Universal Studios

I didn’t sleep so well last night, probably because driving in Los Angeles before going to bed was quite intense. Nevertheless I feel rested when I wake up around eight in the morning. I get dressed and brush my teeth while thinking about what to do today. Then I see a friendly guy walking his dog and I ask him for advice. He tells me that Universal Studios might also be fun to visit and he also shows me where to take the tram to downtown. I’m not sure yet what I’ll do today, but the tram goes by Universal so I can still decide on my way there.

I drive to the Hollywood North metro station and park my car. I decide that I go to Universal Studios in the morning and then see what the day will bring. I am shocked about the ticket prices, it’s more than twice the price of Warner Brothers, probably because it’s also a theme park. Again I have to think about it for a moment, but again I’m giving it a go, keeping in mind that this will probably be the last expensive activity on this journey. I take the VIP tour which will give a tour via the studios, the main reason I’m here.

The day starts with a breakfast at the entrance and an introduction to the rest of the group. There are two families with children and like most people I meet here, very friendly and welcoming. I am really happy to be on a tour, so I don’t have to do everything alone, but instead am part of a group. Like the grandma of the family tells me while we walk through the park: “Today you are part of our Universal family.” In the morning we take a couple or rides, a small rollercoaster and some motion simulator rides. They are very funny, one is with the Minions. In the motion simulator rides the only thing that moves is your chair or car, but with the large screens where everything happens, it feels like you’re actually moving a lot. I think they’re even better than a rollercoaster, because the rides are very long and everything is possible. One moment you’re driving on a road and another moment you’re flying through the air. It’s amazing.

We also go to a show about special effects, which is really interesting because they explain how the effects are made. They show things like a stuntman who runs through fire and fight without actually hurting each other. Around noon we go for an extensive lunch, I’m happy to get some great food again, and then we go on a tour around the studios.

The tour around the studios starts like yesterday in Warner Brothers. We drive in a small tram and walk over the movie sets. The movie sets are very big. One moment you walk through a big city and a moment later you find yourself in a small town. Everything is fake, so the walls are not made of stone but of wood, but it all looks very real. After about an hour is where it gets different from yesterday. We drive to sets with special effects. My favorite is the drive through a scene from Fast and Furious. It’s the largest 3D attraction in the world and it’s really well done. It is completely as if you are in a car race with all the famous actors of the movie.

The tour takes about two hours and after that we’re going in more rides. Before I know it, it’s the end of the day. Today went by really fast. No one of us seems to want to leave, so we keep hanging around and have a cold drink together. Finally we have to say goodbye. I ask the grandma Gail what her highlight of the day was, she says “You!”. That makes me even more thankful for this day. We had such a great time together as a group and that made my day as well. I’m glad that I decided to do this today.

Before this journey I tried to look up online which movie studios to go to, but I couldn’t find much information about it. Now I can tell you from my own experience, so here is my recommendation. If you just want to see movie sets, learn more about how movies are made and don’t care to much about attractions, I would recommend Warner Brothers. The ticket for their tour is very reasonable it and takes about two to three hours. Also if you love Friends as I do, this is a strong recommendation, because you can see the movie set of Central Perk. If you on the other hand like theme parks and special effects, then Universal Studios might be better for you. Keep in mind that the ticket costs twice as much, but for that you’ll have a tour through their movie studios and a cool theme park. If you go to Universal studios, I recommend the VIP tour, because you get to see a lot of places you don’t see with the normal ticket, like the 3D attraction of Fast and the Furious and you have you’re whole day planned for you including a delicious lunch. You get to go on the rides without waiting in line and do the longer studios tour. I am so glad I got the chance to visit both studios and also in this order. Warner Brothers studios yesterday was an amazing experience with the Friends film set as highlight and Universal Studios today was a lot of fun in the rides and very impressive with all the special effects. I’m also happy that I stayed another day in Los Angeles, now I’m ready to travel further and to go back to nature.

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