Last we had left off at our day in Universal Studios Hollywood. DH and Papa were off riding Mummy and viewing Terminator 4-D. The girls had greeted. Dora, and Shrek and Fiona.
After that I had them change into the swimsuits I had brought for them and we made our way to the Curious George Splash Park.
I had watched videos of just how soaked kids got here so I knew to bring their suits. The girls played in the steam area a while but it was not hot enough for them to want to get drenched.
Then they checked out the ball room.
I despise these type of play areas but the children love them. Too bad DH wasn't with us he would have joined in with the girls throwing balls everywhere. I stood as a lifeguard keeping my eyes on the girls and got hit in the cheek so hard it felt like I was being slapped. After a while a teenage boy came and apologized. It really did hurt.
After a while I had the girls get dressed and we headed to the Animal Action show. Here is where our somewhat scary event occured. As you can see we were sitting toward the back.
There was a man on stage doing some pre-show tricks with a dog. Nobody was really paying much attention. Suddenly I heard the audience gasp and my initial reaction was to look on stage. I saw both the dog trainer and trainer jerking in reaction to something in the audience up front. So I then searched the audience upfront. I saw two men standing with their arms in front of them as if they are about to fight. I can only assume I missed a couple punches. That is all I saw because immediately the ENTIRE audience stood to it's feet to watch the men fighting in front. The reaction of the audience is really what struck me more than anything. The girls thought they were missing part of the show and I was so caught off guard I just kept telling them to not stand up, they are not missing anything. They were so confused. I stayed seated with the girls to not alarm them.
I felt for a moment like I was in a foreign country surrounded by an aggressive hungry audience watching a boxing match. I searched around desperately looking for a mother sitting down comforting her children like me but there were non. Those with children were allowing them to stand and watch as well. I looked around for someone to ask what was going on but there was not a single person within ear shot speaking English.
After what felt like 15 minutes the audience slowly started sitting down and I saw a couple of men being escorted out by weak looking Universal workers. Where is their security?
Anyway, the show itself once it got started was awful. I don't know if perhaps the workers were a little off key because the pre-show disturbance or if it is always that bad. There really were almost no tricks. There was information given on what they have been able to get animals to do for movies but pretty much every attempt they made with an animal to do a trick failed. I've seen better animal shows in my local mall.
After the show I tried to call DH but did not get him. We found out later that one of our phones was not getting service. They enjoyed both The Mummy and Terminator 4-D.
The girls wanted a snack so we went to this joint, got some cookies, and refilled DH's huge Homer mug for a dollar.
After our snack we found Sponge Bob dancing, so once again I shoved the girls in for a picture.
There is an area with all kinds of carnival games to win little stuffed animals. DD8 really wanted to do this. Since Granita left each of the girls with a little money I told them if they wanted they could do a game or two but not to expect much. We searched for something age-appropriate and found a water target game. There were 3-4 kids pretending to play but nobody paying to play. I talked to the clerk and she said if my two daughters played one would be guaranteed to pick from the smallest stuffed animals. Okay, well at least they'll get something. So I paid $3 each for the first game. Of course DD8 won and picked out a purple teddy. Then I paid another $6 for a second game and told DD8 to let DD5 win which she did. DD5 picked out a green fish. So, the girls got to play some games and got to get a prize. (Works for me.) I didn't take pictures of this because it went so fast but DD8 is holding her purple teddy she got in the picture with Sponge Bob.
At this point I still hadn't heard from DH so we made our way back to the play area. Not five minutes after returning to the play area DH and Papa appeared. He had been calling me and thought I wasn't answering but we checked my phone and I had no missed calls. Anyway, I was glad to see him and told him we will not be seperating the rest of the day.
We went on the Hollywood Backlot Tour. It was pretty impressive. These cars came zooming at us then danced to music.
Then we experienced a flood.
Then a subway tram crashed right next to us.
It was neat to drive through Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives.
I think this is leftover set from The Grinch.
War of the Worlds.
There was even more to the backlot tour that I did not take pictures of like the shark attach and when they ran the tram through a tunnel where the walls revolve. That really got me. I really did feel like we were turning ourselves. We enjoyed the backlot tour.
After the backlot tour DH, DD8 and I decided to ride the river based adventure ride Jurrasic Park. We all loved it. DD8 is scared of the drop on Splash Mountain but seemed to tolerate this drop better. The dinosoars were great. I loved it!
We decided we'd done just about everything by about 5 p.m. so we headed back to the rental van to drive back to Anaheim. We took these pictures on the way out.
Overall, what can I say about Universal Studios Hollywood.
We did have some good times. We are glad we visited it once. DD8 LOVES the Simpsons ride. DH enjoyed The Mummy. I enjoyed Jurrasic Park and The Backlot Tour. I don't think we'll ever need to return.
The character meets were insane and the crowds were not Disney folk. I do think when youngest DD gets closer to middle school we will visit Universal Orlando.
Up Next: evening Disney fireworks from balcony, early morning walk to
Disneyland Hotel and flight home. Also, comparison between WDW and DLR.
for the organization! 
You have a great way of describing everything and your DD's are so cute. I'm headed up to California in few days 
banana
We're also planning some fun stuff in WDW after the cruise.
I'm still crossing my fingers. 
I don't think I noticed the woman in the picture until afterward. I was too busy trying to take a picture before more people crowded in.
Can't wait to read your comparisons.....
Most everyone headed to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast but DD8 and I were not hungry so we decided to do one last walk through DTD. Now that is one great thing about DLR. Even at a value hotel we can just walk right over. At WDW this would not be possible as we'd have to spend probably an hours time riding there and back on the bus system.
