Tag 12 - Universal Studios & Hollywood Boulevard (Walk of Fame)

Hello Germany,

Today was a mega cool day. We were at Universal Studios in Hollywood and it was simply amazing. We felt like 2 kids in a candy store. And even though Luisa isn't a big fan of amusement parks (or wasn't...), I had to drag her out of the park in the end :-)

We started with the 1-hour Studio Tour, which I can recommend to everyone. After that, we had big grins on our faces. You drive through all the scenes and studios of famous movies, such as Bates Motel, Back to the Future, Desperate Housewives, etc. It's crazy how everything is built here... own houses, own cities - all perfectly tailored to the current scenes. What looks so real on TV, as if it were filmed somewhere in the middle of New York or England, is created here behind closed doors. Even London was rebuilt here.

In between, we stopped a few times... explosions, huge floods of water rushing towards us, explosions, cars flying around, and a sudden storm as if it were really happening. It was really impressive how not only on TV screens the whole thing looks 'REAL', but even when you're there in person. Unfortunately, most of what we experienced is difficult to describe with pictures. But I made a few videos that I can show at home. We were also attacked by the white shark :-)

Afterwards, we moved freely through the park and participated in the various attractions and rides. One of my favorites was the boat tour through Jurassic Park. But the 3D roller coasters here are also fantastic... you're basically sitting in one place, but with the movements of the screen and the chair you're sitting on + wind, you really feel like you're moving... and not just slowly. With these modern 360° attractions, it's really hard to tell the difference from a real roller coaster.

Later, we watched the special effects show (an actual burning stuntman ran through the audience) and (for Luisa) the 'Animal Actors' (the animal stars) was a must. It was also amazing how all the 'Hollywood animals' listened and followed commands. Whether it was a cat, dog, pig, chicken, or bird... they all stuck to the script.

In the end, I managed to convince Luisa to go on the 'Walking Dead' horror tour - that really gave us the rest :-)

Oh, by the way... Hogwarts (from Harry Potter) is totally rebuilt here. Even though I'm not a big H.P. fan myself, it's an incredibly fantastic atmosphere in this place.

After spending 7 hours at Universal Studios, we went to the Walk of Fame, which was on the way home. It's just as you've heard before. It's nice to have been there, but it's not really anything special. The street is relatively dirty, the surrounding area is not really beautiful, and there are countless homeless people on the street - right on the Walk of Fame. But we went up to Hollywood Boulevard and then back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we plan to visit Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier. We're excited.

More impressions as always in the gallery.

Regards,

Dean + Luisa