spectacle.

I hop aboard the tram and we roll through legendary sets. Yes, Norman Bates is still creepily stalking the Psycho motel (in real life I might add, now there's an acting gig), and yes, "Bruce" the shark from Jaws still pops out with all the enthusiasm of a pensioner at bingo, but now we’re also treated to immersive 3D sequences, high-def projections and massive surround effects that make you forget you’re in a glorified golf cart.

The most outrageous addition? The Fast & Furious: Supercharged finale. Suddenly the tram isn’t a tram, it’s a street racer in a car chase through downtown LA. The vehicle shakes, the screens scream, and The Rock tells me I’m part of his team now. I didn’t train for this. I just wanted to see where Back to the Future was filmed. But I lean in. I scream. I believe. This is the Studio Tour 2.0, heritage with horsepower.

By now, my legs are jelly, my clothes smell vaguely of fake smoke, and I’m convinced Universal has figured out how to tap directly into our fight-or-flight response and charge admission for it.

The entrance to Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey Click to view gallery

As I lurch past a life-sized Minion and a teenager dressed like Mario Kart, I realise this is what keeps Universal Studios relevant, relentless reinvention. They don’t just refresh, they replace, rebuild, and reboot like they’ve got a Hollywood scriptwriter for the entire park. In 2016, they waved a wand and conjured up The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, complete with Butterbeer, Hogwarts Castle, and a wand shop so immersive you forget it’s just a broom closet with good lighting. And in 2023, they hit the nostalgia jackpot again with Super Nintendo World, where you can literally punch question blocks, race Mario-style, and queue up in a giant green pipe. It’s like stepping into your Game Boy after a week-long bender.

Rides are no longer rides. They’re multi-sensory assaults disguised as entertainment.

And while it’s sad to say goodbye to the old classics, farewell, Mummy, you psychotic sandstorm of a ride, you have to respect the hustle. Universal doesn’t rest on nostalgia. It turbocharges it. Adds fire. Throws you into the backseat of a Charger doing 200 down a CGI freeway.

I leave the park exhausted, exhilarated, and at least 17% more likely to believe I could outrun a dinosaur or pilot a Transformer. I’ve dodged Decepticons, survived a mosasaur attack, got fast & furiously flung through LA traffic, and eased my nerves with a margarita. Yep, they serve booze. And honestly? I’d do it all again tomorrow.

Especially if they bring back The Mummy… just maybe this time with nitro.