It was a 35 mile drive from our room to Universal Studios but it took an hour and a half to drive there. I was bummed because my camera was in the back and I wanted a picture of the Hollywood sign. When we got to Universal, there is a little outdoor mall before the entrance and we were sitting and waiting for Preston's family to get there. Preston had went to buy a smoothie and Jamba Juice and I was just sitting. He called me over and but I didn't come right away and so I missed it but Preston saw Mario Lopez. They said he was filming all week there.
Mario is the one already inside the doorway in all black.
Since it took longer than expected we only had 5 hours in the park. Luckily, there was no lines on any rides, except the studio tour and that was only about 20 minutes or so.
The first ride we went on was Minions. Drew loves watching them.
Gru was messing with Ty.
You exited that ride to Super Silly Funland. It had a little ride and this water play area.
Once they were soaking wet, they wanted to give everyone hugs.
Jurassic Park ride was closed! Such a bummer since the boys have recently watched all the movies.
Autobot was out for pictures as we passed but I told Aydon we'd get pictures with him when we were done with the ride.
These 4-D rides are amazing! The heat we felt on that ride was my favorite.
We got back out but they had already closed the line for pics with Autobot but the boys got to be first in line for Optimus Prime.
He came out and gave his little talk about being a shield for everyone.
Drew was scared of the transformers so he didn't want to be in the picture.
We went and rode Revenge of the Mummy and Drew had to stay in the child switch room (what a great concept...a place to stay cool and be entertained) and wanted a picture.
Bumble Bee came out dancing!
As I was trying to get a picture of the boys, Bumble Bee tapped Ty's shoulder, then Aydon's....
and then Gangham Style came on! He just wanted to dance with them. :)
Zack was the party pooper and didn't dance but the other three did. It was awesome!
We let the boys play at DinoLand near the Jurassic Park ride for a bit.
Next we went on the hour long studio tour. It was pretty cool to see all the things we did.
All the trailers for them to get ready in.
All the different sets were cool too.
Then it took us by Skull Island.
We then went into a building that became a ride, showing King Kong.
Next it showed some of the cars from movies. I was sitting in the middle so I didn't get great pictures.
This was my favorite part. We were in "Mexico"
and they showed how they made it rain in movies
and then it flooded! It happened so fast! Cool stuff!
Then inside another building it showed us special effects like an earthquake and then this flood.
Jaws set
The Grinch set
Norman Bates putting a body in the trunk. Then he chased after us with his knife.
Showed an airplane wreck
Then a Fast & Furious set was inside this building.
I had read that Harry Potter World had it's grand opening in April so I didn't think it was open yet so I took this picture on the tour. Well underneath that castle was a ride. There was also a little roller coaster ride we did in Harry Potter World. Preston bought a Butterbeer (it's non alcoholic slushy drink that tasted like butterscotch) that was pretty tasty but that ride underneath the castle, even though it was a good ride, had made me feel yucky since we hadn't eaten anything yet and it was nearly 5 so I only had a quick taste.
Marge & Homer Simpson. We saw Spongebob and the three little girls from Despicable Me but didn't get pictures. Aydon said he saw Frankenstein & Dracula as well.
After watching Shrek 4-D which is my 2nd favorite show, behind Bugs Land at Animal Kingdom, was a great show. "I feel dead people" and spiders crawling up your legs had me dying!
Donkey carried on conversations with everyone and it was quite funny.
We didn't have enough time to do all the shows and we missed WaterWorld and the Special Effects Show but for only having 5 hours in the park we got to do most other things.
It took us over 2 hours to drive home, and that was even after we took the time to eat outside of Universal hoping traffic would calm down some by then.
We passed this vehicle and it had us laughing so hard. When the boys start driving I'm gonna have them padded up like this too so they don't get hurt.
The boys FINALLY got to go swimming.
"60" in blue for the 60th anniversary
2 Diamonds
Lots of Star Wars fireworks as well.
It was perfect weather all week. Shorts, and because the parks all had shorter hours since it was off peak, we didn't even need jackets. Another fun filled week of roller coasters and family fun!
