California Part II – Universal Studios Hollywood
In 1997 I had a somewhat disappointing experience visiting LA for the first time. There’s long story behind that which I can share on another day, but there was one huge highlight of that trip: Universal Studios. Having been to the one in LA all those years ago, and having gone to the one in Florida just last year, I knew that my wife and kids would love it. So on Sunday morning, we got up early, had breakfast, and bolted for Universal City in LA.
Our plan was to roughly arrive when it opened, spend the whole day there, then head back to the hotel. Knowing that, as we approached the entrance to the park, we made a conscious decision to park the car in the “front gate parking” lot instead of one of the other lots. General parking was $25 vs the $50 for front gate, but as Tamara pointed out, at the end of the day, you’re completely beat and just want to get out so that front gate parking would make a world of difference. Turns out she was right. When the day was over, being able to walk out of the main gate and take another 20-40 steps and be at the car was worth the extra money it cost. If you plan to spend the whole day there, pay for the better parking.
Upon entering, we were greeted by a really nice man who gave the kids and Tamara litle badges that said it was their first time, and even took a few photos with us. We then made our way heading in whatever direction the park took us.
The first thing that caught the kids attention was the Hello Kitty store. Although Megan isn’t a huge Hello Kitty fan, she still likes to look at the stuff and right outside the door of the store was someone dressed in a Hello Kitty costume. Unlike many other places we’ve been to, we didn’t have to tip the costume wearer for taking a photo. Moments after leaving the store, someone dressed as Marilyn Monroe was taking photos with people so both me and Megan took the opportunity to get a picture with a classy lady.
From there, the next stop was The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Now the interesting thing about this place was that I had never read any of the books and couldn’t really sit through the few movies I did actually see. Dylan had one book but had not shown a lot of interest in doing the others. But he was very interested in seeing this part of the park so off we went. I did the same section of the park in Florida and even though they are similar, I actually preferred the one in Florida to California. This one was well done but as someone who’s not versed in Potter lore, a lot of it was lost on me. We wandered around the area and towards the big castle where the largest of the rides was. We all wanted to do the coaster but Tamara was unable to do the ride so she came through the attraction to see the inside. Yes, the line was very long but because these rides have so much more build up going into them, you didn’t notice it as much.
When we did finally get on coaster, it was pretty awesome. It was combination of a typical coaster ride with some large projection screens that add to the effect. The kids totally loved in and would have gone again but they agreed that we should do our best to see the rest of the park and then maybe return later.
Next stop was the Universal Studios Tour. This was the part of the park that I had remembered the most of when I was here in 1997. In those days, Back To The Future was still fresh in people’s minds and the Delorean and even the clock tower were still there. We went down and got in line and waited until the tram came and off we went. The tour had definitely changed in the 21 years since I had taken it last but some parts were still the same while other new parts were added that made it that much more entertaining.
The thing about the backlot tour is if you are interested in how movies and shows are made and love seeing the behind the scenes stuff, the tour makes it so much more worth it for you. The clock tower from BTTF was still there although slightly different in appaerance. We drove through an exterior set for Psycho, and even a crashed airplane section from War of the Worlds. There were two other parts of the tour that were almost “ride-ish” in that the tram stopped in an enclosed space, and screen projections played a “scene” out for you which made it quite entertaining. Combine that with a “flash flood” they create for the tour which saw some people on one side get covered in water, it made for an even better tour.
There were two other parts of this tour that were identical to what I had experienced before. One of them was the attack of “Jaws” on the tram which is kind of cheezy to experience but still kind of cool. The other one was of subway scene where the station gets flooded and part of the ceiling caves in. While doing that part of the tour, they actually played a scene from the TV show Bones on the monitors that showed where that specific set had been used on the show. Tamara and I watched that show quite a bit so we made sure to watch the episode (Bones on the Blue Line) when we got home.
The tour ended and we went upstairs to get some food from Krusty Burger which was part of the Springfield (Simpsons) portion of Universal. I had seen this before in Florida but the kids got quite a kick out of seeing the various characters and parts of Springfield.
We opted to take in the Animal Actors show which showcases a whole variety of different animals that have been trained for commercials, movies, and television programs. Dogs, cats, and a few other little critters came out and did a bit of a show for the large audience. It mostly consisted of them jumping through little obstacles, climbing ropes, and going from one part of the stage to the other. I will say that show they had in Florida was far more entertaining than the one here in California. I didn’t enjoy this one as much but again, the kids did really like seeing the cats and dogs go here and there around the stage. The nice thing about this show is that it is somewhat choreographed which combined with the voiceover did make it quite funny to watch at times. A nice highlight of this act was the ability to actually go down and pet or see some of the animals quite close up. Megan has quite an affinity for dogs so she really enjoyed being able to pet a few of them while both of them really enjoyed getting close to the parakeet.
Another thing you may not know about Universal in California is that it is split into two levels. When you enter the main park you are essentially “upstairs” and the backlot and another portion of the park are “downstairs”. We had already done the backlot tur so now it was time to see what was down below. The one ride I really wanted the kids to try out was the Transformers ride which I had also done in Florida. I knew they would enjoy so we headed down towards the lower portion of the park. The Jurassic Park ride was also down there.
As we approached the first of several escalators I had a sudden recollection of having been here before. In 1997 I had done a road trip from Moncton to LA and Universal was about the only spot in the city that I enjoyed while visiting. As the kids got under one of the mist sprayers, I smiled as I remembered being here more than 20 years ago experiencing the same place but yet it was definitely different. The old Back To The Future Delorean car that had sat outside was long gone as was the Apollo 13 capsule used in the movie. But what had remained was the long set of escalators that bring you to the bottom where the first thing you spot is the giant Jurrasic Park sign.
The kids had asked about going on this ride but I said that it was one you got wet in and we should save it for the end of the day. We wandered over towards the Transformers ride which the app said had about a 50 minute wait. They had a couple of transformers standing outside the ride taking photos but everytime we wanted to get in line for a photo, they were being hauled off for a break. We finally decided to get in the line for the ride.
Much like Harry Potter, the 50 minutes of standing in line actually did not feel that long. There was a really long hallway that intertwined through a sort of Transformers “cave”. There were a lot of screens around all setting the tone for what the ride was meant to be about. The Transformers needed our help so we were being told about our mission as we slowly moved around each corner getting closer to the main attraction itself. Lots of cool displays of “tech” from the Transformers clung to the walls until eventually we got to the actually ride itself.
Having been to a couple of theme parks in the last few years, there’s a new trend of moving towards more of the 4D rides than typical coasters. There’s still plenty of coaster parks out there but the big major theme parks seem to be shifting more towards large screens and seats that move to give a different kind of experience. Some of these 4D rides have been pretty lame but Transformers was above and beyond what you would expect. Both the kids and my wife, as well as myself, felt that ride was probably one of the best in the park. The swinging around, character action, explosions, and everything else that came along with it was really amazing. Definitely a ride I’d do again.
Upon exiting the ride, the transformers were still on break so we kept on rolling. The wife and I got a photo with a few Egyptian gods who were wandering the area before we finally settled on doing the Jurassic Park ride. This was a ride I did remember doing years ago and was not looking forward to it.
Ever since I had started looking at Universal as a destination, my Facebook feed would have the odd ad or two come up for the “last chance” to take the Jurassic Park ride. I had remembered waiting and waiting in that line to see what the big fuss was about and by the time I got on the ride, I was sorely disappointed. Sitting in a cart being pushed through a fake jungle with really badly made dinosaurs all to just climb to the top and drop into some water. The ride was lame. I knew it was going to be lamer this time but the kids really wanted to go. Then we got in line…
The line for that ride took forever. This was made worse by the fact that I knew it would be a disappointment but I never said anything as I knew the kids really wanted to go. Unlike the lines for the other rides, this was just a zig zag line with nothing to keep us entertained. An hour of standing there in 35 degree heat, waiting to get on a single ride was the only bummer of the entire day. When we finally did get on it, the ride was as lame as I remembered and my wife said to me “That’s it?” and then I told her that yes, that was it, and I knew it was going to be bad.
My daughter had seen signs for the Waterworld experience and really wanted to go see it. She did not realize it was from the movie Waterworld so when we did get a seat, the giant explosions, flying bikes and boats were certainly a surprise to her. The show itself was quite wicked to see and would definitely recommend you checking it out while there.
We had spent most of the day standing in lines, going on rides, walking around, and the day was getting closer to being done. The kids needed somewhere to cool down so while wandering around the streets of the park, we came to a sort of splashpad area where the kids wanted to play. Me and the wife plunked ourselves down to sit and the kids went to town. We must have stayed there a good 30-45 minutes. It was exactly what they needed after being out in the heat all day. Tamara went and picked up a few towels while I watched the kids get doused by giant splashes of water again and again. We finished our visit with a little snack and headed towards the car.
The last thing we did before we left was snap a few photos of the giant Universal sign at the start of the park and then hit the car. Tamara was right. After having spent the entire day there, not having to walk an extra 20 minutes to the car was worth the extra money we paid for the better parking.
When all was said and done, Universal was highlight for all of us for our few days in LA. Yes, there were lines to stand in, and sometimes it felt like forever, but with everything you get to see and do there, it was worth every penny. This re-visit for me reinforced my love of that park and would gladly return again.