Day 4...Down & Out in LA - 30th June

After a nutritious breakfast of Sprite, pancakes and butter flavoured syrup (I don't know how much longer I can do this!) we trotted off to Universal Studios. Saw a great pair of trannies on the way - and for some weird reason they were turning heads! On Hollywood Boulevard no less. I thought this is LA isn't it? They should be standard.

Universal Studios is great! I had so much fun and so did Nate. They have put far more effort in than Disneyland and although the rides are kinda the same (you sit in a car and look at stuff) you don't see the wire and stickytape like Disneyland. The Studio Tour was a notch on the old "things to do before I die" belt and when Jaws popped out of the water I was just so damn happy!

We saw studios and set ups that were used a hell of a lot in heaps of films, from New York streetscapes and western towns and European towns. We saw the Psycho hotel, the airplane crash scene from War of the Worlds and a bull that was going to be used in the sequel to Bruce Almighty (he was wandering around the backlots). Some bridge that is used in dozens of movies was there, and the cars used in films such as The Mummy, Back to the future (the Delorian) and the Fast and the Furious were all displayed. The Jurassic Park cages were also there. Some cobbed cottage used in films was there (I'll have to keep an eye out now) and the set for Whoville for the Grinch movie was there as well. We went past the property shed (props) and a "bigature" of Kong Island. (King Kong used lots of miniatures, and small scaled models called 'bigatures' to film their scenes).

There was a bit where we went into a set for an underground subway and there was a simulated earthquake and water came gushing down the stairs. You can see it exactly in Beverly Hills Cop II where it is a ride at the "Wonderworld" theme park, but without the aliens shooting at each other. I could just see Eddie Murphy standing in one of the windows watching it haha! We also went past Wisteria Lane (Inny you'd love that)

After the tour we saw the Shrek 4D where water is sprayed at you when Donkey sneezes and the chairs rock when the carriage moves. Quite cute. I shat myself in the Van Helsing spookhouse! I was wandering through going "yeah...this is alright" when a paid actor came shooting out at me in the darkness waving his arms and I screamed my lungs out! Then near the end the werewolf came out and he had a longer reach than I expected and screamed again too, much to Nathan's amusement!

The Waterworld Show was a riot and had B grade actors from 24, CSI and stuff in it. They basically ran around a set with pyrotechnics and jetskis and stuff. I don't know why but I really got into the cheeziness of Universal Studios and shouted and cheered along with everything.

Fear Factor was being filmed while we were there so we watched an episode being made, where people had to drink a smoothie of sour milk, pigs carcass and bugs! And they drank it all, while I gagged and wretched in my seat.

The funniest thing of the day was Nathan! We went on the Jurassic Park ride near the end of the day. All the rides we had been on so far were just sitting and looking at stuff, with no rollercoasters or anything. I saw in the pamphlet though that there was an 84 foot drop so kept an eye out during the ride. Nathan, however, had no idea. So we were traveling along in this Jurassic Park boat, and the climax at the end had a big T-Rex come out above us roaring and stuff. I knew the drop was coming so looked down and clutched onto my sunnies. Nathan kept looking up at the T-Rex and suddenly felt his guts up in his mouth. He forced his head down and just as he saw the drop - the ride photo was taken!

Oh my god, it was so funny! I saw it and started laughing, asking him why he did his spastic face for the picture. It eventually transpired that his facial expression was purely involuntary and he got caught out that way! You know the face Nathan does when something stupid happens and he pretends to be a retard? Well that time it was real. hee hee. We cried with laughter for hours after it. I wish I had bought it but they wanted to rape us $23 US for it. Hmmm. In hindsight now I wish I had because it really was a fantastic photo!
He got some revenge back at me during the Mummy Ride however, as my face was all goobie and squished up in fright in the photo as we took off really fast!

A lifesaver for the day was we spent a little extra in getting Fast Passes which took us to the front of the line for everything. I loved going straight to the front of the line and bypassing all the plebs and laughing at them (much to Nathan's consternation as I was none too subtle about it either).

We pretty much saw everything at Universal Studios (thanks to the Fast Pass - *mwuah*) and wandered around City Walk watching the street acts, and ate dinner etc. I saw a Donnie Darko and Willy Wonka toyset and got quite excited too! Then were were completely stuffed and went home to bed as LA nightlife is shit.

Even though the staff were constantly clapping and shouting and making crappy jokes - it was just so much cheezy good fun there! And seeing the backlots and props and being so close to the Dream Factory - warts and all - was just kinda romantic to me in all.