Last September, as part of our big trip to the States, we spent several days in Los Angeles, visiting a number of attractions including Universal Studios.
Christine and I had been here once before, but this was Bea, our 12 year old daughter’s first visit and her first time to experience the rides that only somewhere like Universal Studios can give you.
There is so much to do that its all a bit mind boggling at first and you have to decide what attractions and rides you really want to do from the onset and make a basic plan for the day. Some attractions such as the Waterworld show are scheduled for various times throughout the day, so you need to plan a head a little to make sure you will be close to the venue at one of the start times.
As with all attractions of this type in the States, everything is bright and bustling and makes you feel great as soon as you step inside the gate. People are friendly and helpful and everything is clean and tidy.
As I mentioned, this was Bea’s first visit to attractions like this and Christine and I couldn’t wait to see how she handled the fast and scary rides!
The first of these we tried was The Mummy and it was a hoot. The ride is mainly in the dark with excellent special effects making you duck and cringe all the way. The ride is a bit like a roller coaster in the dark gets very exciting with everyone screaming and hanging on for dear life. Just when you think its all over, the cars go backwards, again in the dark and with considerable force. Bea loved every minute of it and couldn’t stop raving about it once we were out again.
With that behind us (we did it twice just to make sure we liked it!) we headed for the Jurassic Park ride. This ride is a real thriller which Christine and I knew, so we carefully guided Bea to the ticket office, bypassing the rides finale, which most people watch before going on the ride. Bea was constantly asking us “what is this ride like” and we told her it was a nice quiet ride in a boat.
For those of you who haven’t seen this one, it involves a slow boat ride through Jurassic Park where dinosaurs can be seen playing and spitting water at boat passengers. All quite relaxing really, until things start to go wrong, with sirens blasting and Dinosaurs apparently playing havoc in the background. It was about this time that I started telling Bea that “something big is gonna happen”, much to her concern.
The boat enters a dark tunnel and starts to be pulled up a slope but still in water. Of course Christine and I knew of the huge near vertical drop that ends the ride, but Bea didn’t, although my comments were certainly making her a little apprehensive. Just as the boat reaches the high point in the tunnel and the open sky can be seen outside, a large dinosaur lurches down from the ceiling causing the passengers to scream and look up, but then the boat suddenly (and I mean suddenly!) lurches forward and shoots down what must be an almost vertical drop into the water below. Its enough to take your breath away if you know it’s coming, but imagine what its like if you don’t!!
Poor Bea was literally terrified and i have never seen anyone in such a state as she was when the boat came to a stop. Her fingers were gripping the safety bar so tight I though we would have to prize them off and she was gazing out into space, shaking uncontrollably while saying “That was Cool Dad!” her little heart must have just about burst as she had no idea what was coming and must have thought the world was coming to an end when we hit the water at the bottom! The trembling voice and shaking body is a sight I will never forget 
With that out of the way, we ventured off again and took the Universal Studio Tour in open bus carriages. This is a great ride and takes you through a number of movie sets, many of which have been set up to scare and amase the passengers. The old favourites are there like Jaws and Earthquake, plus newcomers like a drive through Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives and a drive through the middle of the chaos following a jet airliner crash in the suburbs. All thoroughly entertaining.
Another attraction we wanted Bea to see was the Waterworld show and again we all enjoyed this one immensely. Just a word of warning here…if you sit on the blue seats (they do warn you), expect to get wet…sometimes VERY wet!. At the commencement of the show, actors with water guns and plastic buckets take great delight in drenching those within reach. If you don’t get wet, don’t make a comment, or you will be next!
The show itself is spectacular and includes jet ski stunts and even the sea plane that flies in low over the iron clad wall and ‘crash lands’ only metres away from wide eyed spectators in the front row.
If you need to warm up after getting a little damp at Waterworld, then Backdraft should be next on your agenda. Again, not for the faint hearted or those afraid of fire, but well worth a visit and it certainly warms you up!
The most surprising rides was The Simpson’s. Now what could be exciting or frightening about the Simpson’s, I thought to myself as we stood in the queue waiting for our turn to enter. This was one ride that I had not done before and I was about to get quite a surprise. i should have known better, as when we visited Universal Studios 9 years ago, this was where the Back to the Future ride was, and I can remember that one quite vividly!
The Simpsons ride is one where you are all strapped into your seats, in groups of a dozen or so and you don’t actually go anywhere, its the scenery that moves! The effects are nothing short of incredible as the ride starts and you are on a giant roller coaster, racing around a track that seems to defy gravity and logic. It’s absolutely hair raising and unfortunately for me it just about raised the food I had consumed earlier in the day.
After a very short period I had to close my eyes and just concentrate on not being sick, until the ride finally stopped and the lights came on. Much to every one’s amusement, I had lost what little colour I had and looked decidedly seedy. It was a shame as the rides special effects are superb, and if you are someone who doesn’t get motion sickness, then I’d thoroughly recommend it. For those of you like me who can get motion sick… forget it! It took me several days to get over it and spoilt a few subsequent rides elsewhere. Bea and Christine were fine and loved it.
So would I recommend Universal Studios as a must do when you visit LA? Most definitely, and make sure you leave a full day free as you will have no trouble keeping yoursleves amused from dawn till dusk.
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Man i sound like a retard in this post lol.