(Gabi) Yay, another day, another theme park! Today we visited Universal Studios Hollywood. In contrast to Universal Studios Orlando, which is only a theme park, this is also a working studio with 30 sound stages and a big backlot. Shows like the Mindy Project are currently being filmed there.

Mandatory sign selfie.

They’ve recently opened a Wizarding World of Harry Potter extension, which is a carbon copy of the attraction in Orlando (maybe a bit smaller).

Just as in Orlando, the theming is amazing and it’s fun to see this snowy town under the Californian sun!

I had to slurp a frozen Butterbeer, of course. It tastes like some sort of caramel cream soda and is rather yummy, if a bit sweet.

The theming inside the shops is impeccably done.

Next we went over to Springfield or Simpsons Land and shared a Krusty burger. It was pretty decent for theme park food!

Thomie went on the Simpsons ride by himself. Universal isn’t as wheelchair friendly as Disney. And the attractions didn’t really appeal to me either. There’s a heavy focus on big 3D screens with tilting and shaking seats at Universal. This tends to make me nauseous and feels like such a letdown if you compare it to proper rides like big roller coasters. Thomie queued 30 minutes for a 5 minute 3D video projection and that just doesn’t cut it for me.

But the Simpsons Land area has a fun vibe with loads of cute little photo ops. Like this coy Milhouse sitting on a bench.

Thomie and Homer Simpson.

Or all the lovely restaurants and shops from the show.

But in Hollywood, Universal’s main attraction is the studio tram tour. They drive you around their backlot for 45 minutes and tell you which movie has been filmed where. This was my favorite part and the only set with an actor (another oversight, in my opinion): Norman Bates moving a body in broad daylight. Can you imagine the casting call? “Need actor to carry dummy to a car every 15 minutes. Creepy stare is an absolute must.” I also really love how Whoville from Jim Carrey’s The Grinch lies just behind the Bates motel. Hollywood is awesome.

The courthouse square from Back to the Future. A huge deal for superfan Thomie! The whole tour was good fun. I loved the backlot and all the films that have been shot there. Or old timey stuff like the Shark from Jaws ‘attacking’ the trams and the Earthquake attraction in one of the sound stages. They drive you onto a subway station set and then shake the tram for a couple of minutes while the station appears to collapse. Nice practical effects. I really didn’t enjoy the new King Kong (the old one burned down in 2008) or the Fast and the Furious sound stage attractions. They drive the tram into a big room with wrap around screens, give you 3D glasses and shake about the tram while the scene plays out on the screen. It’s quite immersive but the cgi looked like a video game in both attractions and I just couldn’t get into it.

And then this happened. The DONUT SUNDAE. With a proper Simpsons donut, chocolate and vanilla soft serve ice cream, sprinkles and whipped cream. The most glorious thing I’ve ever seen. The most indulgent thing we’ve ever eaten. But it was incredibly tasty.

What is a tad annoying at Universal Hollywood is that the theme park is split into two levels. And to access the lower lot you need to take 4 escalators. But wheelchair users need to use a shuttle that leaves every 20 minutes or so and only has room for 2 chairs at a time. This takes a good chunk out of your theme park day and I decided against going down to the second lot (for rides I couldn’t ride anyway).

So off Thomie went to ride the Jurassic Park attraction. Sadly he didn’t enjoy it much, as the animatronic dinosaurs were a bit worse for wear (with the metal skeletons showing) and the whole thing was nothing but an underwhelming water ride with crappy dinosaurs.

What Universal does very well is shows: the Animal Actor show was incredibly adorable with loads of cute little animal gags.

And the Waterworld stunt show (easily better than the movie) was stunning. It’s quite famous, apparently.

We went for a walk around Universal City Walk after the park closed. It’s an area with tons of shops and Thomie fell in love with this DeLorean die cast model from Back to the Future. However, it was huge and cost $700, so we decided against buying it.

Some more lovely neon. You can never have enough neon.

I HAD to get a Cinnabon. Although they really can’t compete with the cinnamon rolls Thomie makes.

Dinner was super healthy too. Ahem.