Tuesday 30 Oct 2018
Up at a reasonable time for breakfast of self made waffles
for something different. The staff behind the desk at the hotel helped us out
with a few tips for Universal Studios including pre purchasing tickets and what
train to catch.
Straight forward as the subway station was near the hotel
and we only had to go to the next stop. Once we popped up to ground level there
was a short walk to a shuttle that took us directly to Universal Studios. We
walked straight in with our tickets and started the adventure.
To quote Molly Meldrum “Do Yourself A Favour” if ever
visiting the west cost of USA, go to this place. We had a great day which
included themed rides and shows and the famous studio tour on the bus type shuttle.
The tour is interactive whilst sitting in the open bus. As well as the old favourites of the flooded
roadway in the Mexican village and the plasticky Jaws leaping out of the water,
we stopped in a couple of buildings which were part of a 3D show on either
side. One was Peter Jackson’s Skull Island with King Kong and dinosaurs
fighting around the bus and the other was from Fast and Furious where it felt
like we were hurtling along a freeway with cars and helicopters screaming
around us. The bus moves up and down and side to side in relation to what’s
happening on the screens and occasionally you get splashed by the water. A great way to start the day.
After that we headed down to the bottom lot via numerous
escaltors to the Transformers and The Mummy rides. The Mummy was the first and Larry
enjoyed it a lot and Jenny was not so enthusiastic (although she screamed most enthusiastically)
. All but one of the rides we went on, are on a roller coaster type carriage moving
into areas surrounding by screens. Transformers was next and we both thought of
Ash and how much he would love it. This one was 4D as at one point a missile
was fired at us and as it exploded we could feel the heat.
We felt the need for lunch by then in Jurassic Park World
(the cafe is open but unfortunately the ride is being upgraded and is closed
until 2019) so we took care of that and headed back up to the main area of the
studios by the various escalators (it would be a very steep climb without
them!) and headed off to a special effects show. Another great show and we
learnt a few things we never knew about sound effects.
We headed straight from there to the next show – Waterworld. It is a big arena with a large pool set and
surrounded by a large seating area with a number of seats painted green saying ‘Splash
Zone’. They made it clear over and over that
if you sat in these seats that you would get wet but some people still seem surprised
when they did. The actors and stunt guys
(a number of whom were introduced at the end as being in TV shows like ‘911’)
took great pleasure in picking out the really stupid people and dumping buckets
of water over them. We smirked from
halfway up and stayed completely dry.
Well it was a great show with little speed boats, jet skis and plenty of
explosions and splashes. We were off to
one side so weren’t completely freaked out as a small sea plane came crashing
over the buildings and into the pool but plenty of others screamed
appreciatively.
Once that was finished we headed over to the Harry Potter
area and past Owl and Wand shops and through the entrance to the ride. They
cater for huge crowds as there is are almost never ending corridors and sheep
runs with Harry Potter displays and screens showing various things from the
series. We really didn’t have to line up (all day we went straight to the front
of the queue runs) and we boarded the carriage( 4 people next to each other)
and off we went. Once again it was fantastic and we both enjoyed it and Larry
went for another go whilst Jenny perused the gift shops. Ridiculous prices – sorry kids. This time it
broke down half way, the carriage stopped and the screens went blank. Luckily
the carriage was leaning back so we were not left dangling. About a minute
later it started to move and Larry thought it was in fail mode and we were
going back to the drop off area but around a corner and the screens came back
to life and we were off.
Probably the next ride was the best, The Simpsons. We had to
wait about 5 minutes outside the building and then we were split up into groups
of 8 and ushered into room that had the Simpsons on a screen advising the ride
instructions in typical comedic fashion. We boarded with 4 in the front (2
being us) and 4 in the row behind. Once the door opened we went up instead of
forwards and the ride began. The area in front was a giant screen in a dome and
it was awesome. As we were moving in every direction and your senses are
overloaded and you feel immersed in what is happening including getting ‘sucked’
by a giant Maggie!
We wandered around for a little while and stopped in a
street filled with fake French shops for a coffee and chocolate croissant. We checked the map to see what we hadn’t yet
done and then off again.
Another ride was in the Dreamworks building and was Kung Foo
Panda. A more sedate experience where everyone
goes into a cinema type set up but the seats move and water sprays on you in relation
to what’s happening on the big Imax screen.
We finished up at the Working with Animals at Universal
Studios stage show and once again they nailed it. A highly informative, funny
and interesting display with cooperative animals ranging from rats and racoons
to a dog who refused to play dead until given his treat.
Very tired by 5:30pm so we headed out of the area to the
shuttle bus back to the train station, on the train and had a quick bite to eat
at Johnny Rocket’s (“original burgers”!) and back to our room for a rest up.
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