Right around four years ago, I wrote a seven-part series on our trip to Disney World in Florida.
Little did we know in 2019 that travel would soon become an issue in the world and meticulously planned trips would be put on the back burner.
So here we are in 2023, back for another amusement park-centered trip. This time out, we set our sights on visiting the West Coast (somewhere I hadn’t visited before) to check out Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland, and Disney’s California Adventure Park.
Once again, Bridget and I traveled with our niece Scotland, our nephews Blaise and Anson, and their mom Theresa and dad Neil (Bridget’s brother).
Not being blessed children of our own, it is nice to be included in these family excursions with our siblings. It can be really difficult not having kids.
There are so many interesting life events that you miss out on when you don’t have children. The “family vacation” is one such event.
If you know Bridget, you know she is constantly talking about wanting to do things with our nieces and nephews. She loves having the chance to spend time with the “littles” in our life.
These opportunities just mean so much to us.
(Note: If you want to view the full resolution version of any of the pictures in this post, click on the image.)
We flew out of Omaha on April 9 — Easter Sunday. The plane departed Eppley Airfield at 8 p.m. — a late flight, but we picked up two hours crossing time zones on the way to Los Angeles.
As I mentioned earlier, I had never been to the West Coast. The past 20 years I’ve managed to visit most of the eastern seaboard states (some — like Massachusetts — multiple times). The furthest west I had previously traveled was Phoenix, AZ.
Anson is five and his last flight was in 2019 on our trip to Florida. Obviously, he’d have no recollection of that trip. So this was basically a new experience for him. He kept asking if we were flying up to space! ;-)
(Passenger flights to space could happen sometime during his lifetime!)
To be honest, I didn't quite know what to expect in California. My companions had visited the state before, but this was new territory for me.
After a brief stop in Las Vegas to pick up passengers (we stayed on the plane), we flew the rest of the way to LAX.
It was a jarring landing in L.A. The city was foggy that evening, and the abrupt landing made us feel like the plane had hit something.
We grabbed our bags from the carousel (our group of seven had quite a bit of luggage since it was a 7-day trip) and hopped on a shuttle for the rental car area.
Neil, Theresa, and the kids rented a minivan. We opted for a Toyota Camry.
My first impression of L.A. (it was around midnight at this point) was that “the traffic is insane.” You always hear stories about Los Angeles traffic, but over the course of the week we’d soon discover what a “slog” it is to get anywhere in the city.
The first three days of the trip were dedicated to visiting Universal Studios Hollywood. The big draw was the new Super Nintendo World attraction — Anson is a HUGE Super Mario fan.
We saw “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (recently released) prior to the trip and thought it was a lot of fun!
Neil and Theresa hadn’t told the kids about the trip to Cali until the morning we left (it was an Easter surprise). They were caught off guard, but pretty chill about the whole thing (although Anson told his parents that he'd rather drive to California!).
We stayed at a Marriott Courtyard in Sherman Oaks. Our window looked out onto the the 405 and 101. It was amazing to see the number of Teslas on the road while we were in California (we love Teslas) — it is as if they constantly truck the things in.
While we didn’t get up at the crack of dawn (something that would become commonplace as the trip progressed), we did get an early start to Universal Studios Hollywood (about 10 miles from our hotel).
Siri directed us to the parking garages located just outside of the the Universal CityWalk — an amalgamation of restaurants and shops adjacent to the theme park. By the time we arrived and parked (in the E.T. section of the parking garage) it was almost 11 a.m.
Most of us hadn’t had anything (other than snacks) to eat since lunch the day before, so we were hungry.
We opted to eat lunch at Johnny Rockets in the CityWalk area. The seven of us had eaten at a Johnny Rockets four years prior on our trip to Florida when we took a beach excursion to Daytona (read the blog post).
Most of us had burgers of one form or another (The Original Single, Double, and the Smokehouse being popular options):
Anson focused his effort on his Oreo Cookies & Cream Shake (he also had a grilled cheese and fries that he nibbled on):
Scotland had the new Eggo Chicken and Waffles Sandwich. Adventurous, to say the least. She had a hard time getting her mouth around the waffles, chicken, and bacon that comprised the sandwich:
There was also a photographer in the restaurant who was taking pictures of people eating. I was in the restroom at the time, but she took a picture of the rest of our group. She said the first picture was free. We didn’t ask what further ones would cost. Bridget did tip her a couple of bucks for the photo we received.
Anyhow... our appetites satiated, we entered Universal Studios Hollywood. You have to go through a security checkpoint with scanners prior to entering with your tickets.
PRO TIP: Bridget and Theresa purchased season passes for our group. It worked out to be a better deal (and including free daily parking at the park).
In many respects, the initial experience is similar to going to a Disney property like Magic Kingdom. There are various merchandise shops near the entrance/exit area.
The park is laid out in different “lots” (as they refer to the different areas of the park). You enter the park in the Upper Lot and certain attractions (like Super Nintendo World) are in the Lower Lot.
The first themed area we entered was the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” in the upper lot area of the park.
Stylistically, the Harry Potter area looks terrific. You can see Hogwarts Castle and there are various other experiences from the books such Ollivander’s Wand Shop.
We soon discovered that wait times were LONG for a number of rides and attractions in the park. It was wall-to-wall people while we were at Universal.
As it regarded the Harry Potter area, we just looked around briefly (Bridget and I had talked about riding the Flight of the Hippogriff rollercoaster, but the wait times seemed excessive). Maybe next time!
Wanting to get something accomplished, our group decided to cross the Studio Tour off our list first.
The line wound around through several stanchions. There were constant reminders on the video boards that you could exit and re-enter the line if you needed to use the restroom before the ride (Neil and Anson visited the restroom during our wait). Staff members would help you accomplish this.
I will say that Universal probably needs to update the video content on these boards. The videos featured Jimmy Fallon (looking very young) and referenced a lot of movies and TV shows the current generation would be hard pressed to remember (such as the 1960s cop show “Adam-12”). They have such a rich content library they really should feature more contemporary IP.
I had a lot of time to ponder how the video content could be improved as we waited...
...and waited...
...and waited some more...
It took about 70 minutes, but we were finally able to get on a tram to do the Studio Tour.
The tour itself was interesting. I enjoyed seeing all the backlot streetscapes they had for filming movies and TV shows.
One of the sets featured was the used for the Hill Valley City Hall (location of the clock tower) in “Back to the Future” (it looks different than other pics I have seen online, but we'll go with the notion that the set dressings are just different):
We also saw this woman jogging during the tour and wondered if she was someone famous (we don’t think so...):
They also had an area that they told us made an appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (read my review):
There was an area featuring the shark from “Jaws”:
There were some cars from the “Fast and Furious” movies:
I wondered how much they pay this guy to play Norman Bates and haul out Janet Leigh’s body to the car each day:
One of the more extensive sets on the backlot tour was from Tom Cruise’s 2005 remake of “War of the Worlds.” The set featured plane crash wreckage:
In addition to the sets, there were also a couple of “mini rides” within the tour. The tram would enter a building, the doors would close, passengers would put on their 3D glasses, and an immersive 3D experience would ensue where the tram would jostle, shake, and shift (it made you feel like you were riding, flying, and getting hit in a movie scene):
I found it to be an entertaining tour. And after 70 minutes of standing, it was nice to be able to sit for the hour-long tour — I’d say it was worth the wait!
We headed next to the Simpsons-branded area of the park. There is an area called Krustyland (after Krusty the Clown on the animated series) that features The Simpsons Ride.
But we weren’t headed for the ride. We were headed to Lard Lad Donuts on Fast Food Boulevard to get a couple of the GIANT donuts they serve at the concession stand.
Bridget and I didn’t actually get one of the donuts (I don’t know why), but Neil and Theresa purchased two of them (the things are the size of a small cake... so it was probably smart that we didn’t get one).
One of the donuts purchased featured white frosting, Oreo cookie pieces, and a pink drizzle:
The other donut is a signature item known as “The Big Pink” (also featured on a number of merchandise items sold in the park) and it had pink frosting and sprinkles:
Bridget and I sampled some of the donut with pink frosting and sprinkles. It was really good, but also really filling.
After the snack (and a restroom break) we decided to check out the “Waterworld” show.
It’s kind of amazing to think that a movie released in 1995 (an aqua-based version of “Mad Max” that failed to recoup its budget at the box office) is still featured at the park. I remember seeing “Waterworld” in the theater the summer Bridget and I worked in the PR department at Bellevue University.
It was a fairly extensive production and the actors did a good job interacting with the audience (which primarily involved spraying water on attendees sitting on the “green bleachers” in the venue).
It turned out to be an entertaining show featuring stunts, fights, and pyrotechnics:
Fun fact: The performer who played “The Mariner” in the show apparently appeared in the CBS series “Hawaii Five-0.”
After the show we headed to the DreamWorks Theatre to see the “Kung Fu Panda” show. The show itself was one of those motion-simulation shows. It was a short, animated adventure that featured a Kung Fu Panda adventure on wraparound video screens.
The theater features seats that shake and vibrate. There were also water droplets sprayed on attendees during the water sequences in the show.
It was mildly entertaining. I’m not sure it was worth the wait time to get in (I think we waited more than 40 minutes or so for the show).
Earlier (after the Waterworld show), I had heard one of the departing attendees ask his family if they wanted to go back to the Super Nintendo World. Because the attraction is new — and because it is very popular — we had thought we wouldn’t be able to see it on our first day (that is why we had made an early reservation for the following morning).
I thought we should try and check it out (even if we couldn’t do the “Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge” Ride). As luck would have it, we were able to get into Super Nintendo World.
To get to the attraction, we had to descend four long escalators (alternately, you could go on staircases) to the park’s Lower Lot.
Super Nintendo World is nestled alongside the “Jurassic World,“ “Transformers: The Ride-3D“, and “Revenge of the Mummy” rides at the park.
It is a really cute area. You enter the world through a “green pipe“ with brightly-colored lights.
It is designed to make you feel like you are in the video game. I first played “Super Mario World” when I received a Super Nintendo video game system from my parents for Christmas in 1991.
When we entered the area, it was about time for dinner. Theresa had been able to secure a reservation at the Toadstool Cafe for our group:
To say the food choices were “interesting” is a bit of an understatement. While all of the dishes “looked” fun, the offerings might not appeal to picky eaters.
While Super Mushroom Soup (one of two soup choices on the menu) might be “thematically” on brand for a Super Mario attraction, how many little ones do you know who eat mushroom soup? (Or adults, for that matter.)
I ordered the Luigi Burger (which is a grilled chicken sandwich featuring basil pesto sauce, green peppers, spinach, and Swiss cheese). It comes with truffle fries (crinkle fries sprinkled with spices):
Bridget ordered the Super Star Chicken Salad. It featured romaine lettuce with grilled chicken slices. The star croutons might look like small sponges, but they are standard croutons. Bridget really enjoyed the salad:
“For the sake of the blog,” we also ordered the Toadstool Cheesy Garlic Knots to sample...
... as well as a Princess Peach Cupcake:
The items we ordered were tasty. The bun on my chicken sandwich (which had a Luigi mustache burned into the top) was a bit on the dry side, but overall the sandwich was very good.
The garlic knots were solid and the cupcake was delicious (Bridget is not a fan of fruit filling in basically anything, so the raspberry filling in the cupcake wasn’t her thing, but she enjoyed the frosting and cake. Overall, I thought it was really good!)
Scotland had the Power-Up Spaghetti Marinara (it included a garlic knot and a coin cookie) from the kids menu:
Theresa ordered the Mario Mini Burger Adventure Set from the kids menu (hoping she could interest Anson in some of the items) which featured a small cheeseburger, truffle fries, corn on the cob, broccoli, and a coin cookie:
Neil and Blaise opted for the dessert items. Both are fairly picky eaters and there weren’t many meal items that appealed to them (not surprising considering the rather eclectic items on the menu).
Blaise got the Question Block Tiramisu:
Neil ordered the Mt. Beanpole Cake:
I sampled some of the Mt. Beanpole Cake. It tasted kind of like neapolitan ice cream with vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry cream layers.
The coin cookies are sort of a "reverse Oreo" with solid cream coating on the outside, and a chocolate cookie on the inside:
We had a nice experience in the Toadstool Cafe. It took a bit to get our food, but the ambiance in the venue was really nice. The chunky, cartoon-like chairs were fun, along with the rest of the Mario-themed decor in the restaurant.
I think the kids enjoyed the experience. Anson certainly had a good time decorating his cupcake with the various knick-knacks that came with our meals.
PRO TIP: There are no restrooms in the restaurant itself, so you have to go out into the park if you want to wash your hands before you eat. It might be worthwhile to bring wet wipes with you to the park for the little ones.
After dinner, we looked around Super Nintendo World a bit more. Anson got a Mario hat and Power-Up Band in the 1-Up Factory merch store:
Scotland also got a Power-Up Band. The bands allow you to keep score throughout the Super Nintendo World area as you compete in challenges, defeat Bowser Jr., and collect coins.
For those who have played video games such as Super Mario World and collected coins, you’ll recall that there are “coin boxes” Mario jumps up and hits with his head to release the coins (and other items) in his adventures.
The bands are designed to allow you to tap your wrist on the underside of coin boxes throughout the park and collect the coins for rewards.
Prior to having a band, Anson was hitting his head on the underside of the boxes (like Mario does in the video game) because that’s the way the game is played. It was pretty cute and I wish I had been able to get a picture or video of it!
After the sun went down, the temps dropped (we had cool temperatures throughout our stay in California). While all of us had packed a jacket for the trip, we hadn’t come prepared for the chilly temperatures (it was actually warmer back in Omaha while we were in California).
Bridget got me this Super Nintendo World hoodie at the 1-Up Factory store so I didn’t get too cold (which I ended up wearing for three days!):
As a result, we decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel to rest up for our next day at the park.
Neil convinced Bridget, Scotland, and me to join him and Blaise on the staircases to return to the upper level. (Why we agreed to do this is beyond me.) I had mentioned the four long flights of stairs (along with escalators) earlier in this post. Here is a picture Neil took of ONE of the four flights:
I walk for 40 minutes each day, but going up two flights of those was pretty draining. Bridget, Scotland, and I took the escalators for the final two flights — and never took the stairs again! (Neil and Blaise took them multiple times.) ;-)
As we made our way through the Universal CityWalk to our vehicles, we were excited to see what was in store for our second day at Universal Studios Hollywood. We had a date with the Mario Kart ride and were hoping to dig into the park some more!!
Read Part 2 here.
Read Part 3 here.
Read Part 4 here.
Read Part 5 here.
Read Part 6 here.
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