Universal Studios

Today we visited Universal Studios, and had a wonderful time. We started off with Shrek 4D, which was lots of fun. It was a short movie, complete with 3D images, and special effects such as water being shot at us, and a breeze brushing past us.

We investigated a Curious George activity land, and had lots of fun with foam balls, climbing platforms, and various "ball projectors".

Paul, Patrick and Matthew then went on the Simpsons Ride, which they really enjoyed.

All 5 of us then went on the Studio Backlot tour, which was full of fun! We saw how they make cars "catch fire and blow up", sets that were the "main street of a western town", and "little europe", a set that could be made to look like a small european town. We also got to see "Amity Beach" where Jaws was filmed, complete with various special effects. We got to see "Mexico", complete with a rain storm and flash flooding. Also included were Wisteria Lane (Desperate Housewives), a "plane crash" (War of the Worlds) and the Bates Motel (Psycho). These were all outdoor settings, and so realistic! We entered one "stage area", that was set up like an underground train station, and were treated to some special effects, such as the trolley car rocking from side to side, sparks and fire, the ceiling collapsing to our left, water rushing down the steps, and a train coming towards us! The way that they can make these things seem so real is truly incredible!

We then had a quick lunch, and Paul, Patrick and Matthew went on the Jurassic Park ride, twice. They got quite wet, but loved it.

All 5 of us then decided to go on the Simpson's Ride, and spent 40 minutes lining up for it! It was so much fun, I'm really glad I went on it! It was a simulator, so it didn't move around that much - it was mainly the pictures on the screen moving. It felt very real though, and lots of fun.

After looking around a bit more, we made our way back to base, and arrived at about 6.30pm, just in time to go out for dinner.

All in all, a really fun, but quite tiring day!



Slight change in itinerary: We have decided against the day trip to Mexico, based on travel advice from the Australian government smart traveller website, and various news articles over the past week. We will take advantage of a "free day" to relax before the long flight home on Tuesday.