CA trip Day 6: USH & Magic Castle

the Dark Marauder

<font color=red>Proud Redhead<br><font color=green
Joined
Sep 14, 2002
Messages
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With pics!

Wake-up time: 7am. We (me, dad, stepmom) were told not to leave until 830 or 9, as to avoid a major amount of congestion going in to LA. We also had to get our good clothes prepared and otherwise ready for our dinner at Magic Castle. More on that later.

The drive to Universal wasn't too bad. The 405, 605, and 5 (all Interstates) weren't too congested. The 101, however, was SEVERELY congested. The 101 ran through downtown LA, so it took a long time. We managed to arrive at Universal around 1030am. The park was only open 10-6 as it was.

I began my pictorium at that moment. I got a picture with the old school globe, a picture of the old USH logo, and the archway. I won't bother with a lot of specifics, but many pics were taken shortly after entering the park.

I looked at the park map and noticed how SMALL the park was. It was truly tiny and did not have separate themed areas like USF does. The themed areas are there, but they kind of mesh into one another. No biggie. This is a working studio, afterall. The big downer: Waterworld was closed for refurb! I had heard how amazing the show is and it closed the day before. BTTF closed the day before that. Double argh!!!! I would not let that hamper me from having a good time, though.

First stop: Universal's House of Horrors.
It's a haunted house featuring a lot of the classic horror stars: Chucky, Frankenstein, Dracula, Mother Bates, the Mummy, etc. Of all things, the Mummy got the best scare on me. Irony: I was the one in ROTM often scaring people with my giant scarab and otherwise creepy minion character. Imhotep never bothered me. Now, 3000 miles away, he gets me. D'oh! It made me excited as I can't wait for HHN!

Next up, the USH Studio Tour.
This is a 45 minute tour of the backlot. All I can say is that this is an absolute must-do. It is changed periodically and you may see stars walking in the backlot or filming. When my tram was passing a soundstage, taping was going on for a new TV show called "Life". Apparently lots of TV shows and movies (both under Universal's wing and under other companies, including Disney and Warner Bros) have been filmed in the soundstages and backlot of USH.
During the tour, you come face-to-face with Kong, Jaws, and Earthquake. Fun. Jaws and Kong were right in my face. Literally.

After the studio tour it was lunch time. We at at Doc Brown's Chicken, next to the closed BTTF building. :( You can see how much I appreciated the closing of BTTF. Ignore the fact that I had my pic with the Simpsons characters. Bart even game me a "Thumbs up" in regards to my BTTF shirt. That shirt actually got quite a few compliments.

USH is split in to two levels: upper lot and lower lot. You have to take a LONG series of escalators to get to the lower lot. Upon arriving there I was in a temporary "wow" mode. To my left, Jurassic Park, a ride which I opened in FL. To my right, ROTM, which I also opened in FL. I went to ROTM first. I ended up riding this twice. They have a lapbar pouch for things such as hats and other small items. FL doesn't have this at last check. The two ROTM's are completely different. Different story, different coaster, different everything. I know that ROTM in FL replaced Kong, which had a huge soundstage. In USH, it replaced ET, which was smaller. Good overall, but I prefer the FL version of ROTM better.

After ROTM was Jurassic Park. The JP in FLand the JP in USH are nearly 100% identical. USH has 2 ultrasaurs and 2 tyrannosaurs. FL only has one of each. The carnivores also attack sooner in the USH version. The FL version also has splash guards, which reduce the wetness level. My dad & I got soaked. It was fun. JP over here also has paper towel dispensers at the exit, as the ride is very wet. The CA version is better than the FL version, IMO.

From here: Backdraft. This is similar to Twister in that it explains how the film was made in a few different rooms. In the final room, you experience the chemical warehouse where the finale of Backdraft takes place. Lots of fire, very hot, very awesome. Twister should be replaced with Backdraft, as Twister is boring. Backdraft was excellent.

After that: Special Effects Stages. This is a mix of Horror Makeup Show and Earthquake. They needed a male and female volunteer. I ended up being a volunteer. In the first part, I had to wield a giant cat paw and "attack" the female volunteer. In the second part, I was being "tortured" by an Egyptian pharaoh and then got "mummified". I didn't see the action, but I was told it was quite good. In the next room, I was still being utilized. My arm was "cut" with a knife that has a special slot to fit over my arm, is completely dull, and has a blood mixture that looks really red. I acted properly and was congratulated on my acting.

A kid volunteer took control of an animatronic werewolf afterwards and made the werewolf move its arms and torso. When the kid was done, the werewolf came to life and attacked the host.

The third and final room was sound effects. My dad became a volunteer for a sound effect. The whole scenario was very funny. Great show.

From here, it was back to the upper level, as the lower level doesn't have much. My dad & I saw T2:3D to see if it was any different from the FL version. It's the exact same in every way.

We were done with the park at that time. We changed clothes and headed for the Magic Castle. Magic Castle is a private club. You must be a member (magician) or be invited by/be friends of a member. You have to be dressed properly. Men MUST wear a suit--shirt/slacks, jacket and tie. Women must dress properly as well. We had reservations for 630, but we were able to get an earlier meal as the place was slow. The meal was expensive, but the club has to make $$ somehow.

I saw three acts. One was at 730 and the magician had did some great tricks. It was Spanish week, so most of the magicians spoke English as a second language. My aunt was a volunteer for the first magician. He did a trick where she put a sticker on her wedding band. He made the band disappear and reappear in a small bag that was in two boxes that were covered in a ball of twine in a jar. WTH. Good trick. His other trick was getting tied up and having a female volunterr put a jacket on and get blindfolded. Two other volunteers raised up a "curtain" and he got the jacket off the female and onto himself with all the knots being unmoved.

The 830 act was a two parter. I was picked as a volunteer in a mind reading card trick. First the host magician did the trick, then had me do part of it. He asked me questions and "guided" my answers by squeezing my arm. He put the cards in my jacket pocket and when asked to, I reached in and pulled out the first card I grabbed. It just happened to be the card that the female volunteer had picked. There were two acts. The first was a magician doing sleight of hand with disappearing cards and making them appear out of thin air. Cool tricks. The second act was a non-Spanish magician who did a lot of balloon tricks. He made balloon animals at an AMAZING speed. He was very funny and very good.

The last act was around 930p. It was with another card-based magician who has a school set up in Spain for card tricks. He was very good and amazingly was able to name the cards the two volunteers had in their hands at one point. By this time, my dad & stepmom wanted to see one more act, but I was bushed. I left with my uncle and aunt and ended up falling asleep on in the car. I was just that tired.

And now, pics!/
 
Wow! Did I enjoy that! :thumbsup2 Say and watched the whole slideshow. Now, my questions and comments:

1-USH looked 'funny' to me, couldn't figure out why. Realized there was no Hollywood Blvd. with the 'walk of stars' on the sidewalk...uh, d'oh me :headache: You are in CA...they have the REAL THING there :rolleyes1 (still looks very different tho)

2-the Nickelodeon area looks like great fun for kids...kind of a little of Curious George mixed in, eh?

3-how come Jaws isn't as high as in FL for photo ops? Is he maybe eatin' just kids in CA? :confused3

4-noticed the trick photography for the Hollywood background....are you getting the "real" picture? :rolleyes:

5-was the Backlot tour long? It looked it (or you just took that many pix). Bubba would have loved seeing all the cars (he's a bit 'into' them). What movie was the airplane crash? It looks familiar, but I can't recall the name of the movie. I recognized a house in the tour too...Wisteria Ln. from Desperate Housewives ;)

6-I liked the pic of JP from "upstairs"....that was a cool shot

7-Was there a whole Dr. Suess land/area or just that spot on the tour?

8-a shame Waterworld was closed (you didn't have much luck with your timing of things closing there, didja? :hug: ) Looks like it would have been neat to see...it was a good movie.

9-Speaking of, i bet it's neat to see/tour a "real, live working studio" :thumbsup2 Altho they say the 2 FL parks are "live, working", I've never seen any....but, bet you would at USH

10-In the beginning of the slideshow, what is the 'empty' town? Then further along, there is another empty town (looks Spanish or Italian to me) with a fountain...what are those?

11-loved the T2 pic....they should find a place for one of those at UO

12-and YOU in a TIE :eek: (You clean up goodly :thumbsup2 ) Sounds like the dinnershow was interesting....glad you had fun!

Thanks for sharing your pictures with us..... more incentive for us to go one day :rolleyes1
 
Wow! Did I enjoy that! :thumbsup2 Say and watched the whole slideshow. Now, my questions and comments:

2-the Nickelodeon area looks like great fun for kids...kind of a little of Curious George mixed in, eh?
Essentially, yes.

3-how come Jaws isn't as high as in FL for photo ops? Is he maybe eatin' just kids in CA? :confused3
I noticed that too. :confused3
5-was the Backlot tour long? It looked it (or you just took that many pix). Bubba would have loved seeing all the cars (he's a bit 'into' them). What movie was the airplane crash? It looks familiar, but I can't recall the name of the movie. I recognized a house in the tour too...Wisteria Ln. from Desperate Housewives ;)
The backlot tour is at least 45 mins. The cars are from different movies and there are even FATF cars that "dance" to the "La Gasolina" song.
The place crash was from War of the Worlds.
7-Was there a whole Dr. Suess land/area or just that spot on the tour?
Just those sets.
10-In the beginning of the slideshow, what is the 'empty' town? Then further along, there is another empty town (looks Spanish or Italian to me) with a fountain...what are those?
Those are all empty sets. A fresh coat of paint and some live actors turn those into the things you see in the movies and TV. Each area represents a generic area: NY style, Indian Style, Europe Style, etc.
 
The back lot tour pics are awesome I kinda wish Florida had more of the actual movie stuff. I enjoy checking out working sets and old props.
 

your pics are awesome.

i liked the comparison of the 2 UO parks.
 
fantastic pics & great recap!

now i've got to track down the rest of the days of the report;)

Q for you - not sure if we need to devote a whole day to U-Hollywood or could incorporate one of the tours that does 1/2 day in Hollywood 1st. :confused3 What do you think? was trying to save some $ & make time to see the beach area one day

Was thinking since most of the rides are represented in Orlando (assume the same or close) we'd really only "have" to see the backlot, backdraft & waterworld (long as i don't have to suffer thru kevin kostner lol).
 













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