The Most Instagramable Snacks at Universal Hollywood

Earlier this year we visited Universal Studios Hollywood! It was super darn fun.

I live in Ohio, and before this trip, the furthest West I’d ever been was Chicago. It was trippy being so far away from home, but it was one of my favorite little vacations.

We spent some time with Jon’s family and explored the Santa Ana/Costa Mesa area (and went to a Ducks game!), but the main feature was Universal. Some of my favorite things were the studio tour (of course), all of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and the Animal Actors show (which made me legitimately cry, for real, just because how cute).

Harry Potter World (as most refer to it, I think) was so immersive and cool. Even if you’re not a Harry Potter fan, it is a blast. I’m not by any means a “Potterhead-” I’ve seen all of the movies, but I haven’t read any of the books (and don’t plan to). I appreciate how complete and well-constructed the universe surrounding these stories is, and it translates so well to a theme park. It is really really cool.

While in the Universal Studios park, you KNOW I had to try the most Instagram-able snacks they had to offer. I feel like nearly everyone has seen and heard about the Butterbeer (Harry Potter) and the giant pink Lard Lad Donut (Springfield (The Simpsons)). Spoiler alert, loved them both. We’re going to Universal Orlando in a couple of months and I can not wait to get both of them again.

Let’s talk Butterbeer. Holy deliciousness. I only tried the iced version, because the hot wasn’t in season and it was too chilly to order the frozen (it was March and in the 50s). It was a buttery and dark cream soda with a yummy creamy topping and I got one every day that we were in the park. I’ve actually been making them at home with butterscotch Torani syrup and regular cream soda, and sometimes whipped cream on top. Super good, but not quite the same as Butterbeer in the park. Unless you hate butterscotch you absolutely freaking need this. I’m so excited to get it again.

Donuts are kind of everything to me right now, and this one was definitely memorable. Not just for the size and novelty, either. It was a legitimately tasty frosted yeast donut- one of the best I’ve had, pretty sure. I got this at the very end of the day, on my way out of the park so that it wouldn’t get un-cute sliding around in my bag. Despite this, it was super super fresh-tasting and really soft. The icing was the perfect balance of sweet and smooth, in my opinion. I ate this donut over the course of several days and it was good every time (though it did get just a little less fresh on the third and fourth days).

I definitely recommend both of these Instagram-able snack items!! Not only do they make for cute pictures, they are fun and they are tasty- very important things for your theme park snacks to be.