Day 5, Part 1: Universal Studios Hollywood
The start of this day was much more relaxing then the previous two. Although today was another park day we wouldn't be waking up before the sun rose to get ready. We would be going back to Universal Studios Hollywood today. A park we had already been to on this trip so we were't in a huge rush to get there.
Compared to waking up before 7am then prior two days it was so nice to finally be able to somewhat sleep in. We got up and took our time getting ready and with a late breakfast in the room we finally left the hotel at around 11am.
As we drove back to the LA area where Universal is located we noticed some darker clouds and then it started to rain. We knew that there was a chance of rain today. I was just really hoping it wouldn't be anything too bad since we would be out in the park most of the day. I thought we would be in luck though as the rain had stopped shortly before we passed Downtown LA.
The drive to Universal took a big longer then I thought it would. I figured since we were driving during in the late morning that traffic would be fine. But we still got stuck in it for a little bit adding about 20 minutes to the drive. Although the drive should take around 40-45 minutes always plan on it taking over an hour. I wish I would have thought that sooner.
We pulled up to the Universal Studios and it was evident right away how different the crowds would be compared to what they were on Saturday when we came. There was only 1 lane open to get into the parking area. Then we were able to find a spot right up front to the Citywalk enterance from the garage instead of parking 3 levels up like we did Saturday.
This time we were on the main level of Citywalk when we exited the garage. As we walked thru Citywalk towards the park we walked past the iFly indoor skydiving. Well I guess its indoor but you the tube is actually outside and anyone can watch the skydivers do there thing in the tube. It was pretty cool to sit and watch for a moment and Daniel really seemed to enjoy it. I don't think I could ever get myself to do it though.
As we walked thru Citywalk the whole place had a different vibe to it compared to the previous Saturday. It was much nicer not being so packed but many things were missing. Santa wasn't out and there wasn't any concerts going on. Still Citywalk Hollywood is probably my favorite out of all the resort shopping/entertainment areas in California and Florida.
We soon arrived at the enterance of the park. Unfortunatly though as we were walking thru Citywalk the rain had come back. Luckly it wasn't too bad though and we hoped it wouldn't get any worse then it was. Considering today was much lighter crowd wise then it was on Saturday we were suprised by how many Universal Photographers were out taking photos for guests near the globe and enterance to the park. If you are using the Citypass tickets make sure you don't forget your actual plastic Citypass card as you will need it to get into the park.
You'll notice that some of the photos I post may be in similar spots as photos I already posted from when we were in the park earlier. This is to show the difference in crowds going to the park on a Wednesday compared to a Saturday during the Holiday Season. Of course with less crowds though will come shorter hours and referbs as the Park was only open until 5pm tonight (compared to 8pm on Saturday) and Jurassic Park was closed for Referb.
Right after we walked thru the gate we were stopped by a TM wanting us to take a short survey. Normally I don't ususally do this but for our time he offered to give us a free "A" Gate (front of the line) pass for the Studio Tour. So I figured why not. The survey was pretty simple demographic survey as they asked questions like our age, where we were from, where else we were visiting in Southern California, how many times we'd been to the park in the past, ect...... It only took about 2 minutes of our time and we figured that pass would come in handy later in the day.
Before heading to any attractions Kiera needed to use the Restroom so we stopped at the one near the enterance to the park. These Restrooms do sit next to a couple attractions such as the Waterworld Stunt Show, Gibson Amphitheater, and also the House of Horrors. Unfortunatly we didn't do any of these attractions on this trip though. However we did in 2008 when we last visited.
Water World is said by many to be one of the best Stunt Shows there is. I would say its pretty good but I don't think its the best. Honestly I think i've enjoyed the Sinbad Show in Islands of Adventure and the Lights, Motors, Action show at Disneys Hollywood Studios More. Still its something that I wish we would have done again as it is something that you should see for yourself when going to the park. Its also something you should see soon too as its rumored to be one of the areas that will be removed to make way for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Expansion.
Another area that the Wizarding World is rumored take over is the space currently used by the Gibson Amphitheater. This venue actually isn't an attraction in the theme park but an acutal concert venue where big names in music perform when they come to town.
The House of Horrors is a walk thru attraction bringing you face to face with some of the classic monsters of Universal film history. Its basically a year round haunt comparible to what you would find during Halloween Horror Nights. Although when we went thru back in 2008 we weren't real super impressed with it. The sets were amazingly detailed. But it severly lacked scareactors. I'm sure that was because it was weekday then as well. One advantage about it though is you don't go thru it in a congo line like the HHN houses though. Do to the possible fear factor of this wether it was heavly staffed or not though is what prevented us from going thru it with Daniel on this trip.
As we continued into the park we passed all the same areas we did when we were at the park Saturday. However with it being much less busy we were able to stop and get a photo with Jaws. We decided to save the Studio Tour for later as we walked by though on our way to the Simpsons Ride.