My California Vacation: Universal Studios Hollywood
After spending 3 days at the happiest place on earth, it was now time to see Universal Studios. Being the good person that he is, my cousin picked us up at the Disney hotel and brought us back to LA. We checked in at Holiday Inn and settled in for another day of theme park happiness. The good thing about staying at the hotel was that my sister was able to get a good deal on park tickets, buy 1 day, get 1 day free and the hotel also provided a scheduled free shuttle ride service to and from Universal Studios. After settling in, we headed to the lobby to catch our bus and to our pleasant surprise, the driver was Filipino. Once we got to the drop off point, there it was, the rotating globe with Universal Studios around it. That’s the first picture I had when I got there.
Just like Disneyland, I was super excited since I came all the way from Manila just to go there. The California sun was hot, but I, and the rest of the park goers didn’t mind. There were lot’s to see and do and the first animated character I saw was Alex the Lion from the movie Madagascar, which I had a picture with. After some pictures, the family headed out to the Studio Tour. The line was pretty long but we waited patiently since that is the most famous attraction there. I was very relieved when it was our turn to ride the tram. The trams went to different sets, we went to the set of Desperate Housewives, Wisteria lane, the airplane wreckage in War of the Worlds and others. We saw Jaws as the shark leaped out of the water, we got to experience a natural disaster such as an earthquake or a flood and how they make cars dance in the air like in the action movies. The new attraction to the Studio Tour was King Kong 3D. The tram enters this tunnel and it goes out to the island where King Kong lives. You’ll get to see King Kong fight a T-Rex and you’ll be part of the action since you get to see them fight in 3D while the tram moves and shakes.
Day 2 was a busy day for us and we had the whole day to explore. My sister bought us an all you can eat pass so we can save money on food, and eat the day away. After breakfast, we checked out the lower lot of the park to see what was there. I started the day with a ride at Jurassic Park, The Ride. The rides at Universal were more for grown ups and big kids unlike Disney, that’s why the park has a Child Switch. What it is basically is a member of the family watches out for the kids, while the rest takes the ride, then they switch. So while my sister and her husband were enjoying the ride, I was taking care of the kids, playing with them and keeping them company. There’s also an advantage with the child switch because you get to ride faster. I was excited to see what the ride was about. It began with just a slow river cruise (so we already have an idea that I will get wet on this ride), with dinosaurs on both ends of the river either eating or spraying water at us. Until it picked up the pace, going through this dark tunnel and without you knowing it, it suddenly drops and gives you a big splash at the end. It was so quick I was stunned. I came out drenched, but I didn’t mind, the sun was hot so it was a nice refreshing break for me.
Next was Revenge of the Mummy, The Ride, which is a roller coaster ride in the dark where you don’t know where your headed and when you reach the end, it’ll go backward for more excitement. I screamed a lot during this ride, hahaha. All that adrenaline made us hungry and had lunch at Panda Express which was at the lower lot as well. While eating, we freaked when zombies suddenly came out, it was time for a presentation number with Scooby Doo and the rest of the gang.
Having explored all of the lower lot, we went back up and started the rides again with The Simpsons the Ride which is a virtual roller coaster. After the fun ride, I headed to the Kwik E Mart to get some more merchandise. Next we saw Universal’s Animal Actors which was so cute, they featured different animals that starred in different movies. Everyone enjoyed watching them perform and do different tricks, the animals were like celebrities. Next attraction that we saw was Waterworld, which is a high adrenaline show that involves live actors, stunts and movie magic, imagine a plane being dropped to the stage (which is ofcourse a big pool). Last on the agenda was Terminator 2:3D. It was a 3D movie coupled with live actors which made it interesting.
The California sun was hot, so to cool off, me and the kids got some icre cream c/o Ben and Jerry's while the parents saw Terminator too. For the past 2 days, I've almost seen all of the attractions Universal has to offer, what's left to do, take more pictures! Night came and it was time to go, for the 2nd time, I lost my family at the Citywalk so I waited again at the pick up point to meet them. Arriving at the hotel, everyone was just tired, so lights out. Tomorrow is a new day to explore LA, Yay!
 |
| Universal Studios Hollywood |
 |
| Universal Studios Hollywood |
 | ||
| Studio Tour
After the tour we headed out to see Shrek in 4D. There, you’ll be part of Shrek and Donkey’s adventure, you can see and feel the action. The kids enjoyed it as much as we adults did. All that adventure left us feeling hungry so after a few more pictures, it was time for some dinner at Louie’s Pizza and Pasta. The day is not yet over for me since I haven’t bought anything yet, so after a few hours, we headed back to the drop off point for our ride back to the hotel. The drop off point is by Universal Studios’ City walk which is an array of nice shops and a place for dinning and entertainment. With all the people, the lights, the stuff to see, I got separated from my family. I was a little nervous since I might be going back to the hotel on my own, but I just went to the pick up point and decided to wait there instead. The LA night was chilly and I was the only one waiting, I got scared because I thought I might have missed the shuttle. After 5 minutes, I saw my sister and her family, apparently, they went and looked for coffee, a few more minutes, the other guests started to come and so did the shuttle.
|
 |
| Jurassic Park ride |
 |
| Revenge of the Mummy |
 |
| Scooby Doo |
 |
| Universal Studios Hollywood |
 |
| Universal Studios Hollywood |
Comments