Our second full day in California brought hope that we could avoid two-plus hour waits in our quest to ride “Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge” at Universal Studios Hollywood.
We paid extra ($25 per person) to get early access (7 a.m. entry) into the park.
It was a foggy morning and we had to get up early to beat the crowds (which is a hard thing to do when you’re on vacation). No rest for the weary, as they say.
Anson — who loves Mario — had trouble waking up (let’s face it, we all did). Here he was at 5:55 a.m.:
The little guy also managed to fall asleep in the van during the drive to the park:
Our second day of fun at Universal Studios saw us landing in the “Jurassic Parking” garage. As I mentioned in the previous post, we had purchased season passes to the park — which allowed us to park for free (parking before 5 p.m. is $30 per vehicle without the season pass):
Even though our group was tired, we were excited to get to experience the park’s newest ride — no one more than Anson.
As I mentioned, it was foggy. You can see just how dreary it was as we walked by Krustyland on our way to the escalators to the lower lot.
Neil and Blaise took the four long flights of stairs (again) to the attractions. We rode the escalators.
Since the crowd was lighter at 7 a.m., I decided to capture a video of us entering Super Nintendo World. I wanted to give you a feel for what it’s like to enter the immersive video game world. Despite the construction crane in the far background, I think you’ll agree that it is a visually appealing attraction:
Theresa also took a picture of me taking the video (very meta). While it wasn’t my most flattering angle (do I have a flattering angle?) I thought I’d include it:
Our first priority was getting in line for “Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge.” And at first, the line rolled along really well. We entered the winding interior of the ride at 7:08 a.m.
Modern rides and attractions at theme parks tend to feature “photo worthy” holdout lines these days. I’m sure a psych major could write a dissertation about the positive impact they have on patrons waiting in a long line.
There were some very photogenic areas.
There was a room designed to look like the interior of Bowser’s castle. Bowser is Anson’s favorite character in the Mario Universe, so he posed for a picture (he was really good about “auto posing” for us, without any prompting):
The attraction was covered with a variety of interesting nooks and crannies, including this corner that featured a telescope and books on various aspects of the Mario video games:
This is Bowser’s throne (with a portrait of Princess Peach). Even though it looks like you could pose on the chair, it was gated off:
We reached the instructional area for the ride at 7:24 a.m. (in a room that features video panels). Things were set! We were just a few steps from being able to ride “Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge”!
We were ready! We were excited! We were about the step onto the most popular ride in the park!
Then things went haywire.
The ride broke down (something not uncommon for this particular ride). Not knowing what the duration of the wait would be, we had a decision to make — should we stay or should we go?
It was a difficult decision to make. The day before, we had spent an entire day at the park, and had only made it on one “actual ride” (the Studio Tour). If we left, it could mean that we would be waiting two hours or more in a holdout line (based on the previous day’s wait times for the Mario Kart ride).
We decided to wait. The kids were really patient. As I said, we had entered the last holdout room at 7:24 a.m.
We finally got into the the room where you receive your Mario visors at 8:53 a.m. — which meant that our entire paid early access time had been dedicated to waiting for a single ride.
They distribute the visors at a couple of windows in the room.
We put on our visors. When we got into the karts, they handed us a clear visor to put over our eyes (that attached to the red Mario visors). It was a surprising amount of equipment for a ride like this (based on similar amusement park attractions we’ve been on).
But before we actually went on the ride, there was another holdout area:
Then we finally got to go on the karts. I went with Bridget, Scotland, and some guy who cut his way in line (in my opinion) as a “single rider” (he explained his process to me for getting on all the rides quickly).
The four-person karts twist and spin as they race down hallways. On similar rides we’ve been on (at Disneyland and Disney World), you’ll often shoot at video screens.
Overall, it was a fun experience (I mean, other than the wait).
What was interesting about this ride is that all the action was happening in the visor you were wearing on your head. You would shoot at items in your visor using a controller in front of you on the kart.
I’m sure the setup meant fewer technical components needed to be installed in the walls surrounding the ride (it certainly meant that they didn’t need to install a massive number of video screens). It might also make maintenance/upgrades easier.
But it was definitely an interesting experience as a result. As I mentioned, the ride is stylistically on point, but it would have been amazing to shoot at items mounted around the kart track.
But at that point, we were all just happy that we were able to get on the ride!😉
We exited the ride and returned to the exterior portion of Super Nintendo World. It was 9:15 a.m. at this point, and the park had opened for everyone.
Anson and Scotland collected more items with their interactive Power-Up Bands™. We had been hoping to collect all the coins using the watch-like accessory *before* the park opened to the general public. The coin tracks how many coins the wearer collects from the question-mark blocks found in the land, records badges they win from activities, and mark how well they do at the four Key Challenges inside the land. The Key Challenges are "mini-games" and include the Goomba Crazy Crank, Piranha Plant Nap Mishap, Koopa Troops POWer Punch, and the Thwomp Power Panel Panic.
The technical difficulties for the Mario Kart ride thwarted those plans. (And, if you collected at least three of the four keys from the challenge, you can enter Bowser Jr.’s hideout to play the Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown).
We decided to check out another ride in the Lower Lot before things got too busy (but we would head back to Super Nintendo World later).
The Jurassic World area was our next destination. “Jurassic World – The Ride” takes cues from the “Jurassic World” movies and features videos with characters Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard).
The ride itself is an experience similar to Disney’s Splash Mountain. You ride on boats and find yourself face-to-face with various dinosaurs featured in the movies. The ride itself culminates in the boats moving slowly up a steep incline, then dropping down a watery incline on the opposite site.
As our boat dropped, Anson exclaimed, “I literally just died!” Afterwards, he said, “That was so realistic!”
(I would have gotten more pictures, but I didn’t want to lose my iPhone as the boat jostled and sloshed — I’ll have to consider a GoPro for future excursions!)
PRO TIP: Bridget brought ponchos for our group for the water rides (and in case it rained during our time at the parks). It is a good idea to bring them along — especially if the weather is cooler (as it was during our trip). You can buy ponchos in the gift shops at the parks, but they are much more expensive. She said next time she’ll buy 2-3 for each of us ahead of time and then just throw them away after the ride, instead of drying them out and trying to fold them back into their original pouches, a task Neil tackled for us during this trip.
After the ride we stopped at the Super Nintendo World popcorn stand to get snacks (we hadn’t yet had anything to eat due to our early start).
Bridget and I opted to get one of the Fruity Cream Sodas served — Luigi’s Green Apple Soda.
The $12 drink is a green apple soda (obviously) with vanilla ice cream, popping bobas (tasty little slime balls), vanilla ice cream, and a cherry (which, oddly enough, had a pit in it!)
The Luigi Green Apple Soda was really good. Bridget and I both enjoyed it and thought it was really refreshing.
Theresa purchased the Mario Kart popcorn bucket at the snack stand (it is apparently the same as a bucket sold at Universal Studios Japan). A bag of popcorn was obtained as part of the purchase.
The bucket was $39.99 and included free refills on the day of purchase.
A hatch in the back of the Kart holds the popcorn. It also has a carrying strap that features character icons from the video games and the wheels light up blue:
Next up (just a few steps from the snack stand) was “Transformers: The Ride-3D.”
This was a 3D ride where you moved and interacted with screen while wearing 3D glasses — as the cart you were riding in zipped forward, twisted, and dropped. (I think that was a good explanation...I think you get what I mean.)
My nephew Blaise told me that during a part where a missile flies at you, he instinctively ducked (due to the realistic look in 3D). As a result, his 3D glasses fell off (Neil gave him his pair to use for the remaining duration).
We had thought about doing the “Revenge of the Mummy” ride next, but the wait times had crept up while we were in the Transformers ride. It was 11 a.m. and our group was hungry. So we headed back to the Upper Lot (with Neil and Blaise once again taking the four mountainous staircases).
We decided to eat at Luigi’s Pizza and Pasta in the Simpsons-branded area. Most of us opted for either the Nice Slice O’Pepperoni Pizza or Nice Slice O’Cheese Pizza with a side of the Cheesy Garlic Bread:
Blaise had spotted the concession area the previous day and thought it looked good. Overall, it was probably the best food we had during our time at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Blaise also got Fat Tony’s Witness-Protected Pasta (with red sauce and meatballs) along with his pizza. And if you look carefully, keen-eyed observers will spot a Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie on his tray (something we purchased as well):
After lunch, we walked over to Krustyland. In addition to “The Simpsons Ride,” there are a variety of carnival-type games to play.
Neil opted to try the basketball hoops (it cost $17 for five balls, plus a bonus ball at the end worth double the points). I’ve watched Neil do hoop games like this at places like Vala’s Pumpkin Patch and at Chuck E. Cheese over the years (I mean, I’ve known him since he was 12), and he normally does very, very well.
This was not Neil’s best performance (we'll chalk it up to a "pizza coma"). He had been trying to bank the ball off the backboard. At some point, the guy running the game mentioned that their backboards weren’t the best way to shoot it, and Neil opted to shoot for the hoop and swished it in. Fortunately, the final ball was worth “2 points” versus the first five that were only a single point.
I put together this video with some highlights (includes the prize he ultimately won):
There was also a walkway in Krustyland that featured a rubberized cushion path — it felt AMAZING. Our feet took a beating standing/walking at the park and that path felt like we were standing on marshmallows (frankly, the whole park should be THAT!):
We needed to find a restroom (they were surprisingly difficult to spot) and we headed to the park’s French Street area.
Bridget and I waited with Scotland while Neil, Theresa, Blaise and Anson went to the restroom. We took this picture of Scotland sitting on one of the retro motorcycles (the street is designed to look like 1935):
After everyone returned refreshed, we walked down around the Super Silly Fun Land area. A neat-looking Wet Zone (with 80 different water play features) is front-and-center in Super Silly Fun Land (although, it seemed a tad bit cool for a water park on this particular day). It did give me some ideas for future water features at Robin Hill Pool:
There was also a playground area next to the Wet Zone:
We considered going on the “Minion Mayhem” ride but the wait times were very long. So we opted to wait for that ride at a different time.
I took Bridget and Scotland’s picture with Hello Kitty outside of the Animation Studio Store. Hello Kitty is one of Bridget’s FAVORITES:
Scotland also had her picture taken in one of these dinosaur masks in the Jurassic Park section of the Universal Studio Store near the park’s entrance.
Anson had his picture taken beneath one of the question blocks in the store:
In case you are wondering, we were trying to kill some time before heading back to Super Nintendo World for a final visit. Because of the attraction’s popularity (and because it was approaching mid-afternoon), we had to make a reservation to get back in.
In addition to browsing the stores, we also let Anson and Scotland have some fun in the DinoPlay for Kids playground in the park while we waited. I was happy to find a spot to sit and rest my feet in the play area.
We returned to Super Nintendo World around 3 p.m.
The thumbnail (at the top) for this blog post was of Bridget, me, and the kids in the green pipes in front of the entrance. Neil and Theresa both took pics.
The attraction was much busier than it had been in the morning, but Anson and Scotland wanted to collect more coins with their Power Bands. I took the opportunity to take more pictures and some video.
Here is the second video I made on all of the scenics in Super Nintendo World:
We ended up staying in Super Nintendo World for about 90 minutes. Unfortunately, the kids weren't able to collect all the items mentioned earlier in the post, so they weren’t able to take advantage of the bonus challenge. (Apparently, the Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown challenge also malfunctioned during our afternoon visit, so even if they had been able to finish three of the four mini-challenges earlier in the day, they wouldn’t have been able to play the bonus game.) We later joked that these downtimes on various games and rides were the “California Curse.”
That turned out to be it for our second day at Universal Studios Hollywood. The early morning, walking, standing, sun, and fun left us all feeling fatigued. We wanted to get back to the hotel, freshen up, and grab dinner somewhere.
We decided that we wanted to have dinner at BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse. Loyal readers of this blog might recall that we went to a BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse during our 2019 trip to Daytona, FL (read the blog post). The restaurant is home to the Pizookie (a large cookie cooked in a cast iron skillet and served with ice cream) among other pub grub items.
I chose a location in Westwood near the UCLA campus. It was the closest option and it looked like a neat area.
We drove through an attractive neighborhood on the way to the restaurant. We even noticed these trash receptacles sitting in the middle of the street (which seemed to be a common practice in the area):
The area where BJ’s was located was pretty charming. When we arrived, Broxton Ave. (where the restaurant is located) was closed off for an event and the parking situation seemed to be difficult.
In writing this blog post, I did some digging and discovered what the event was. It turns out Disney+ held its premiere of the series “Rennervations” at the Regency Theatre location in Westwood Village (next to the restaurant).
BUT WE DIDN’T KNOW! If we had known, we might have made the effort to find parking (it looks like there was some a half mile up the road) and see if we could capture some pics of celebrities (Jeremy Renner was there) after dinner.
We will add “stay at all street closings in L.A.” to our California checklist for the next trip! ;-)
PRO TIP: It sounds like they do quite a few premieres at that theater, so be sure the check out the Westwood Village Facebook page for the Regency Village Theater (on Broxton Ave.) if you are in the Los Angeles area.
Instead, we made our way to the BJ’s Restaurant in Woodland Hills. This area defintely felt more suburban, but the restaurant was busy (the Lakers and the Dodgers were playing on the TV screens).
We had to wait a bit to get seated, but we eventually got a table.
They have a lot of really good options at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse (for kids and adults — 140+). We had a lot of options to choose from.
Neil had an order of the Boneless Wings (Garlic Parmesan):
Scotland had the spaghetti (and french fries) from the kids menu:
Anson had the Kid’s Mac ’N’ Cheese (and french fries). He really enjoyed this — it was one of his favorite meals on the trip:
Theresa had the BJ’s Smokehouse Burger. The crispy onion strings looked good on that burger:
Blaise had the BJ’s Classic Crispy Chicken Sandwich sans toppings. He loves chicken sandwiches and samples them at most of the restaurants he eats at if an option is available:
I had the Classic Prime Rib Dip with fries (there was also coleslaw with it, but it’s not my thing). Looking back at my 2019 blog post covering our visit to BJ's in Daytona, I apparently also had the Classic Prime Rib Dip then — and I said in that blog post that it was “not spectacular.”
I will say that I liked it better this time! But I probably should have tried something different to add some variety to my blog.
Bridget had BJ’s Brewhouse Blonde Fish ‘N’ Chips. Fish and chips are a staple for her when we eat out, and I think she enjoyed it here:
After dinner, we had a round of Pizookies! The warm cookies topped with ice cream (and other toppings) were really tasty.
I had the salted caramel (my apologies for not getting pictures when they first came out, I was running on fumes at that point):
We also had the Triple Chocolate:
Theresa had the Cookies ’N’ Cream (I’m pretty sure Blaise shared it with her):
Neil had the Peanut Butter Pizookie (which had whole peanuts in it — not his favorite):
When we finally finished up at BJ’s, it was after 10 p.m. I mentioned earlier that the Los Angeles Lakers were playing and that the game was featured on the TVs. They were playing the Timberwolves, and a playoff berth was on the line.
It was kind of fun to be in a restaurant with a very partisan crowd. I know my nephew Blaise really enjoyed it.
When Lakers point guard Dennis Shroder tied the game up with a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds (off a pass from LeBron James), the place erupted. Blaise loved it.
The Lakers ultimately won the game in OT. It was a fun way to cap the night.
One other fun aspect of our dinner was watching Anson play on his iPad while we waited for our food. Neil took a video as he swiped and tapped the screen (which I decided to include in the blog). He’s such a smart little multitasker for being just five — playing Minecraft *and* watching YouTube videos (picture-in-picture) at the same time!
We made our way back to the hotel, discussing current events in the van as we rolled back to Sherman Oaks.
It was a full day (as you can tell by this VERY detailed blog post), a long day, and a fun day!
We were brimming with anticipation because the next day we were heading down to stay in Anaheim to start the Disney leg of our California trip!!
>> Stay tuned for my "California Trip - Part 3" blog post!
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