Day 37 | Los Angeles, Universal Studios
This morning we made our way to Universal Studios, not far from where we are staying using the courtesy drop-off bus. It's a warm day and we thought it may be quiet day because it is Thanksgiving. This is a day traditionally spent with your family, not a day to go to a theme park. However, it appears to mean the opposite for many we saw today.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a major draw as it is new. A large area of the park has been built to resemble the Harry Potter novels and movies. There is a great deal of fandom for Harry Potter with a proportion of the visitors to the park wearing capes, scarves, quidditch gear etc. It does add to the experience. I don’t think many kids went home without a new wand from Ollivanders. They’ve done a great job in the recreations. We have the "Front of Line" passes which make for a much quicker queuing and on a day like today any wait is likely out of the sun. Even the queues immerse you in the experience with character video and props hand everywhere. One negative was the gear lockers for a ride here, they were free but with the crowding and the 'ambient’ darkness it was a bit of a pain. Does that make us sound 100 years old?
We went on a couple of rides at Harry Potter and did the studio tour on the tram. It is always a bit different and we saw some areas previously closed. A new area is the Fast and the Furious 3D where they have the tram feel like it is in a chase scene with the crew from the movie. Well done.
The Simpsons area has also been enhanced with the real Moe’s Bar and Cleetus’ Chicken.
We also got to the Waterworld show, which in line with the Costner movie is all on the water and involves some villains, a hero and lots of stunts. Finishing up a little early we tried to get a taxi and the guy was like ‘you have bus, just wait’. Really, that’s up to us (and a 2 hour wait for the next one). After getting a bit shitty we got our first Uber, about a 4 minute wait (remember it’s a holiday) and a $7 fare for us both. Good job.
After dinner we went out to check out the sights up Mulholland Drive in the hills despite the temperature as it gets really cold after dark. It is a clear night the wind made it a short expedition. Bummer, last night on holiday, we should go pack bags. Sigh.
Highlights
Rosie | Harry Potter
Angus | The enthusiasm of the Potter kids
