First thing we did when we arrived was walk the Universal City Walk. This is pretty much an outdoor shopping mall with over exaggerated decoration for the stores. For example, the Hot Topic had Giant gargoyles holding flaming torches. This whole shopping area kind of reminded me of New York City's Time Square, or Las Vegas. I found out from Kuda that, this was the place where Jay Leno would interview random people for his Jay Walking segment. In case you don't know what that is, it's when Jay Leno would ask a random pedestrian a simple question and the pedestrian would answer wrong, making himself look like an idiot on national television.
The first sign that this was going to be a good day was when 'Killer Queen' by Queen came on the giant TV screen and was playing through the mall speakers. That put me in an instant good mood. We walked around, window shopping. Then we came across iFly, an indoor simulated free fall experience. This looked awesome. More on this later.
After our walk, we entered the actual theme park. We walked around, seeing all the Hollywood themed decoration as well as props and characters. Since they were heavily marketing the new Fast and Furious movie, they had Fast and Furious paraphernalia every where, including some of the cars.
Some other cool props they had on display were the little red car and motorbike from the Bourne Identity. We made our way to the Universal Studio tour. We sat on the trolley car and away we went. The first thing we did was ride around the lots and stages. Here we learned a little about the history of Universal and what movies and shows had been and are being filmed in this area. We passed through a set that was being constructed. The reason for construction was last summer, it caught fire and burned down. The next stop was over a bridge that has been used in many films. As we stopped over the bridge, the tour guide explained to us that this bridge was going to be demolished the next day for a film. Then of course, you hear a radio broadcast saying that the bridge was ready for explosion. A few shakes and small explosions later, the bridge drops a little. Now start the cheesy (yet harmlessly entertaining ) side of the tour.
Next was the special effects motion capture area. Here, two German cars sit on a plot inspired by 'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'. Fake gun smoke and fire go off and the next thing you know, the two cars come flying towards the trolley. The cars were built and connected to hydraulic arms that could make the cars dance anyway they please, and that's exactly what they did' to the tune of 'Gasolina'. At this point the tour guide made a funny comment. "German cars on a Japanese set dancing to Spanish music."
We continued on through the Jurassic Park, where we were sprayed by those fake spitting dinosaurs from the first movie. Next, was the Mexican set, where they made it rain. Then came the flood, flowing down the street. Ah, more movie magic.
Around the corner was the Old West, and then right on through the Peter Jackson's King Kong miniature set with Skull Island and the boat. The next set was Europe. Here they can simply change the decoration to make it look like most any European city. After this, was the subway tunnel with the fake earthquake. This is the part where the road above collapses and a oil tanker comes sliding towards the trolley. And then on the other side, water comes rushing in.
Then came the jaws experience with the very fake looking jaws, Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives, where I think filming was in progress, Whoville from the Grinch movie, and then the very infamous Bates Motel from Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho'. They had an actor pose as Norman Bates as he carried the body of Marion Crane to the back of her trunk. Norman then spots the trolley. He pulls out his knife and very sinisterly walks towards the trolley.
Next was probably one of the most awesome sets that Universal had to offer. In the Spielberg's version of 'War of the Worlds', Tom Cruise's character comes out from his basement to discover that a 747 passenger jet has crashed into his neighborhood. It looked very real and amazing.
Next was the Cabin from the 'Great Outdoors' and then the Mummy experience. Then our tour came to an end. We got off the tour and from one of the platforms, I could see the Warner Brothers studio lot, with the famous Warner Brothers water tower.
Next thing we did was the Mummy roller coaster ride. It was an indoor, dark with strobe lights and light-up mummies, ride. It was pretty cool, but quick. We grabbed some food, ate, and then exited the park.
We went back to the City Walk where I decided that I wanted to fly. So we went back to iFly and signed up for a training session and a flight. It was pretty awesome. After a brief video and an explanation from the instructor, I took to the enclosed simulated free fall chamber. I think I did pretty well for my first experience. I accomplished controlled belly flight, limited assistance on entrance and exit, and controlled left and right turns. I even have the certificate to prove it. It didn't really feel like falling though, it was more like standing in 120 mph winds. After my group went, the instructor put on a little show with flips, tricks, and vertical dives.
Finally, we decided to go. On our way out, however, we spotted a street performance being put on by dancer/popper that goes by the name of Flat Top. He incorporated little bits and gags as he danced to some funky music. We watched for a good bit. Chelsea even became a little involved in the show.
We headed back to Flitz's after that. Universal Studios showed me not to forget that Business is still a big part of Show Business, if you know what I mean.
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