The big one, or my west coast adventures. Day 18

Well, I wake up, 6 am. I do the 3 S' s and head down to the hotel $5 (Starbucks), but because it's in the hotel, the coffee is actually $5. Then, I have to head to the front desk to pick up one of those needle and thread kits they have, to sew up my shorts. Better to do it now, as I'm going to need them today. Never needed the sewing kit till now.

Today is Universal studios day. Last time I was at Universal studios in Florida, I got the unlimited express pass and loved it. So this time I went with the VIP pass. It's expensive,  so we'll see if it is worth it. I've been using TripAdvisor to get the low down on attractions while in LA. It tells me to come early to the park and enjoy the VIP breakfast.  Good advice,  and a chance to refill my Latte.

It's quite now, but that will change.

The studio tour is only a 10 min wait, by the time we finish, it's up to 40 min.

The park offers some great views of Burbank.

Just a peek.

CSI Las Vegas.

They take us on a set of a program I don't watch. Maybe you do.

The stairs to nowhere.  The upstairs set is next to this one.

Funny thing is these pics look really good to what I was seeing.

The back side of the bathroom.

Some movie coming out in February 2015. We shall see.

Now we're on to the outside sets.

This is the square from "Back to the Future"

It's been changed since the movie.

No clock, as it was a prop.

These are the pillars from back to the future hidden by a false front. There's talk about bringing the set back for 2015. The year Marty went "Back to the Future".

I'll look at movies a bit different now. I'm going to have to watch "Captain America" again.

The guide said this was used in "Pirates of the Caribbean"

The "Magnum P. I. " car, plus a fast and furious car.

"Back to the Future " Cars.

Into "Jurassic Park"

Really the cheesest of cheese rides.

Man, I saw this on TV as a kid. It's still kind of cool though.

The "Jaws" bit was good. Totally beats the now closed one in Florida.

The "Prop" shop. Open to the public.  We only got to look at one floor. Next time I'll look into coming here just on its own. You should as well.

The Tross' s evil lair. "1 million dollars".

You could spend hours there.  Wish I did, but the tour must move on.



I took a video of the "Jaws" ride. Hopefully one of these uploaded.



The desperate housewives street set . Also used for leave it to beaver and a few others  that I forgot.

Part of the evenings holloween rides, mazes, etc.

The Bates motel.

A visit from "Norman"

The "War of the Worlds" set, and my favorite. They cut up a real 747 for it, and it shows.

Harry Potter ride being built and we're finally done the lot tour. It lasted 3 1/2 hours. We did a few rides, the Simpsons and Sreik 4D.  Then a great lunch, hell,  I've had worse fancy dinners than this lunch. It was impressive.

Inside ride pic's don't come out very well.

Once this week was enough.

I had a great day. Was the VIP pass worth it? Ya. If you want to do everything in one day, it's the way to go. I am done. Worn out. So it's back to the hotel, bed and off to San Diego early tomorrow morning.


Total mileage 3890 miles/ 6260 km
No mileage today.