Universal Studios Hollywood

'Apollo 13', 'Cat in the Hat', 'The Grinch who stole Christmas' and Jurassic Park are only a few of the big name movies filmed at Universal Studios in Hollywood and I was so excited to see all the filming locations on our trip to the studios. Having not visited the massive one in Florida, I didn't have anything to compare it to, so I was excited to see what Universal had to offer when it comes to theme parks. Can anything beat Disney?

The day we went was boiling hot, but luckily they had loads of fans that sprayed out water when you were waiting in a queue....that was just as well because unlike Disney, Universal charge you extra to buy a 'front of line pass' for rides meaning you spend A LOT of your day waiting in hour long queues for rides that last only seconds. This means that there's a limited amount of stuff you can do in the day.

Despite this, we did really enjoy the Minions ride, Mummy ride and Jurassic Park water ride! The best ride of the day though, was probably the 'Backlot' tour which took us through the sets of movies including loads of Dr Seuss movies and many of the lots. They demonstrated how they make special effects like rain and fire and showed us how they did the shark effects in Jaws! If you're a movie lover like me, don't miss it! And if you're lucky you may also see something being filmed!

Despite the long queues, it was really good day. It was really interesting walking around the movie sets and the rides were amazing, but it really was a shame that we spent so long waiting in queues...

I think if you're serious about doing Universal and planning on doing it in 1 day, then it's definitely worth paying the extra for the "front of line pass" or staying multiple days. Even without the rides, you can still walk around the scenery and sets and enjoy the park.

I do love a good day at a theme park, but I must say that the atmosphere at Universal was no where near as magical as that at Disneyland! Maybe this is because we haven't seen as many of the Universal movies as the Disney Movies, but if you love the Simpsons and Harry Potter, Universal Studios is the place for you!

http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com

To read more about my adventures in the States click here

To read more about Theme Parks click here