Universal Studios Hollywood has returned with some of our families Holiday Favorites, “Grinchmas” and “Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter”. It is a spectacular holiday celebration. We were fortunate to visit Universal Studios Hollywood Holiday Celebrations on opening weekend of 2023 and It was the perfect way to celebrate the arrival of the most wonderful time of the year. Whether you are a fan of these celebration from previous years, or this will be your first time visiting, I assure you, this will quickly turn into a family favorite. I'm excited to share this holiday park guide with everything you need to know before you visit. It's important to point out that these holiday festivities are included in the price of your regular admission ticket! No need to pay any additional fees or to purchase any additional tickets to experience it ALL. For the Year of 2023, these celebrations are running Friday November 24, through Moncay January 1, 2024 DAILY.
Universal Studios Hollywood Holiday Favorites! Grinchmas
If you are a Grinch fan this is an absolute must and If you are not a fan yet, a visit to Grichmas at Universal Studios Hollywood will absolutely change that. Walking into Universal Studios Hollywood Grichmas celebration is like stepping into the book or movie. We are huge fans of both so you can imagine how special this celebration is to us. There is so much to do and we loved every minute of it. The park has a whole area dedicated to Grinchmas.
The minute we stepped into Who-ville our eyes immediately went to their 65 foot-tall topsy-turvy "Grinchmas" tree. It is adorned with hundreds of ornaments and thousands of LED lights. If you think it looks beautiful during the day, then wait until you see it at nights. During the evening there is a breathtaking tree lighting ceremony you do not want to miss. We got to celebrate the tree lighting with a performance from The Grinch, some of the Who-ville Whos, and ended it with a snow fall flurry. Most evenings, first ceremony begins at 5:30 and runs every 30 minutes until park closing. I suggest you check tree lighting ceremony schedule on the day of your visit as times might slightly change. I shared a short clip of the tree lighting down below, check it out!
This video is from our 2021 visit.
TIP: Plan to arrive to tree lighting ceremony 30 minutes before it begins for better viewing. Grab a hot chocolate or a who-tacular themed treat like we did, while you wait for the the magic of Who-ville to begin.
Another must is a picture with the main man himself, The Grinch! You can get in line to get a fun visit with the Grinch. He's silly, interacted with the whole family and we got to snap some fun pictures we absolutely loved. Of course we couldn't forget Max! There's an opportunity to take a picture with him as well.
TIP: Make this picture opportunity the first of the day. Later in the evening the lines get longer.
This whole celebration is based on the book "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" so it only makes sense to have a reading of this holiday classic. Who better to read it than Cindy Lue Who herself! We sat, enjoyed the reading, and took advantage of this opportunity to take a little break. Reading happens right in front of the Christmas tree, several times throughout the day.
Download the Universal Studios Hollywood App to see wait times and daily event scheduled times.
All throughout the day we were able to interact and take pictures with several Who-ville characters walking around Who-ville. Characters like Mayor Augustus Maywho, Lou Lou Who and Martha May Whovier... just to name a few. This really added an extra dose of fun to the whole experience.
Want to grow your heart 3 sizes like the Grinch did? We sure did! Universal Studios Hollywood gave us an easy way to help this holiday season while having some fun! We made sure to visit the Who-ville post office found right inside Who-ville and next to the "Grinch" tree. We were able to send a postcard to the Grinch and for every postcard mailed, Universal Studios Hollywood's Discover a Star foundation is making a donation to School on Wheels which benefits homeless youth in Southern California...Win Win for all. So don't forget to mail out your postcard!
A fun craft opportunity is also available. We were able to decorate paper ornaments to adorn the Grinchmas tree or to take home as a holiday souvenir.
The Who-bilation returned 2023 with an all new daytime performance featuring the Who-Bee Doo-Wops group. It's Who-ville's latest musical sensation rocking out to hip swinging, bell-ringing holiday classics we all enjoyed. It's a great addition the the celebrations.
Make sure you visit Grinchmas during the day and come back at night to experience the beauty of the Tree Lighting Festival.
Universal Studios Hollywood Holiday Favorites! Christmas in The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter
Harry Potter fans don't worry, Christmas in The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter was equally as amazing. The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter is magical all the time but during Christmas the Village of Hogsmeade is transformed to reflect the holiday spirit through amazing animations, lights, and sounds.
An all time favorite and holiday must is lunch or dinner at "Three Broomsticks" restaurant. It's a rustic tavern perfect for good food and a Butterbeer! This is one of our favorite restaurants in the park but it gets even better during this time of year. A holiday must is their English Holiday Dinner! It is delicious and so fulfilling. Roasted Turkey, Sourdough Stuffing, Ginger Glazed Carrots, Brussel Sprouts, Bacon Wrapped Sausage, Turkey Gravy and Cranberry Sauce...is your stomach growling yet? because mine sure is! This meal went perfect with their holiday introductions of the Hot Butterbeer. It's delicious and perfect for those chilly days. If you are a fan of their traditional Butterbeer then you have to try this one. We all definitely approved!
After lunch we headed to listen to the special holiday a cappella performances from the Hogwarts Frog Choir. It was a great performance and we got to listen to some of our holiday favorites with a wizarding twist. They were accompanied by the smooth bass rumbles of their giant throaty frogs. We were even able to take pictures with them after the performance. Down below Im sharing a little clip of one of their performances. Check it out! Performance times may vary so check times on arrival.
This video below is from our 2021 visit.
Another nightly performance that is a must is "The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle". Rights after the tree lighting at Who-ville we headed to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to witness the magic of the beautiful castle. The iconic Hogwarts castle came to life with amazing sounds and music from the Harry Potter film and an impressive lights projection show. It was absolutely magical in every single way and the pictures down below did it no justice, specially when the show started. You have to trust me when I tell you that it was magical. This nightly performance will happen every night at 6pm and every 30 minutes after until closing time. However, times may vary slightly so make sure and check times on arrival to the park and plan accordingly.
TIP: I did notice that shows later in the evening are less crowded, so keep that in mind.
Of course aside from all this holiday fun there is tons of other fun things to do all throughout the park. However, visiting Universal Studios Hollywood during the holidays is nothing like visiting any other time of the year. It's a whole other kind of experience, in a good way. They do an amazing job at bringing all the holiday cheer and spirit to life and we are so happy to have been able to experience it again this year.
To experience all the holiday magic and get your tickets head on over to this link
Conclusion
We had such a blast last year and we absolutely cannot wait to go again next year!
If you enjoyed this post please give it a like, leave me a comment about your favorite holiday activity at the park, share this post with a friend or pin it!
Talk to you later!
Comments