Is Universal Studios Hollywood size friendly?

[entwife]

One of the things I love about Disneyland is that it's easy for people of all sizes to enjoy the park without fear of embarrassment.

I've never been to Universal Studios Hollywood. Can anyone who is plus-sized give me an idea of what it's like? I'd like to know about turnstiles, ride vehicles, etc. Anything that a plus-sized person might find difficult to negotiate.

Thanks.

[FantasyWatersDude]

Well, I am not plus sized, but Universal has a lot of sloped pathways and has a huge cliff you must go down to get to the lower lot where JP and mummy is, but they have 4 escalators you must ride to get down there. Ride vehicles should be just fine as well, the only one I think has close seats is Back to the Future. I cannot recall how big the tunrstiles are, but everyone always walks through them just fine.

*make sure you see WaterWorld... #1 rated show in CA.

other than that I hope you have a great time!

[kcnole]

If they use the same ride vehicle for their mummy ride as we do in Orlando you may have some issues on that. I'm not a plus size, only about 205, but that is a very tight seat even for me. I imagine someone who is larger would have a hard time on that ride.

[CoasterMatt]

Revenge of the Mummy does have a test seat out front, before you enter the queue.
The only size based issue I've really had at USH is when some idiot (not the attractions hosts - the JP lapbar isn't touched by the hosts) insists on repeatedly trying to push the lapbar down on Jurassic Park River Adventure- after it's already safely down.

[samsma]

You will have no problem, if you can fit in Disneyland and DCA's rides, you will be fine at Universal.Mummy's seats are similar in size to Space Mountain or California Screamin'.

[drb]

If you ride Back to the Future, make sure you get a seat in the front row of the vehicle. The restraints in the back seat are often a problem for anyone over around 250 lbs, but the bar in the front is completely different, I'd say up to at least 350 lbs.

There aren't too many turnstyles as such. Certainly nothing restrictive like, say, the Mine Ride at Knotts. And there's always a gate next to one for wheelchairs.

By the way, the escalators that FantasyWatersDude mentioned, for anyone in a wheelchair or who has vertigo or trouble standing for that long, they can be bypassed by an elevator that goes down to a pickup point for the diabled van, which then drops you off by Jurassic Park. I don't mind them a bit, but I just thought I'd point them out.

Speaking of JP, while the lap bar on Jurassic Park is fairly size-lenient (I've seen 350 pounders have no problem whatsoever), the problem is that it goes over the entire row. So it adjusts to the largest person in the row, so skinny people and children in the same row have no real security. Mind you, it's just a flume ride, so the restraint isn't really needed, but sometimes you get a skinny person trying desperately to pull the bar down to their bony lap or complaining to you or the ride ops.

With The Mummy Ride, the lap bar isn't bad, and I have no idea how far out it can go and still lock, but the seat itself is fairly narrow. There's a test seat out front so you test if it's doable.

That's all I can think of at the time. It's a fairly accessible park all around.

[entwife]

Thanks for the info everyone ! If anyone else has any insight, I would appreciate it also !

Many of the turnstiles at Disneyland are old and very small and I was wondering if USH had the same situation.

[PirateMickey]

I believe the last row in the Mummy "vehicles" are made for larger folks, or at least can accomodate them better.

And yeah, we've used the alternate transportation vehicle to get to the lower lot (wife had foot surgery and had a crutch). Just let the CM near the first (upper) escalator know that you would rather use the vehicle. They'll get you on the elevator and you're on your way! Plus, you might see something that you normally wouldn't by taking the escalator. It's almost like taking a mini Tram Tour! hehe