4 Ways to Improve the UX at Universal Studios Hollywood

Last September, I began my love affair with Universal Studios in Hollywood. For the price of one day, I got the whole year free. A smart move on its part, considering many of the rides are small (and there’s not very many of them).

Overall, I always have a great time at Universal, however I hope they are researching ways to improve the user experience. I’ve listed some UX pros and cons.

1 . Transportation

They’ve done well with transportation. The parking garage is connected to the park and fairly cheap. However, you do have to walk through Citywalk, which is a bunch of chain restaurants and shops. I understand this is a sales tactic, but gets in the visitor’s way, especially for fellow annual passholders who have seen the shops many times.

If visitors don’t want to drive, they can take the subway or bus to the nearby metro station. It’s really a miracle to have a nearby station in LA because they are few and far between. A tram then takes visitors up a large hill leading to the park. However, this tram doesn’t come often or run late at night. I’ve had to make the hike several times because of this.

2. Tickets and Passes

Unfortunately, this is an area that could be vastly improved. When you buy a yearly/same-day pass, you get a flimsy paper ticket. Of course, I lost mine once because I thought it was a receipt and threw it away. They charged me over $10 to replace it–probably 600% more than it cost to print.

Universal has many better options besides paper cards. The easiest fix would be to give annual members a plastic card like cruise ships. Even better would be to implement their own wearables, like Disney’s MyMagic+, although the critics are still out on whether the wearables are helping lines. Either way, having one item to use for food, fast passes, and admission would be a major improvement.

3. Crowd Control

Last Saturday was the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen at Universal.

Part of the issue was overcapacity. I don’t understand why they allow so many people in the park. I would rather be turned away then endure a day long waits. This is a common for any theme park. I wonder if they need these types of days to keep the park going on the off season.

Universal’s hardest crowd control challenge is lack of space. Not only are guests squeezed into tiny paths, they have to use several escalators to get from one part of the park to the other. It can sometimes take 15–20 mins to get from ride to ride, which is a long time for a park with only 10 or so rides.

These observations have inspired me to do more research into crowd control, large-scale building designs (such as stadiums), and event planning for massive amounts of people. Each would have its own interesting design challenges.

4. Informational Apps

This is probably the most familiar topic to us technophiles.

Universal does a great job listing ride wait times on an electronic billboard, but not so great at making them accessible. Because no mobile app exists, everyone stands in front the billboard, blocking the tiny path.

These times should always be available, especially when you’re waiting in line and planning the next ride. It would also be useful to include a map (with ride directions while you walk), park news, discounts, etc. on this type of app.

At Disneyland, visitors can use the MouseWait App to check ride lines, however the app was built by a third party. Parks of these size could easily afford the costs to develop a simple ride time mobile app. I’m not sure why we haven’t seen this yet.

Most of my observations are nitpicky, but even small annoyances can influence a vistor’s opinion of Universal. I hope to see more interactive apps and wearables but less shopping tactics and overcrowded paths in the future.