FIRST LOOK! The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash at Universal Studios Hollywood
A few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to be invited to Universal Studios Hollywood to take a walk through the queue for the newest attraction coming to the park, The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash. Pictures were not allowed, but we could record our experience with Universal Creative! Below is that audio tour of the queue you can listen to while you look at the following photos of the attraction!
Before even entering the attraction, we were astounded by the transformation of Baker Street into Pets Place. The street leading to the attraction now sets the tone for guests experiences on the attraction. If you look closely at the storefronts, you’ll find easter eggs to the SLOP films and even some nods to previous Universal Studios attractions. If you look at the bottom corner of the store front windows, you’ll see that each store is protected by “Cyberdyne Security” which is a clear reference to T2:3D which once was where Minion Mayhem is now. It made our dorky hearts happy and sad all at the same time.
The queue itself is a “virtual queue” experience that has zero switchbacks. This means that you’ll need to reserve a time to return to the attraction via kiosks near the attraction or via the USH app. The experience of the queue takes you through the apartment building from the film. As you journey through each room, you’ll find characters from the films. Both animated (on a screen) and animatronic. It’s actually really fun to feel as though you’re exploring the apartments instead of waiting in line. There’s even a video of Pops with his young puppy students, teaching them how to deal with humans. This video made us laugh pretty good. Right after that room is going to be a very impressive animatronic of Snowball, the energetic white bunny voiced by Kevin Hart! We witnessed the crews working on this piece and we are beyond excited to see it come to life.
Once you’re at the load station, you board a two person vehicle that looks like card board boxes. Then you adventure begins! Now the fun part…the first photos of the attraction!
The attraction promises to have 60+ animated figures with very little media. Which everyone knows is the biggest gripe of Universal Attractions. Not only that, but the park is in dire need of a dark ride! This attraction could have easily been designed to be a media based attraction and we applaud Universal Creative in designing something distinctly different than anything else in the park. One aspect of the ride that makes us very excited, is the potential of seeing ourselves as animated puppies! After you board your vehicles, you pass by a storefront and see yourself and your fellow rider’s reflection. But it will be a dog looking back! INCREDIBLE!
We are beyond excited to get our butts in the seats for this new attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. With this addition, a much needed dark ride joins the lineup of incredible IP attractions at the studios. Now we just need a Classic Universal Monsters dark ride…right? Right?
If you want to buy tickets to Universal Studios Hollywood to ride this attraction, remember, The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash opens March 27th! But, if you’re a Annual Passholder, then you can ride it sooner with Previews of the attraction for Passholders Only.
Theme Park Duo 