Pre ABD
We arrived at LAX on Friday at 5:00 pm. Yes, you read that correctly, someone (yes, it was me, I admit it) thought it was a great idea to land in LA on Friday night at 5:00!!! FYI… in case you’re wondering, it was not
Our driver picked us up, loaded up our luggage and we SLOWLY made our way to Universal Hilton. When we finally arrived, we checked in, got up to our room and then we ran off for some dinner. The hotel had upgraded us to a theme park view, which was hilarious because we were trying to figure out where things were and we couldn’t see a thing because it was so dark. The next morning, this is what we saw:
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We laughed at our very bad guessing skills from the night before, but were incredibly excited to get to the park and start our VIP experience tour! Our tour time was at 0945 and we had to arrive by 0925. We got into the park, checked into the VIP area, and they led us upstairs for a continental breakfast buffet. We sat around and waited patiently for out tour time to start. Owen, our tour guide, gathered our group of 14 and off we went. The first thing we did was the back lot tour. I have never been on a studio tour, so this was pretty cool for me. To see where some of the filming has occurred for various movies and TV shows was a lot of fun. We learned how they did the plane scenes on the Hudson in Sully, saw some sets for different movies and even got to tour the studio that currently is shooting Cloud 9 with America Ferrera. I don’t watch it, but it was still neat to see an actual studio set up that is currently filming. Here is one of sets that we saw:
Who-Ville
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There was SO much to see, but since they were celebrating Grinch-mas, I felt it was appropriate.
After the backlot tour, it was time for lunch. They took us to this really cute restaurant away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd in the parks and we were treated to a fantastic lunch buffet. It was really good. Let me caveat this by saying I am not a foodie, so, food isn’t something I get excited about, but everyone commented on how good it was. 14 out of 14 can’t be wrong, right?
They get the executive chefs who cook for the studio to prepare the meal, so it isn’t your typical theme park food.
After lunch, it was back to the tour. We got on all of the rides without hardly any wait. Universal rides are mostly the motion simulator rides, so I did have to close my eyes occasionally, given all the movement, but it was fun. And then, the part we really came for, Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Nicole and I have been to the Universal Park in Florida and we wanted to see the Universal Hollywood Wizarding World too. The one in Florida is bigger, but we still had fun. Owen left us at 5:00 and we were on our own for the rest of the night. We waited for the highlight of our day; the holiday light show on Hogwarts. It was nothing short of spectacular! Incredibly crowded, but well worth it.
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After the show, we made our way to the City Walk, had a small dinner and then made our way back to the hotel. Tomorrow our ABD starts and we’re both incredibly excited!