Universal studios is unexplored territory for me, had never been until today...and had so much fun I think I might have to find out where else I could go to to have the Universal experience again (knew we should have gone in Osaka :) ) We got a transfer to Universal Studios, and our bus driver gave us the low-down on LA on the way,
pointing out the sights for us, and also the fact that a couple of roads had been closed down (not that that was unusual here) because of filming, and of course we crane our heads to see if we can see anyone famous...but all we saw were the set vehicles and cameras etc
Of course we saw the famous Hollywood sign which
was originally created back in 1923 as an advertising scheme by real estate agents and it stuck...I know it's bigger up close when you're standing next to it, but really it doesn't look it....
On the bus we got talking to a woman who has been to Universal 14 times (guess she likes the place) and she gave us some good advice which was to get downstairs to the rides before there are too many people, then come back up for the studio lot tour and the rest of the park and we took her advice and headed down the escalators to the rides at the lower level of the park.
You get a great view of the movie lots and the expanse of land beyond, before the fun starts.
Jurassic Park a great ride....you're under a false sense of security as you leisurely start your cruise on the river and then the fun starts :) even the second time it was fun.
The Revenge of the Mummy Ride was awesome.....all three times, it's when you 'hit the wall' and go hurtling backwards that you go wow...and even when you know it's going to happen you still freak out :)
Transformers was fun, and you felt like you were part of the movie with the 3D glasses and huge screens around the place...like all theme park rides there is magic to it and although I don't want to lose the illusion I'd like to know the workings of the place too.
Before we went topside we had a look at the exhibits, the Delorean from the Back to Future Movies, costumes and props from movie and television,photos and memorablia from movies, some of the animation
models which make you realise the work involved creating animated movies.And of course an Academy Award...is this where I say "thank you to the academy". That was great and could happily see more exhibits of other movies and shows.
Back up the escalator and onto the Simpson's Ride which was fun as you were in the cartoon with them, the Simpsons are at Krustyland ready to take a ride when Sideshow Bob hijacks the ride and sends it into disaster.
It was a fun ride, better than I thought it would be.
From here it was to the queues for the Backlots tour...thank god it's not summer or the height of the season because I dread to think how long the queues are then. The tour was great...and the sets that you could see were brilliant it's amazing how one tiny lake can be the Atlantic Ocean and the model boat, the Titanic, and the number of movies that they show snippets of and 'this was filmed here and this is how they did it'
sort of stuff....awesome...the magic of film and tv...we had to be quiet a couple of times as we were passing by studios because there was filming going on but we didn't get to see any stars....oh well....
Lunch time and a great Mexican meal, before we wandered around more. There are lots of things going on, and on one of the street scenes you had actors in the window calling out to people on the street and they started chatting to a bunch of school kids who were in LA from Utah to perform at Disneyland, and they did an impromptue performance in the middle of the street, the kids were awesome and think they will do great when they perform later in the week. There was a lot of joking going on about them performing at Universal first...It's fun wandering
around because there are always things going on, loved the shark...but he spat her out LOL
We went to a Waterworld Performance which was really fun....but if you didn't know the movie not sure you'd get it...the effects were great and the stunt men and women were fabulous, and give you an appreciation for the art and work involved in getting movies out on the big screen.
After going through the Universal store, and parting with a few more US$ we hit the Universal Walk, some great restaurants and shops, a couple I wouldn't mind eating in...like Wolfgang Puck's place.
We got picked up from Universal and on the way back got a scenic tour...which was included in the price of the transfer....to Hollywood Blvd and the Walk of Fame with all the stars
...and Grauman's Chinese Theatre...which unfortunately we couldn't get anywhere near because they had close it off for the Hollywood Premier of the film The Phantom, saw Ed Harris, and the back of a few other people's heads, and the limos pulling up so all fun....lots of people lined up to see celebs who kept getting in my way when I was trying to find stars and hand prints...sorry Jenna couldn't find Jennifer Aniston's :(
It was interesting walking down the street where the celebs come in their designer dresses for their premiers because it's really quite seedy....and then you have people dressed up in daft costumes that demand money for a photos which you don't want anyway( some of the 'celebs' are good, but others...grrrrrrr!!!!)
On the way back to Anaheim we got taken down Sunset Boulevard(through West Hollywood) and Beverly Hills going past Rodeo Drive. On the way he pointed out the comedy clubs, hotel, restaurants and nightclubs telling us stories about each....wish I could remember them all.
Back in time for a late dinner....meatloaf again but this time at Millie's which is almost next door to Mimi's...love that stuff-with a side of macaroni...yummy!!! Last day of our holiday tomorrow (I can't believe it has gone so fast and I'm trying not to think about it.) I just know that Samara and I are going to enjoy ourselves because it' s Disney!!!!!!