FYI: I changed my picture page to
this link instead of the old one.
Go here for more pictures.
Last weekend I traveled to Los Angeles with work to host a
special cocktail reception for some of the Special Olympics delegation that
were in town for the World Games. I flew in on Friday morning and the reception
was that night. The next morning I took
an Uber car to Universal Studios in Hollywood to spend the day there. Originally one of my co-workers was supposed
to come with me, but she had to change her flight to that day for a family
issue, so it was just me at the park!
I honestly liked being on my own at the park. I didn’t have to ask anyone what they wanted
to do next or where they wanted to eat, I just did what I wanted to do. Honestly, the longer I’m single the more
selfish I grow. LOL. :) I was able to go
in the single rider line for all of the rides I went on, which helped with the
mammoth sized crowds that were there that day.
So. Many. People. At around 1 pm
that day, the wait for The Mummy ride was 170 minutes. CRAZY!
The first thing I did was eat lunch at the Krusty Burger in
Simpson Land (Town??). My options were
fried food or fried food at all of the locations in the park, so I just tried
fried food. LOL. Who doesn’t love
burgers?! I then went to Moe’s Tavern
for a “Flaming Moe” which is an orange soda that I think has dry ice at the
bottom. You get to keep the cup, but I
didn’t have a bag to put it in, plus I don’t like souvenirs like that anyway.
I went to the Studio Tour line and it was REALLY LONG. There were a few employees giving away fast
passes for the tour later in the day so I got one. He asked me how many people and I said just
me, but then he said just go to the line and tell them you are a single rider
and they will let you in a special line that gets you close to the front of the
line. That worked and I got on in 10
minutes!!! It pays to be by yourself! :)
I really liked the tour, they did a great job showing you
around. You stay on the tram the entire
time but you see a lot. You see the back
lot, the front lot, Jaws, WhoVille, New York sets, etc. So much!!
The tour lasted about 45 minutes and they pack in a lot of stuff. There were 3 ‘rides’ on the tour where you
experience different special effects. Two
of the ‘rides’ (King Kong and Fast and the Furious) use special effects and
green screens to enhance your experience but the “Live Movie set-Subway tunnel)
has fire, rushing water, breakaway buildings and more. I think the subway set ‘ride’ was my
favorite!
They take you to see the streets of New York, a little
Mexico town (with the flood waters), a western town, and even the town square
they shot Back to the Future and Ghost Whisperer! We went to the sleep little town in Jaws and
saw a shark attack a poor, innocent scuba diver and then the shark had the nerve
to try and attack our tram! :) I’m telling you, I loved the tour!!!
I went through the iconic Jurassic Park gates next and got
SOAKED on the ride. I went through the super-fast
single rider line and unfortunately I made it to front of the car where you get
the most wet. Oh well, it was awesome
though. At first the ride is much like the movie with it’s serene dinosaurs
just eating grass but then things get wild and crazy with sparks flying and
evil Raptors. Those raptors like to eat
anything! So scary.
Transformers Ride, PowerAde Break, Ice Cream Break, attempt
to ride the Mummy Ride (failed my mission), and then decided to take a break to
see a movie in hopes that they crowd would disperse while I was watching Train
Wreck. I ate dinner and bought souvenirs
somewhere in that break too. I started
to collect these different stretched pennies that day! I need to get one of
those books to hold them in.
When I got back I went back to do the nighttime tour that
was recommended. I am SO GLAD that I
went on the tour again because I saw so many things that I didn’t see the first
time. You do the basic stuff and ‘rides’
but there are a ton more lights with added special effects throughout the tour.
I went on the Shrek attraction and then called it a day to
return to my hotel to sleep before my super early 4 am wake-up call.
