By Charly SHELTON

The holiday season is upon us and Universal Studios Hollywood has brought even more holiday magic to the park delivering a festive experience that’s both enchanting and whimsical. From Nov. 29 through Jan. 6 the park is decked out in holiday splendor with each area offering its own unique twist on the celebrations. 

Grinchmas has returned to USH bringing with it the citizens of Whoville and the notorious Grinch to make a festive Christmas celebration in Universal Plaza with meet-and-greets, festive food, shows and a giant tree lighting nightly. And over in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Christmas celebrations are underway with decorations, a nighttime light show on Hogwarts Castle, and the best specialty dish the park offers all year – The English Holiday Dinner at The Three Broomsticks. 

The big news is this year Super Nintendo World for the first time joins the holiday festivities. The Mushroom Kingdom is adorned with festive decorations featuring garlands, lights and themed ornaments on Christmas trees as well as Mario and Luigi snowmen at the entrance to the land. And while it is super cute, it seems like the land could do with much more decoration. While the garlands on Peach’s Castle are lovely they only cover one building and a gazebo while the rest of the land is left “undressed.” There is a Christmas tree inside the land and that’s about it. Seeing how cute the decorations are makes me want to have the whole land decked out, especially in the ice cave that already feels wintery, and a Christmas tree there wouldn’t be amiss.

Beyond the decorations, Super Nintendo World offers exclusive holiday-themed merchandise, which is more plentiful than the decorations. The merch features the Mario snowman from the entrance to the land (which can be found on everything from Spirit Jerseys to headbands to toddler pajamas). And the specialty treats that were promised for Toadstool Cafe hadn’t arrived when I came out to the park, but I was told it would be a cake pop featuring the Mario snowman as well.

The Super Nintendo World holiday effort feels underwhelming and overall it makes little impact on the holiday celebration at Universal. But that’s okay because the rest of the festivities are great, and year after year Universal gets even better with quality upgrades and better planning. 

This year may be the best Grinchmas yet. The lines are out of the way and not blocking the festival area, the shows are enticing and the Who citizen walkaround characters are always a delight. And as a special treat, Pass Members can meet the Grinch in a special meet-and-greet area down on the Lower Lot above Jurassic World. This is a great addition that allows Pass Members to avoid the long lines of people meeting the Grinch up at Universal Plaza, which in turn takes some of the pressure off that line as well. 

Overall, the holiday celebration at Universal Studios Hollywood is a hit as usual thanks to the Grinch who saved Christmas. But the celebration inside the park is not the only one to look out for.

Just a short stroll from the theme park entrance, Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City presents Holidays on the Hill, a charming holiday event running from Nov. 30 to Jan. 5. From visits with Santa to après-ski food and drink, and ice skating on a rink under the ever-watchful eye of the giant Minion up at the theme park, this is a unique event that is both quintessential winter fun and also very LA.

We were invited out to opening night, which was a spectacle featuring performances by a cast member from “Wicked” and skaters from the Los Angeles Ice Theater, setting a festive tone for the season. And although that opening night performance was a one-off, guests can immerse themselves in the “Wicked” celebrations with themed ice skating nights. Starting Dec. 4, every Wednesday transforms into “Wicked Wednesdays” when the rink glows with pink and green lighting and the soundtrack switches from “Jingle Bells” to songs from the “Wicked” original Broadway cast recording. The first 50 guests on those nights also receive special “Wicked”-themed gifts, which is going to be a must for any super fan.

Beyond theme nights, the event runs as a classic winter fun fair for the rest of the season with Santa’s Workshop for Santa visit photos, a holiday pop-up bar – Jingle Bell Tavern – serving themed cocktails and a seafood buffet, which is the most LA version of après-ski I can think of.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. The food and cocktails were phenomenal, the atmosphere was perfectly wintery and despite the fact that apparently nobody in LA has ever ice skated before, it’s nice to watch everyone hold the wall and inch around the rink.

This holiday season, Universal Studios Hollywood and Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City offer a harmonious blend of entertainment, festivity and culinary delights. Whether exploring the immersive worlds within the park or enjoying the seasonal offerings atop the hill, the magic of the holidays is in full swing.