Just randomly, this is a photo of my bedroom light switch - these apartments are small! See the wall and mirrored cupboard and the switch in there? I had to put my full arm in to turn it on.
Into JFK airport, usual checkin - pretty quick as we must be one of the first flights out. On, up and down, pretty much. There was a lady in front of us who stood up to got to the loo as we were about to hit the runway. Hostie came to tell her to sit down, lady replied that she had a kidney condition, Hostie said she will have to get the pilot to stop the plane if she didn't sit down. She sat down.
Got some muesli, fruit and yoghurt, played games and that was that. We got the shuttle out to the car rental building, met up with Raff - he was on a different flight - and began the journey out to Anaheim -we're staying here as its Disney! Here we are, looking alert and vibrant.
12:00 became 9:00 and we've had 2.5 hours sleep and a long flight so we're all pretty exhausted. We get to the hotel and check in.
Love the name...
The boys' room is ready so we leave our bags in their room and head down to get something for lunch, at the ihop. Then into the car to head to Universal Studios. I'm very excited about this one as I didn't have time for it last visit. The LA traffic lives up to all expectations and we don't arrive until 2:30 - which is fine as we have a day/night pass for the Halloween night and couldn't enter until 2pm anyway.
First to the sign for the obligatory photos...
..and then in and straight to Harry Potter. It's so cool - all shops and a castle and everything Potter. I'm going to do the ride - why not? It can't be too bad...! Bags into a locker and onto the ride and it is brilliant - so much fun. We're stopped in in a line and it sways and bobs and swings backwards as you wear 3D glasses and fly all over Hogwarts, there is Harry and spiders and a quidditch game and a dragon that breathes hot air on you. Fantastic!!
Even the wait line is interesting - there are talking pictures and lots of things to look at. My camera is in the locker so no photos! But photos after the ride...
Our next stop is the Studio Bus Tour - something I have always wanted to do, didn't allow enough time last trip, but now it's time. Very excited.
The tram runs along a road with posters from many of the movies made over the years, then past a lot of the sound stages - it's still a working lot - past the old bungalows that used to be dressing rooms, now offices and such. Past the areas set up American streets, Wild West streets, Mexican and European streets.
Into the King Kong exhibit where they have 3D vision of dinosaurs attacking the bus and then King Kong coming and attacking the dinosaurs - it's very real and quite scary. Out and past some cars used in movies - like Back to the Future and The Flintstones, through to an area where they make it rain and then it floods down the street.
Then into an underground tunnel where a truck crashes, a fire starts and it floods here too.
Next stop, Amity, where Bruce, the shark from Jaws, lives.
You can see how dodgy the shark was and why they didn't use him much in the movie, making the shark scarier than he would have been if you saw him all the time.
Passed the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas house, Whoville, the Psycho house, a plane crash...
Then the boys wanted to do the Harry Potter ride again so I had a look at Olivander's wand shop. You can be fitted for a wand, didn't do this as I was fairly sure they'd want you to buy a wand at the end, and it was a 30-minute wait. Then went for a sit in the tavern to wait.
Downstairs to Jurassic Park ride - a water ride that starts off gently and then builds up as the more dangerous dinosaurs appear, culminating in a massive drop - it's great!
A couple of friends of Brett and Shaun's join us, Richard and his son Alex, and we head into the Transformers ride - another 3D ride that has a couple of the Tranformers battling it out all around - hilarious!
Time for dinner and the Chinese place we go to has no vegetarian options except the spring rolls and they can't get it straight which are the veggie ones and which are the chicken so I go over to Starbucks for an egg muffin.
Then we're off to try the first of the Halloween specials - Halloween haunted house.
It's a large hiuse that you go through room by room and have people in costume as the bad guy jumping out and scaring you. I was following Shaun and Raff and they were both screaming! It was hilarious.
Then we're through the Exorcist house, it's got scenes from the movies and people jumping.
Then down to the next section, which is down by the American street - pretty sure you can't go down to these places normally, so that's exciting. There is a section where there is strobe lighting and people jump at you. At one point, there were four guys with 'chainsaws' who were particularly scary.
At the American Horror Story, the line is starting to lengthen - this one is about 40 minutes. Queue moves well though.
This place was pretty creepy - lots of screaming and laughing - such fun.
Then we're off upstairs and for something different - the Simpsons section.
Very cool to see the spots come to life...
Onto this ride where there's a roller coaster over Springfield and Sideshow Bob is trying to destroy them and the town. 3D again and it's great too!
After this one, I got a slice of pizza and the boys got a giant donut and we had a sit down. The donuts were delicious but huge - can't really get the perspective here.
Next on our agenda is the Terror Tram - which is the studio tour trams but with a 'terror' twist.
They tell you of a rogue clown who is evil and in the area. Then they tell us to get off the bus and we have to walk through another section of the park - with clowns everywhere - I don't like clowns!! But on the major plus side, we get to walk past the air crash section, and even better - the Bates Motel from Psycho and the Psycho house.
That was very cool. The buses picked us up and took us back. Now I need to sit and rest while the boys all go on one more thing - Walking Dead, I think. We have been going since 4:00 this morning and we've added three hours. I sit and write this - then get home and delete most of it somehow - of all nights!
Back down the freeway, Raff and I get our separate room keys and we all head to our respective rooms for the night.
What a great day!
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