|
 
Surprisingly, for an in-city theme park, a full-scale, 415-acre, complex of
pavilions and elaborate rides, atop a sharp hill and on broader grounds below
it, connected by escalator, and so expansive as to require more than a day to
experience it all.
Here, among other family attractions, are the elaborate,
staged, extravaganzas that most Americans associate with Universal Studios
Florida, but that were, in many cases, first developed in the Los Angeles park:
The E.T. Adventure, Backdraft, Back to the Future--The Ride, King Kong,
Earthquake--The Big One, Lucy: A Tribute, The Wild, Wild West Stunt Show, Jaws,
and many more. The park, in every respect, compares quite respectably with the
Florida version, and even attempts to upstage Florida’s "Terminator
2:3D" with "Jurassic Park". It may very well be the
only theme park of this size in the nation to be located within the city limits
of the metropolis it adorns and receives nearly 6,000,000 visitors a year.
ALL NEW ATTRACTION, NOW OPEN!
Immerse yourself in movie magic at the new Special Effects Stages. Jump into the
action of creating the special effects of movies' most amazing illusions. It's a
brand new experience that takes you behind the magic of The Scorpion King, The
Grinch, Shrek, Jurassic Park(R), Gladiator, U-571, The Mummy and other
blockbuster hits.
| Water World: A
Live Sea War Spectacular
Traveler's Fare Rating - A+ |
Recommended
Ages: 8-adult
Those entering the Water World attraction emerge in another century,
after the polar ice caps have melted. They are stranded on a desolate
atoll--a floating island of boats, barges, driftwood, and debris.
"Smokers" (roving pirates of the flooded future) aboard the
Hellfire Gunboat, a menacing bullet-spraying vehicle of doom, swarm
about the atoll forcing guests to take cover as the action of the film
comes to life. The attraction, which puts studio guests in the
middle of all the exciting action, features hundreds of fiery effects,
amazing jet-ski stunts, giant fireballs rising 50 feet in the air, and a
seaplane that swoops in directly above the audience, skidding across the
water and coming to an explosive crash-landing just inches away from
startled spectators. |
| Back to the
Future: The Ride
Traveler's Fare Rating - A+ |
Recommended
Ages: 8-adult
Visitors blast through the space-time continuum, plummeting into
volcanic tunnels ablaze with molten lava, colliding with Ice Age
glaciers, thundering through caves and canyons, and briefly being
swallowed by a dinosaur in a spectacular multi-sensory adventure. You
twist, you turn, you dip and dive, and feel like you are really flying.
Stick to seats in the back of the car--designed to resemble the movie's
famous DeLorean--to avoid ruining the illusion by glimpsing your
neighbors careening hydraulically in the next bay. This is a very bumpy
ride and might not be appropriate for those with certain health
problems. Note: Pay heed to the posted warnings displayed at the
ride, and remember that children must be 40 inches tall. |
| Jurassic Park:
The Ride
Traveler's Fare Rating - A |
Recommended
Ages: 8-adult
Come board a riverboat and see the dinosaurs scientists brought back
from extinction. But be warned - stay on course or this cruise
could take a turn for the worse. Vicious Raptors are hiding in the
corners and venomous spitters are waiting for you to get in range.
A ranging T-Rex is on the loose and the only way to escape his
terrifying jaws is an 85-foot plunge into total darkness. Strap in
for the escape of your life on the Jurassic Park River Adventure. |
| Wild,
Wild, Wild West Show
Traveler's Fare Rating - A |
Recommended
Ages: all ages
The Wild, Wild, Wild West Stunt Show is a daring "live" stunt
show that highlights some of film history's most dangerous and memorable
screen feats. With Hal "Smokey and the Bandit" Needham serving
as consultant and Hollywood's finest, most skilled stuntmen, stuntwomen,
and horses as the players, the 15-minute action-comedy is a real
crowd-pleaser. Involving more than 100 stunts, the show unfolds amidst
shattering buildings, thunderous gunfire, whirlwind fistfights, cracking
bullwhips, breathtaking horseplay, and an explosive finale that brings
the house down. |
| Backdraft
Traveler's Fare Rating - A- |
Recommended
Ages: 8-Adult
This stunning re-creation of the greatest special effects from the Ron
Howard blockbuster motion picture of the same name puts guests directly
into the intensity of the film's spectacular final warehouse inferno as
they confront ruptured fuel lines, melting metal, and searing heat.
This carefully choreographed inferno "traps" as many as 42,000
studio guests daily who feel runaway flames licking at their heels. Of
course, as opposed to a dangerous real-life blaze, these flames are
completely controlled. In fact, Universal Studios' visitors experience
the inferno as many as 15 times per hour. |
| Terminator 2:
3-D Battle Across Time
Traveler's Fare Rating - A- |
Recommended
Ages: 8-adult
He's back . . . at least in Hollywood This is billed as "the
quintessential sight and sound experience for the 21st century!"
The same director who made the movie, Jim Cameron, has overseen this
production. After a little bit of a slow start, this attraction builds
to an impressive experience featuring the " Big Man" himself,
along with other original cast members, and combines 70mm 3-D film
(utilizing three 23- by 50-foot screens) with live stage action and
thrilling technical effects. This ride would probably be rated PG for
violence and loud noise, but the crisp 3-D effects are among the best in
California! Small children may find all the crashing and flying 3-D
effects too intense. |
| The
ET Adventure
Traveler's Fare Rating - B |
Recommended
Ages: all ages
Studio guests are uplifted figuratively and literally as they
climb aboard star-bound bicycles, feel the wind on their faces, and
venture across the endless universe with E.T. in an effort to save his
dying home--the mysterious mist-shrouded "Green Planet." It's
a journey fraught with danger, wonderment, and joy. Following an urgent
plea from E.T.'s teacher, Botanicus, E.T. and his newfound friends
escape government agents in a foreboding forest. Mounting bicycles,
visitors finally elude their would-be captors by taking flight. The
winds of the night carry them over the vast Los Angeles metropolis
stretched below. Once through dizzying star fields, the eerily dying
visage of the Green Planet's surface becomes visible with its rocky
crust and volcanic activity. |
| Animal Actors on
Stage
Traveler's Fare Rating - B |
Recommended
Ages: all ages
Hollywood's top animal trainers take you behind the scenes and show you
how some of today's top animal stars got their Hollywood start. The
Animal Actors Stage showcases over 100 animals performing some amazing
animal feats. The cast features such Universal superstars as Beethoven,
Babe, and Lassie as well as other amazing animals from films such as
Twister, Zeus and Roxanne, and George of the Jungle. |
| Lucy:
A Tribute
Traveler's Fare Rating - C |
Recommended
Ages: all ages
Lucy A Tribute is a heart-shaped free-flow facility that enables Lucille
Ball's countless fans to stroll through her dazzling Hollywood career,
which began in 1933. Cued for viewing is never-before-seen home-video
footage and slides of Lucy and the family, her numerous Emmy Awards, her
incredible 25 TV Guide covers, magazine articles, newspaper clippings,
and fan letters from the likes of J. Edgar Hoover and presidents of the
United States. Both the I Love Lucy set and Lucy's Beverly Hills
den, where she spent much of her private time, have been meticulously
re-created here. And for trivia buffs, Universal Studios Hollywood
cinemagicians have created the interactive "California, Here We
Come" game enabling aficionados to test their knowledge of I Love
Lucy episodes. |
 A journey aboard one of
Universal Studios Hollywood's famed trams takes visitors into the spectacle and
atmosphere of some of the screen's most acclaimed movies during the Studio Tour.
Many Universal films (and those of other studios) have been filmed on this
world-famous lot.
The tour takes visitors through many renowned locations and
settings including E.T.- The Extraterrestrial, Primary Colors, Small Soldiers,
Jurassic Park: The Lost World, City Slickers, Three Amigos, Animal House, and
Home Alone 2, among hundreds of others. Television settings that Universal
guests will recognize include Murder, She Wrote, Quantum Leap, Coach, and such
classics as Leave It to Beaver and McHale's Navy.
Tours Include:
Classic Movie
Sets - Jaws - Dante's
Peak - King Kong - Flash Flood
Earthquake (The Big
One) - Parting of the Red Sea -
Collapsing Bridge
|
