We visited LA last year and Universal Studios was fantastic, a real highlight of the trip!

The backlot tour is amazing, unfortunately Wisteria Lane was closed for filming - my only disappointment as I’m a Desperate Housewives fan! The different sets and special effects demos are out of this world. The rides are great too - the Terminator 3D one was awesome!

There are some great food outlets and souvenir shops. We didn’t have much time to look around CityWalk as we had booked through a tour bus company which was a shame as there are some great shops and places to eat there.

If you have kids they will love the characters wandering around the park, you can have your photograph taken with them. The Simpsons ride was just being built when we were there but Moes Tavern, the comic book store and Kwik E Mart were all there. I’d love to go back one day.

Start with the train tour. Between shooting studios, you will cross the Red Sea or come face to face with King Kong.
Next, you can drive “back to the Future” (Yes, with the Delorean) or escape to “Jurassic Park”.
After all this exitement, go rest yourself on a bench, watching actors reinventing “Waterworld” (take care, you can get very wet) or confront yourself with Backdraft’s fires….

In conclusion, you can expect to have a big time there if you ever go to LA, from 7 to 77 years (or is it the other way round?)

the best !!! get an annual pass for not much more than a day ticket!!!

Sometimes I have to give in and admit to things that I am wrong about.

For many years, I always short changed Universal Studios as being cheesy and lame. I laughed at people going in there to basically “sight seeing” and paying up the wazzu to do that. What can you really do at that place? You basically walk around and take pictures of all the cool place you might pass by.

It’s not cheap either at $61 a pop now. Good news is that it’s an year pass with some black out dates. You have no other option as that is the lowest admission price for adults.

My biases is blatant just like the French food I avoid. It’s not until I joined the staff for our annual retreat at New Year’s Day where I can see for myself if I still harbor bitter feelings towards this place.

Surprising it subsided.

Getting a much more recent exposure to absorb the place helps. First, the main attraction to the whole entire “amusement park” if you call it, is the 45 minute tour at the Universal Lot. I had experienced the Warner Brother tour and the Paramount tour. I had to say that the Universal lot still is the best at giving out tours about the famous lots where many of the famous movies and TV shows shooting takes place at. Obviously people are ready to expect the King Kong, Jaws, and the Earthquake segments. But it’s still neat to see all the props and sets are built at. One of the newest feature was the Fast and The Furious feature. That was pleasant to see.

Was there any real amusement park feature rides? Three. The Revenge of the Mummy ride, Jurassic Park, and the Back to The Future ride. Those rides are brief, but fun nonetheless. I’m sure everyone wants to bring up Shrek 4D or Terminator 3D. Those I can live without.

There are also live demonstrations like Backdraft, Waterworld, Fear Factor, and Special Effects Stage. You can feel the flame on the first, wetness on the second, feel like watching a TV on the third, and be a little amaze on the last.

True to the fact if you come on a not-so busy day, you’ll probably finish those attractions in 4 hours or so.There’s so many gift-shops to food places, you’ll probably need to stop to gather yourself.

Overall, the experience of going here was much less stressful than going to Disneyland and dealing with kids mobbing Mickey or Donald. In here, every kids wants to meet Spiderman or SpongeBob.

At the end of the day, I was surprised that I enjoyed the entire day at the park with so many spots to browse and only have to spend $12 for food. Trust me, I once spent $110 at Disneyland and I still don’t know why I wasn’t full. Hmmm…this worried me.

Definitely a fun trip for the whole family. Plus there’s Universal Citywalk right next to the park, so you’ll never have to worry about food or entertainment for the whole day.