dreamseeker9
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2012
I'll be there the first weekend, too, and have a PTR started - fun! I'll have to sub to yours!
Why don't we do a little day drinking? - F&W 2015 - Update 12/11 Bonus EPCOT Night!
- Thread starter Dis_Yoda
- Start date
I'll be there the first weekend, too, and have a PTR started - fun! I'll have to sub to yours!
huggybuff
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2013
NOM NOM. I LOVE coconut! I very much agree about simplicity being more desireable at times. I Googled some pics. It looks like a ball of goodness.
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
I caught up on your PTR last night! I'll have to look at your TR sometime this weekend (I'm out of town from tonight until Sunday & I'm not bringing my laptop)
NOM NOM. I LOVE coconut! I very much agree about simplicity being more desireable at times. I Googled some pics. It looks like a ball of goodness.
You will love it then!
I did! I was very happy to see that yesterday. Open Table reservations start on Sept 16th so I will totally be doing that then to get my reservation for October 4th! My husband and I are super excited to be able to try it while its still so new!
huggybuff
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2013
Sazzo'sMommy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2003
I have been reading all of your trip reports and I love them.
We are going to be at WDW during this time and I have been checking for tickets to come open for The Chew taping. How did you request tickets? Did I miss something? We are APH, DVC, and TiW (if those help)!?
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
I'm glad you have enjoyed all my trip reports!
When I heard that the Chew was coming and doing tapings, I googled The Chew Tickets.
http://1iota.com/Show/383/The-Chew
You apply for tickets & you won't find out if you actually get in until much later. I still don't know if I got in or not. Luckily for us, it won't matter much if we don't find out until the week before as the days we are trying for it was for days we don't have much going on for. It doesn't seem like having APH, DVC and TIW will help you but rather having a 'fun' story.
franandaj
I'm so happy, I could BOUNCE!
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2009
I'll be really excited to see the menu when it finally gets posted. He was always one of my favorite iron chefs and to dine at one of his restaurants sounds great. He always made such interesting dishes.
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
I'm hoping a preview menu gets posted before the end of the month. As we eat enough different types of Asian food, I think we'll be good to find something on the menu that will interest us! I'm also hoping they do the Omakase menu here like he has in some of his other restaurants - although I'm not sure my husband will pick that option so he'll just have to hang out with me as I eat all the food.
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
Mini Trip Report: 1st Half of my 48 Hour Trip to LA
I had the opportunity to go to Southern California for a very short trip over Labor Day weekend due to an interview opportunity that I never in a million years thought I would qualify for. I figured I would try to maximum my time between my flights to enjoy the area. I also packed minimally with only my backpack for clothes & the only technology I had was my cell phone & my kindle.
I'll actually start slightly prior to my 1st Half of the Trip with Wednesday Evening. Around 9:30PM, on Wednesday Sept 2nd. Around 9PM, we were in the midst of a typical Florida Thunderstorm with tons of lightning. One of those hit the transformer at the edge of the street and shut off our power. As we don't own a generator, we attempted to sleep after having called the power company and letting them know. Well, neither of slept well as without air, it didn't work well. The power company ended up coming out around 1:30AM to fix it (loudly) and power came on a little after 2AM. That meant really getting only 2.5 hours of sleep before what I already knew was going to be a long day on Thursday the 3rd. I went to work all day and immediately drove up to Fort Myers for my flight. When I had done online check in the evening before, I was given the opportunity to upgrade to First Class for only $135!
My flight left Fort Myers a little after 6:50PM to having a very uneventful flight to Dallas. We were served warmed nuts shortly after take off along with some wine. Dinner was served about 45 minutes later with a salad and a pretzel roll. I was shocked at how good it actually was! We were then served a warm chocolate chip cookie and before I knew it we were landed early in Dallas. Although we were so early that our gate wasn't ready so we got to hang out on the ground for about 20 minutes.
Chicken w/ Rice - Dinner
The flight from Dallas to LAX was equally smooth. I did get a slight anxiety attack on the flight though as the last group to board to the plane was about 20 North Koreans (one had a DPR Korea sport jacket on & the rest were in Formal Business attire with 2 pins - one their flag - the other the two deceased leaders) but I realize that was mostly in my head about the anxiety. It just seemed so strange to me.
We landed in LAX a little before 11PM PST where I headed to the the shuttle for the car rental place and then drove to my hotel in Manhattan Beach, California.
Begin 1st 24 Hours
I arrived there at a little after midnight on Friday Sept 3rd and went to bed after a quick shower.
I hadn't set an alarm so I was a little shocked that I naturally woke up at 6AM seeing as I had so little sleep going into this trip. I called my husband and let him know I had arrived safe.
Breakfast was included at this hotel so I went and got a plate from the buffet.
Breakfast
The bacon was crispy & the fruit was fresh! I was happy with these selections for being free!
I went back to the room and got dressed for the day. The only problem was I had about 4.5 hours to kill until I needed to be there.
I decided to head to the Pier in Manhattan Beach to walk it, despite being in business clothes.
Shark Fin!
That killed about an hour. I decided to head to a mall to walk around in AC and maybe just shop some or get a pedicure. I ended up at the South Bay Galleria and Happy Nails to get a Pamper Me Pedicure which took a little over an hour. I was overdue for a pedicure so it was nice to have that long relaxing experience while reading online about what I needed to expect for that afternoon.
After that I headed up to the plant but still had over an hour to kill. I realized I hadn't had lunch so I decided to drive around to a place I last enjoyed in 2012 & enjoyed a lot.
Del Taco!
Yup, good old cheap Del Taco! It was super tasty. Although while I was eating, I realized I was actually on Crenshaw Boulevard which my husband laughed at me about when I texted him that as we had just seen Straight Outta Compton a couple weeks before.
I then had my interview and headed back to the hotel. I called my husband to discuss and then changed into much more comfortable clothing. Prior to the trip, I had arranged to do the Paramount After Dark Tour at 8PM. I drove to Melrose Blvd in Hollywood on the 405 and dealt with some awful traffic but I guess it was 5PM on a Friday Night. I arrived about 2 hours prior to my tour & thought since I had free parking, I could find some place in walking distance to eat at that was different. I started walking East for a while & couldn't find anything at all. As I got to the hospital, I decided to head back in the other direction as I had seen a fast food type place that I was just going to call it a day and try - Astro Burger.
The Onion Rings were good! The Quesadilla was not & ended up mostly in the trash. It at least killed enough time so I was able to check in for my tour about 30 minutes early and check out the exhibits in the beginning room & see some of Paramount's History.
Addams Family
Star Trek Props
TARS from Interstellar
Oscars
Once it turned 8PM, our guide, Matt, a Paramount Lot Assistant (aka a fetch dog for anything needed) began our tour. We introduced ourselves in the next room so we could talk about our favorite movie of Paramount's and saw a list of what was going on in the various stages on the lot.
We were then walked around and told the history of the studio. The building we started in was actually the original film vault that was destroyed by fire many years back because of the Silver Nitrate Film (super flammable!) We were told how anything on the lot can be used for the movies & sometimes that meant their cafeterias were taken away from them, like it was that evening because of VEEP was beginning to shoot there. We walked into the original theatre & were greeted by Champagne and saw an old projection booth and how it could seal itself in the event of a fire because of the silver nitrate film. We got to see an actual set from a show for Nickelodeon that I never heard of before, Thundermans. TV shows are shot in about a week there per episode.
We walked by the set map and were told a story how Woody Harrison streaked down the way because of a bet with someone else and thus then placed his hands and feet there.
We then toured the sets of Dr. Phil & Doctors as our guide worked on those sets.
We were unable to hang out in the New York Lot because the LA Times was hosting The Taste local food event.
We were brought to the Archive Building where we could see some costumes & props along with parts of their archive area.
Beyonce has a super tiny waist
Each set has a list of the films & TV series filmed on it listed
We were then brought to The Sherry where we had a 'snack' break of popcorn & candy while also shown how the projection screens work (really not that exciting - really large speakers are behind the screen)
Before we were brought to the Bronson Gate, we saw the film vaults that were built after the introduction of safety film that they used for the Silver Nitrate which had their own safety chutes in case of fire. They discovered the safety film wouldn't survive in that condition and had to be kept cool or it turns to a goo smelling like vinegar. More history was given about the original lot set up of the company (I don't want to give all the secrets told!)
The final part of the evening was being taken to the Prop Shop that was mostly empty except for some really drunk executives from Paramount having too much fun inside the area (including climbing on some of the props!)
The tour ended a little after 11PM. It was well worth the $78! I drove back to Manhattan Beach & yet again got stuck in traffic on the way back. I was in bed a little after midnight again.
I had the opportunity to go to Southern California for a very short trip over Labor Day weekend due to an interview opportunity that I never in a million years thought I would qualify for. I figured I would try to maximum my time between my flights to enjoy the area. I also packed minimally with only my backpack for clothes & the only technology I had was my cell phone & my kindle.
I'll actually start slightly prior to my 1st Half of the Trip with Wednesday Evening. Around 9:30PM, on Wednesday Sept 2nd. Around 9PM, we were in the midst of a typical Florida Thunderstorm with tons of lightning. One of those hit the transformer at the edge of the street and shut off our power. As we don't own a generator, we attempted to sleep after having called the power company and letting them know. Well, neither of slept well as without air, it didn't work well. The power company ended up coming out around 1:30AM to fix it (loudly) and power came on a little after 2AM. That meant really getting only 2.5 hours of sleep before what I already knew was going to be a long day on Thursday the 3rd. I went to work all day and immediately drove up to Fort Myers for my flight. When I had done online check in the evening before, I was given the opportunity to upgrade to First Class for only $135!
My flight left Fort Myers a little after 6:50PM to having a very uneventful flight to Dallas. We were served warmed nuts shortly after take off along with some wine. Dinner was served about 45 minutes later with a salad and a pretzel roll. I was shocked at how good it actually was! We were then served a warm chocolate chip cookie and before I knew it we were landed early in Dallas. Although we were so early that our gate wasn't ready so we got to hang out on the ground for about 20 minutes.
Chicken w/ Rice - Dinner
The flight from Dallas to LAX was equally smooth. I did get a slight anxiety attack on the flight though as the last group to board to the plane was about 20 North Koreans (one had a DPR Korea sport jacket on & the rest were in Formal Business attire with 2 pins - one their flag - the other the two deceased leaders) but I realize that was mostly in my head about the anxiety. It just seemed so strange to me.
We landed in LAX a little before 11PM PST where I headed to the the shuttle for the car rental place and then drove to my hotel in Manhattan Beach, California.
Begin 1st 24 Hours
I arrived there at a little after midnight on Friday Sept 3rd and went to bed after a quick shower.
I hadn't set an alarm so I was a little shocked that I naturally woke up at 6AM seeing as I had so little sleep going into this trip. I called my husband and let him know I had arrived safe.
Breakfast was included at this hotel so I went and got a plate from the buffet.
Breakfast
The bacon was crispy & the fruit was fresh! I was happy with these selections for being free!
I went back to the room and got dressed for the day. The only problem was I had about 4.5 hours to kill until I needed to be there.
I decided to head to the Pier in Manhattan Beach to walk it, despite being in business clothes.
Shark Fin!
That killed about an hour. I decided to head to a mall to walk around in AC and maybe just shop some or get a pedicure. I ended up at the South Bay Galleria and Happy Nails to get a Pamper Me Pedicure which took a little over an hour. I was overdue for a pedicure so it was nice to have that long relaxing experience while reading online about what I needed to expect for that afternoon.
After that I headed up to the plant but still had over an hour to kill. I realized I hadn't had lunch so I decided to drive around to a place I last enjoyed in 2012 & enjoyed a lot.
Del Taco!
Yup, good old cheap Del Taco! It was super tasty. Although while I was eating, I realized I was actually on Crenshaw Boulevard which my husband laughed at me about when I texted him that as we had just seen Straight Outta Compton a couple weeks before.
I then had my interview and headed back to the hotel. I called my husband to discuss and then changed into much more comfortable clothing. Prior to the trip, I had arranged to do the Paramount After Dark Tour at 8PM. I drove to Melrose Blvd in Hollywood on the 405 and dealt with some awful traffic but I guess it was 5PM on a Friday Night. I arrived about 2 hours prior to my tour & thought since I had free parking, I could find some place in walking distance to eat at that was different. I started walking East for a while & couldn't find anything at all. As I got to the hospital, I decided to head back in the other direction as I had seen a fast food type place that I was just going to call it a day and try - Astro Burger.
The Onion Rings were good! The Quesadilla was not & ended up mostly in the trash. It at least killed enough time so I was able to check in for my tour about 30 minutes early and check out the exhibits in the beginning room & see some of Paramount's History.
Addams Family
Star Trek Props
TARS from Interstellar
Oscars
Once it turned 8PM, our guide, Matt, a Paramount Lot Assistant (aka a fetch dog for anything needed) began our tour. We introduced ourselves in the next room so we could talk about our favorite movie of Paramount's and saw a list of what was going on in the various stages on the lot.
We were then walked around and told the history of the studio. The building we started in was actually the original film vault that was destroyed by fire many years back because of the Silver Nitrate Film (super flammable!) We were told how anything on the lot can be used for the movies & sometimes that meant their cafeterias were taken away from them, like it was that evening because of VEEP was beginning to shoot there. We walked into the original theatre & were greeted by Champagne and saw an old projection booth and how it could seal itself in the event of a fire because of the silver nitrate film. We got to see an actual set from a show for Nickelodeon that I never heard of before, Thundermans. TV shows are shot in about a week there per episode.
We walked by the set map and were told a story how Woody Harrison streaked down the way because of a bet with someone else and thus then placed his hands and feet there.
We then toured the sets of Dr. Phil & Doctors as our guide worked on those sets.
We were unable to hang out in the New York Lot because the LA Times was hosting The Taste local food event.
We were brought to the Archive Building where we could see some costumes & props along with parts of their archive area.
Beyonce has a super tiny waist
Each set has a list of the films & TV series filmed on it listed
We were then brought to The Sherry where we had a 'snack' break of popcorn & candy while also shown how the projection screens work (really not that exciting - really large speakers are behind the screen)
Before we were brought to the Bronson Gate, we saw the film vaults that were built after the introduction of safety film that they used for the Silver Nitrate which had their own safety chutes in case of fire. They discovered the safety film wouldn't survive in that condition and had to be kept cool or it turns to a goo smelling like vinegar. More history was given about the original lot set up of the company (I don't want to give all the secrets told!)
The final part of the evening was being taken to the Prop Shop that was mostly empty except for some really drunk executives from Paramount having too much fun inside the area (including climbing on some of the props!)
The tour ended a little after 11PM. It was well worth the $78! I drove back to Manhattan Beach & yet again got stuck in traffic on the way back. I was in bed a little after midnight again.
huggybuff
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2013
Those tours are fun! I took one of the Warner Bros. lot when I was a kid and got to wear a hat from My Fair Lady. The pic of Beyoncé's dress reminded me of that.
That's a cute pic of you holding the 500lbs.
And, EEK - shark fin!
Del Taco>Taco Bell, yep I said it.
I hope the interview went well!
That's a cute pic of you holding the 500lbs.
And, EEK - shark fin! Del Taco>Taco Bell, yep I said it.
I hope the interview went well!
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
It was super fun! I had found it online when I was looking at things to do while I was in the area at night that were guided. It seems Paramount has a bunch of cool tours!
Those tours are fun! I took one of the Warner Bros. lot when I was a kid and got to wear a hat from My Fair Lady. The pic of Beyoncé's dress reminded me of that.
That's a cute pic of you holding the 500lbs.
Del Taco>Taco Bell, yep I said it.
I hope the interview went well!
Thats cool that you got to wear a hat from My Fair Lady
The timing of the Warner Brothers tour didn't work out for me this trip - I guess its always next time if I get a chance to go back I had fun in the Prop Shop at least with the items you were allowed to touch (we couldn't touch the costumes)
I agree that Del Taco is way better than Taco Bell especially because of the real cheese & just the shear amount of it!
The interview went ok. To be honest, I'm not sure I would take the job as I really do enjoy Naples and I enjoy my job now. I guess if the offer is right, my opinion may change. This is probably the first time I've had an interview where I'm truly content in the job I currently have so it makes not worry about whatever happens.
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
Mini Trip Report: 2nd 24 Hours of 48 Hours in LA
I naturally woke up around 6:30AM. I called my husband since we hadn't spoken since 5PM the previous evening and talked about my tour some and how his day at work went. I got everything packed up back in my backpack outside of my cell phone and wallet that I could place in my pocket of my pants. I grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel since it was free and checked out of the hotel. I began the drive up to Universal City, California from Manhattan Beach and was pleasantly surprised by the lack of traffic and pleasant experience it was for the drive!
I had purchased myself the VIP Experience for this day at Universal Studios Hollywood. It was billed as the ultimate way of experiencing Universal Studios including an extended Studio Tour, Valet Parking, Gourmet Lunch, Unlimited Front of the Line Experiences, and more. I had arrived at Universal a little before 8:00AM thanks to the traffic being nice.
I killed some time exploring City Walk and getting some extra walking in as I hadn't gone to the gym since Wednesday which is weird for me. About 30 minutes prior to 9:00AM, I headed to the check in area for the VIP which is located to the side of the main entrances. I was given my badge for VIP along with a guide map of the park. I was escorted upstairs and told that they have a breakfast out for us to enjoy to my heart's content. As I already had breakfast, I didn't really want much & got a tea until I discovered they had macarons out as well! I'll totally go for macarons anytime of the day!
My tour was set to start at 9:45AM so instead of going out to the park at opening (9:00AM) I just enjoyed my time in the lounge relaxing and people watching on the balcony outside. The tour guide had found me prior to the official start time & introduced himself along with stating we had 13 others on tour (all adults!)
Once the tour started, we began driving around the back lot beginning with a real soundstage for an upcoming show that will premiere in the spring. We were allowed to take pictures. This set was for Heartbreaker which is a 1 hour drama that is about open heart surgeon that lives a racy life.
The tour continued along the normal path of the studio tour, taking us to Skull Island (King Kong), the car line up, a flash flood, Amity Island (Jaws) and the Bates Motel.
After Bates Motel, we moved the War of the Worlds Set and pulled to the side where we were allowed to walk around the set and get a closer look. It was where a 747 was purposely destroyed. Across the way was the set that was used in The Lost World for Site B.
Jurassic Park - The Lost World Set
We were driven to the multi floor Prop Shop and allowed to explore the 1st Floor for about 10 minutes (totally not enough time!)
We were driven to the backlogs of New York/City Square (aka Back to the Future) and allowed to walk around to explore for a while as well.
After the 2 hour detailed tour, we began the ride portion of the VIP experience where our group of 14 + Tour Guide headed to the Lower Lot where we were able to enjoy Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic Park The Ride & Transformers 3D Experience bypassing everyone in the line. It was also very nice that the guide provided us with Ponchos for Jurassic Park to help us not get wet (although the bottom of my jeans did get wet at least nothing else did)
We began the hike to upper lot taking the multiple set of escalators to get there. I see why people say it takes 10 to 15 minutes to get between the Upper & Lower Areas now! We were headed to the VIP Private Dining Room where a buffet lunch was set up for us and each group was given their own table. They had a charging station as well for cell phones which made me happy as my cell phone was at 40% after the photos it took the first half of the day so I let it charge while I was enjoying the meal. The lunch was great! There were tons of fresh salads and vegetables, shrimp scampi, cheese bread, roasted potatoes, slices of fresh beef roast, lobster risotto, Nutella Crepes, fresh gelato, chilled seafoods and I know I'm missing more items! Too bad my phone was charging or I would have taken some photos of it all! The food was great with everything I tried. I totally ate too much as I got seconds of the main foods I loved (shrimp scampi, caesar salad, cheese bread) and a double portion of dessert (I love nutella and tiramisu gelato) We were given about 40 minutes to enjoy this before we were to meet our tour guide at the entrance of Despicable Me so we could be turned into a Minion!
After turning into a Minion & Back, we were walked straight into the stage area for the Stage Effects show. Our VIP Group had saved rows right at the front of the stage which gave us a great view!
We headed into the Simpsons Area for a bathroom pit stop & to go on the ride.
After we enjoyed the ride, we were taken back to the front of the park to get our VIP seats for Water World. We were provided with additional bottles of water to make sure we weren't dehydrated. The guide gave us individually options of if we wanted to get soaked, a little wet or dry and he would get us to the right area. I went to the back area as I wanted to stay dry seeing as I was going home that day! Having not been a fan of Water World The Movie, I was pleasantly surprised that I did enjoy the stage show. It was only about 20 minutes and pretty much covered exactly what the 3 hour movie did.
Our guide told us that this was the end of the tour but if we wanted, he would get us to skip ahead for Shrek 4D! About half of the group took him up on that and thanked him as he left.
I found the $299 cost for the VIP Experience to be extremely worth it. As it included park admission, the valet parking, VIP Lounge, VIP Lounge, In Depth Studio Tour, the pampering, the personal tour guide who knows a ton about movies & the parks, and the front of the line to the attractions (unlimited) totally give it a great value. I realize its a splurge but as I was only paying for 1, I didn't mind at all. I told my husband if we were to return to Universal Hollywood, I would set this up for both of us as it was a great way to enjoy the park. It was Labor Day Weekend so the parks were extremely busy as many of the rides had minimum waits of 50 minutes or more, it was great to always be able to get on the rides in less than 5 minutes for the most part!
After Shrek, I headed back to the Simpson's Area to enjoy a nice beer.
Dis_Yoda totally hasn't drank enough this short trip
Fixed!
I headed to the Minion Area afterwards in order to pick up the item that my husband requested from my trip to Universal (Bob the Minion) before I went to the Animal Actors Stage Show and enjoyed it from the front row (well 2nd bc the 1st row is handicapped only)
At this point, it was nearing 7:00PM. I wanted to grab a quick dinner at Tony Roma's in City Walk as I haven't had an onion loaf in years w/ the spicy bbq and that is what I wanted. I headed out of the park and was in and out of Tony Roma's in less than 25 minutes. I shopped a bit around City Walk and picked up some more things. I went back to the valet to pick up my car and head to LAX.
I had to get gas and turn in the rental car at National. Once at LAX, I headed to the bathroom to change into yoga pant + a comfy shirt for my red eye flight along with reorganizing my bags to get my 2 big shopping bags and my backpack condensed into two along with making it more organized. I'm so glad I brought an outfit to switch into as it made my ride home super comfortable!
I actually got about 2 hours of sleep on my flight from LAX to Chicago which made me happy! I had a 3 hour layover in Chicago which felt excessively long but I got a nice walk in around the airport and a breakfast at Auntie Anne's. My flight from Chicago to Fort Myers wasn't full which was great so I didn't have anyone between the person in the window seat and myself. I got about an hour of sleep on that flight.
I somehow I safely drove myself home and got a short nap in before my husband got home from work at 2PM Sunday!
I naturally woke up around 6:30AM. I called my husband since we hadn't spoken since 5PM the previous evening and talked about my tour some and how his day at work went. I got everything packed up back in my backpack outside of my cell phone and wallet that I could place in my pocket of my pants. I grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel since it was free and checked out of the hotel. I began the drive up to Universal City, California from Manhattan Beach and was pleasantly surprised by the lack of traffic and pleasant experience it was for the drive!
I had purchased myself the VIP Experience for this day at Universal Studios Hollywood. It was billed as the ultimate way of experiencing Universal Studios including an extended Studio Tour, Valet Parking, Gourmet Lunch, Unlimited Front of the Line Experiences, and more. I had arrived at Universal a little before 8:00AM thanks to the traffic being nice.
I killed some time exploring City Walk and getting some extra walking in as I hadn't gone to the gym since Wednesday which is weird for me. About 30 minutes prior to 9:00AM, I headed to the check in area for the VIP which is located to the side of the main entrances. I was given my badge for VIP along with a guide map of the park. I was escorted upstairs and told that they have a breakfast out for us to enjoy to my heart's content. As I already had breakfast, I didn't really want much & got a tea until I discovered they had macarons out as well! I'll totally go for macarons anytime of the day!
My tour was set to start at 9:45AM so instead of going out to the park at opening (9:00AM) I just enjoyed my time in the lounge relaxing and people watching on the balcony outside. The tour guide had found me prior to the official start time & introduced himself along with stating we had 13 others on tour (all adults!)
Once the tour started, we began driving around the back lot beginning with a real soundstage for an upcoming show that will premiere in the spring. We were allowed to take pictures. This set was for Heartbreaker which is a 1 hour drama that is about open heart surgeon that lives a racy life.
The tour continued along the normal path of the studio tour, taking us to Skull Island (King Kong), the car line up, a flash flood, Amity Island (Jaws) and the Bates Motel.
After Bates Motel, we moved the War of the Worlds Set and pulled to the side where we were allowed to walk around the set and get a closer look. It was where a 747 was purposely destroyed. Across the way was the set that was used in The Lost World for Site B.
Jurassic Park - The Lost World Set
We were driven to the multi floor Prop Shop and allowed to explore the 1st Floor for about 10 minutes (totally not enough time!)
We were driven to the backlogs of New York/City Square (aka Back to the Future) and allowed to walk around to explore for a while as well.
After the 2 hour detailed tour, we began the ride portion of the VIP experience where our group of 14 + Tour Guide headed to the Lower Lot where we were able to enjoy Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic Park The Ride & Transformers 3D Experience bypassing everyone in the line. It was also very nice that the guide provided us with Ponchos for Jurassic Park to help us not get wet (although the bottom of my jeans did get wet at least nothing else did)
We began the hike to upper lot taking the multiple set of escalators to get there. I see why people say it takes 10 to 15 minutes to get between the Upper & Lower Areas now! We were headed to the VIP Private Dining Room where a buffet lunch was set up for us and each group was given their own table. They had a charging station as well for cell phones which made me happy as my cell phone was at 40% after the photos it took the first half of the day so I let it charge while I was enjoying the meal. The lunch was great! There were tons of fresh salads and vegetables, shrimp scampi, cheese bread, roasted potatoes, slices of fresh beef roast, lobster risotto, Nutella Crepes, fresh gelato, chilled seafoods and I know I'm missing more items! Too bad my phone was charging or I would have taken some photos of it all! The food was great with everything I tried. I totally ate too much as I got seconds of the main foods I loved (shrimp scampi, caesar salad, cheese bread) and a double portion of dessert (I love nutella and tiramisu gelato) We were given about 40 minutes to enjoy this before we were to meet our tour guide at the entrance of Despicable Me so we could be turned into a Minion!
After turning into a Minion & Back, we were walked straight into the stage area for the Stage Effects show. Our VIP Group had saved rows right at the front of the stage which gave us a great view!
We headed into the Simpsons Area for a bathroom pit stop & to go on the ride.
After we enjoyed the ride, we were taken back to the front of the park to get our VIP seats for Water World. We were provided with additional bottles of water to make sure we weren't dehydrated. The guide gave us individually options of if we wanted to get soaked, a little wet or dry and he would get us to the right area. I went to the back area as I wanted to stay dry seeing as I was going home that day! Having not been a fan of Water World The Movie, I was pleasantly surprised that I did enjoy the stage show. It was only about 20 minutes and pretty much covered exactly what the 3 hour movie did.
Our guide told us that this was the end of the tour but if we wanted, he would get us to skip ahead for Shrek 4D! About half of the group took him up on that and thanked him as he left.
I found the $299 cost for the VIP Experience to be extremely worth it. As it included park admission, the valet parking, VIP Lounge, VIP Lounge, In Depth Studio Tour, the pampering, the personal tour guide who knows a ton about movies & the parks, and the front of the line to the attractions (unlimited) totally give it a great value. I realize its a splurge but as I was only paying for 1, I didn't mind at all. I told my husband if we were to return to Universal Hollywood, I would set this up for both of us as it was a great way to enjoy the park. It was Labor Day Weekend so the parks were extremely busy as many of the rides had minimum waits of 50 minutes or more, it was great to always be able to get on the rides in less than 5 minutes for the most part!
After Shrek, I headed back to the Simpson's Area to enjoy a nice beer.
Dis_Yoda totally hasn't drank enough this short trip
Fixed!
I headed to the Minion Area afterwards in order to pick up the item that my husband requested from my trip to Universal (Bob the Minion) before I went to the Animal Actors Stage Show and enjoyed it from the front row (well 2nd bc the 1st row is handicapped only)
At this point, it was nearing 7:00PM. I wanted to grab a quick dinner at Tony Roma's in City Walk as I haven't had an onion loaf in years w/ the spicy bbq and that is what I wanted. I headed out of the park and was in and out of Tony Roma's in less than 25 minutes. I shopped a bit around City Walk and picked up some more things. I went back to the valet to pick up my car and head to LAX.
I had to get gas and turn in the rental car at National. Once at LAX, I headed to the bathroom to change into yoga pant + a comfy shirt for my red eye flight along with reorganizing my bags to get my 2 big shopping bags and my backpack condensed into two along with making it more organized. I'm so glad I brought an outfit to switch into as it made my ride home super comfortable!
I actually got about 2 hours of sleep on my flight from LAX to Chicago which made me happy! I had a 3 hour layover in Chicago which felt excessively long but I got a nice walk in around the airport and a breakfast at Auntie Anne's. My flight from Chicago to Fort Myers wasn't full which was great so I didn't have anyone between the person in the window seat and myself. I got about an hour of sleep on that flight.
I somehow I safely drove myself home and got a short nap in before my husband got home from work at 2PM Sunday!
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
It was a lot within a very short time! I pretty much was useless on Sunday once I got home. My husband and I got linner out and decided to skip grocery shopping as neither of us felt like it and then did mostly nothing the rest of the day. I was glad I had Monday off for Labor Day in order to fully recharge for the work week.
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
Trip #1 Updates
Now that I finished reporting on my super quick trip to LA, its time to get back to talking about Trip #1!
These beauties arrived this past week!
We probably should have ignored them as I do have a Red Stitch Band & he has a Stormtrooper one that we will rather use.
Our plans for Wednesday October 7th have also changed as I got notice of this in my email:
I'm excited for that! During my Paramount Tour & Universal Tour, it was stated that if you want to be towards the front, dress nicely with no visible brand names. I need to pick out what outfits we need for that for the best chance of being towards the front.
I also completed online check in finally. As I'm in a Value Studio, I'm not too worried about where my room is going to end up as I know its only going to be on the two shorter legs of the resort.
All I have left to prepare for this trip is to book Morimoto Asia for October 4th, pack the clothes and take the dogs to the boarders right before the trip.
Now that I finished reporting on my super quick trip to LA, its time to get back to talking about Trip #1!
These beauties arrived this past week!
We probably should have ignored them as I do have a Red Stitch Band & he has a Stormtrooper one that we will rather use.
Our plans for Wednesday October 7th have also changed as I got notice of this in my email:
I'm excited for that! During my Paramount Tour & Universal Tour, it was stated that if you want to be towards the front, dress nicely with no visible brand names. I need to pick out what outfits we need for that for the best chance of being towards the front.
I also completed online check in finally. As I'm in a Value Studio, I'm not too worried about where my room is going to end up as I know its only going to be on the two shorter legs of the resort.
All I have left to prepare for this trip is to book Morimoto Asia for October 4th, pack the clothes and take the dogs to the boarders right before the trip.
dreamseeker9
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2012
Excellent trip to LA, wow! You did so much! I need to visit Universal Studios Hollywood next time I'm out there.
Congrats on getting The Chew tickets!
I'm taking 2 MagicBands I already have and my new one, they are all 3 active, and I'm color coordinating with outfits. So that's an option if you still want to use your old ones that you like!
Congrats on getting The Chew tickets!
I'm taking 2 MagicBands I already have and my new one, they are all 3 active, and I'm color coordinating with outfits.
So that's an option if you still want to use your old ones that you like!
huggybuff
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2013
Agreed.
Loved the pics of the props. Very cool. And I'm always happy to see the Psycho set. Norman wouldn't hurt a fly.
Awesome! F&W, here you come!
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
Excellent trip to LA, wow! You did so much! I need to visit Universal Studios Hollywood next time I'm out there.
Congrats on getting The Chew tickets!
I'm taking 2 MagicBands I already have and my new one, they are all 3 active, and I'm color coordinating with outfits.
It was a ton that I did in 48 hours! Looking back, its no wonder why I accomplished absolutely nothing on Sunday after I got home except for eating food. I'm not used to that much go go go.
We bring back some of the Magic Bands we have in the various colors. We just have a ton now (in every color they have!) and we still bought the special ones that worked best for us.
I'm excited for the Chew! My husband just is whatever on it but he told me he would dress super nice for me so we have a chance at a better seat (seeing as none of our friends would probably see the episode anyway he won't feel 'embarrassed'
Agreed.
Loved the pics of the props. Very cool. And I'm always happy to see the Psycho set. Norman wouldn't hurt a fly.
Awesome! F&W, here you come!
I'll make up for the lack of drinking in LA with Disney. I posted on my instagram last night for my Project 365:
The next 3 weeks of work are going to be super busy! At least I have something to look forward to until then.
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