Hi Magdalene!
Ok I swear I commented on your last update but don't see it?? I wrote about Cinnabonn! I must have closed out of the thread before I hit submit.... errr......
Any way I LOVE the theming of Universal! Very cool! 
I love old buildings very neat how they replecated them. Are there shops in most of them? I really like at DS the area of New York but always thought it would be nice if some of the store fronts would actually have stores in them. It seems to me like that area is so bare you know?
Oh, I would love to know what you had to say about Cinnabon!!
Sorry that you lost what you wrote...
Yes, the theming is really very cool! I don't know why, but I expected it too look cheaper. But instead I think the New York area really is much better than the comparable area at DHS. I am not sure whether there are any stores. I know that there was one at the exit of the Mummy where you could buy all kind of Egyptian jewelry and stuff like that. And then there were restaurants in those buildings. All in all, it looked much more like a lived in street than at DHS.
The thing is, I think for a studio, DHS's boring look is quite authentic. When I was in LA I did a tour at the Warner Brother Studios which was excellent and there the city streets do look very bare - because they are just facades which get "dressed up" for whatever film they are making. So a bakery could be a dry cleaner in the next film etc... And they are just fronts.
However, for a theme park, more depth to the buildings certainly works much better.
Just pausing to once again ponder a world without bag checks. Ahhh....
Yes, isn't it sad that this is worth mentioning!! Considering that we grew up in a world where people would have laughed about a suggestion of bag checks at theme parks...
Wow! Come on, you can spoil it just a little...right?
I really don't want to! I think I loved it so much because I was so surprised! And, to be honest, I would be afraid of getting the details mixed up by now and telling you something which is not correct. One quick ride a few months ago is not enough to remember lots of details...
I was in Universal way back in my college days and remember enjoying this ride. Shame to see it go...did they still have the part where the shark swims under your boat and it rises up out of the water a bit? That cracked me up.
I am not sure whether the shark did rise the boat... But I remember that at one point I was quite shocked by the shark's appearance.
It really is a great ride and I am sad that it is going away. But there is promise of really cool new things happening, so I guess I am ok with it.
Yes, we did quite well that day to avoid the rain - at least until park close...
We almost always end up sharing one because they are so huge. Although I would not have any problem eating one by myself...
just saying... 
A little pricey but worth seeing everyones reaction! DD has yet to drink any of her's she prefers to sip mine...
