Vacation Final Thoughts

So I know everyone has been on pins and needles waiting for this post. BTW new name and format for the blog starting tomorrow

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Saturday morning after going out for breakfast with my aunt and uncle, Todd and I left for Universal Studios Hollywood

Before heading to Universal Studios we stopped back down by Hollywood Blvd on the off chance that Christopher Dennis (Superman) was there...but no luck again. Also stopped at the Harley Davidson shop and bought my mother a shirt.

Once we arrived at Universal we got in line to get our tickets which was your typical huge line of people taking their good ole time, luckily I saw the “Do It Yourself” line which saved us about 45 minutes. The first thing we did was the House of Horrors which was interesting …the only thing that really got me was when this actor dressed in a “CHUCKY” outfit from a dark corner which I wasn’t expecting.

The next thing we went to was the Terminator 2:3D show. On the way over we passed this guy:

He was pretty good…blew air in his ear and everything and got not a flinch.

The Terminator show was okay…it was obvious it has been around for awhile and the 3D was not that good.

We then headed down to the Lower Lot and rode the Revenge of the Mummy indoor roller coaster. A bit shaky and definitely not made for people who have had back issues. The ride goes forward first then goes backwards and is a really short ride. Next we did the Special Effects Stage which was funny and then we went next door to the Backdraft show. I like fire so this was cool to see the pyrotechnic display was awesome.

The only ride we didn’t do was the Jurassic Park water flume. I just didn’t feel like walking around the park with my underwear soaked to the bone…not a big fan of chaffing.

So went back up to the Upper Lot and did the best (and newest ride) of the day: The Simpsons Ride…which replaced Back to the Future. As you can see from the pictures below I am a bit of a Simpsons fanatic. The ride was awesome and the wait was also not bad since they were showing clips form the show and some new stuff. So I tried to get pictures of everything (as you can see in the filmstrips below).

Outside:

Inside:

Of Course this is my favorite picture

Me thinks Lisa is showing too much af an "upskirt" shot though

I rode this ride twice…worth the wait in line both times.

After getting off the Simpsons ride we went to Shrek 4D which was both funny and good. It reminded me of the Muppets 3D movie in Disney World. Next we ran and caught the 5:35 pm WaterWorld show…which was better than the movie and had less plot holes and better acting…yeah and I got soaked which at that point felt good.

The last thing we did was the Studio Tour which was good except that the girl who was giving the tour, she got annoying after awhile and the fact the sun was blinding as it was setting. Anyway there was some cool stuff although it was disturbing that the Bates Motel was located behind Hooville (How the Grinch Stole Christmas). Didn’t get to see any “stars” or any filming take place but that was okay.

Now the best things about parks like this are the “photo opportunities” like these:

I did almost got in trouble because Spongebob was being a little bitch and wouldn’t hold still …he was going for my drink so I was holding the top of his head to get him to turn around and face the camera, needless to say the handlers didn't like me doing that. I found it odd that the park people let you take(even take them for you) pictures with the characters with personal cameras when they had people there taking ones you could buy. Speaking of which I also found it odd that they sold huge cans of beer and mixed drinks in the park…I guess it is to help the adults cope with the kids.

After we hit all the rides we went over to the City Walk to grab a bite to eat at the House of Blues which was no longer there so we left and went to the Belmont Brewing Co. back in Long Beach.

My favorite was the Strawberry Blonde.

By the time we got back to the apartment it was late so we fixed a few drinks and played some football on the PS3…I had a new concoction: a generous serving of Gin, a shot of diet Sprite and Dragonfruit Vitamin Water. It was actually not bad even though it looked like a “girly drink” (the dragonfruit is pink).

Then we watched the Gold Metal Basketball game and went to bed.

A full day to say the least

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Anyway I enjoyed my time out in California and got to see my uncle and cousin who I had not seen in a long while and saw a lot of things while I was out there and hope to make it back out there soon.