Universal Studios Hollywood needs more live shows | DePaoli on DeParks
Live shows are more important at Universal Studios Hollywood than at most other theme parks for a full-day experience, and I hope we begin to see them return soon.
The Universal Studios Hollywood theme park in California continues to regularly update and reshape itself. It’s exciting to see new rides being added (like the upcoming Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster, opening in 2026), but in a lot of cases these changes have removed venues for live shows.
It’s no secret that I’m someone who loves live entertainment. It’s not uncommon for me to visit a theme park and ride nothing, only to enjoy the shows and performances throughout the park.
At Universal Studios Hollywood, there was a time when most of the park was full of live shows — and rides were a rarity. That statistic has swapped in recent years, as the only fully produced live show with a home base location is “WaterWorld.” If you’re generous, you can also count performances taking place on the small stage in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, including “Triwizard Spirit Rally.” Otherwise, when you select “entertainment” on the Universal Studios Hollywood website and app, it simply lists character meet & greets.
To give you an idea of just how much live entertainment used to be in the park, here’s a brief look at current rides and attractions that were previously performance venues.
- Current: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
- Previous: “An American Tail Live”
- Current: DreamWorks Theatre featuring Kung Fu Panda
- Previous: “Flintstones Musical Revue,” “Totally Nickelodeon,” and “Rugrats Magic Adventure”
- Current: Super Silly Fun Land
- Previous: “The Land Before Time Adventure” and “Rocky and Bullwinkle Live”
- Current: Universal Plaza
- Previous: “The Wild, Wild, Wild West Stunt Show”
- Current: Starbucks
- Previous: “The Blues Brothers R&B Revue”
- Currently Under Construction: Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift
- Previous: “Special Effects Stage” show and perhaps most famously “Beetlejuice’s Rock and Roll Graveyard Revue,” as well as a variety of other productions through the years. This new roller coaster also takes up the space previously used by “Animal Actors Stage.”
As you can see in this brief sampling, the park used to have a lot of live entertainment. I feel live shows are crucial for this park in particular due to its size and layout.
Universal Studios Hollywood began as a movie studio and through years of expansion became a theme park. Considering the land the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park shares with the movie studio — plus the fact that it’s built into the side of a mountain and is surrounded by residential buildings and businesses — the theme park footprint isn’t as large as most.
Therefore, limited real estate means limited space for rides, and limited rides means a short visit to the park if crowds aren’t abnormally large. Universal Studios Hollywood does have the benefit of the World-Famous Studio Tour, which takes around an hour to experience. But besides that, most guests can ride everything with a half-day park visit.
The unique layout makes it nearly impossible for Universal Studios Hollywood to include entertainment in the form of a parade, as well. I will say, for what they lack in parades and live shows they make up for in character meet & greets. More than most theme parks, I feel I can’t turn a corner at Universal Studios Hollywood without seeing a character interaction.
If Universal Studios Hollywood produced more live shows, they wouldn’t take up huge amounts of real estate, but they would take up large chunks of time. This is a win/win scenario for Universal Studios Hollywood and park guests, easily turning visits into a full-day experience.
What do you think? Would you rather see more live shows at Universal Studios Hollywood, or do you prefer them removing shows for more rides? Do you have a favorite show of yesteryear from this park? Leave a comment and let me know.
Jeff DePaoli is an event producer and voiceover artist living in Los Angeles. He can be heard as the voice of Disney Trivia on Alexa as well as the host of “Dizney Coast to Coast” podcast, where he and his special guests share honest opinions on all things Disney at DizneyCoastToCoast.com. DePaoli’s opinions are his own and do not necessarily represent Attractions Magazine.
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