"That’s not how the Force works!" - January 2017 Rebel Challenge + More! 3/14 Complete

[TeeterTots]

So I just realized that none of my comments have posted! Stupid phone! Congrats on the half. What a trooper you are! So tough! Love the skirt! What a hubby....props to him! ESPN party yay! Chef counter, amazing! Oh, how I long for a foodie partner! Love the entire experiment!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

You dinner looked delicious! I think I'm going to have to give those masks a try!

It was delicious!

I've gotten a little obsessed with masks lately. I ordered some Korean ones off Amazon as it was more cost effective but they work out well!

So I just realized that none of my comments have posted! Stupid phone! Congrats on the half. What a trooper you are! So tough! Love the skirt! What a hubby....props to him! ESPN party yay! Chef counter, amazing! Oh, how I long for a foodie partner! Love the entire experiment!

Oh no! Silly phone not working for you. I don't post using the phone because I always get errors that way. I'm so glad my husband puts up with my foodie ways!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Before The Backlot

Our tour time was at 8:45AM for the Universal VIP Experience. As we were unsure how the traffic was going to end up, we left by 6:30AM to make it on time. We knew this could end up getting us there really early if traffic behaved but better to be early than late! I ended up parking in the first parking garage I came across even though there was a closer one to the front of the park. This turned out to be a good thing as we knew we would need dinner before we headed home and we were parked in the middle of the Citywalk! Before heading through security, we walked around Citywalk to see what our options would be for dinner and if there were any stores that interested us.

Citywalk

Universal Globe

Saddle Ranch

We had to wait about 20 minutes before the VIP area officially opened. At 8AM, it opened and we were able to check in. We were happy to be out of the cold weather of the morning! We were given the name of our guide (Tony) and our VIP lanyard that we would have to wear for the day.

VIP Door

We headed upstairs and walked around to see what the exhibits were.

We then decided to enjoy the breakfast buffet!

Macarons for Breakfast? Yes Please!

We each got an initial serving for breakfast and went up for seconds. While this was going on, we watched the 100 years of Universal montage on the television.

Husband’s Breakfast

My Breakfast

While we were enjoying our second round of food, our guide actually came around and introduced himself to us. He asked some questions about what we liked and didn’t like, what attractions we were the most excited for (The Walking Dead!) and if we had a hard stop time. He said we would be getting started around 8:45AM once everyone had arrived.

At 8:45AM, our group gathered and I learned it was going to be a long day because of the 10 year old girl who wouldn't shut up. We had 13 people in our group - a family of 3 with an 11 year old, a family of 4 with a 10 year old & 5 year old, and another family of 4 with older teenagers and us. Everyone else in the group was from Australia! We were definitely the odd ones. We were given our VIP day kit and headed out to the VIP Movie Tour cart where we would explore the backlots with the other 8:45AM tour group after a quick stop where our guide explained the layout of the park and where to go if you had issues and were lost.

View of Hollywood Hills

Studio Tour Bus​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Movie Tour (start)

We loaded into the VIP Movie Tour Vehicle that held about 26 people plus the two guides. The tour started with going through the history of movies that Universal is known for.

We then saw the sound studio for The Voice. They were loading in equipment as they were gearing up for the current season of the Voice for this spring!

Next up was the Alfred Hitchcock Sound Stage and then drive by some of the other studios (and a big Ted statue)

After that stuff, we headed into some of the backlot outdoor sets and a visit from King Kong to save us from the dinosaurs!

They next had us go through the area where all the Universal Picture cars are set out!

We then went to the Rancho set to see how they can flood a set and recycle it.

A menacing terror attacked a poor scuba diver!

Such a tragedy for a beach town!​

 

[TeeterTots]

All of your touring looks like so much fun! I especially like seeing the cars!

 

[kastoney]

Your Napa Rose (almost wrote California Grill ) looks divine, especially your first two courses. We at there on our honeymoon, now almost 10 years ago, and I still remember it as our favorite overall disney dining experience ever, so good.

Love all the old movie stuff and cars at universal. I haven't been there since I was a teenager when all the had was their old version of the backlot tour. They've certainly come a long way

 

[Dis_Yoda]

All of your touring looks like so much fun! I especially like seeing the cars!

The Backlot is really nice! Its always fun to see different parts of the movies come to life! I see around 60 movies in the theater each year so movies are a huge part of my daily life!

Your Napa Rose (almost wrote California Grill ) looks divine, especially your first two courses. We at there on our honeymoon, now almost 10 years ago, and I still remember it as our favorite overall disney dining experience ever, so good.

Love all the old movie stuff and cars at universal. I haven't been there since I was a teenager when all the had was their old version of the backlot tour. They've certainly come a long way

It is an amazing Disney Dining Experience! The food is really amazing and much better than what you can find at most WDW places! Napa Rose to me is a step above California Grill but a step below Victoria & Alberts! We've skipped California Grill the last few trips - but we're returning there in April since we are staying at VGF!

From reading about their older versions of the backlot tour - I'm sure that would have still interested me but I totally get they have to update it as technology changes!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Inside A Crash Scene

We stumbled upon some trouble from the Fast & Furious gang and had to hid out from the bad guys and they saved us!

A quick visit to WhoVille and Amity Island again before coming upon the Bates Motel!

The next set we were allowed to walk around on (special feature for the VIP Experience.) To me, it was interesting for a different reason than most. As I work for a company that makes components that go on airplanes, I really like seeing the insides of the plane. I may also have been searching for one of my parts on the plane! My husband teased me as I was looking.

That's my adapter!

Pretty sure that's my tank but too far away to confirm!

 

[Mom2m&k]

So much fun! I used to house sit for a house the sat above Jaws lake!

 

[kastoney]

How fun your tank and adapter are famous!!!! What movie was that set from?

 

[TeeterTots]

Super cool! I love that you were so into it!

 

[franandaj]

Playing catch up, but nice to see you had such a great dinner at Napa Rose after your race. I'm glad you all had fun at the ESPN Zone after the race.

I've never heard of the VIP experience at Universal. We don't see enough movies to know what all these cars and props come from. It sounds cool though for all the behind the scenes access. I'm glad you found some of your airplane parts in the crash!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

So much fun! I used to house sit for a house the sat above Jaws lake!

That's so cool! I bet you are glad you weren't house sitting when the War of the Worlds set was being created - I'm sure that wouldn't have been a good thing to look onto!

How fun your tank and adapter are famous!!!! What movie was that set from?

It's from War of the Worlds - the one with Tom Cruise back about 10 years ago. It's also been used in an insurance commercial and some music videos as I'm sure you watch Nicki Minaj videos as much as I do .

Super cool! I love that you were so into it!

It's not often I get to geek out and enjoy it! My husband also has little clue about what parts I work with so it was cool getting to show him even if he wasn't that interested!

Playing catch up, but nice to see you had such a great dinner at Napa Rose after your race. I'm glad you all had fun at the ESPN Zone after the race.

I've never heard of the VIP experience at Universal. We don't see enough movies to know what all these cars and props come from. It sounds cool though for all the behind the scenes access. I'm glad you found some of your airplane parts in the crash!

I'm glad my stomach behaved for me to enjoy ESPN Zone & Napa Rose! Who knows what was annoying my stomach that morning! I kinda figured out later after I ended up at urgent care in February that I was fighting some bugs for like a month or more!

The VIP experience is between $329 and $429 per person. It includes a 2 hour backstage tour that is way more detailed and in depth than the 45 tram tour that the normal studio guests can go onto. You also get a gourmet lunch and unlimited front of the line access The tour itself is around 6 hours where the guide will have you jump even the 'front of line' pass people. Its expensive but really worth it to enjoy all the park in one day and no worry about planning or thinking. Universal though has a ton more thrill rides than Disney and by the end of the day - all the thrill rides were taking a toll on us, especially after Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey. We must be getting old!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

The Good Place & Props

A quick visit to Jaws again

As we left War of the Worlds, we headed towards the set currently used for The Good Place on NBC. I’ve never seen the show but I like the puns on their set!

We then were walked around their Prop Department where we saw props from Ray Donovan and other NBC/Universal shows! Set dressers were also there loading up their trucks for projects they were working.

Dis_Yoda at the Prop Shop

This prop shop visit was way better than Warner Brothers as we had more of a time to closely look at stuff.

We boarded our tram again and headed to their standard town square. This is the set that was used at City Hall for Back To The Future along with being the set they used for the outdoor scenes during Hairspray! The Musical! Live! A couple months ago.

Once we got some photos, we headed through their New York/Chicago Backlots before ending our Backlot Tour portion of the day.

I had done the VIP Tour previously in September 2015. It was interesting seeing how each tour could be slightly different even within only 16 months difference. This time we didn’t get to walk on a closed set but that could have been because they were actually filming now versus when I went on a Saturday over Labor Day Weekend. We missed Wisteria Lane both times though because of other filming!​

 

[kastoney]

Loving all the backstage action and it has me nostalgic for all the disney backlot tour and the promise it had. RIP Backlot

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Loving all the backstage action and it has me nostalgic for all the disney backlot tour and the promise it had. RIP Backlot

Yeah - I miss the Backlot Tour but their version was not good at all when they stopped filming and producing animation there especially in comparison to what is offered at Universal Hollywood. I do miss seeing the Costume Shop through the Tram!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Lower Lot Thrills

We were let off the tram in the backstage area of the Lower Lot. We entered the park and we were going to accomplish the lower lot attractions before heading upstairs for lunch.

One of the nice things about the VIP Experience is that before you head onto Jurassic Park The Ride, they hand you a poncho and will hold your bags for you so they don’t get wet. I like being able to enjoy water attractions without those worries!

After our visit to Jurassic Park, we got to enjoy Transformers and Revenge of the Mummy!

If you have ever done Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Orlando - I would skip the version of the ride at Universal Hollywood. It just felt like a bad rip off with badly painted mummies with blacklight paint. Not at all scary and didn’t have the cool effects that Orlando has.

Not everyone in the group did all these thrill rides so while we were waiting for everyone to regather, there was a lonely Minion statue! My husband took advantage of it!

We headed up the multiple long escalators to leave the lower lot. Once we got upstairs, our guide told us that we would have an hour to enjoy lunch and to meet at a certain time and place post lunch. My husband and I were sat a two top in the VIP Lunch room and were allowed to get food from the buffet as we cared to.

My first plate

My husband’s first plate

The lunch buffet had decent options and totally a step up from normal theme park food. I really enjoyed the cheese pursettes and risotto. My husband was really happy with his chicken fingers and crab legs. They also had nutella crepes for dessert so we both were all over that. We finished lunch in about 30 minutes but we still had 20 minutes to kill before we were to meet up again. We looked at each other and decided we needed some alcohol to get through the next couple hours as that 10 year old girl from one of the families was getting on our nerves as her parents decided to not parent today. We got that she wanted to see Harry Potter but come on, you don’t have to ask every 10 minutes! I got a cocktail with whiskey in it. My husband got an Angry Orchard Cider.

 

[TeeterTots]

The tour continues to look exciting but crab legs, Nutella crepes and alcoholic beverages to help drown out the annoying ten year old....perfect!

 

[kastoney]

Wow, awesome your tours included rides and lunch. I just thought it was the backstage stuff. Definitely a step up from the old Disney one, though I'm guessing you didn't spot a Mouseketeer, which I still vividly recall from childhood

 

[Dis_Yoda]

The tour continues to look exciting but crab legs, Nutella crepes and alcoholic beverages to help drown out the annoying ten year old....perfect!

This tour was such a great deal! You can't go wrong with alcohol and nutella! Couple more segments to finish this report up and then I can get starting on my February Dining Review that will also include STar Wars Dark Side Weekend!

Wow, awesome your tours included rides and lunch. I just thought it was the backstage stuff. Definitely a step up from the old Disney one, though I'm guessing you didn't spot a Mouseketeer, which I still vividly recall from childhood

The guided tour portion was about 6.5 hours. Long enough to get through everything major (I think by the time we left, we missed 1 attraction and 1 show - which we're ok with) Great way of getting through everything in a day without having to worry about the crowds!

I didn't spot a Mouseketeer!