arieljasmine
<font color=magenta>Who says these things pass you
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2004
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Laurs, Andy and bump do LA and Vegas, baby Day 5
Laurs 29
Andy 29
Bump 13 weeks
Tuesday 25 March 2008
We got up at 7.30 am and headed down to the lobby for breakfast. I had apple juice, tea, froot loops, a kiwi fruit and toast. Andy had orange juice, coffee, frosties, toast and a croissant (I tried one but it was too dry for me, yuk). We got changed and called back into the lobby for a bottle of water and packet of cheetos each. We were off to Universal Studios! The girl on reception told us her brother worked there and advised us to take the studio tour first and then head down and do the attractions on the lower lot before the crowds arrived.
After a short drive we arrived at Universal and parked up in the Curious George lot at 9.20 am. We walked through Citywalk to get to the park and it was fascinating to see sights which were in turns familiar and strange. Taking the advice we had been given, we headed straight for the studio tour. You have to go down an escalator to get to the ride and they had two guys sat at the bottom in directors chairs welcoming people to the ride, which was a neat touch. They said they could tell we were definitely going to enjoy the ride!
We walked straight on to the ride. The guide was excellent and so funny. He came up on video screens in each section of the tram - it took me a while to figure out that there was actually a guy at the front of the tram doing this live, he was so good. The tour is fascinating and takes you round lots of sets and soundstages, including the one where they film Heroes which elicited a squeal of delight from me. On the morning we were there, filming was in progress for Desperate Housewives and we had to be really quiet whilst we drove around the set. We didn't see anyone famous but it was exciting to think that there were actual stars there filming.
Of course, the most exciting aspects of the studio tram tour are the different elements which are, or have previously been, rides at Universal Studios Orlando. Namely, these are King Kong, Earthquake, Jurassic Park, The Mummy and Jaws. I really enjoyed seeing King Kong as the ride had been closed just before our first ever trip to Universal. I could have done without Earthquake in my condition, I spent the entire section with my bottom off the seat in order to minimise the bouncing to bump! Jurassic Park had a dinosaur which spat right at us! The Mummy part was my favourite bit of all - it was very dark and the tram seemed to spin and be dropping down a dark tunnel - it was very exciting. There is also a little show with cars from the Fast and the Furious which was very impressive.
The ride is approximately 45 minutes long so by the time we came off it was cheeto time. After filling our bellies, we headed off down to the Lower Lot. The park is arranged very strangely, you have to go down four very long escalators to get down to this part of the park. You keep thinking you are there and then realising that no, just another escalator!
We went to the Backdraft show first. The effects were excellent. In the last room, I stood off to the side with the ride operator as the platform drops two inches. I could still see everything that happened perfectly well though.
Next, Andy took advantage of the short queue for The Mummy and I had a look round a couple of shops (in one Shaggy and Scooby were "helping" people with their shopping) and put on my suncream. Andy reports that it was faster than the one in Orlando and the effects were clearer because it wasn't as dark, but there was no ceiling of fire. So, if you're a fan of the Mummy who finds themselves in Hollywood, don't pass up the opportunity to ride just because you have seen it in Orlando.
The final thing for us on the Lower Lot (for info, the Jurassic Park ride is also down here) was the Special Effects show. This was very funny and entertaining. At the beginning the host was asking people to say where they were from if they were not from the US. I put my hand up and said "England" which had him demonstrating the usual Queen's English sort of accent! I was surprised to see only two further Brits - from Wales. Hollywood obviously doesn't draw as many Brits as Orlando - we rarely heard a familiar accent. The middle part of the show is very similar to the Horror Make Up show in Orlando and I was scared because there was a staircase behind me and I was paranoid that something would run down it. Luckily, I was wrong.
After the show, we made our way back up to the Upper Lot for lunch at Mel's Drive In. The queue was enormous but we did eventually get some food - a chilli cheeseburger with fries and a jalapeno cheeseburger with fries - we shared them so we could have half of each and I had a sprite and Andy had a diet coke. Lucy (off of I Love Lucy) was in there talking to people whilst they ate but I was glad she didn't come over to us as I have no real clue who she is! The most I know of her is the convention of Lucys in Rat Race! She seemed very good though.
After lunch we went to the Waterworld show - wow. If you don't do anything else, see this show. The stunts and effects are amazing. And a word to the wise, if you sit in the wet zone you will get practically drowned! The pre-show basically consists of actors throwing buckets of water at the crowd - hilarious if you're sat higher up, not so much if it's you getting drenched I imagine.
We wandered over to see the Blues Brothers perform. We found it weird because here there are seats (not that we got one!) and a proper stage. We found the show too staged for our liking and thought it seemed as though they must play the same songs at every show as there was a loose storyline.
We got a swirl ice cream with rainbow sprinkles from the Ben and Jerry's stand - why no Ben and Jerrys flavours?! - and I had my picture taken with Frankenstein, I know it looks fake but I can assure that it was a real man, and he was very scary!
We went to the T2:3D show next and sat in the stationary seats which was great because it meant we were in the row that the actors run down.
We also did Shrek 4D in the stationary seats - this was good but I missed the galloping. Both of these shows are identical to their Orlando counterparts.
We had our photo taken with some of Universal's newest characters - Bart, Homer and Marge. The reason Andy has such a big grin is that Marge was tickling him the whole time!
We went to the Kwik-E-Mart where I bought Duff (not beer but energy drinks) and Homer glasses with some of Homer's wisdoms on them for my dad and my brother.
We had done everything that appealed to us so we headed out of the park and went back to the car for jumpers as the temperature had really fallen (it tended to go pretty cold in the evenings). We took pictures of the globe and Universal arches before heading for the shops.
In the Universal Studios store we bought some postcards and a Curious George for me. We went to a Mexican restaurant called Camacho's Cantina for tea. They brought nachos and the most amazing spicy tomato dip to the table, we ate every drop of that it was so good. I had a sprite and beef enchiladas with rice and Andy had a diet coke and beef burritos with rice. The food was great and a nice change from something with fries.
After tea we looked round the last couple of shops and watched people in the IFly for a while. This is a tube where people can "fly" with an instructor with the clever use of air pressure.
We headed back to the hotel and picked up a cherry coke for me and a fanta for Andy at reception. Andy read the paper (there was a free newspaper each morning) and I, yes you guessed it, fell asleep. We went to bed at 11.30 pm.
Laur's
Laurs 29
Andy 29
Bump 13 weeks
Tuesday 25 March 2008
We got up at 7.30 am and headed down to the lobby for breakfast. I had apple juice, tea, froot loops, a kiwi fruit and toast. Andy had orange juice, coffee, frosties, toast and a croissant (I tried one but it was too dry for me, yuk). We got changed and called back into the lobby for a bottle of water and packet of cheetos each. We were off to Universal Studios! The girl on reception told us her brother worked there and advised us to take the studio tour first and then head down and do the attractions on the lower lot before the crowds arrived.
After a short drive we arrived at Universal and parked up in the Curious George lot at 9.20 am. We walked through Citywalk to get to the park and it was fascinating to see sights which were in turns familiar and strange. Taking the advice we had been given, we headed straight for the studio tour. You have to go down an escalator to get to the ride and they had two guys sat at the bottom in directors chairs welcoming people to the ride, which was a neat touch. They said they could tell we were definitely going to enjoy the ride!
We walked straight on to the ride. The guide was excellent and so funny. He came up on video screens in each section of the tram - it took me a while to figure out that there was actually a guy at the front of the tram doing this live, he was so good. The tour is fascinating and takes you round lots of sets and soundstages, including the one where they film Heroes which elicited a squeal of delight from me. On the morning we were there, filming was in progress for Desperate Housewives and we had to be really quiet whilst we drove around the set. We didn't see anyone famous but it was exciting to think that there were actual stars there filming.
Of course, the most exciting aspects of the studio tram tour are the different elements which are, or have previously been, rides at Universal Studios Orlando. Namely, these are King Kong, Earthquake, Jurassic Park, The Mummy and Jaws. I really enjoyed seeing King Kong as the ride had been closed just before our first ever trip to Universal. I could have done without Earthquake in my condition, I spent the entire section with my bottom off the seat in order to minimise the bouncing to bump! Jurassic Park had a dinosaur which spat right at us! The Mummy part was my favourite bit of all - it was very dark and the tram seemed to spin and be dropping down a dark tunnel - it was very exciting. There is also a little show with cars from the Fast and the Furious which was very impressive.
The ride is approximately 45 minutes long so by the time we came off it was cheeto time. After filling our bellies, we headed off down to the Lower Lot. The park is arranged very strangely, you have to go down four very long escalators to get down to this part of the park. You keep thinking you are there and then realising that no, just another escalator!
We went to the Backdraft show first. The effects were excellent. In the last room, I stood off to the side with the ride operator as the platform drops two inches. I could still see everything that happened perfectly well though.
Next, Andy took advantage of the short queue for The Mummy and I had a look round a couple of shops (in one Shaggy and Scooby were "helping" people with their shopping) and put on my suncream. Andy reports that it was faster than the one in Orlando and the effects were clearer because it wasn't as dark, but there was no ceiling of fire. So, if you're a fan of the Mummy who finds themselves in Hollywood, don't pass up the opportunity to ride just because you have seen it in Orlando.
The final thing for us on the Lower Lot (for info, the Jurassic Park ride is also down here) was the Special Effects show. This was very funny and entertaining. At the beginning the host was asking people to say where they were from if they were not from the US. I put my hand up and said "England" which had him demonstrating the usual Queen's English sort of accent! I was surprised to see only two further Brits - from Wales. Hollywood obviously doesn't draw as many Brits as Orlando - we rarely heard a familiar accent. The middle part of the show is very similar to the Horror Make Up show in Orlando and I was scared because there was a staircase behind me and I was paranoid that something would run down it. Luckily, I was wrong.
After the show, we made our way back up to the Upper Lot for lunch at Mel's Drive In. The queue was enormous but we did eventually get some food - a chilli cheeseburger with fries and a jalapeno cheeseburger with fries - we shared them so we could have half of each and I had a sprite and Andy had a diet coke. Lucy (off of I Love Lucy) was in there talking to people whilst they ate but I was glad she didn't come over to us as I have no real clue who she is! The most I know of her is the convention of Lucys in Rat Race! She seemed very good though.
After lunch we went to the Waterworld show - wow. If you don't do anything else, see this show. The stunts and effects are amazing. And a word to the wise, if you sit in the wet zone you will get practically drowned! The pre-show basically consists of actors throwing buckets of water at the crowd - hilarious if you're sat higher up, not so much if it's you getting drenched I imagine.
We wandered over to see the Blues Brothers perform. We found it weird because here there are seats (not that we got one!) and a proper stage. We found the show too staged for our liking and thought it seemed as though they must play the same songs at every show as there was a loose storyline.
We got a swirl ice cream with rainbow sprinkles from the Ben and Jerry's stand - why no Ben and Jerrys flavours?! - and I had my picture taken with Frankenstein, I know it looks fake but I can assure that it was a real man, and he was very scary!
We went to the T2:3D show next and sat in the stationary seats which was great because it meant we were in the row that the actors run down.
We also did Shrek 4D in the stationary seats - this was good but I missed the galloping. Both of these shows are identical to their Orlando counterparts.
We had our photo taken with some of Universal's newest characters - Bart, Homer and Marge. The reason Andy has such a big grin is that Marge was tickling him the whole time!
We went to the Kwik-E-Mart where I bought Duff (not beer but energy drinks) and Homer glasses with some of Homer's wisdoms on them for my dad and my brother.
We had done everything that appealed to us so we headed out of the park and went back to the car for jumpers as the temperature had really fallen (it tended to go pretty cold in the evenings). We took pictures of the globe and Universal arches before heading for the shops.
In the Universal Studios store we bought some postcards and a Curious George for me. We went to a Mexican restaurant called Camacho's Cantina for tea. They brought nachos and the most amazing spicy tomato dip to the table, we ate every drop of that it was so good. I had a sprite and beef enchiladas with rice and Andy had a diet coke and beef burritos with rice. The food was great and a nice change from something with fries.
After tea we looked round the last couple of shops and watched people in the IFly for a while. This is a tube where people can "fly" with an instructor with the clever use of air pressure.
We headed back to the hotel and picked up a cherry coke for me and a fanta for Andy at reception. Andy read the paper (there was a free newspaper each morning) and I, yes you guessed it, fell asleep. We went to bed at 11.30 pm.
Laur's
.I am loving your trip report,as i said it brings back so many memories
.When you went on the tram ride-do they still have the set what looks like a tiny village and then it storms+has heavy rain+if you look up the winding road you see a flood of water gushing towards you?Are'nt the sets amazing.Can't wait for the next installment.x.
