Back to my Happy Place! FINAL UPDATE 6/28 - Pg. 20 Posts #291 & #292

[Jennifer48]

YES and YES!!! My beloved Tigers won't be there, but a GREAT game is scheduled! We get to see the Sox vs. the Yankees! Already bought our tickets! Can't wait!!!

Thanks for the tips! I think we will do it on our own with a guide book! Can you recommend any great restaurants in Boston? I want to take Chris for lobster!!!

I'm amazed that you got Sox/Yanks tickets! Those are very difficult to get! Enjoy the game! And you are going during Fenway Park's 100th year!

As for the restaurants, there are so many! If you head to Quincy Market, there are lots of great food stops but my favorite has to be in the North End which is down by the TD Garden (where the Celtics & Bruins play). The North End is where you are going to get THE BEST Italian food! You can't go wrong with anything from there

Parenthood is one of my favorite shows! I definitely recognize the rooms of the Braverman house! Very cool! Sounds like the VIP tour might be the way to go!

 

[Aburns8]

So far it looks like the VIP tour is the way to go! I watch Parenthood and it is amazing how it looks so different than what you see on tv. I can't wait to see how the rest of the tour goes.

 

[Spartangirl]

I'm amazed that you got Sox/Yanks tickets! Those are very difficult to get! Enjoy the game! And you are going during Fenway Park's 100th year!

Yeah...the tickets came with quite a "hefty" price, but we are really looking forward to it! I think Chris is going to buy a Sox hat for the game! I didn't know that it is Fenway Park's 100th year...how exciting!

As for the restaurants, there are so many! If you head to Quincy Market, there are lots of great food stops but my favorite has to be in the North End which is down by the TD Garden (where the Celtics & Bruins play). The North End is where you are going to get THE BEST Italian food! You can't go wrong with anything from there

Thanks so much for the suggestions...we LOVE Italian food, so we will definitely be stopping by the North End.

Parenthood is one of my favorite shows! I definitely recognize the rooms of the Braverman house! Very cool! Sounds like the VIP tour might be the way to go!

The VIP tour is definitely the way to go...we felt that it was money well spent and so worth it!

So far it looks like the VIP tour is the way to go! I watch Parenthood and it is amazing how it looks so different than what you see on tv. I can't wait to see how the rest of the tour goes.

The VIP tour was SO WORTH IT! I would gladly pay the price again!

 

[Spartangirl]

Props, a REALLY BIG SHARK, and Wisteria Lane

After seeing the Parenthood set, we continued on our tour and moved on to the backlot, where we walked (not just rode through like the "normal" tours) the streets where so many of our favorite TV shows and movies have been shot. Here are a couple of pictures...

This is the courthouse which is famously known as the "Clock Tower" from Back to the Future. It looks a little different because it now has a different facade from when it was used in the movie.

This square that houses the courthouse was also used in The Ghost Whisperer with Jennifer Love Hewitt and in Gilmore Girls. Here is another shot from Courtyard Square...

We soon boarded the tram and came upon this scene...

It was time to see King Kong 360 3D! All I can say is WOW! In 2008, there was a massive fire that burned down the original King Kong attraction. This was our first time seeing the new 3D version and it was INCREDIBLE!!!

Next we moved on to a Mexican Village where we were shown the Hollywood effects of rainstorms and flash flooding. The "flood scene" from Big Fat Liar was shot here!

Amity Island was next, which meant that Jaws might be making an appearance!

Check out this video clip...I think I "jumped" more due to the scream of the woman next to me rather than the actual shark!



We quickly left Amity and nearly escaped the shark attack!

Up next, we made a stop and got to go behind the scenes in a prop warehouse which housed several MILLION props. It was quite impressive! Here are a couple of the pictures that I took...

Before getting back on the tram, I snapped a picture of Chris in front of it.

This was our ride for the day!

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST... http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44294182&postcount=105

 

[Spartangirl]

CONTINUED...

We soon made our way to Wisteria Lane, better known as the home of Desperate Housewives. One of the women on our tour commented on how all of the flowers looked so "perfect" in the yards. Donna (our guide) informed us that they always look so great because they are all FAKE!

Here is "Lynette's (Felicity Huffman) house" ...

And this is "Gaby's (Eva Longoria) house"...

I was so glad that we had a chance to see Wisteria Lane before the show comes to an end this year!

Now here's a change from the neighborhood we just came from...up next was Whoville! Here are a couple of the pictures that I took...

The Bates Motel was next on the agenda. Don't think I'll be staying here anytime soon!

We noticed that Norman Bates was "tidying up."

Check out this next video clip...



Our group decided that we didn't want to stick around for much longer!

A quick stop was made at the "psycho" house and then we continued on our journey.

UP NEXT: A commercial jetliner for only $60,000? AND The rest of our day in the park! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44352546&postcount=113

 

[Jennifer48]

Ok the Clock Tower from Back to the Future?! Thats worth the price of admission right there! That trilogy is my favorite!

Must have been very cool "driving" down Wisteria Lane!

Was the Whoville set from the Grinch movie with Jim Carrey or was it used in something else?

Ok Norman Bates was creeping me out on video, I'd be yelling at the tram driver to step on it!

 

[tffnyjean]

Enjoying your TR! Thanks for writing it!

 

[Tracy161]

Great update! I absolutely LOVE behind-the-scenes anything, so I would have really loved this tour! Looks like you guys had a great time!

 

[maryr1oz]

Loving your updates, i would definitely consider taking the VIP tour at Universal next time...

 

[<3myfamily]

Love the VIP pics. We haven't been since before the fire. Guess we need to go back and see the new King Kong. I believe they are adding something Harry Potter to the park (I only keep up on Disney happenings, not Universal!), so we will probably wait until then to check it all out.

Seeing your pictures makes me realize that we have yet to see the handprints (we got lost the one time we tried )... guess that is something else we need to do. We drive thru LA quite a bit, we just don't stop to see the sights!

Can't wait to see pictures from Disneyland! My oldest DD is coming home from college in a week for Spring Break and I think we need to make a trip up to see the previews of the new Carsland merchandise!

 

[Spartangirl]

Ok the Clock Tower from Back to the Future?! Thats worth the price of admission right there! That trilogy is my favorite!

It was pretty cool seeing it, even if it looked a bit different! Those movies are some of my favorites too...I can't tell you how many times I've seen them!

Must have been very cool "driving" down Wisteria Lane!

I LOVED it! As we were driving down the street, I kept telling Chris, "There's Bree's house, there's Gaby's house, etc." He just rolled his eyes at me!

Was the Whoville set from the Grinch movie with Jim Carrey or was it used in something else?

Yes! It was used in the movie with Jim Carrey!

Ok Norman Bates was creeping me out on video, I'd be yelling at the tram driver to step on it!

That's pretty much how I felt! Wasn't he creepy???

Enjoying your TR! Thanks for writing it!

So glad you're enjoying my TR! I appreciate you taking the time to read it!

Great update! I absolutely LOVE behind-the-scenes anything, so I would have really loved this tour! Looks like you guys had a great time!

That's exactly how I am too, Tracy! I love all of the behind-the-scenes action and facts! It was so interesting! If you ever have a chance, take the tour!!!

 

[Spartangirl]

Loving your updates, i would definitely consider taking the VIP tour at Universal next time...

Thanks so much!!! If you have a chance, definitely take the VIP tour...it was fantastic!

Love the VIP pics. We haven't been since before the fire. Guess we need to go back and see the new King Kong. I believe they are adding something Harry Potter to the park (I only keep up on Disney happenings, not Universal!), so we will probably wait until then to check it all out.

Thank you! The new King Kong BLOWS the other one away! You'll be amazed!!! That's cool that they may be adding Harry Potter to the park. Like you, I usually only keep up on the Disney happenings too, but I figured since we were going to be in CA, we would try to see EVERYTHING!

Seeing your pictures makes me realize that we have yet to see the handprints (we got lost the one time we tried )... guess that is something else we need to do. We drive thru LA quite a bit, we just don't stop to see the sights!

REALLY??? I guess seeing the handprints is something you'll have to add to your list! I guess I can kind of understand that though because we tend to skip the touristy things around our house too!

Can't wait to see pictures from Disneyland! My oldest DD is coming home from college in a week for Spring Break and I think we need to make a trip up to see the previews of the new Carsland merchandise!

I can't wait to share them! I bet Carsland is going to be amazing! We could see little bits and pieces of it over the fencing and I definitely want to make a trip back sometime after it opens.

 

[Spartangirl]

Life Update...

Hope everyone had an amazing St. Patrick's Day! Chris and I decided to spend our day bowling for charity to support the organization Big Brothers Big Sisters. We had such a fun day spending time with a group of our friends and raising money for such an important cause!

On a sad note...did any of you hear about the tornado that hit Dexter, MI on Friday night? Our storms were so bad that they made the National News. Now, Chris and I do not live in the city of Dexter, but we definitely don't live that far. My boss lives on one of the streets that the tornado actually touched down on and she said that the aftermath is really unbelievable. Fortunately, her and her family are safe and escaped with very little damage. 13 homes were leveled (one being up the street from my boss) and nearly 100 homes were damaged. Situations like this are absolutely horrible, but it really hits hard when it's so close to home.






A Commercial Jetliner for only $60,000? AND The Rest of Our Day in the Park

We were loving our VIP tour and Donna (our group leader) told us there was still more to come!

Our next stop was the crash scene from the movie War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning. We stopped to see a massive plane in front of us! Donna said that the plane was bought for $60,000. So, how does one get a 140 million dollar plane for so little? The catch is to go to an airplane graveyard in Arizona, cut a plane into many pieces, and ship it to California. Interesting to hear the lengths that they go to in creating a movie!

Here are some of the photos that I snapped at this stop...

After War of the Worlds, our guided tour was complete and now it was park time! Donna brought us to the FRONT OF THE LINE for two different rides...Jurassic Park (which she also provided us with ponchos for) and The Mummy. It was so nice not having to wait in any lines, seeing as though the park was extremely busy due to Presidents' Day being the next day.

At the completion of the rides, Donna brought us to a private restaurant with VIP caterers. There was an assortment of fantastic food to choose from. The food was excellent and it was so nice to be able to eat something other than park fare.

With full bellies, our group headed to see the "Animal Actors" show. We were led to seats in the 2nd row, 5 minutes before show time. Here are a few of the pictures I took...

Next up was the House of Horrors! This is a walk-through attraction which features various haunts from all of the popular horror movies. Our group had an age span of teenager to 88 years old. EVERYONE went in this attraction. I was impressed! The teenage girl kept Chris and I highly entertained. She was right behind us and screamed LOUDLY throughout the ENTIRE attraction. We were laughing so hard by the time we left. At the conclusion of the attraction, we thanked her for the chuckle and she laughed and said, "I'm glad I made it through!"

We moved on to the Terminator 2: 3D attraction and then many of the group went to the Simpsons' ride. Chris and I sat that one out since neither of us do well with motion simulators.

Continued in next post... http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44352611&postcount=114

 

[Spartangirl]

Continued...

We rejoined the group for WaterWorld, Universal's biggest show. This is where we said our final goodbyes to Donna and thanked her for the fantastic tour. Of course we got a picture before she left!

Here are a couple of shots from WaterWorld...

After the show, we were on our own, but still able to use our front of the line passes. Our next stop was Shrek 4D (which we loved) and our final stop was the "Regular Tram Tour." We wanted to compare it to our VIP tour from earlier. The regular tour was quite a bit different, so we were happy that we did both. In saying that, we don't regret paying the higher fees for the VIP tour. It was worth its' weight in gold. First class all the way...small group, no waiting in line, behind the scenes access, great food, and great company! It truly was a fantastic experience!

Before ending our day, we decided to walk through Universal's Citywalk. Here are a few pictures that I snapped...

We soon made our way back to the metro and finally back to the Magic Castle.

All in all, we thought our day was pretty extraordinary! We were only 2 days into our trip and we were having the time of our lives!!!

UP NEXT: Oscar Update and WB Tour http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44414252&postcount=128

 

[Aburns8]

I am convinced that the VIP tour is the way to go! The pictures are amazing and it sounds like a great time. Happy St. Patty's day! It sounds like you had fun at your charity event.

 

[Spartangirl]

I am convinced that the VIP tour is the way to go! The pictures are amazing and it sounds like a great time.

Definitely do the VIP tour if you are ever given the opportunity! It was first class all the way!!! I think I may have been spoiled enough by it that a "regular day in the park" just wouldn't be the same!!!

Happy St. Patty's day! It sounds like you had fun at your charity event.

Happy St. Patty's Day to you too, Andrea! Hope your day was fantastic! We had a wonderful time at the charity event!!!

 

[Shannon84]

Wow it sounds like you guys had such a great time on your VIP tour of Universal Studios!! It looks like it was very much worth the cost, it is very cool to see the set of shows that I have seen

I have seen the Bates Motel set up recently on a reality show we watch - how cool to see that in person!!

Love all of the other sites you hit before that as well!! I really hope to make it out there one day to see some of these things in person, very cool!! I love that you stopped to see Walt's star too

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I am too...it helped to get us off to a smooth start!


Animal style??? What is that? That will have to be a "next time!"


THANKFULLY it wasn't a Brazilian group! There were a lot of them, but they definitely weren't that loud!!!


ALOHA! Have a wonderful trip!!!

I'm back and I did have a great time, rain and all!

Animal Style - here is the behind the counter story http://www.badmouth.net/in-n-outs-secret-menu/ Pure heaven I tell ya!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Life Update...

Hope everyone had an amazing St. Patrick's Day! Chris and I decided to spend our day bowling for charity to support the organization Big Brothers Big Sisters. We had such a fun day spending time with a group of our friends and raising money for such an important cause!

On a sad note...did any of you hear about the tornado that hit Dexter, MI on Friday night? Our storms were so bad that they made the National News. Now, Chris and I do not live in the city of Dexter, but we definitely don't live that far. My boss lives on one of the streets that the tornado actually touched down on and she said that the aftermath is really unbelievable. Fortunately, her and her family are safe and escaped with very little damage. 13 homes were leveled (one being up the street from my boss) and nearly 100 homes were damaged. Situations like this are absolutely horrible, but it really hits hard when it's so close to home.


Wow! the weather is so crazy this year! I'm glad your boss is okay. Sorry to her about the damage.



A Commercial Jetliner for only $60,000? AND The Rest of Our Day in the Park

We were loving our VIP tour and Donna (our group leader) told us there was still more to come!

Our next stop was the crash scene from the movie War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning. We stopped to see a massive plane in front of us! Donna said that the plane was bought for $60,000. So, how does one get a 140 million dollar plane for so little? The catch is to go to an airplane graveyard in Arizona, cut a plane into many pieces, and ship it to California. Interesting to hear the lengths that they go to in creating a movie!

Here are some of the photos that I snapped at this stop...

After War of the Worlds, our guided tour was complete and now it was park time! Donna brought us to the FRONT OF THE LINE for two different rides...Jurassic Park (which she also provided us with ponchos for) and The Mummy. It was so nice not having to wait in any lines, seeing as though the park was extremely busy due to Presidents' Day being the next day.

At the completion of the rides, Donna brought us to a private restaurant with VIP caterers. There was an assortment of fantastic food to choose from. The food was excellent and it was so nice to be able to eat something other than park fare.


Next up was the House of Horrors! This is a walk-through attraction which features various haunts from all of the popular horror movies. Our group had an age span of teenager to 88 years old. EVERYONE went in this attraction. I was impressed! The teenage girl kept Chris and I highly entertained. She was right behind us and screamed LOUDLY throughout the ENTIRE attraction. We were laughing so hard by the time we left. At the conclusion of the attraction, we thanked her for the chuckle and she laughed and said, "I'm glad I made it through!"

We moved on to the Terminator 2: 3D attraction and then many of the group went to the Simpsons' ride. Chris and I sat that one out since neither of us do well with motion simulators.

Continued in next post... http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44352611&postcount=114

Crazy how they can make everything look so real! I haven't seen the new King Kong or the Wisteria Lane yet. Guess it's time to make another trip!

The House of Horrors is def, creepy! We did that and Mummy B2B and then I needed a break - I'm a big chicken!

How cool that you did the VIP tour! Looks like it was really worth it!

Oh you saw the T3 - Is it still "SUPER!!!" ?

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Continued...

We rejoined the group for WaterWorld, Universal's biggest show. This is where we said our final goodbyes to Donna and thanked her for the fantastic tour. Of course we got a picture before she left!

Here are a couple of shots from WaterWorld...

I love Water World!!! When we took DDIL down there for the first time - she'd never been anywhere - that was the first attrraction and the first park we visited. When the plane came in, she just sat there with her mouth open, repeating, "crazy" over and over again! It was such a fun memory!

After the show, we were on our own, but still able to use our front of the line passes. Our next stop was Shrek 4D (which we loved) and our final stop was the "Regular Tram Tour." We wanted to compare it to our VIP tour from earlier. The regular tour was quite a bit different, so we were happy that we did both. In saying that, we don't regret paying the higher fees for the VIP tour. It was worth its' weight in gold. First class all the way...small group, no waiting in line, behind the scenes access, great food, and great company! It truly was a fantastic experience!


Good to know you feel it was worth it! Nice you got FOTL passes for the whole day - that would be worth it right there!
Before ending our day, we decided to walk through Universal's Citywalk. Here are a few pictures that I snapped...

We soon made our way back to the metro and finally back to the Magic Castle.

All in all, we thought our day was pretty extraordinary! We were only 2 days into our trip and we were having the time of our lives!!!

UP NEXT: Oscar Update and WB Tour

Looks like a fabulous Hollywood tour and US day!!! I'm glad you had so much fun, and it looks like good weather, too! Love the Citywalk pics!