Sort of.
Kind of.
Not really. It was a full day like the others. But only part of it was spent at a theme park.
We decided to go back to Universal Studios Hollywood — One. More. Time. (I mentioned in Part 1 that it saved us money to purchase annual passes.)
We were slated to drive down to Anaheim later in the day because we were headed to Disneyland the next morning. And while the drive was only 40 miles or so from our hotel, we knew it could take anywhere from two hours to two weeks to get there in L.A. traffic.
We didn’t arrive at Universal Studios until a little after 10 a.m.
It was a relatively uneventful visit. Bridget and I got this nice selfie by the Universal Studios globe at the entrance:
We were able to go on a single ride — “Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem.” The ride itself had a fairly lengthy line (on par for our experience at the park).
There were a couple families who basically cut in line ahead of us (acting as if they were meeting someone up ahead — which didn’t seem to happen). We didn’t say anything, but it was disappointing to see.
The ride itself was all right. There was a video intro prior to entering the room with the ride (common for this type of ride).
The Minion Mayhem simulator ride was in an auditorium where you sat in tiered seating — not stadium seating. The seats were organized into static cars that would twist, turn, shift, and shake as you watched images on a video screen in front of you.
It is a fairly mild ride, but there were some moments where you felt like you dropped.
After the ride, Bridget and Neil went to talk to customer service folks about the early entry access we had purchased the day before (and the fact that it had turned out to be something of a bust).
Again, we understand that problems can arise... but when you pay $25 a person so you can get things done before the Mario World land fills up, and instead you spend two hours sitting on a concrete floor waiting, that’s not getting the experience you pay for. Fortunately, after talking with a few folks in customer service, they agreed and refunded our early entry fees.
In the meantime, I went with Theresa, Blaise, Anson, and Scotland to try and find Blaise a Korean Corn Dog from the “Hollywood and Dine” concession stand (something he tried to get during our visit the day before).
Sadly, that concession option wasn't open (the waffle fries on the sign looked good, though!) So, instead, we looked at some of the merchandise shops near the entrance.
Blaise had his eye on a Duff Beer hoodie (part of “The Simpsons” merch available in the park). He had initially seen it in another section of the park, but I spotted it hanging in the Universal Studio Store.
The hoodie has a pouch in the front pocket that can hold your cell phone (among other things) and also has a removable bottle cap remover on a cord stitched in one side of the front pocket.
Theresa gave me a wallet full of cash to take Blaise (plus Scotland and Anson) to purchase the hoodie (since Bridget had her come over to the customer service area).
Blaise was very excited the get the hoodie, and he wore it multiple times throughout the rest of the trip.
I should also note that Bridget and I did get a couple of t-shirts in the gift shops. They didn’t have the one I wanted in an XL size (a Universal Studios shirt that featured “E.T.,” “Jaws,” and ‘Back to the Future’) so I opted for this “Back to the Future” t-shirt:
And with that, the curtain closed on our time at Universal Studios Hollywood. We didn’t get to go on all the rides we were hoping to experience (most notably, the Harry Potter area), but we do have 12-month passes, so who knows what might happen.
We did stop at the Cinnabon store on the way out and purchased some boxes of rolls. When Anson got his cinnamon roll he said, “Oh yeah...” and he promptly dug into it.
In addition to two boxes of Cinnabon Classic Rolls our group purchased (which became the basis of our breakfast the next three days), Bridget also purchased a sleeve of the small BonBites (which she and I ate before we got to the car).
The kids wanted to go to In-N-Out Burger for lunch. Bridget and I ate at one during our trip to Utah in 2017 (read my blog post) and I thought it was pretty solid at the time.
There was a location near Universal Studios, so we decided to hit it up. It was a little after 1 p.m. at the time and it seemed to be a popular destination (albeit smaller than some of the more suburban versions of In-N-Out).
Seating was limited. So Bridget and I sat with Scotland at the bar seating area near the entrance.
Bridget got a picture of me pretending like I was eating a burger as she and Scot went to the restroom. I want it on record that the other two burgers on the tray were NOT mine (I wasn't *that* hungry):
Overall, the burgers were good. The fries were crunchy, but tasted odd to me (granted, it had been six years since I had been to an In-N-Out, but they didn’t seem the same). Scotland said they sort of tasted like those canned potato sticks (they were kind of dry).
Neil, Theresa, and Blaise seemed to concur (overall) with our assessment.
As was the case in 2017, I did get an In-N-Out Burger t-shirt to commemorate my visit. I’m not sure why this has become a tradition, but I’m committed now:
We headed back to our hotel to grab our bags for the trip down to Anaheim. We would be spending the next three days in Anaheim.
Heavy, stop-and-go traffic south to Anaheim was the name of the game.
You know it’s a constant issue when car accident attorneys advertise on radio broadcasts. The name of one of the lawyers — Sweet James — sounded like a character from a John Grisham novel.
Bridget and I actually got on the road before our companions. Anson decided he needed to go potty while we were on the freeway, so Neil turned back to the hotel.
Despite our head start, traffic, accidents, and “reroutes” by Siri slowed our progress. In addition, Neil drove the minivan in the carpool lane.
Anyhow, they arrived at the AirBNB in Anaheim before we did.
Theresa texted us this pic from the AirBNB while we were on our way. The discarded items are a bed frame, mattress, rug, and stair railing. They were sitting in the yard behind our AirBNB next to an adjacent property.
Suffice it to say, I was ready to have Bridget drop me off at the nearest Marriott property. This was only our second time staying at an AirBNB. Bridget and I stayed at one the previous September in Massachusetts that was “interesting,” too (read my blog post on that experience).
But the property was nice overall. Anson said he thought it was nicer than their house. (“I like this place better than our old house!”)
There was a living room:
A dining area and kitchen that had obviously been remodeled. Thankfully, the kitchen counters were lined with quite a few outlets (which we put to good use):
There were three bedrooms, which worked out well for our group.
Neil and Theresa stayed in the master bedroom (which had its own bathroom with a double vanity):
We stayed in the spare room. The only picture I got of our room was “after” we removed the bedding (and it was super dark), so I’m including this screen grab from a video I took (it’s not the greatest, but you get the idea):
Here’s what the room looks like in the AirBNB photos:
Blaise and Scotland stayed in the room with the bunkbeds:
There were also snails outside by (and on) the front door (the rain brought them out):
I also noticed that it looked like glue had been used to affix a number of decorations on the walls in the AirBNB. (I can only assume this was done to keep people from stealing the items):
One of the attractions of an AirBNB (as opposed to a hotel) was the fact that we’d have laundry as an option.
Our AirBNB had a washer and dryer in the garage, but the dryer sounded like the bearings were going. Neil and I took video of the dryer — snippets are included in the video below, along with an interview with Scotland:
I joked that I must have “steel-belted underwear” for it to be making that racket. We mentioned it in our feedback, so hopefully it will be rectified for future visitors.
As the dryer was doing its thing, we decided to head out for dinner. Neil and Theresa suggested Maggiano’s Little Italy in Costa Mesa (a bit of a drive, but not too far from where we were staying). Neil and Theresa had eaten at one in Overland Park, KS, before and said it was really good. It was Scotland’s recommendation too — she had eaten at one in Las Vegas.
I've got to be honest with you, I was kind of on the “struggle bus” at this point. The early mornings and long park days had worn me out. Sleeping on the road is different than sleeping at home. As a result, I just sat quietly in the car on the way to dinner (which I don’t typically do).
The Maggiano’s in Costa Mesa was located in the parking lot of South Coast Plaza (a shopping mall). And while the parts of Anaheim that we’d seen so far seemed somewhat “dreary,” Costa Mesa looked pretty legit (and wasn’t far from the ocean).
When we arrived at the restaurant, Scotland spotted these two Lamborghinis in the lot. Bridget asked me if I wanted to take pictures (like I said earlier, I wasn’t in a great mood) and I didn't. But, thankfully, Neil did:
The food was really good. Bridget and I ended up getting the Marco's Meal for Two which allowed us to get two of the Classic entrees, a starter or two side salads (we got the salads), and one dessert.
I had the Four-Cheese Ravioli (which had a pesto alfredo sauce):
Bridget had the Fettuccine Alfredo (which she typically gets):
For dessert, we had the Chocolate Layered Cake (which was amazing):
Neil and Theresa both had the Four-Cheese Ravioli (like I did). Scotland shared Theresa’s ravioli.
Blaise had the Spaghetti with Giant Meatball in Marinara Sauce from the Kids Menu.
Anson had the Flatbread Pizza from the Kids Menu.
They had the Tiramisu for dessert.
They also had some of the Vera's Lemon Cookies (I had one... they were really good):
At the table next to us were some members of the South Dakota State University Men’s and Women’s Track & Field team. I bring that up because Omaha is in the same conference as South Dakota State, so it was something of an odd coincidence to see them there. Bridget spotted them and pointed to the “Omaha” logo on her jacket and the coach smiled and nodded. She also looked it up online — they were competing at the 2023 Long Beach Invitational the next day.
An octogenarian was celebrating her birthday with her family at the restaurant and mentioned how Scotland and I had the “same eyes.” Scotland and I aren’t genetically related at all, but I’ll take that as a compliment!!
We ran into them again as we were leaving and by her comments, she also thought I was Scotland’s grandfather. ;-)
For years, people have asked Bridget if Scotland is her “grandbaby” (which prompted Bridget to start dying her hair several years ago). Now I know how that feels!
It was a terrific dinner. I certainly felt better after getting some good food in my system.
We headed back to the AirBNB to rest up for our visit to Disneyland. It would turn out to be an amazing day!
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