Universal Studios Hollywood once again celebrates the Chinese Lunar New Year with the help of the Po and friends from the Kung Fu Panda films. Most of the Lunar New Year events are located inside the Universal Plaza area of the upper lot. You can take photographs with Po and Tigress, speak with a very cool Mr. Ping at Mr. Ping’s Noodle Shop – where you can also buy special Lunar New Year food items! My favorite of the bunch were the stir-fry noodles but the pot stickers were also really good.Feng the Palace Artist’s Studio is an area in the Universal Plaza where you can learn to draw your favorite characters from the Kung Fu Panda films. Each audience member is lent an easel and drawing instrument and you just have to follow along with the instructor.
Additionally, there are martial arts stage demonstrations throughout the day which showcase some very talented people. There are also traditional wishing trees setup for you to write down and leave your wishes on for good luck! The plaza is absolutely stunning decked out for the celebration and park decorators should be commended for their efforts. Outside the Universal Plaza, the Lunar New Year celebration continues as guests can meet a Mandarin-speaking Megatron characters outside the Transformers: the Ride cue area in the lower lot. Also, you can take pictures with the Minions all dressed in traditional Chinese attire.
Of course, you are still able to access all of the wonderful attractions you have come to love at Universal Studios Hollywood, the Lunar New Year celebration is in addition to all that good stuff. Heading over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, they are still selling the legendary “hot butterbeer” drink, which is absolutely a must on a blustery day. It warms you up and tastes delicious. You can also checkout the Animal Actors stage show which features some highly-trained animals of all kinds. The studio tour is also a favorite of movie lovers and fans of the park in general. If you get the chance, I’d check it out on a weekday as you might see some stuff being filmed! The Shrek 4D attraction, now closed, is being transformed into the Dreamworks Theater, which is eventually going to house a new Kung Fu Panda short film and feature interactive effects and elements. Construction is currently underway on that attraction.
Overall, Universal’s Lunar New Year celebration is a whole lot of fun for the entire family and is well worth your time to check out. The Universal Studios Lunar New Year Celebration runs from now through February 25th, 2018. After that, it’s gone, so don’t wait!
