E.T.'s Adventure is getting tired!

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.

Back to the Future is still one of my favorite rides. One of the first true motion simulator adventures, it is still one of the best!

While seated in a motion simulator, you are thrust into the future, back into the age of the dinosaurs, and into a very active volcano. The ride is very realistic, and very rough! Frequency injections in the vehicle seats make this rougher than many roller coasters.

People with heart, back, and neck conditions are strongly suggested to pass this one up - seriously! People have died on this ride!!!

The best ride of all is to be had in vehicle six on level 2 of the building. (There are three levels.) The film you see was shot from the point of view of this vehicle and every high level executive and star in the park requests this vehicle.

At the turnstile, you are directed one of three places, up the stairs, straight ahead, or down a ramp. Level 2 is straight ahead and again, has the best ride possible.

When you enter the building, you are placed in the preshow where there are numbered lines on the floor. These numbers do not correspond to the vehicle number. You want line numbers 3 or 8. These should get you into vehicle six. Again - this is only on level 2!

Remember, there are 24 ride vehicles and often vehicles are down due to technical problems. If vehicle six is down, try for either vehicle 5 or 7 instead - they are almost as good.

Vehicle 4 is primarily used for disabled guests due to it's proximity to a wheelchair elevator in case of evacuation. However, it has the worst show of all the vehichles in the building.

I just went to Universal Studios Hollywood with my family and had the most amazing time. We began our day at CityWalk, where we had a delicious lunch and enjoyed great people-watching. When we got into the park, we went straight to the Mummy, which had been one of our original reasons for going (we had prepped by buying the DVDs). My kids and husband went nuts when they saw the scenery, and we all screamed our heads off when the ride really got going. The Mummy gives a whole new meaning to the word fast. There is no greater thrill than being shot through the dark at what feels like the speed of light. After the Mummy, my kids cooled off in the Nickelodeon Blast Zone. Obviously, it was not for us adults, but it was great watching them have fun in the water.

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.

Lower lot
After this amazing tour, it’s time for some more action and thrill rides. Via a few escalators, you reach the lower lot of the park. In Backdraft, you’re a witness of a gigantic fire in a factory. At the special-effects stages, they explain you how special effects are made and used.

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!!!

Today is our big fun day. After checking out of the hotel, we’re heading to Universal Studios. It’s easy to find; just follow the signs from the freeway. As you enter the parking lot, you need to pay for it. Last year it was $8, but now it’s already $10. The parking areas are marked with movie themes, like Curious George, Jurassic Park, and Frankenstein.

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.