Las Vegas & California Trip - Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Entrance

Since summer had already passed and now the park wouldn't be too crowded, Universal Studio hours were not that long.  The hours were from 10 am to 6 pm which is still sufficient to cover the entire park and plus it gave us good time in the morning to get ready instead of rushing to come to the park.  The Universal Studios was only supposed to be like 20-25 minutes from my aunt's place but we were warned that we should give double time in traffice if we want to get there before 10.  In fact, we wanted to get there much before 10 so that we can be ahead in the line.  Luckily, we got to the park in like 20-25 mins and there wasn't much crowd either around 9:25 am.  We headed straight to the line (since we already had passes) and they opened the gates 10 minutes before 10.  We were the first customer at the stroller/wheelchair rental, so we picked up the electric scooter for my dad (paperwork was quick too) and then headed straight to the Simpson's ride first!!  My brother and I went on this ride in Universal Studios Orlando and we loved it, so we wanted to take my parents on this ride as well.  This is a simulation ride and I think there is nothing to be scared about, so I think everyone will really enjoy it!! I still feel this is one of the best simulation rides Universal has created.

Set from War of the Worlds (On Studio Tour)

After Simpson's ride, we headed for the Studio tour.  Since my dad had the scooter, we had to wait in a separate line and they made us sit in the first compartment of the tram.  For those of you who haven't been on this tour, if you want to get good view of some of the sites, sit on the 3rd or 4th compartment.  Sometimes, I felt that the view wasn't that great in the first compartment.  This is the 3rd time I have visited Universal in LA, and what was different was the 3D King Kong adventure in the studio tour.  It was amazing!! You actually feel part of the King Kong movie!!  So don't miss the Studio tour if you want to experience this.

After the Studio tour, it was time for Special Effects Stages show.  Remember that this is a timed show and they have fixed timings throughout the day, so plan your day accordingly so you can cover all the shows.  This show was completely different from the last time when I visited in 2007.  Before they used to have entry every half an hour but now they have timings, and before the show used to take place in 3 different rooms where they show you how they build the sound, special effects, and something else...but it used to be in 3 different rooms.  Now, they have everything in one big auditorium like room so you don't have to go from room to room.  Anyways, even this was a lot of fun and very entertaining.  Note, if you want to participate and be part of the show, get in the line for the show much before the start time because they choose volunteers ahead of time to make them part of the show.

Set of Water World Show

After this, our next stop was the Water World show.  This is the best show at Universal Studios.  It has comedy and action combined.  Note that this show has very limited viewing in the day, maybe 2 or 3 shows only, so catch the first one if possible as it tends to get crowded towards the end of the day.  Also, arrive at least 20-25 minutes early to get a head start on the line because this show has packed crowd.  Even if you can't catch the first show, just make sure to catch at least one of the timings .....trust me...you don't want to miss seeing this one!!!  It has some great water stunts by the actors as well.  Ohh...and if you don't want to get wet....DO NOT sit in the splash zone, because the actors purposely throw buckets of water in the splash zone!!  I was not sitting in the splash zone but it was fun to see others getting wet :P.

Transformers 3D Ride - Amazing!!

It was about 1:30 pm by the time we got out and we were hungry, so we decided to take a break and have lunch.  We had a quick bite and then the next show we caught was Terminator 2 3D show.  Unfortunately we got there late for 2 pm show, so we had to wait until 2:20 to get in.  This show runs continuously every 25-30 minutes.  Please be aware that this is the loudest show ever!! But if you haven't seen it before, it's worth watching once (however I have seen it every time I have come to Universal :P....haha)!!  Next, we decided to go on the lower level and check out the new Transformers 3D Ride.  This was another new ride which we had not been on.  If you have been to Islands of Adventure in Orlando, then this ride comes in the same category as the Spiderman 3D ride, but I thought this was much better.  It's a 3D simulation ride which does not stay in one place like Simpson's ride...but the ride actually moves...which makes it a lot of fun.  My parents really liked it.  For those who have wheelchairs and scooters, in order to go to the lower level, we had to take a shuttle van since it's not possible to go on escalator with either of the vehicles.  This kind of took time for us to get to the ride because we had to wait for the van and then again coming back, same thing.

After coming back from the lower level, we went straight to the Shrek 4-D Show.  This is another one of my favorite show because it's 4-D and it's fun!! Instantly from the beginning of the show, you feel part of it when the chairs move you like if you are sitting in a horse carriage....you get water on you when the donkey sneezes and bunch of other effects!!  Don't miss it!  This show also runs continuously, so you can catch it anytime in between your other shows.  The last on the agenda for today was to cover the Universal's Animal Actors.  This show contains bunch of animal actors from famous movies and it's cute :).  Kids would love it and adults would enjoy it too.  With that, our day is wrapped up at Universal Studios Hollywood!! It was not tiring at all and we covered all the things we wanted to.  We did not go on the Jurassic park ride or the Return of the Mummy ride because my brother and I had been to both rides before and it wasn't something that our parents wanted to do...so we skipped it.  But ....if you haven't been on these rides and don't have fear of fast ride or deep falls, then don't miss them!!  Especially Jurassic Park ride has a 35 feet fall at the end but it's pretty smooth so you don't feel much....and you get wet!!  But don't worry about getting wet because it's so hot there that you will dry up by the time you come back to the upper lot.

Alright folks, next post will be on the day at DisneyLand.  Until then, have a great time!!