Thursday, June 30, 2016
Our Southwest WN2235 flight was initially scheduled to depart at 6:20 pm from San Jose airport (We hoped to have some extra time in Los Angeles to visit Beverly Hills). However, it was delayed due to mechanical trouble (some gauges needed replacing) until 8:00 pm.
We arrived at Los Angeles' LAX airport around 9:15 pm and picked up our suitcases. The traffic at the airport was highly hectic, even at 9:30 pm. We waited for our Alamo car rental shuttle (Costco special rate) and finally boarded one after waiting for 20 minutes (Hertz already had two shuttles during this time). The traffic through the airport was moving glacially, and our rental car shuttle stopped at every terminal before heading to the car rental parking lot around 10:00 pm.
When we arrived at the off-airport Alamo garage, the rental line was so long that we decided to use UberX instead. We were only staying one day in Los Angeles and visiting the Universal Studios theme park for the whole day. We did not need a car (though a car is usually a must in Los Angeles).
We ordered an UberX and were quickly picked up and taken to our El Royale Hotel near Studio City. We arrived pretty late at our hotel, but the hotel manager promptly settled us into a nice room. He was very friendly and helpful. We unpacked a bit and went quickly to bed.
Friday, July 1, 2016
We ate a good breakfast before heading to Universal Studios Hollywood and chose Aroma Coffee & Tea, based on Yelp reviews (and its early opening time). Most breakfast restaurants nearby only opened at 8:00 am, and Aroma happened to open at 6:00 am. We ordered an UberX car and arrived at the restaurant around 7:45 am.
Breakfast at Aroma was outstanding, and we really enjoyed our time there. We sat on the back patio, enjoying the delicious coffee.
After breakfast, we ordered an UberX car and headed to Universal Studios. We pre-purchased front-of-line tickets to avoid long waits on popular rides. We only had one day to visit Universal Studios and did not want to miss any popular attractions.
Our UberX driver dropped us off at CityWalk, where we walked past many shops and restaurants. Since we already ate breakfast, we skipped all the restaurants and headed straight for the Universal Studios entrance. After a thorough security check, we walked into the park and headed for the tower, where Front-of-Line tickets were handed out.
After picking up our Front-of-Line tickets, we headed straight for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
There were many popular shops, from Hogsmeade and a replica of the Hogwarts Express steam engine that took Harry Potter (and his friends) from London to Hogwarts (a school for budding wizards in Scotland).
The first ride we picked was the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It's a simulator that combines multiple Harry Potter novels together. Here is a short clip I filmed with my Canon G7x camera:
Breakfast at Aroma was outstanding, and we really enjoyed our time there. We sat on the back patio, enjoying the delicious coffee.
After breakfast, we ordered an UberX car and headed to Universal Studios. We pre-purchased front-of-line tickets to avoid long waits on popular rides. We only had one day to visit Universal Studios and did not want to miss any popular attractions.
Our UberX driver dropped us off at CityWalk, where we walked past many shops and restaurants. Since we already ate breakfast, we skipped all the restaurants and headed straight for the Universal Studios entrance. After a thorough security check, we walked into the park and headed for the tower, where Front-of-Line tickets were handed out.
After picking up our Front-of-Line tickets, we headed straight for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
There were many popular shops, from Hogsmeade and a replica of the Hogwarts Express steam engine that took Harry Potter (and his friends) from London to Hogwarts (a school for budding wizards in Scotland).
The first ride we picked was the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It's a simulator that combines multiple Harry Potter novels together. Here is a short clip I filmed with my Canon G7x camera:
The lines for the ride were very long, and the Front-of-Line pass came in handy. We did not have much to wait at all.
The Forbidden Journey ride was very jerky, showing elements from Quidditch and an amalgamation of all Harry Potter movies. After the ride, my stomach felt unsettled (which rarely happens on any roller-coaster ride). We liked the Hogwarts building, where the ride is located, as it housed many talking paintings and other Harry Potter artifacts.
Since Inna also visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, she told me about her love of butterbeer,
Inna was eager to see me experience drinking butterbeer. I tried it and had mixed feelings about it. It was a delightful soda concoction. I could understand how kids would like it, but I didn't care much about it. I was hoping it would taste more like root beer.
After exploring some exciting shops in the Wizarding World, we headed to Springfield, USA, the setting for the Simpsons cartoons, which was immediately adjacent to the Wizarding World.
Inna wanted to ride the Simpsons Ride, but my stomach was not ready for another roller-coaster.
We decided to head for Jurassic Park, as it was a milder ride. We took the escalator to the lower part of Universal Studios and headed for the Jurassic Park ride. When we got there, it turned out that the ride had some kind of malfunction and was temporarily disabled.
Instead, we decided to do the "Revenge of the Mummy" ride, which was silly and not scary. The lines were concise, and our Front-of-Line pass did not matter here.
The Forbidden Journey ride was very jerky, showing elements from Quidditch and an amalgamation of all Harry Potter movies. After the ride, my stomach felt unsettled (which rarely happens on any roller-coaster ride). We liked the Hogwarts building, where the ride is located, as it housed many talking paintings and other Harry Potter artifacts.
After the ride, Inna got to try on the Sorting Hat in the shop. There were many souvenirs for sale (including the Sorting Hat and Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin outfits)
Since Inna also visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, she told me about her love of butterbeer,
Inna was eager to see me experience drinking butterbeer. I tried it and had mixed feelings about it. It was a delightful soda concoction. I could understand how kids would like it, but I didn't care much about it. I was hoping it would taste more like root beer.
After exploring some exciting shops in the Wizarding World, we headed to Springfield, USA, the setting for the Simpsons cartoons, which was immediately adjacent to the Wizarding World.
Inna wanted to ride the Simpsons Ride, but my stomach was not ready for another roller-coaster.
We decided to head for Jurassic Park, as it was a milder ride. We took the escalator to the lower part of Universal Studios and headed for the Jurassic Park ride. When we got there, it turned out that the ride had some kind of malfunction and was temporarily disabled.
Instead, we decided to do the "Revenge of the Mummy" ride, which was silly and not scary. The lines were concise, and our Front-of-Line pass did not matter here.
We returned to the Jurassic Park ride, and it was operating normally. We enjoyed the ride, the mechanical dinosaurs, and the final splash drop down the mountain. It was fun to sit in the front row of the boat!
Here is a short video of the Jurassic Park ride:
Here is a short video of the Jurassic Park ride:
We enjoyed the Jurassic Park ride, especially on this hot weather day when getting splashed was something to look forward to. We also had a "close" encounter with Raptor.
After the ride, we decided to get lunch at the Three Broomsticks in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I ordered the "Fish & Chips," while Inna ordered a salad. For once, theme park food was not terrible!
I liked that after ordering all the dishes, a waiter finds you a table for your party, so you don't have to walk around, trying to spot a free table.
The "Fish & Chips" were surprisingly delicious.
After lunch, we strolled to see the "Waterworld: A Pyrotechnic Show Based on the Waterworld Movie " starring Kevin Costner.
The show is set in a post-apocalyptic world where all the earth is covered with water. Some humans have survived, and some, like the Mariner, have developed gills for breathing underwater. The Mariner and his young friends Helen and Enola are trying to escape from the artificial island (pictured above).
Smokers, "the bad guys, " pursue them," believing that Enola holds the key to finding dry land.
There is a lot of gunfire, smoke, pyrotechnics, and stunts in this show, with the final explosion and airplane landing in the end that's truly amazing.
After the ride, we decided to get lunch at the Three Broomsticks in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I ordered the "Fish & Chips," while Inna ordered a salad. For once, theme park food was not terrible!
I liked that after ordering all the dishes, a waiter finds you a table for your party, so you don't have to walk around, trying to spot a free table.
The "Fish & Chips" were surprisingly delicious.
After lunch, we strolled to see the "Waterworld: A Pyrotechnic Show Based on the Waterworld Movie " starring Kevin Costner.
The show is set in a post-apocalyptic world where all the earth is covered with water. Some humans have survived, and some, like the Mariner, have developed gills for breathing underwater. The Mariner and his young friends Helen and Enola are trying to escape from the artificial island (pictured above).
Smokers, "the bad guys, " pursue them," believing that Enola holds the key to finding dry land.
There is a lot of gunfire, smoke, pyrotechnics, and stunts in this show, with the final explosion and airplane landing in the end that's truly amazing.
After "Waterworld," we rushed to see the "Animal Actors" show nearby. There were a lot of birds, owls, dogs, cats, and other furry creatures. The show was interesting but not very exciting.
After "Animal Actors," we decided to do the "Studio Tour" to explore all Studio City movie studios and sets.
There were many automobiles on display from popular movies and television series.
The Ferrari 308 from Magnum, p.i. (driven by Tom Selleck) was prominently displayed below.
The many cars from the Flintstones were also prominently displayed.
There was a fantastic-looking Dr. Seuss set.
There was an airliner disaster set that Steven Spielberg set up for shooting movies.
There was a nice set of the upcoming movie - The Secret Life of Pets.
We were surprised that we finished all the rides and visited all the attractions (including Shrek 4D) before 6:00 pm. Since we were a bit hungry, we ate dinner at Studio City.
Inna thought that Wasabi Sushi looked interesting, and we stopped by there,
The sushi was well prepared, and we almost ordered too many rolls. I liked the Miso soup with mushrooms and the Dragon Roll (California roll half-wrapped with eel and avocado).
After dinner, we strolled around Studio City, running into an indoor parachuting contraption, which looked interesting. Eventually, we ordered an UberX car to take us to our hotel and then to the LAX airport for our flight to Bora Bora.
After "Animal Actors," we decided to do the "Studio Tour" to explore all Studio City movie studios and sets.
There were many automobiles on display from popular movies and television series.
The Ferrari 308 from Magnum, p.i. (driven by Tom Selleck) was prominently displayed below.
The many cars from the Flintstones were also prominently displayed.
There was a fantastic-looking Dr. Seuss set.
There was an airliner disaster set that Steven Spielberg set up for shooting movies.
There was a nice set of the upcoming movie - The Secret Life of Pets.
We were surprised that we finished all the rides and visited all the attractions (including Shrek 4D) before 6:00 pm. Since we were a bit hungry, we ate dinner at Studio City.
Inna thought that Wasabi Sushi looked interesting, and we stopped by there,
The sushi was well prepared, and we almost ordered too many rolls. I liked the Miso soup with mushrooms and the Dragon Roll (California roll half-wrapped with eel and avocado).
After dinner, we strolled around Studio City, running into an indoor parachuting contraption, which looked interesting. Eventually, we ordered an UberX car to take us to our hotel and then to the LAX airport for our flight to Bora Bora.
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