Best Completed Buddy Adventure

After the Simpsons ride Collin and I took the world famous Universal Studios studio tour tram ride.

We reflected and shared memories of Studio Tour Rides past.  Like when the Battlestar Galactica soldier soluted Collin.

Part of the Studio Tour ride is a journey to skull island for the King Kong 3D encounter.  It was good and wild and it's a bummer that to see it a second time you'd have to ride the whole tour again.

Passed by the old collapsing bridge.  Guess they don't do that anymore.

Now there's stuff like the dancing the Fast and the Furious cars.  Really.

But they still have the flash flood.

And the parting of the Red Sea.

And this dude.

This is the new Munsters house for the new Munsters remake that's coming to TV for a few episodes before it probably gets cancelled and midseason replaced.

Who-ville remnants.

And the Bates Motel, now with attacks by Norman!

Then you drive through War of the Worlds wreckage.  You know?  From that Tom Cruise War of the Worlds movie everyone loved?

The famous lake (drained) and blue screen (now green).

After the ride?  Lunch at Doc Brown's chicken.

The Finest Chicken of all time?  Not really.  But a lot of food, at least.

Oh no!  I got eaten!

These dudes don't look like they understand that this picture is for pretend.

Frankenstein caused me some real grief on my first trip to Universal Studios when I was oh, let's say five?

We went throught the haunted house.  It was a pretty good haunted house.  Collin got scared pretty good a few times and a Mummy grabbed me, even though the told us the monsters weren't allowed to touch us.

Unexpected highlight: The Water World Stunt Show.  Wait, you might ask, You mean to tell me that you enjoyed the seventeen year old stunt show based on the Kevin Costner total non-hit from 1995?

Yes, that is exactly what I'm telling you.

Also old and awesome?  The Terminator 2 3D show.  Really lots of fun and when the actors fight the 3D images on the screen?  I don't know how, I don't know why, but for me, it works.  (p.s. Since my freshman year of college I've been hearing about this attraction because of my buddy Dan Lemmon's work on it so seeing it was something of a half-lifelong goal of mine)

Did not have time to see the animal show.

Because we ran back down to the lower lot for one more Transformers and Mummy ride.

And squeezed in another Simpsons Ride ride.

And watched the Special Effects Show and that was our day at the park

Sometimes it's hard to say goodbye and let go.

Best Continued Buddy Adventures

After saving the earth, Collin and I rode the Mummy Returns rollercoaster.  The line made me think of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, the beginning of the ride made me think of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, but when the rollercoaster part of the ride starts (catching first timers completely off guard) it’s more of a Space Mountain, but with mummy ghosts flying at you.  It’s a real good ride, a real fun ride, but a bit of a short ride.  Still, it will definitely make you hoot and holler.

(This is where you leave your service animal during the ride.  What?  You didn't bring your service animal?)

Some mummy-type characters roamed the immediate area on stilts but, honestly, who cares?  You’re really going to show all your friends at home your picture with the tall Mummy-lady or man?

Wouldn’t you rather show them that you met Dora?

Next ride: Jurassic Park!  A really fun log-ride style ride (except in boats, not logs

Shoe buddies!

Here's a YouTube of the whole ride.  It's pretty cool,

The thing about this splashdown . . .

It gets you a LOT wetter than you’d think.  And how did I keep my camera safe on this ride?  Asked the girl at the churro cart for one of her latex gloves, put my camera in said glove.  Boom.  That easy.

Having conquered the entire lower lot, Collin and I headed back up to the Upper Lot, first by stairs, then by escalator.  It is a long, long way up (or down) between lots.  Be ready for that!



Our destination: The Simpsons ride, the sight of which had nearly stopped us dead in our tracks on our way to the Transformers ride just an hour or two before.

The idea is that while you're in line for the Simpsons ride you're in line for a ride at Krustyland.

Krustlyand posters everywhere!

Lots of good old Simpsons jokes.  And there were monitors playing lots of theme-park themed Simpsons clips.

The map of Krustyland.

Inside the plot of the ride unfolds on monitors . . . the plot?  We are at Krustyland and Sideshow Bob is trying to kill the Simpsons.  You start off on a roller coaster (I should mention this is a simulator ride, right?) and wind up zooming through all parts of Krustyland.

Shortly before boarding there is a midway manned by many a famous Simpsons character.



Here is a video of the ride, if you want to imagine to experience it for yourself:

Outside the ride?  Lots more Simpsons theme-ing.







Including the greatest of all Simpsons In-Joke souvenirs.



You know what?  I've still got lots more pictures of Universal Studios.  Guess there's going to be another post.

Best Excuse for Not Blogging

Snowbird Alpine Slide, Labor Day 2012.

I'm not scared.  I'm fun-hollerin'.
And I'm not breaking either.