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I thought this day deserved it's own write up. During our trip to LA we visited one of Hollywoods iconic attractions - Universal Studios - where we entered a world where reality and fiction coexist and are sometimes hard to differentiate.
There are two key areas to the park, the Studio Tour and the Theme Park. During the day we somehow managed to make some great decisions allowing for us to almost never wait for a ride or attraction (the longet wait being only 10 minutes).
The first attraction we saw was the Waterworld water show where the film is brought to life through daredevil stunts and dramatic comedy. On a stage of water and metal the actors jet ski'd, swang from falling towers and dived out the way of a full size airboat that crashed onto the stage with an explosion of flames.
In contrast to waterworld we also saw an animal show where birds, dogs, pigs, rodents and other animals completed well rehearsed routines. The show offered an element of deliberate mistakes meaning you couldn't quite figure out if the animals ever went off queue or knew exactly what they were doing. This added a comic twist to the show that made it feel like you were on set at 'you've been framed'.
The third and final show attraction was the special effects performance that guided the audience through time as effects changed and evolved for film and stage. Audience members participated adding a lot of humour to the show. At one point you were led to believe that a member if the audience n an astronauts suit was being flung out if control around the room hilariously!
Among the rides it was just as incredible, with the Transformers ride taking you through a realistic 3d battle where the movements feel real. I've never yet dodged a 3d image until that ride, when a miscile is directed at the viewer with such clarity that I shifted side to side to try and avoid it.
There were many other rides and attractions aside from the few I've mentioned above, but all were enjoyable and provided aweome entertainment. We even had a photo taken with Bumblebee from transporters, a perhaps sensitive moment for Abi who became like a small child, scared to stand in front of the huge figure, instead opting to hold his hand so he didn't touch her head.
As mentioned before, there was also the studio itself. The tour took us through fake towns from different films that looked realistic and recognisable. The clock tower from Back To The Future, saloons from several westerns, the village from Desperate Housewives and a street from Liar Liar were all present.
After the tour we left the park to head home on the tube train where we found LA trains to be less forgiving that those of London undeground where doors reopen if someone or something is caught in the door. We were cutting it close so ran down the stairs as we heard the buzzers going in preparation to close the doors. Abi ran onto the train with me less than 3 foot behind as the doors closed.
Someone caught the doors in the nick if time normally allowing for someone to swiftly dart on the train. But no. These trains didn't want to play this game, and after a brief moment of trying the potential hero gave in allowing me to stand waiting for 15 minutes to get on the train. Lesson of the day: make sure I'm in front of Abi next time.
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