Beijing was never quite at the top of our list for family-friendly attractions, and that changed when Universal Studios Beijing opened. Beyond its well-known historical landmarks, Beijing now offers a compelling reason for families to include it as a destination that caters meaningfully to children as well.
Universal Studios Beijing: Largest Universal Studios Park in the World
Touted as the largest Universal Studios park in the world, the park spans over 420 acres and features seven themed lands, including the first-ever Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness, along with two themed hotels. That alone was enough to get everyone excited.
The experience turned out better than expected.
Out of 21 attractions, rides and performances, we managed to cover 16. The remaining ones were either not open or a little too kiddy for us. What made this possible was not just planning, but also a fair bit of on-the-ground adjustments and even picking up tips from locals during our visit.
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We hope that by sharing our experience, it will help you plan a smoother and more satisfying visit.
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Universal Studios Beijing Park Tickets and Express Passes
After our experience at Universal Studios Japan, I wasn’t taking chances. That trip was honestly a bit traumatising — 90-minute queues everywhere, and we ended up doing only 3–4 less popular rides. Imagine entering Super Nintendo World and not riding anything… that was us.
So this time, I decided to play it safe and go for Express Passes.
We bought a bundle that included park admission and Express access for four rides, which came up to about SGD250 per person. To keep costs reasonable, we only got these for the three kids and one adult. The rest of the adults, who weren’t as keen on rides, just went with standard entry tickets at around SGD85.
A minor thing we discovered — children need to be accompanied by someone above 16 years old for the rides, so just make sure at least one adult is on the same pass.
We also realised that not all tickets and express passes are the same across platforms. Even for standard admission, prices can differ by about SGD20. The express passes vary even more. Some require you to pre-select rides within certain categories, while others bundle them differently. Even the official site offers packages that don’t fully match what third-party platforms are selling.
Hence, do your due dilligence when purchasing tickets. We bought our tickets directly from Klook.
When to Visit: Timing Matters More Than You Think
We thought we struck gold when we saw the crowd levels.
Within the first 20 minutes after the park’s official opening time, we were already in. Most wait times for rides and attractions were hovering around 15–30 minutes throughout the day, and some of the more popular ones — like the Decepticoaster — had no queue when we went straight at rope drop.
Even the big-ticket rides like Jurassic Flyers, Jurassic World Adventure and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey had a waiting time at about 70 minutes.
That was when we realised — this was not the usual Universal Studios experience.
After speaking to some locals, we found out that we had visited during one of China’s off-peak periods. Coincidentally, this lined up with the March school holidays in Singapore, which made it an unexpectedly good window to travel.
The weather helped too. It was cool enough to walk the whole day without feeling drained. We also made a conscious decision to visit on a Thursday, which helped us avoid the weekend crowd.
This is what we thought are the Best Windows to visit Universal Studios Beijing during the holidays:
March Holidays: Mid-to-late March is ideal. You’ll dodge China’s peak travel periods and the Qingming holiday (early April). The weather is mild, meaning fewer meltdowns from kids tired of the heat.
September Holidays: Once China’s schools reopen, crowds vanish. Expect gorgeous temperatures between 15 to 25 degrees celsius, though you should double-check that your dates don’t clash with the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The “Proceed with Caution” Windows:
June Holidays: Stick to early June. By the middle of the month, China’s summer break begins, and the heat and humidity start to mimic a typical afternoon in Jurong—making those outdoor queues brutal.
December Holidays: It’s festive and less crowded, but it is cold. We’re talking -2 to -8 degrees celsius with a biting wind chill. If your kids aren’t fans of bundling up in heavy layers, the magic might wear off quickly.
The “No-Go” Zones
Avoid these at all costs unless you enjoy hour-plus wait times for every ride:
Chinese New Year
Labour Day (Early May)
Summer Break (July/August)
National Day Golden Week (Early October)
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Park Routes: Moving Like Clockwork
Right before the entrance sits the iconic Universal Studios globe. And honestly, this is where many people unknowingly fall into a “value trap”. It’s very easy to get carried away taking photos from every possible angle, waiting for the perfect crowd-free shot.
Our approach was to get the photo done first, then head straight to the entrance. The key is to make sure you are at the entrance 15–20 minutes before 9am.
Because the park is that big, even walking from the globe to the entrance takes about 8–10 minutes at a comfortable pace. If you spend too long at the globe and only start moving later, you’ll quickly find yourself caught behind the wave of visitors who started queuing earlier, which defeats the whole purpose of arriving early.
Once you enter, Hollywood Boulevard greets you with rows of shops, mascots and photo spots. Again, it’s very tempting to stop and browse. But all these can wait. The key is to clear the high-demand rides early while queue times are still low.
Within a 10-minute walk from the entrance, you’ll find some of the most popular attractions. We prioritised the Decepticoaster (for those above 132cm) at Transformers Metrobase, followed by Jurassic Flyers (100cm) and Jurassic World Adventure (102cm) at Jurassic World Isla Nublar. These are the rides that tend to build queues quickly, so it makes sense to hit them first.
Minion Land is also nearby, but queues there are generally shorter, so we left it for later in the day.
Ride prioritisation alone wasn’t enough — planning around show timings can help to smoothen the entire experience too. For example, we left Jurassic World just before noon and headed straight to the WaterWorld stunt show at 12pm. Later in the day, we timed our exit from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter around 4pm so we could catch the Universal on Parade at 4.15pm.
Our day ended up flowing quite smoothly. We started at Transformers Metrobase from about 9.15am to 10.00am, clearing three rides.
From there, we moved to Jurassic World Isla Nublar from around 10.15am to 12.00pm, completing two key attractions. After the WaterWorld show, we slowed things down slightly at Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness from about 12.40pm to 2.00pm, where we did a ride, let the kids enjoy the playground and had lunch.
In the afternoon, we covered The Wizarding World of Harry Potter from 2.30pm to 4.00pm, followed by the parade. We then moved on to Minion Land before catching the Lights, Camera, Action show. After that, we circled back in the early evening to clear one of the more popular rides — Jurassic Flyers — when the queue had eased off.
This was something we learnt along the way: you don’t always need to insist on completing every ride within a zone before moving on. Sometimes it’s more efficient to stay flexible and return when the wait times improve.
One small hack — if you’re not particularly keen on catching the parade, that 4.00pm to 4.45pm window can be a good opportunity to hit the popular rides, as queue times can drop quite significantly during that period.
A regret we had was that we missed the “Nighttime Magic at Hogwarts Castle” light show. We assumed it started at 7.30pm based on an outdated post, but it began earlier during that period.
One practical tip – download the Universal Studios Beijing app before your visit. With live queue updates and real-time show schedules, it becomes much easier to adjust your route on the go and make the most of your time in the park.
Our Itinerary at Universal Studios Beijing
9.10am – 10.15am: Transformers Metrobase
915am: Decepticoaster
930am: transformers the ride: the battle for the ALLSPARK
10am: Bumblebee Boogie
10:15am – 11.55am: Jurassic World Isla Nublar
10.20am: Jurassic World Adventure
11.20am: Raptor encounter
12.00pm-12.40pm: WATERWORLD
12.00pm: WATERWORLD live stunt show
12.45pm – 2.20pm: Kungfu Panda Land of Awesomeness
12.55pm: Journey of the Dragon Warrior
1.40pm: lunch at Grandma Panda’s Kitchen
2.30pm – 3.55pm: The Wizarding world of Harry Potter
2.55pm: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
3.45pm: Flight of the Hippogriff
4.00pm- 4.40pm: Universal on Parade at Minion Land
4.45pm – 5.45pm: Minion Land
4.50pm: despicable me – Minion Mayhem
5.18pm: Super Swirly
5.50pm – 6.00pm: Hollywood
5.52pm: Lights, Camera, Action!
6.10pm to 7.00pm: Jurassic World Isla Nublar
6.10pm: Jurassic Flyer
Ride Reviews: What’s Worth It (and What’s Not)
Given that we managed to experience most of the attractions at Universal Studios Beijing, here’s our honest take on what’s worth your time — and what you might want to skip.
An example is the Raptor Encounter at Jurassic World Isla Nublar. On paper, it sounds quite exciting — a trained handler interacting with a “velociraptor” before a photo opportunity. In reality, it felt rather underwhelming.
The queue moves through multiple holding areas as part of the “build-up”, which makes the wait feel longer than stated, and the final interaction didn’t feel particularly immersive. It wasn’t realistic enough to impress, and not cute enough for the kids to get excited about either. We later found out there are occasional appearances of “Dolores”, a baby dinosaur, which might be more appealing for younger kids, but the main raptor encounter didn’t quite land for us.
Another one we would probably skip — or at least manage expectations for — is Universal on Parade. While the stated timing was around 4pm (do check the app for updates), it didn’t really start proper until about 15–20 minutes later. The initial segment felt more like a build-up, and we even spent a good amount of time watching what we thought was the start of the parade, only to realise it was essentially a product placement segment.
If you do want to catch it, our suggestion is not to rush down right on time. You can head over slightly later and still catch the main parade without missing much.
On the flip side, there are some attractions that are absolutely worth prioritising.
Jurassic World Adventure is easily one of the standout rides in the park. It’s an incredibly immersive experience, combining massive animatronics with high-definition visuals. The climactic fight between the T-Rex and Indominus Rex was genuinely impressive. That said, it can be quite intense — Ashriel got a bit frightened on the first run.
But to his credit, he wanted to try again, so we activated the express pass and went for a second round. Safe to say, he conquered it the second time.
Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness is the first fully indoor themed land across all Universal parks. Designed like a traditional Chinese village with a night bazaar setting, complete with lanterns and a simulated sky ceiling. The whole zone is climate-controlled, which makes it a great place to rest and recharge.
Within this zone, Kung Fu Panda: Journey of the Dragon Warrior stood out. It’s a trackless boat ride that combines physical sets, projections and motion simulation. The visuals are strong, and kids who are familiar with the show will enjoy the storytelling.
For thrill seekers, the Decepticoaster is a must-try. It launches from 0 to over 100 km/h almost instantly, with no real build-up. Compared to Battlestar Galactica at Universal Studios Singapore, this feels more aggressive but also smoother.
Unfortunately, with a height requirement of 132cm, the kids couldn’t take it — but that gave me a rare chance to enjoy it without the usual long queues. Do take note: the security checks are strict. You’ll be asked to deposit your phone in lockers before boarding, so don’t try your luck unless you’re prepared to requeue.
For those familiar with other Universal parks, some rides here are variations of existing concepts. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is still one of the most impressive rides if it’s your first time. The robotic arm system creates a very dynamic experience, with sudden tilts and movements that can feel quite intense.
Some moments — especially with the Dementors — may be a bit scary for younger kids. With a height requirement of 122cm, Adriel was quite sad he couldn’t take it, while Ashriel… was honestly quite happy to use that as an excuse to tap out after seeing how intense it looked.
Jurassic Flyers, on the other hand, is much more family-friendly. It’s a suspended coaster with gentle gliding movements and scenic views of the park. The spinning seats add a bit of variation. With a minimum height of 100cm, this ride was what the kids enjoyed most. There’s something quite nice about gliding through the area with the Jurassic Park soundtrack playing in the background.
I was pleasantly surprised by how well the indoor playgrounds were integrated into the themed zones. Both Kung Fu Panda Land and Jurassic World have dedicated indoor play areas that feel like part of the attraction.
The Kung Fu Panda one is styled like a treetop training zone, with nets, suspended bridges and interactive spaces based on Po’s village. The Jurassic World play area feels like an exploratory dinosaur habitat, with climbing structures, tunnels and slides. These spaces are fully sheltered and air-conditioned, which makes them a great break from the weather — whether it’s heat, rain or cold.
We ended up having lunch at Kung Fu Panda Land while the kids played. They spent a good 20–40 minutes there, which gave us a chance to sit down and take a proper break.
As for the rest of the rides, many are similar to what you would find in other Universal parks, including Singapore. As the queues were surprisingly reasonable, we found ourselves using the express passes more for convenience — and even to retake some of our favourite attractions — rather than out of necessity.
In fact, there were moments where I wondered if we could have saved on the express passes altogether. But thinking about it, not really needing them was actually a good sign. It meant the overall crowd levels were not overwhelming, and we could enjoy most of the rides without feeling rushed.
Final Thoughts
Although this was our second time in Beijing, it was our first time experiencing the city as parents, travelling with the kids in tow.Having Universal Studios Beijing as part of the itinerary really elevated the entire trip.
It added a different dimension to what is otherwise a very historical city, and made the experience feel more balanced for both adults and children.
The visit did add about SGD1000 to the overall cost of the trip, which was quite significant. On hindsight, it felt worthwhile. This was the first time the Boays truly got to experience a theme park in its entirety — from rides to shows to simply soaking in the atmosphere — and that, in itself, made it memorable.
In many ways, it also felt like a starting point. A first proper taste of the theme park experience, and perhaps a small milestone as we look ahead to more theme park–focused holidays planned for the rest of the year.
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