Lets start the movie

The weekend was a bit quieter for us. I just rode around on my bike for a bit and checked out the rest of my neighborhood. But then Monday was one of my absolute highlights. After a long back and forth, we decided to do it.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD!

The admission was outrageously expensive, a whopping $105 for admission. Dammit! Oh well, let's go. Just take a look. It was simply amazing.

On the way to the theme park, there were many small shops and food stands.

Something like that must not be missing *laughs*

Oh my God, awesome! We saw some people in Hogwarts outfits. More on that later.

The famous globe at the entrance.

We're getting closer. Yay, I was excited like a little kid.

Just a quick selfie. Carina joins in the background *laughs*

Fortunately, it wasn't so hot that day and it was Monday. So relatively few people.

Now you can dive into the world of Harry Potter. Shops of Diagon Alley.

Wow! Great, what they have created here.

Who likes Butterbeer? :-)

Hogwarts simply enchanted me. Dances were performed there, like in the movie 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'. Of course, I was also really excited about the rides. First of all, we went straight to Hogwarts Castle. There, I relived all the parts of Harry Potter. It gave you the impression that you were flying on a broomstick with Harry and the others, fighting against dragons. It was really great, awesome, super amazing!

As beautiful as it was here, we had to continue because we still had a lot ahead of us. Next, we decided to take the studio tour.

The halls in the background are stages for current film sets. We didn't know what was being filmed, but filming was in full swing here.

TED was one of the famous movies shot here.

Real sets used in movies and music videos can be seen here.

Just like here.

At the end of my post, I list some famous movies that were filmed here.

Yes, the guy had a knife in his hand and yes, he came to our car. That was kind of creepy. Probably also part of a very famous movie *laughs*

Depiction of a plane crash, in this movie Tom Cruise played the lead role.

Set of 'The Fast and the Furious'. There were also great 4D animations here. We drove into a big hall with our bus, and then there were screens on the left and right. The bus was shaken a bit with us, while appropriate film scenes with real action were playing on the screens :-)

The same was demonstrated for King Kong. I even had to hold my breath at times. It was really cool with these special effects and the amazing 3D shots.

All in all, this studio tour was definitely worth it. I don't personally know many of the film sets that were created, because some movies are already a bit older. Throughout the studio tour, we were accompanied by a nice lady who explained a lot about each stage. But I was extremely busy looking around *hehe*.

Despite everything, I want to mention a few film examples: Jurassic Park, King Kong, Sully, American Pie, Desperate Housewives, The Fast and the Furious, Schindler's List, The Mummy, Gladiator, The Grinch, Hannibal, 8 Mile, Bruce Almighty, Pitch Perfect, Ted, The Theory of Everything, Jurassic World, Pets, and Minions. Yes, I think those were the most famous ones, at least the ones I mostly know.

After the studio tour, we went to the land of The Simpsons. Personally, I don't like it at all, but some cool pictures were taken.

I said 'a few'!

Photographed the stages from above again.

Afterwards, rides were offered again. Small themed areas for Jurassic Park, The Mummy, and, as seen in the picture, Transformers. That was actually my absolute highlight. Similar in style to Harry Potter, but in 3D or rather, 4D. Fighting against evil. It was really exciting and simply fantastic.

Minions Christmas ornament, I went completely crazy. How cute is that?

Then we happened to arrive right on time for the next show, 'Special Effects'. First, a sound check was done to see who could give the best scream among the ladies. A suitable lady was quickly found. And no, it wasn't me! Okay, let's go in... to summarize, the different effects such as fire, flying, horror, etc. were examined in detail. Stunts were performed. How the appropriate sounds are created for certain actions, such as punches. In the horror section, the lady with her scream came into play. She could compete in any horror movie, I tell you. What I found very interesting was the making of Ted. How the film producers transferred real movements to the teddy bear using computer animations.

On the way back, we stopped by Hogwarts again and wanted to take a look around the shops. We went to Ollivander's, the wand seller. There was a little performance about the movie scene, how Harry Potter got his wand.

Then we strolled through the shops a bit more.

Everything for sale, of course.

It's amazing how everything is portrayed so realistically here.

At the end of the day, we stopped by the Minions.

That was the little Universal Studios tour. It was a great day, I think you can hear that. The entrance fee was extremely expensive, but it was simply worth it. We were also lucky with the day and the weather. All in all, it was a successful performance.

Finally, we had a little treat. But not that one! I just wanted to stay true to the unicorns. That's why the picture :-)