Universal Studios, Universal Walk.. so much to see, so many rides!
Up early today and off to Universal Studios this morning. It was very
exciting to see the iconic globe rotating near the entrance and we were all
keen to get inside and hit some rides. The studio lot tour was interesting and
we learned that they use the same outdoor sets over and over again, just
changing signs and props to transform them from French to German to Italian
with minimal effort. The same tour took us through a 3D experience of King Kong
and also down into a subway station where an earthquake was simulated, causing
the roof to cave in, fire and explosions followed by a flood. This set was used
in an episode of the TV series Bones. We also visited a village where we
witnessed a flash flood that surrounded our tram. We sampled different types of
foods such as ‘dippin-dots’ icecream and prehistoric pulled pork sandwiches. Some
of the rides we went on during the day included:
We saw several shows including an animal show where the trainers showed us how they trained animals to be used in live performances and TV shows and an animation show where they showed us they different methods used to animate characters in movies. One way is to use moveable puppets which are made in miniature and then placed in very detailed miniature sets. The movement is achieved by moving the puppets in very small steps and photographing them each time, then running all the photographs in sequence – sort of like a cartoon flick book. Each puppet has several different facial plates that can also be used. The new movie Frankenweenie has been made this way. We also got to see how they used green screen technology and more old-fashioned techniques such as using props up close to the camera with actors away in the distance so as to make them appear smaller ie a woman standing on the edge of a high-rise roof top. There was also a demonstration of how they can use sensors placed on key points of a human body to feed information into a computer which then uses this data to animate all sorts of characters such as animals and monsters. The favourite show of the day however, was the Waterworld – lots of action and stunts on the water as well as pyrotechnics and actors racing around on boats and jetskis. Of course we had to sit in the wet-zone to ensure we got maximum doses of water for the day!
As the park was closing early (6pm) in time for their special Halloween entries, we took some time to wander down all the glitzy lights and shops of Universal Walk. It was like an outside party with loud music and flashing lights. We stopped to watch a street performer who was doing magic tricks and then a little further we watched the iFly which involves people putting on special suits and entering a vertical wind tunnel and ‘sky-diving’ as they are blown up into the tunnel with huge fans. I had thought I was going to do this while I was here but after seeing it in person, I don’t think it is for me… I can’t get the thought out of my mind that I could end up either flat on my face, squished up against a wall or spinning out of control and getting sucked up into the grill at the top of the tube – all with about 200 people watching around the transparent tube!!! Along the way the kids discovered a fun fountain which randomly shot water up into the air from holes in the sidewalk. They quickly took up the challenge of trying to ‘dodge the drops’ but as predicted, lost to the odds and ended up wet (again) - lots of fun for them and also for us as we looked on. Khi found some Transformer dog-tags to buy and we sampled some frozen chocolate and nut coated bananas before heading home – absolutely exhausted.
·
The Simpsons – the adults thought this 3D
simulation was quite unpleasant in terms of motion sickness but of course it
was one of the rides the kids wanted to go on again and again…following this
ride Terrina got the scare of her life (much to our amusement as we watched) as
she posed beside a large Homer statue in the Simpsons shop who promptly came to
life and began leaning on her! Lots of laughs.
·
The Mummy – a very fast ride that left our
stomachs lurching and fear in our hearts with rapid movement and creepy
crawlies at every turn
·
Transformers – an absolutely incredible 4D
simulation ride with larger than life graphics that you felt like you were
interacting with as you zoomed around as one of the transformers on a mission.
Following this ride we got up close with both Bumblebee and Optimus Prime.
·
Jurassic
Park
·
Shrek – a 4D movie complete with a spray of
‘donkey’ snot when he sneezed!
·
Curious George – a wet and dry play area for
kids only where they got completely drenched again (of course).
·
Terminator – 4D show that was well executed with
live actors interacting with the 4D movie as well as robots and lasers playing
their part in the theatre… very loud!
We saw several shows including an animal show where the trainers showed us how they trained animals to be used in live performances and TV shows and an animation show where they showed us they different methods used to animate characters in movies. One way is to use moveable puppets which are made in miniature and then placed in very detailed miniature sets. The movement is achieved by moving the puppets in very small steps and photographing them each time, then running all the photographs in sequence – sort of like a cartoon flick book. Each puppet has several different facial plates that can also be used. The new movie Frankenweenie has been made this way. We also got to see how they used green screen technology and more old-fashioned techniques such as using props up close to the camera with actors away in the distance so as to make them appear smaller ie a woman standing on the edge of a high-rise roof top. There was also a demonstration of how they can use sensors placed on key points of a human body to feed information into a computer which then uses this data to animate all sorts of characters such as animals and monsters. The favourite show of the day however, was the Waterworld – lots of action and stunts on the water as well as pyrotechnics and actors racing around on boats and jetskis. Of course we had to sit in the wet-zone to ensure we got maximum doses of water for the day!
As the park was closing early (6pm) in time for their special Halloween entries, we took some time to wander down all the glitzy lights and shops of Universal Walk. It was like an outside party with loud music and flashing lights. We stopped to watch a street performer who was doing magic tricks and then a little further we watched the iFly which involves people putting on special suits and entering a vertical wind tunnel and ‘sky-diving’ as they are blown up into the tunnel with huge fans. I had thought I was going to do this while I was here but after seeing it in person, I don’t think it is for me… I can’t get the thought out of my mind that I could end up either flat on my face, squished up against a wall or spinning out of control and getting sucked up into the grill at the top of the tube – all with about 200 people watching around the transparent tube!!! Along the way the kids discovered a fun fountain which randomly shot water up into the air from holes in the sidewalk. They quickly took up the challenge of trying to ‘dodge the drops’ but as predicted, lost to the odds and ended up wet (again) - lots of fun for them and also for us as we looked on. Khi found some Transformer dog-tags to buy and we sampled some frozen chocolate and nut coated bananas before heading home – absolutely exhausted.
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