Our eleven year old grandson has been wanting to go to Universal Studios Hollywood for quite some time. Between his middle school schedule and NY’s flying schedule it took us awhile to find the perfect date … until recently.
Last month we spent an entire day in that very unique place where television and movies come to life!
There are a myriad of options to help personalize a visit. You can purchase One Day passes, Front of the Line passes and even All You Can Eat passes.
If anyone in your party has a disability you can stop by Guest Relations and request a Guest Assistance Pass. This will help when it comes to queues that require extended standing time. There are also lockers, strollers and wheelchairs for rent.
The magic of filming begins as soon as you enter Universal Studios Hollywood. We were thrilled to see none other than Marilyn Monroe! It seemed as if she and a movie crew were in the middle of filming a scene.
There’s a plethora of shops where the perfect “Hollywood” souvenirs are just waiting to go home with someone.
The store front sets and names may change with time, but the memories are unforgetable! The top photo is our Brian (Austin’s dad), Britt, and Todd in front of a grocery store back in April 1988. The bottom current photo is in front of the same store, now Mario’s Deli.
Not much chance of getting lost. In conjunction with the tangible maps given out at the main entrance there are large maps and displays with show times and updated wait times for the different attractions.
And you never know who you just might see walking about. As Austin and the Lorax were passing each other there was a totally spontaneous ”high five.” Love it!
We ate. And we ate some more. And although they have a wide variety of flavors, my favorite was the caramel popcorn from Popcornopolis. It made my day!
We rode The Simpsons Ride twice!
And got wet on Jurassic Park … twice!
If you frighten easily but still want to give the House of Horrors a go … there are ‘early exits’ for those of us who chicken out. I know that for a fact!
A boy and his shark? He cracks us up! The boy. Not the shark.
There are spectacular views of the backlot and the valley beyond from several different vantage points.
One of our favorite attractions is the Studio Tour. (We also took the tour twice and advise sitting on the left side of the tram. We had a great view from there!) Your guide for the tour narrates along the entire way and is assisted by the incomparable Jimmy Fallon. The tour takes about 45 minutes as you experience the magic of motion pictures and television making in front of and behind the scenes.
You might recognize Wisteria Lane where the Desparate Housewives live. It really was quite amazing to see exactly where it all takes place; both inside the houses and outside on the street.
And believe it or not, Amity Island (with that big scary shark) doubled as Cabot Cove in Murder She Wrote! with Angela Lansbury.
Did you see War Of The Worlds? Remember Tom Cruise and his kids walking through the devastation left by the jumbo jet that crashed into a neighborhood? There you have it!
We weren’t quite sure what to expect as our tram headed into the foggy tunnel. You couldn’t help but notice the squished tram we passed at the entrance. Big apes like King Kong are known to cause that kind of damage!
Between the incredibly realitistic attractions, and the many photo opportunities, we had a wonderful day making memories that will last a lifetime.
And you never know who you might see drving by!
