Adventures in the Universal Studios (Hollywood)

HappyMappy

Posted on December 4, 2013

….Continuation of our Thanksgiving holiday escapade.

Universal City Park

It was around 5 AM on the morning of Friday after Thanksgiving when my body clock awoke me. I knew it was “Black Friday,” one of the most important dates to shop in prep for holiday gift giving here in US but I didn’t even bother to look for online deals. I checked on the girls in the next room and they were still asleep. I rested an hour more and the four of us were at the breakfast buffet of the hotel by 7AM. Hubby and I had omelets while the kids picked their choices. After our fill, we went back to our suite and started to get ready for our adventure. There was a 30% chance of rain according to weather channel, so not a biggie, right? Wrong!… since the time we left the hotel, there was a heavy downpour and the sky showed no sign of stopping. As we reached the theme park, we opt for “preferred” parking for an additional five bucks. We already had our printed tickets but we still needed to register by the gate to get the “real” tickets. It was ok since we were the first in line but the real pain began at the entry gate. The line started to queue but very slow in movement. People started to get soaked and there were no raincoats available by the gate; not until you reached the gift stores inside the park. Ok, that reminds me, ATTENTION: Universal Studio management team! (anyone there reading this?)

I mean, come on! They’ve been in this business for many years, and obviously it needs improvement. One of the reasons of slow movement (aside from lack of better system) is due to biometrics and bag check…[at first I thought I’m entering the white house with all the security check]. It was my turn for bag check and HappyMappy does not have a happy face at all 😦 Mr. Security greeted me and said “Good morning!” I responded back with a sad face and said “having a wet head is not good at all” he smiled back at me and mentioned the beautiful Christmas music in surround sound. Well, that was fair enough to calm me down but to add salt to injury, my biometric was not matching my name because the staff didn’t figure out quickly the wet finger prints and it caused detection problem to the scanner. Anyways, to make the entrance story short, all’s well that ends well!

We love Lucy..Where is Ricky Ricardo?

The entrance hassle gave inconvenience to many guests that morning but it went away as soon as we had our raincoats 🙂 anyway, we went there to have fun and now, let the fun begin!

The Christmas music really helped alleviate the unhappy moments at the gate. You can see the people singing along with the sound of Christmas carols as they enter. We spotted Lucy and the girls posed for some pictures.

At this time, the rain hasn’t stopped yet as we roamed around the park. Slight changes are noticeable since the last time we visited Universal about 10 years ago or so. We decided to ride the Studio Tour; the signature ride of the park. You can miss all the rides but never miss this one or else you will forever be regretful.

Studio Tour (1 hour ride)

One of the best sceneries in the Universal Studios is the aerial view of the Universal City seen behind the Apollo 11 team (see the first picture of the greenery above this post). It was almost like a magical landscape. I know.., the picture don’t give justice to the real view but that’s all I can give you.

Grinch mas

Entrance

Thing 1 & 2

Whoville

The rain did not stop the flow of people, but by afternoon, the park started to get crowded. We tried to ride all the major attractions such as The Studio Tour, the Mummy, Transformers, Crustyland/Simpsons, etc.. Jurassic Park and the Water World is spot on for the rainy day because you will need to wear raincoat regardless if the sun is up.

It was tragic to learn the news when actor Paul Walker died from a car crash. We just saw the cars that were used in the movie Fast and Furious. RIP Mr. Walker.

Cars used in the movies “Fast and Furious”

Megatron

The best thing about the park is that restrooms and food stores are ubiquitous. You don’t have to worry of starvation (unless you forgot to bring money) and the call of nature. We have three-day ticket to enjoy the park but the young bloods have conquered the Theme Park in two days. Actually in day 1. they consumed the major rides and seen some live shows. Day 2 is more on savoring the rides they enjoy most.
We have seen the rest of the Live shows and my three musketeers continue to go over on their favorite rides while I stayed behind and waited for the giant robots to show off their antics.
I love it when they come out from the spaceship-like door. They are my favorites and really made my day 😀 Megatron was mean and he actually made a little girl cry, he is truly living with his character. He would say mean things to those who would ask for handshake as if he is going to throw them in the air… made me crack-up 😀

Bumblebee and Optimus Prime with my girls

I enjoyed watching the conversational scene of the transformers while people lined up for photo shoots. The characters look so real and their movements are quite impressive. My hero of course is Optimus Prime, he reminds me of Voltes V during my childhood days in the ancient time.

One of the most exciting activities in the high school that my daughter applied to is the robotics department that involves series of projects. I wonder if they can make similar breakthroughs.

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The following photos are proof of how our day went. Enjoy!