Molokai Gram
<font color=green>DIS Veteran<br><font color=magen
- Joined
- Oct 12, 1999
Aloha!
We are back and I am almost caught up with work and the extra requirements that come with the end of a fiscal year and so I hope to start posting more again. Missed you guys.
I hope to finish a trip report soon. But until then, wanted to post some comments.
First of all, mahalo to wannacorona - the advice given helped us plan our visit.
Next, I made a major blunder when I planned a vacation to Southern California theme parks from 6/6-12. I figured that families don't take trips right at the beginning of summer vacation and this seemed to be correct...BUT I also assumed since most California schools in the area didn't end their school year until the following week, the parks would be empty of locals too. BIG BIG mistake!
It seems that about every southern California school from middle school on up plans an end of the year school trip to the theme parks during this week!!!! There were so many unchaperoned kids running around. I won't give the details, but trust me, the first two weeks in June are not the time to visit California parks. 
USH is smaller than UO - no IOA here. But the Hollywood CityWalk is so much better. There were more characters walking around USH than I have ever seen at UO or even at WDW or DL. And very short lines to get autographs etc.
USH does not have Beetlejuice Review or the Western stunt show. It does have the WaterWorld show which is a terrific stunt and special effect show that is much better than the movie on which it is based. USH has a BackDraft "show" instead of the Twister one. It is more intense and of course, realistic (easier to believe that you are in a burning warehouse than to be standing watching a tornado
) You get much wetter on the JP drop in Hollywood. There is a walkthrough Mummy maze at USH, which is very spooky. There is a Rugrat show and the play area - both water and foam balls are based on Nickolodean shows. There is a new Spiderman stunt show - but grandsons thought it was to much singing and dancing and not enough stunts. So although it has the same basic elements - BTTF; Terminator; ET; and JP - there is alot of different stuff to see too. Jaws, Earthquake; and King Kong are all part of the tram tour of the park. And of course, the tram on weekdays lets you see a real set in action and shows more special effects too. Too bad there is no room for expansion at USH. We only visited one day and should have spent two.
Also want to make a comparison between Disney's Calfifornia Adventure and Universal's IOA. Both were additions to already established parks and developed within a few years of each other. There is no comparison. DCA is SAD. Although every other park was crowded, it was empty - guess even the kids did not want a free school trip there. It is a waste of space and money and very poorly planned. We appreciated IOA so much more after seeing DCA. Maybe the difference is because Universal has EARL and Disney doesn't?
It is good to be back.
Donna
We are back and I am almost caught up with work and the extra requirements that come with the end of a fiscal year and so I hope to start posting more again. Missed you guys.
I hope to finish a trip report soon. But until then, wanted to post some comments.
First of all, mahalo to wannacorona - the advice given helped us plan our visit.
Next, I made a major blunder when I planned a vacation to Southern California theme parks from 6/6-12. I figured that families don't take trips right at the beginning of summer vacation and this seemed to be correct...BUT I also assumed since most California schools in the area didn't end their school year until the following week, the parks would be empty of locals too. BIG BIG mistake!
It seems that about every southern California school from middle school on up plans an end of the year school trip to the theme parks during this week!!!! There were so many unchaperoned kids running around. I won't give the details, but trust me, the first two weeks in June are not the time to visit California parks. USH is smaller than UO - no IOA here. But the Hollywood CityWalk is so much better. There were more characters walking around USH than I have ever seen at UO or even at WDW or DL. And very short lines to get autographs etc.
USH does not have Beetlejuice Review or the Western stunt show. It does have the WaterWorld show which is a terrific stunt and special effect show that is much better than the movie on which it is based. USH has a BackDraft "show" instead of the Twister one. It is more intense and of course, realistic (easier to believe that you are in a burning warehouse than to be standing watching a tornado
) You get much wetter on the JP drop in Hollywood. There is a walkthrough Mummy maze at USH, which is very spooky. There is a Rugrat show and the play area - both water and foam balls are based on Nickolodean shows. There is a new Spiderman stunt show - but grandsons thought it was to much singing and dancing and not enough stunts. So although it has the same basic elements - BTTF; Terminator; ET; and JP - there is alot of different stuff to see too. Jaws, Earthquake; and King Kong are all part of the tram tour of the park. And of course, the tram on weekdays lets you see a real set in action and shows more special effects too. Too bad there is no room for expansion at USH. We only visited one day and should have spent two. Also want to make a comparison between Disney's Calfifornia Adventure and Universal's IOA. Both were additions to already established parks and developed within a few years of each other. There is no comparison. DCA is SAD. Although every other park was crowded, it was empty - guess even the kids did not want a free school trip there. It is a waste of space and money and very poorly planned. We appreciated IOA so much more after seeing DCA. Maybe the difference is because Universal has EARL and Disney doesn't?
It is good to be back.
Donna
