Universal Studios Hollywood

Back to the Future the Ride: One of my favorite rides in the park! A very high-tech motion simulator. T2-3D: Terminator 2 is a mix of live action and 3-D (hence the name). It is very exciting and worth seeing. Jurassic Park River Adventure: Dinosaurs, lots of water, and an 84-foot drop. What more can you ask for? It's the 2nd longest water drop in the world. Backdraft: Very hot and very popular!

Quick Tips:

VIP Tours: Expensive, but well worth it. You get to wander around the back lot, go on rides without waiting in line, and walk inside working sound stages. VIP Passes: for a nominal fee you can purchase VIP passes which give you priority boarding for attractions. Celeb Quotient: There are stars in the park all the time! Although they sometimes go the VIP route, more often, they just wait in line like everyone else. I always hear guests whispering to eachother, 'that looks like so-and-so'. The guests then go about their business not realizing that it really was a star they were talking about. Best seats: In the shows, go for the middle! Everything is directed towards the middle of the theater. Back to the Future: Level 2, Vehicle 6. The film was shot specifically for the POV of this vehicle. Jurassic Park: There is no pattern to where you sit to get wet or stay dry. It totally depends on the weight of the people on the boat. E.T.: The far left side of the vehicle. The first two rows have a better view, but the third row seat is more comfortable.

Best Way To Get Around:

Unless you buy a VIP Tours, peak season can be very busy with wait times of up to 2 hours for some attractions. Be prepared to stand in line for a very long time.

Some of the best food in the park. It's a bit exotic, but they do sell burgers and fries as well. Try the ham and swiss sandwich on pretzel bread or the BBQ Chicken Fries.

Mel's Diner is one of the most popular places in the park for a bite to eat. A classic fifties diner, Mel's serves some of the best burgers, fries, and thick chocolate shakes in the park.

The atmosphere is pure fifties and there are a few more exotic choices on the menu for the daring (anyone for a buffalo burger?).

Be prepared for long lines as there are relatively few places in the park that sell burgers and fries and Mel's is usually packed with families with children.

During peak season, have someone in your party stake out a table while someone else waits in line, because seating can be scarce.

CityWalk is now one of LA's most popular hotspots. Day or night people come to eat, shop, and people watch. Right outside the gates of Universal Studios, CityWalk draws more than just the park crowd as people from all over LA come to enjoy the fun. There are over 30 restaurants and countless shops. Favorite eating spots include: Bucca di Beppo, B.B. King's, Gladstones, Shanghai Main. As for shopping: Hot Topic, Dapy, Sketchers, The Upstart Crow. There's also a bowling alley (Jillian's), a mutli-plex theater, an Imax theater, and my favorite - a Virtual Reality NASCAR racing exhibit (I lost the race!). CityWalk has something for everyone!

Tucked away near Backdraft, The World of Cinemagic is often passed by without consideration by guests looking for more of a thrill. It is one of the best kept secrets in the park.

Cinemagic Studio Guides whisk you away for a real behind-the-scenes look at movie magic. And the best part is that you get to help the magic happen by volunteering!

The first set takes you behind the scenes of the Back to the Future movies. The second set introduces you to Alfred Hitchcock and tells you some of his secrets. The third and final set takes you behind the scenes of The Klumps for some very funny sound effects editing. All the while, you get the opportunity to get up on stage and be a star.

If you are really interested in film and what it takes to make a movie happen, this show is for you!

Unlike most attractions in the park, Cinemagic is an air-conditioned, sit-down show. You can bring food and drink inside and it's suitable for all ages.

The Jurassic Park River Adventure remains one of the most popular attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood. This is an exciting water ride culminating in an 84-foot drop. (This is the 2nd biggest water drop in the world - the first is the drop at Jurassic Park Florida, which beats L.A. by 1 foot.)

You will get wet - in fact, soaked! Many people try to avoid getting wet by sitting in particular sections of the boat - it doesn't work! How the boat hits during the drop depends on the weight distribution in the boat. On one boat the front seat may not get wet at all. On another, it gets soaked. Just be prepared to get very, very wet!

For your convenience, they do sell ponchos, which will keep you a bit dryer (read...not DRY just DRYER). At one point, the ponchos were selling for only 75 cents. BE AWARE - the things have changed and they now sell only the $7.00 ponchos. They say that the 75-cent ponchos were not legal in the poncho industry and that they must sell $7.00 ponchos. Just bring a large garbage bag from home and you might be better off!

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.

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.

Universal Studios Hollywood is truly one of the best theme parks around for guests with Special Needs.

Every attraction is wheelchair accessible and has special evacuation procedures to assist disabled guests in the event of technical difficulties.

Employees are trained to notice guests who may have special needs and will immediately assist them with finding alternate entrances and with boarding without causing any embarrassment.

Back to the Future has vehicles specially designated for disabled guests. These vehicles are placed near special wheelchair elevators which make evacuation during technical difficulties a breeze.

The E.T. Adventure has a specially modified vehicle which allows wheelchair-bound guests to ride in a wheelchair if necessary.

The technical folks at Universal are hard at work desiging a specially modified boat for Jurassic Park which, when complete, will allow wheelchair-bound guests to experience the park's most thrilling attraction.

Guest Relations does offer a pamphlet for guests with special needs explaining everything that is available for them in the park, however, no special passes are needed.

If you have a disability that is not readily apparent, a quick word with one of the attendants at the front of an attraction, and your needs will quickly be taken care of.

One important note: If you are traveling without your own wheelchair and wish to rent one in the park, they are available for a modest fee. However, on days when the park is very busy, wheelchairs sometimes run out by noon. Rent one early in the day if you suspect you might need one.