www.facebook.com/MorgansVeryunOfficialTravelGuides You absolutely can not go to Universal Studios Hollywood and not do the World Famous Backlot Tour. This tour is the original attraction at the studios and has been offered in different forms since 1915, way before Disneyland opened. Along the 45 minute ride, you see the sets and filming locations from several popular movies and TV shows, and there are also event sections, like the famous flash flood, the amazing King Kong 360 3D experience, the earthquake in the subway, and the Jaws attack, these sections were so popular that Kong, Earthquake, and Jaws were all built into stand alone attractions at Universal in Orlando. After we did the Studio Tour, we headed down the enormous Star Way, )not stair way, Star Way, get it), to the lower lot, which is where all the thrill rides are. First up was the new Transformers 3D. I couldn't take my camera on the ride, but this is some of the great theming in the waiting area. Transformers is really, really intense. It's a motion based simulator ride in 3D with vehicles that actually move through different rooms, which makes it more intense than basic simulators or 3D movies. If you've been on Spiderman at Universal in Orlando or Mission: Space at EPCOT, I think it's even worse when it comes to the motion sickness factor. But, if stuff like that doesn't bother you, you should definitely do it because it is actually pretty cool. Next up was Jurassic Park River Adventure which takes place in an outdoor lagoon and inside this big building on the hill. Be prepared for dinosaurs and a big splash at the end. This was the original version of this ride, which has been copied at the other Universal parks around the world, and I have to say, if you've ridden the others, you will notice the age of the version in Hollywood. We laughed at how slow and tired the dinos in the outdoor section looked, but, surprisingly enough, the inside section was way more intense than in Florida. The big scary dino comes at you twice from different angles before the drop at the end. And the 3rd big ride in the lower section is Mummy-the Ride. Like Transformers, I can only show you the waiting area. Mummy is a really fun mix of dark ride and roller coaster in the dark, with a few surprises along the way that you don't find on average coasters. It is pretty intense, so if you are not a big fan of coasters, I wouldn't recommend this ride for you, oh and just so you know... Back up the hill, we hit Krustyland and the Simpson's Ride next. I love the look and the waiting area for this ride, but alas, due to my motion sickness and my attempt at making it through the day without taking a dramamine, I decided to skip this intense, yet funny simulator ride with Bart and Lisa and the gang. Here's a tip, though, even if you are not going to ride it, you should still wait in line with your friends who are riding because there are some really funny things to see, especially if you are a fan of the Simpsons. And now a word about Universal's ridiculously expensive Express Pass. Back to business, we went to the first showing of the Water World stunt show and were really impressed at the action, including this fricken airplane crash right in the middle of the show! I have never seen something like that in a stunt show before. The whole experience is in par and scale with the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular in Florida, and it's cool that it's all in water. Also in the upper lot is the Shreck 4D theater, which is a funny 4D movie starring the characters of Shreck, (but if you ask me, Muppet Vision 3D is waaay better), and we also went through the Universal House of Horrors walk through, which includes live scare actors and props and sets from famous scary movies. You know what's weird? I hate to watch horror movies, but I love to go through haunted houses. There are two whole sections of the park up here that are being renovated at the moment to build a Minions Mayhem attraction and a Harry Potter World like in Florida, and there are also lots of shops and restaurants. Minion stuff must be really hot right now because there was Minion merchandise all over the place. And at the end of our day, we caught the Animal Actors show on Stage 57, which features birds, dogs, cats, rats, and other furry things in an amusing performance showing how animals are trained to star in the movies. And check out this guys shirt.

• published: 27 Nov 2013
• views: 104