Universal Studios Hollywood

We visited Universal Studios Hollywood last week and had the our minds blown away..virtually!  Walking through Universal City only an introduction as to what was ahead.  All of the signage on the restaurants and shops are beyond life size and lit up the night with the brightest and boldest neon lights.  After we made it to Universal Studios Theme Park, we were greeted by a team of employees eager to help us map out our visit.  The wait times are serious this time of year so you definitely want to visit the rides or shows according to closing and wait times.

We started with the studio tour that included scenes from iconic movies like Back to the Future, Desperate Housewive's Wisteria Lane (looked just like what we saw from the show) and Stephen Spielberg's War of the Worlds!  It's amazing how creative the set designers and directors are to make us think that they are right on location sometimes when they shoot a movie.  The studio tour also included King Kong: 360 3D.  We were completely surrounded by movie screens and found ourselves right in the middle of a battle between King Kong and some really large dinosaurs!



Most of us have tuned into the Simpom's at one point or another and have experienced their wicked sense of humor.  The Simpson Ride caught every bit of it too.  This is a virtual rollercoaster ride that will have you screaming and laughing the entire time.  Lots of quirkiness included.


Funland, which is Despicable Me 2 Land was so full of life and color.  You felt as "Happy" as the song.  The boys really enjoyed this part of the visit.  They felt like they had stepped into the movie and of course all of the minions were life size and cute as ever.  We were not allowed to take pics inside of Minion Mayhem, but that is another virtual experience that you do not want to miss.  Loaded with awesomeness!!



The Transformers 3D Ride was hands down our very favorite!  We waited a while but it was more than worth it.  We had no idea what we were in store for.  You are transported into the body of a Transformer and let me just say that while on the ride I kept saying to myself, WOW, Universal Studios Hollywood have completely mastered the 3D/Virtual experience.  It was so realistic and thrilling.  If this is the future of the movie business, then we are in for a ride!



One of the last shows that we caught was Shrek 4D.  The story was very well told and they had several 4D features that provided more cool moments.  Motions chairs were a key factor in bringing to life this exhibit as well.