Visit to Universal Studios

The next day, Friday, November 27, we went to Universal Studios. Any one who goes to Universal Studios will have a wonderful time. At the same time, they will be amazed at the technical marvel in film making.

We took the Universal Studio tour. They took us on an open air trolley and toured the whole studio with a live guide giving commentary. Some of the memorable things we saw were:

Wreckage from Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds.
Cars used in many movies.
The famous Bates Motel (Psycho) and a guy posing as Norman.
Jaws
Parting of the Red Sea
How floods are created for the movies.
Plane wreckage.
And, many more.

Then there are several other attractions available. They are:

Special Effects Stage – How special effects are created in movies.
Revenge of the Mummy – Ride
Jurassic Park – Ride
Terminator 2 – a 3D show
Shrek – a 4D show
House of Horrors – Walk through seeing horror movie characters
And, many more.

Because of the bad economic situation, if we buy a one day ticket, the studio is offering free admission for the second day (valid upto one year). Therefore, after the studio tour, we decided to see only Shrek and House of Horrors. I am sure we will be in Southern California many times within a year and we can see other attractions on our next visit.

Shrek is a 4D adventure which is exciting. It is a short film where the spirit of Lord Farquaad returns from the dead to kidnap Princess Fiona. Shrek and the donkey come to the rescue. It is 3D plus an extra dimension. This extra dimension is the “physical effects” experienced by the audience in the theater. For example, when the donkey spits, they spray a mist in our face. When another character is going very fast on a horse, the whole seat is shaking as if we are on that horse. The seats are made that way. When tarantulas fall down on the floor, we feel something is crawling on our foot.

Enjoyed it very much. Will go back again.

Before the start of the show they advised it is not suitable for pregnant women. Half of the Indian origin audience left immediately.

Then we visited the House of Horrors. We came face to face with Frankenstein, Wolf Man, Chucky, and many more characters from the horror movies. The advertisement for House of Horrors says: Get ready to scream your head off at House of Horrors. Your worst nightmares will come true as you make your way through the dark and windy terror maze. Now I understand why Insignia says “horror movies seem funny to her”.

Here are some pictures:

Entrance to Universal Studios

Car used in the movie "Back to the Future"

Fire

Flood

Rome, Italy, inside the Studio

The Bates Mansion in the Hitchcock Movie, Psycho

Airplane Wreckage

Highway 5 on the way back home. Traffic was not that bad.

Disneyland Video/Music Clips

When we visited Disneyland, I took 8 small video clips of Disney Parade at 5:30 PM and the Fantasyland and It's a Small World. I am not a technically savvy person. My technical advisor (Insignia) has her hands full. Therefore, I did not want to bother her. The entire time for these 8 clips is less than 15 minutes. I tried several methods to upload here. First I tried to individually upload all 8 clips. The Blogspot will not accept it. Then I made a movie of these 8 clips in Picasa. I tried to upload that movie. It was in upload status for more than 12 hours. Then I gave up.

I wanted to share these 8 clips with you all. I finally decided to make a web album of these 8 video clips and share this with you.

http://picasaweb.google.com/rajang716/DisneyVideoClips#

Hope you all like this. Keep your volume up so you can enjoy the music.

I will keep this web album "live" for another 30 days in case some one wants to copy these clippings.

Visit to Disneyland, Anaheim, California

This year we decided to go to Disneyland and Universal Studios during Thanksgiving holidays. We thought it will be less crowded in Disneyland on Thanksgiving Day (November 26). But we did not take into account that the previous day, Wednesday, November 25, is the most travelled day in the USA. That is the day we drove from our home to Disneyland. The distance is 356 miles (573 km). We usually cover this distance in 4 hours plus 30 minutes snack/lunch break midway. Since there was heavy traffic on Highway 5, it took us 8 hours and 30 minutes to reach our destination. We stayed in a hotel opposite to Disneyland.

At the Disneyland entrance

The next morning we went to Disneyland. We have been there many times. Therefore, we have decided to visit for only one day and see those attractions that we did not see before. We were expecting a long line to purchase the tickets. But to our surprise there was no line in the ticket counter. We bought the tickets and went inside.

Since it was a Thanksgiving Day, there was a special Turkey Parade at 10 AM. It was very colorful.

Special Turkey Day Parade

We first visited Pirates of the Caribbean. Even though it was less crowded in the Park, we had to wait for 30 minutes in the lines to see this. The ride is built underground and it is filled with water. We travel in small boats and see the exploits of the treacherous Captain Jack Sparrow who is going after the buried treasure. The special effects and the way the story is told in the very Disney style are awesome. The 2003 Movie “Pirates of the Caribbean” is based on this Disney attraction.

A snapshot from inside the "Pirates of the Caribbean"

After this, we decided to visit the Haunted Mansion Holiday. This is available from September to January only each year. This incorporates Tim Burton’s story “A Nightmare Before Christmas”. We are supposed to scream and shout as we see the ghosts. Of course, there were lots of screams in the dark by many visitors. We, personally, were disappointed. We think Chamber of Horrors in Madame Tussauds in London is much better than this.

Outside the Haunted Mansion

Then we took a ride on the sailing ship Columbia. This is the exact replica of the first American ship to sail around the world. The ship sails through the “Rivers of America”. There is a museum in the lower deck. We can see the ship employees’ (Captain, Crew, and Doctor) quarters and the galley. For this ship, they use the same U.S. flag that was used in 1787.

On the deck of Sail Ship Columbia

It is now 2:00 PM. We left the park to have some lunch and take a break. They put a stamp on your left hand which will enable you to reenter the Park.

We got back in the park around 5:00 PM. They have 2 daily parades. One at 2:30 PM and another at 5:30 PM. We saw the second one. We videotaped portions of the parade with our digital camera. It was very fascinating.

Then we took the Disneyland Railroad to tour the entire park. It is one of the most popular attractions. It has 4 stations. The Main Street, New Orleans Square, Mickey’s Toontown, and Tomorrowland. You can get down at any station. Or, you can keep riding all day in this train. Between Tomorrowland and Main Street, we can see Grand Canyon and Primeval World.

Finally, before watching the fireworks, we went for the most popular attraction “It’s a Small World”. There was a 45 minute wait. If it was a regular day, the waiting time would be around 2 hours. It is a boat ride. It is located in the Fantasyland area. The boat goes softly and smoothly and you can witness more than 300 brightly costumed dolls and animals sing the following song:

It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small small world

The costumes represent more than 100 nations. The dolls sing this song in 5 languages. It is a wonderful and unforgettable experience. It will make you come back here more and more.

Dolls inside the "It's a Small World"

At 9:25 PM the fireworks began. It lasted 17 minutes. One simple word to describe these fireworks. Spectacular. This and It’s a Small World will make you come back to Disneyland again and again.