Now it’s time to cool down. We’re entering the world of the dinos in Jurassic Park, the Ride. In this ride, you get in a boat the goes through the jungle. You’re attack by dinosaurs. At the end of the ride, the boat goes down a waterfall. It’s one of the best water drops we’re experienced. When you enter the ride, know that you’re getting wet. The scenery is great.

The only roller coaster in this park is Revenge of the Mummy, the Ride. It’s an indoor roller coaster. At the entrance are lockers for your backpack. Each car of the coaster is equipped with surround sound. The car is launched into the dark with a high speed, so be aware of your neck. Half way the ride, it turns backwards. It is one of the better roller coasters we have done in our life!

Back in the upper lot, we go our last attraction of the day: Van Helsing, Fortress Dracula. This is a haunted house you need to walk through. Inside are some real actors who try to scare you, but as for the rest, it’s not really spectacular.

For the people who love shows, you can go to Waterworld. This show should be great, but we missed it. Maybe we’ll see it next time. If you’re hungry, you can get a lot of food, but it’s expensive. For our dinner, we did choose a restaurant on City Walk.

It was a great day!!!

After parking our car, we walked through City Walk to the ticket boots. A ticket for the park costs around $50, but there are many ways to get a discount. You can use your AAA card or search for a voucher in your hotel. Almost in every hotel in LA you can find vouchers for a discount. Ours was good for a discount of $8 per person.

Upper lot
Our first attraction of the day is the Shrek 4D show. As a fan of the movie, I find this show great. After that, we go "Back to the Future." In this show, you get in Doc Browns high-flying time-traveling machine. It’s a rough ride, but we never saw such a good simulator.

After our journey back in time, we’re going for the most important attraction of the Universal Studios: the Studio Tram Tour. You will be driven through the back lot of Universal Studios, where you can see real movie sets like a New York steer of "The Sting," the creepy, old mansion from "Psycho," the snowy Whoville of "The Grinch," and many more. But there is also more action. Jaws attacks the tram as it passes over a bridge. You’re in a flash flood, and just as the tram crosses a bridge, it collapses. The two most sophisticated attractions are King Kong and Earthquake. If you want to know what really happens to you, you’ll have to be part of the action. During the 45-minute ride, you’re informed about everything you see through a live guide, but you can also see movie scenes on the screens in the tram.

Another good show is Terminator 2:3D. It’s a show with some real actors and a 3-D movie. This gives you the feeling that you’re in the middle of the action. It’s nice to see, but we found it not too spectacular.

Jurassic Park was a blast. It is one of our favorite movies, so it was a real treat to be travelling through what felt like the real set. The dinosaurs are so real, and the drop is frightening (and wet!). Waterworld is another good way to cool off if you're too old for the Nickolodean Blast Zone. The show left us drenched, with our mouths open in disbelief that something that cool and movie-like could happen before our eyes. My fiancee and I enjoyed playing the games as well--he won some pretty neat stuffed animals for me, photos included. We had the best time and recommend this as a vacation spot for anyone looking for a good time.

As I mentioned before, Jurassic Park was also a total thrill. The movie is one of my favorites, so it was great to be in what felt like the actual set. The dinosaurs are remarkably real. And it’s the perfect blend of relaxation and absolute terror—a surprise 84-foot drop. We bought a fantastic photo of us on the ride--the look on my husband's screaming face is priceless. The shows are also fantastic; our family favorite was "Water World," which was nonstop, action-packed fun. I took a lot of pictures of this attraction because the set was so well-done (included in my LA journal).

Real stars play the "Water World" characters—and they are clearly experienced, because they do stunts you only see in movies. And, as my sons will attest, it’s 100% better live. Just wait for the airplane… but I won’t spoil it.

I can’t really imagine a better day for the family. Everyone had the time of their lives.