Many of the attractions are the same, such as ET, Back to the Future and Terminator 3D but many of the other ones such as Earthquake, Jaws and King Kong are incorporated into the Studio Tour and are very tame in comparison to Florida equivalents. If you are a first time Universal visitor, you are sure to be impressed.

Other attractions here include City Walk – shops and restaurants including Hard Rock Café. Water World a water stunt spectacular, Jurassic Park Ride and Backdraft.

All rides are very good fun, but as I mentioned before, the Orlando version is much bigger and better.

There are several different rides and shows, all based on various movies. The ones I particularly recommend are Jurassic Park (log flume ride), the Mummy (ghost house ride or rather walk), and Terminator 2 (a lovely combination of live action and 3D effects). The studio tour is also pretty cool. You get loaded into these little cars and taken to the backlots of the studio. The drive takes you through sets you've seen in a hundred different movies and there are also a few special effects along the way - King Kong, Jaws etc. you know they're coming but they're still great.

Universal Studios is such a fun day out. I loved the blurring of reality and movie fantasy. Tips. There's not a lot of shade and the heat can get really punishing. Take a lot of water - everything is expensive in the Studios. If you have a time and aren't too wrecked, spend the evening at Universal complex. There's lots of shops, a huge cinema (no surprise) and lots of cafes, nice restaurants and cool bars. You should be able to get a few dollars discount off the ticket and off some of the food places with the promotional flyers given out along Hollywood Blvd. The Studios are easily reachable by the metro and there's a free shuttle to the gates. But you may have to wait a long time for the shuttle back to the Metro the later you leave.

Some of the attractions are rides, like Back to the Future and Jurassic Park. My personal favorite is Jurassic Park because it’s like being in the movie, and there's a ten-story drop at the end that is such a rush!

Other attractions, like Backdraft, are like walk-through, interactive experiences -- it’s hard to describe.

Outside the park, there is Universal City Walk, which is a strip about 2 blocks long with shops, movie theaters, restaurants and clubs. Hard Rock Cafe is at the end of the City Walk -- and as with all Hard Rocks, it is overpriced, but still fun.

This is a very slow ride appropriate for children and for people who don't like thrills. The premise is that E.T.'s planet is dying and they need E.T.'s healing touch to save them. Your mission is to bring E.T. home to his planet on a nine-person bicycle. Posters show happy children bringing E.T. home.

The only problem is that very few children today seem to know who E.T. is.

Because the ride is dark and E.T. is a bit scary looking to children who don't know him, many children are too scared to even sit on a ride vehicle. However, once they complete the ride, they usually love it.

There are no drops, no loops, and the ride travels at a very sedate speed. Most people who love thrill rides are frankly bored by it.

E.T. has more technical difficulties that any attraction in the park and many of these can cause the ride to close for hours. The ride has been known to close for an entire day due to wiring problems caused by a bad light bulb.

In addition, the ride simply looks a bit old.

If there is less than a 15 minute wait, go ahead and ride. It's cool, dark, and a nice break from a hectic day. However, if the wait is much longer, there are other things in the park that are much more exciting and much more up-to-date.