Universal Studios

So, after an exhausting, sweaty day in Disneyland I fronted up to Universal Studios. The benchmark was not set very high so we were prepared to have a modestly fun time. Being stalwart Australians, we stepped into the melee, handed over our $70 ticket and from the start the experience was far more relaxed and engaging. I think Universal had given thought to entertaining adults as well as children.

There was a careful balance of adult entertainment that could be found in the “City Walk” at the park entrance, which had the flavour of a city mall with a blend of upmarket stores and cafes away from the rides so the ambience felt more café than theme park. When you step through the gates into the dedicated ride areas the atmosphere was relaxing and less tired looking than my recent experience at Disneyland. There are some amazing rides like ET, Revenge of the Mummy and Jurassic Park that the child in any of us would enjoy so I set off with my shopping list of rides in hand.

I didn’t get far! 

Off to right of the main entrance was a small ticket box with a sign saying “Upgrade to front of line pass here”. This intrigued me, was there really a golden ticket that allowed you to step to the front of the hundreds of people already queued up for a ride? A legal pushing in, queue jumping card. The answer was YES! The extra fee was $45 and you got a gold star to wear around your neck to wear and wave on entry and you went straight to the front of the queue for the next available car. As I moved around the rides, very few people had taken advantage of this upgrade. I was like a pig in mud, a dog with its favourite bone, a disabled person in a wheelchair, straight to the front every time!

This theme park was scoring 10/10 and I hadn’t got on a ride yet. The rest of the day held more pleasant surprises that made dragging myself around a concrete jungle filled with the screams of distress of children, small and large, more tolerable and more fun. 

The rides are beginning to date but hide their age well. The tram ride/tour of the production areas of Universal, which has been running since 1915, is a mix of theme park ride and adult entertainment as you are titillated by the news that several current TV series and movies are currently in production on the site. This mix of ride and TV reality contemporises the older elements of the park, something Disneyland has not managed to do as well.

That said, the “Jaws” element of the Universal Studio tour is very, very sad. A sick old faded rubber shark rattles up to the side of the car and opens its gummy jaws as we pass. I had flashbacks of the way some of the passengers on the ship eat their breakfast. Once past, look back and you can see the shark being rewound along its track ready for the next ride full of people. This part of the tour needs to fade away as it ages the park, is disrespectful to the poor old shark, and has lost it “scariness” appeal.

We also drove past the Bates Motel, the Munsters House at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, an old Delorean from Back to the Future and Wisteria Lane of Desperate Housewives infamy. 

Another sign that the management of this park are watching customer comfort is the mist spraying fans that are everywhere in the park. The temperature and humidity are similar between Disneyland and Universal Studios but the blowing fans and mist overhead in the long lines makes a huge difference, not that I had to queue up with my Gold Pass. I saw many customers stand under the mist for a minute or two and then, refreshed, move on to the next attraction. The fans and mist made all the difference to staying longer at the park and spending more money.

Another pleasant difference was the superior quality of food and seating at the cafes and food outlets. I did not have to sit like Fred Flintstone chewing on a dinosaur leg in mainly outdoor eating areas that are not cooled in any way as I did at Disneyland,. Universal Studios appears to have a larger variety and number of indoor air-conditioned eateries that allow you to recharge the batteries. If you eat outside then the mist fans are all around to soften the sting of the humidity.

Back to the rides; rattling ride cars, 3D movie screens and loud explosions sums up most but they are different enough to enjoy and get just a little scared. We stayed all day and were not overly fatigued so we went out to the City Walk for coffee and to share scary ride stories with each other. 

Extreme Fun WARNING!

The Jurassic park ride is a dinosaur themed roller coaster ride with a wet finale, a very wet finale. If you take this ride first then expect to be wet to the bone for the next few hours. I have been splashed in rides around the world but this ride is ridiculous. Just before the final splash of the roller coaster several water jets blast into the air and fall back into the car as we pass underneath making sure everyone is wet, not just the ones at the front. Several well-dressed Japanese tourists were not very impressed and neither was I as I desperately dried off my non-waterproof camera, but they did a scream out me.

very very wet

We lasted half a day at Disneyland and left exhausted, we lasted all day at Universal Studios and stayed on to relax at the CityWalk, but tastes differ so your experience may differ.