Set tours, 4Ds and special effects at Universal Studios

Tim
Today was theme park day, no driving for a change, thank God. We went to Universal Studios and saw a lot of the shows :

• Waterworld
• Jurassic Park (raft ride)
• Backdraft
• The studio tour (to see the sets, stages, etc...)
• Terminator2 in 3D
• Shrek 4D
• Animal Actors
• Special Effects

My favorites were Waterworld and Backdraft. We splurged and went for the "front of the line" pass. It probably was not worth the extra money today but would be worth it if the park was really crowded. The advantage today was that we got to stay after the shows and talk to the performers.

I have to admit I liked it even though I thought I would not. The park was very clean and the staff were really friendly. Afterwards we jumped into a taxi to go to Rodeo drive. Lots on nice houses on the way. We did not see any stars, all of the people there were tourists. The shops were just closing, thank the Lord, so the girls did not get to do any shopping. We came back to the hotel and the girls are now in the hot tub. Tomorrow it's on to DisneyLand and San Diego. We finally got what we think is a deal on a hotel from Priceline.

------------------
Rosie

Hey guys!Today we went to Universal studios here were my favorite things :

* Shrek 4-d
* Studio Tour
* Special effects
* Waterworld
* Animal actors
* Terminator 2 in 3d
* Jurastsc park the ride
* backdraft

There werent any real rides but we saw some characters . We got front of the line passes which allow us to go in the front of the line . It was very useful . I then tried the ice cream of the future called dippin dots . They were like little ice-ceam dots that are flavoured. I had rainbow ice and banana split . I had alot of fun. When we went to Rodeo drive, Dad pronounced Chanel like channel as in a tv channel . Tomorrow we go to Disneyland ....
Asta la vista baby!

---------------------------------------------
Francine

At Universal Studios, I was surprised to see three quarters of the tour features had remained unchanged since my last visit in 1989. It was a beautiful sunny day and the crowds were small. Having a "front of the line" pass, meant no waiting at all and getting to meet the performers (see photo on the left: Terminator actors) So I took advantage of that benefit by going twice in the Mummy Ride (a rollercoaster ride in pitch black darkness). I was in and out in five minutes (the ride is about 2 minutes long). We took a cab to and from Universal Studios and on our way back at the end of the day, our cab drove through Beverley Hills. Our leisurely stroll along Rodeo Drive was uneventful (i.e. we didn't see any vedettes nor were we chased around by paparazzi). Rosie wanted to head back because she felt "under-dressed".....I felt like a Hillbilly....but hey, what else is new?
After a warm soak in the hot tub, we jumped into our pjs and getting ready to go to bed.
Every night, we fall asleep exhausted. Tonite won't be any different.

tata for now - tomorrow, we head to San Diego after spending the day at Disneyland...