Double the fun : East & West coast Disney & Universal parks during the holiday season **COMPLETE 7/11/11** About This Page:

[Big Sister]

DAY 6: Sunday, 14 November 2010

VIP Tour of Universal Studios

We woke at 7.30am to beautiful sunny weather, knowing we had a fantastic day ahead of us, in the form of the seven hour VIP Tour of Universal Studios. Two hours later, we walked over to the park as usual, but instead of queuing in the general entrance line, we had our own special VIP reception to go to. At 9.30am, we showed our paperwork at the window, and were admitted into the reception area of the Guest Relations/VIP Experience building, where we had our ID viewed, name checked off, and were handed a navy blue and gold VIP lanyard to wear for the duration of the day.

Administrative tasks over, we went upstairs to join our group and meet Donna, our tour guide. Donna was a fantastic person and had a great sense of humour. When someone mentioned to her that they had heard that Tom Cruise was going to be on set that day, she replied, "Honey, that was yesterday!"

The room we were in was very large and spacious. It had well-spaced nice tables and chairs, lots of green plants, large windows for the sunlight to come streaming in, and framed posters of award-winning movies the Studio had made, lining the wall. Donna pointed out that one hadn't won anything, but that was because it was before the time of award giving, and that she was sure it would've won if awards had've existed back then.

Along one wall, breakfast had been laid out for those of us wishing to partake in it. As Nest and I had spent the two hours before the tour, pretty much battling to wake up and actually get out of bed, we hadn't had time to eat until now. We both picked out a fruit cup each (consisting of rockmelon, honeydew melon, grapes and pineapple) and bottled water, then chose a table near the window to dine at. Other breakfast options had been tea, coffee, orange juice, and a huge pile of crumb cake. I didn't realise at the time just how delicious crumb cake was, as I didn't get around to trying any until a couple of days later at WDW.

Once everyone in our group had arrived (around 16 in all) in the VIP lounge and had settled down to breakfast, Donna gave us a quick rundown of what was in store for us that day - I was just so excited at the thought of it all (and even more excited when I actually experienced it. I could tell Nest was super happy too, as I hadn't seen him smile so much since he was little.)

Before we set off, most of us took the chance to use the restroom for the last time in a while. Along the corridor to the restrooms, were glass cabinets displaying well-known movie props (eg. a mask worn by Arnold Vosloo as High Priest Imhotep in The Mummy Returns (2001) and the Emmy won by 30 Rock for Outstanding Comedy Series (2009). The show was knocked out of first place by Modern Family in 2010. Donna mentioned that Modern Family wasn't a Universal Studios product, but that she still loved it.

We started off with a VIP tram tour of the Backlot. We had a special single gold and blue tram to travel around in. Nest and I sat on the outer left hand side of the tram with two other people. We so wished we could've sat on the outer ride hand side of the tram, as that's the view of the Backlot we wanted to see the most, plus the seating that side was more spacious. On the outer left hand side of the tram, the four of us were so squashed - Donna did mention before-hand, that it only comfortably sat three people. We stuck with it though, as we wanted to see the Backlot from a different perspective.

Is that someone picking a wedgie in the background?!

The first place we were allowed to get off the tram and walk around, was the no camera zone. The stars' formal restaurant and casual cafe was located in this area. In the windows of the cafe, were shelves of copies of the Oscars and Emmys the Studio has won for their award-winning TV shows and movies. I was pleased to see that a number of the awards were for Columbo, The Rockford Files, and Murder She Wrote - some of my most favourite TV shows.

We learnt some interesting facts about both types of awards while admiring them in the window. The Academy Awards were nicknamed Oscar, after a motion picture librarian exclaimed how much the statue looked like her Uncle Oscar. I thought that was such a great anecdote, even though I fail to see how a faceless statue can resemble someone that infinitely. An Oscar weights 8.5 pounds, which you've got to admit is quite heavy as far as small objects go. As for the Emmys, they were originally called Immys, but were changed to the name we know them as now, to sound more feminine.

The cafe has been used as a set in shows such as Desperate Housewives and the American version of The Office. Across from the cafe, was a white multi-storey building that has been used in shows such as The Six Million Dollar Man (as the headquarters), Ghost Whisperer (as a hospital), and Desperate Housewives. As the building is in such a populous spot, the scenes usually have to be filmed when the sun's coming up.

Nearby, was a multi-storey black building I'm pretty sure has been used in an episode of Columbo. This building was very controversial, as at the time it was built, the surrounding neighbourhood protested, as nothing of the kind had existed so close to suburbia before, and they were worried that it would cause the price of real estate to plummet. Obviously, things didn't go in favour of the neighbours. These days, this multi-storey building is nothing compared to its much larger counterparts in the area.

After attempting to commit the sights to memory due to the no photography rule, we strolled back to the waiting tram, which then drove us to the set of Ron Howard's Parenthood. Parenthood began screening on Australian TV screens a bit before Nest and I set off on our trip. While we're not fans of the show, it was still exciting to be walking onto our very first soundstage for a good look around.

An ever-present security guard opened the door to soundstage number 44, and we filed inside. Taking up the majority of space, was the first floor of Zeek and Camille's house. The house was built on a stage, and didn't have a ceiling due to lighting and camera equipment hanging down from above.

It was great being able to walk through the house. As long as you didn't look up, it seriously felt as if you were going through an actual house while the inhabitants were out. If filming requires, a roof can be attached. There was such a cosy feel inside, and there were personal touches everywhere. Donna explained that the photos we saw on display around the house, of the characters as children, had been worked on by the Art Department to make it look as if they had actually grown up together.

Rooms we walked through, were:

Lounge room: Having worked in various libraries for the past fifteen years, I was very pleased to see books very well represented in this digital day and age. The fireplace gave this room a very cosy feel. I also loved the corner that had been made into a study area - the noticeboard was very colourful and busy looking.

Dining room: A massive table took up the majority of space in this room - it looked big enough to sit a number of families around, which was the idea to start with, I guess. As the table took up most of the room, when it came time to film the Thanksgiving dinner scene, the walls had to be moved back to allow space for the cameras and other equipment to operate in. All the walls in the house are detachable, so if a scene needs to be filmed a certain way, things can be moved around to make the shot easier. These types of detachable walls are known as "wild walls".

Spot the ever-present security guard

Kitchen: It kind of reminded me of my Nan's homely kitchen, with bits and pieces everywhere. I prefer these types of kitchens over the super sterile looking modern ones.

Patio: I love the idea of a patio with one of those swinging chairs (though not the crazy type featured on Funniest Home Video shows where one side breaks while people are swinging on it.) The patio wasn't lit up when we walked through it, and you could see the soundstage through the flyscreen windows, as the outside scene screens hadn't been put up in their place.

Also inside the house, was a staircase leading to nowhere but a small alcove, so when the actors did their bit in going upstairs, for example, they'd be out of sight of the camera once they're reached their 'destination'. The second part of that scene, would then be filmed on the 'second floor' set which is located in Pasadena, and the actual house exterior (including the shed), is located up a steep hill in another part of the Backlot. No wonder schedules in this industry are so long, if parts of the set are scattered all over the city!

From the verandah, you could see a massive moveable screen featuring a shed and trees. This screen is placed at various angles outside certain windows of the house when filming.

Out the front on the cement area, Donna pointed out that the footpath patterns, drain coverings and various stains had been painted on. They looked so realistic, that I seriously wouldn't have given them a second glance if she hadn't have pointed this out.

Soundstages are 98% soundproof, and it takes approximately five days just to film one episode of Parenthood.

From the set of Parenthood, we drove to the awesome King Kong 3D experience, through a section of the Backlot where a "top secret" movie was being filmed. Being a Sunday though, there was no action on set, and all the cherry pickers had been collapsed and stored against the sides of buildings. Donna said she'd lose her job if she told us the name of the movie. All I can tell you is that part of it is being filmed in the square of golden blonde coloured buildings used for the courthouse scenes of Ghost Whisperer. You could tell that such a lot of effort had been put into making this set perfect, but Nest told me he spotted something that didn't belong - taped to a light pole, was a hand drawn poster asking, "Have you seen my kitty?", complete with hand drawn picture of said kitty. Unfortunately, it flashed by so fast, that Nest didn't have enough time to react by taking a photo.

Any guesses as to which "top secret" movie's being made?

It was fantastic being immersed in the King Kong 3D experience again. Donna said she loves taking people on it for the first time, and hearing them scream throughout the battle, even though it's all just moving pictures. Even though I knew what was coming this time around, because Nest and I had been travelling around sideways all day from choosing a seat on the outside of the tram, it felt as if we were falling face first when King Kong sent the T-Rex and tram over the edge of the cliff! At least I wasn't subjected to the monster spider this time round

Even though I enjoyed the VIP Tour immensely, my most favourite part by miles, was going inside the props warehouse - it was absolutely AWWWWWESOME! The ground floor stocked over-sized items such as chairs, tables, and pianos. In the foyer, were a selection of well-known large props from movies such as The Mummy trilogy and ET. We didn't have a proper look at the ground floor though, as our limited time was devoted to the fantastic third floor, which we caught an over-sized lift to.

The third floor consisted of shelves and shelves of pretty much every small to medium-sized props a person would need to decorate their movie scenes with. There were shelves of board games, toys, telephones, awards, ornaments shelved by subject (eg. squirrels, elephants, pigs, etc.), fake bread, dolls, bones, bakery snackas, glassware, plates, and weaponry such as swords, clubs, spears, axes, bows, arrows, shields, armour - the list goes on! Items such as guns, ammo and explosives (which I assumed were all fake), were locked securely in a glass cabinet, as were smaller valuable items such as jewellery and pocket watches. I loved seeing a large portion of the ceiling with loads of chandeliers hanging down, and I was absolutely thrilled to find the Cabot Cove sign from Murder She Wrote, and a framed picture of James Garner and Noah Beery from The Rockford Files. Every item is barcoded to enable it to be leant out and a record kept of its whereabouts. I bags being a cataloguer in this library! I have 15 years cataloguing experience! HIRE ME!

The "Cabot Cove" sign!

There were little displays around the floor, of things such as the types of snow used in Jim Carey's The Grinch, some props from Will Ferrell's Land of the Lost, the gun from The Rock's Doom, Robin Williams' red clown nose from Patch Adams, and Nest's personal favourite - a container full of money, locked in a glass cabinet. Someone had also dressed ET up as Steve Irwin, and featured a dinosaur in a humourous Harry Potter display. We also came across some realistic looking cans made from sponge and used in fight/accident scenes, which we all had a quick squeeze of.

It was time to leave the prop warehouse all too soon I could've stayed in there for so much longer! I loved the joke photos in amongst the more formal looking notices hanging up on the boards near the lift entrance - there was a person riding a dinosaur, and in another shot, were a pair of crazily dressed characters (colourful knee-high socks with short shorts, anyone? ) As we were going back down to the ground floor in the lift, Donna told us the reason we saw no dust anywhere, was because special filters had been installed throughout the building, that continuously suck all the dust from the air so that none of the props require cleaning or are damaged as a result of dust.

Back outside the prop warehouse, we noticed a few over-sized props had spilled out from the ground floor. I had momentarily clicked off from the all the excitement of being on level three, when I suddenly heard Nest pipe up, "Jackass!" I thought that was unlike Nest to say such a thing in public, until I realised Donna had asked the group if they could name the movie with featured the nearby giant shopping trolley. I took a photo of Nest standing by it (it's rare that ordinary everyday objects are taller than Nest!) so he could show his friends when we got back home.

I can't remember how it came up, but while we were standing outside the prop warehouse, Donna told us that CSI Miami is actually shot in Long Beach, California, and not Miami, Florida! :0 Nest and I were so surprised to hear this!

Our tram turned up all too soon, and transported us to the front of the curved tall white building with columns, used in such movies as The Scorpion King, Spartacus, and Princess Diaries 2. After admiring the building up close, we then walked through a super tall arch, and found ourselves in a villagey type setting, used in such movies as Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean.

While walking around such recognisable sets was very exciting, Nest and I were most excited to learn that we'd be visiting the less recognisable super old set complete with a very decorative water fountain, featured in many super old black and white horror movies which Nest and I are huge fans of. As the set was very important to us, I asked one of our fellow travellers to take a photo of Nest and I in front of it. We were both really happy about this, as neither of us had been able to get a decent shot of it during our general tram tour the night before.

My attempt at photographing the special fountain the night before

After we finished at the horror set, we all got back on the tram and continued on with the tour. We could see part of a Western set as we boarded the tram, and were told that some of the sets were built smaller, so as to make the short macho men appear taller. Thankfully, my Western hero, John Wayne, didn't require this sort of assistance, as he was naturally tall enough

As we had driven past the line of famous cars from a variety of movies and through a short patch of jungle setting with startling pop-up dinosaurs that spat water (they're even more startling when you're travelling sideways and facing them head-on!), Donna mentioned that these particular trees were saved from the set of Jurassic Park. The huge trees were made from industrial strength foam, and the moss was made from sawdust painted green. I was also extremely excited to hear that there's talk of a fourth Jurassic Park movie, which Donna confirmed, but then went on to say that the project has currently been shelved. JP4 has been in production twice, but it was eventually decided that the scripts weren't good enough. As disappointing as this is, I'm glad on the other hand that quality of script is high up on the list of requirements.

Next, we drove around Wisteria Lane, where we learnt all the pretty flowers are fake. I know that's kind of an obvious statement, seeing as the flowers are in such pristine condition all the time, but I was surprised all the same, as they looked so real from the distance I was seeing them from. Nest was happy to spy the bright red slippery dip in the park area, as he had been mock disappointed not to have seen it on the War of the Worlds set, where we had last seen it back in 2007 (we hadn't spotted it the night before.)

As we were passing Whoville, Donna informed us that the Whoville cars had started off as golf buggies, and are still drivable if you had the keys. I think it would be so much fun to have a little drive around in them! Perhaps I should mention that in my feedback form?!

Norman was waiting for us as we rounded the corner to pass the Bates Motel, though he didn't chase us all the way up the hill this time.

We then drove through the small town of Amity, meeting Jaws along the way. It was at this point, that Donna told us that Steven Spielberg named Jaws, Bruce, after his ferocious lawyer.

As we stopped in the War of the Worlds disaster area set for some stationary photo opportunities (without getting off the tram), Donna told us two really interesting anecdotes about it that I had never heard before:

1st anecdote: As the set is so well recognised, Steven Spielberg has prohibited anyone from using it in any other movie. What he has authorised though, is the disaster training of FBI agents and their sniffer dogs! On the odd occasion, tram tours are lucky enough to see this training in action, which I think is great.

2nd anecdote: Once a pilot flying overhead believed the War of the Worlds disaster set to be an actual accident, and called it in! It is said that the police responded in seconds, and weren't impressed (neither were the FAA), once they realised it was the Backlot. Even though I haven't been fortunate enough to see Universal Studios from above, I would still think it would be hard to mistake the set for an actual accident, considering what surrounds it.

As we were driving up a steep dirt road to see the exterior of the Parenthood house, Donna told us that that same dirt road had been used for the marching scene in Spartacus. The extras were played by actual military students, as the Director needed people who already knew how to march in formation.

After the brilliant VIP tram tour had come to an end, Donna took us around all the rides and almost all of the attractions of the park. We started off with mine and Nest's favourite - Jurassic Park. When we had first met up that morning, we had all been given white emergency ponchos. When Donna mentioned to the group that you would get wet on this ride, 13 of the 16 group members immediately pulled on their ponchos. Nest, myself, and a guy travelling solo, were the only ones not to wear them. One couple in particular, were really worried as to how wet they would get, and were asking Donna all these specific questions. Nest and I were behind them in the ride queue, and when they learnt we wouldn't be wearing our ponchos, the looks on their faces were as if we had just told them we were going to jump out of a plane without a parachute! And with that, they tied their poncho hoods so tightly, that only their noses were sticking out! LMAO! There was no way I was going to miss buying the resulting souvenir ride photo afterwards! It was great fun riding our favourite ride with such a nice group of people.

We rode the Mummy as a group next. Donna minded all our bags so we wouldn't have to waste time at the locker stations. Once again, I bought the resulting group photo afterwards.

With those ride experiences under our belts, it was then considered a safe time to stop for lunch. As we were travelling up the skywalk towards our destination, we looked back when Donna pointed out that a new headliner ride was under construction where the old Backdraft attraction used to be. It was pretty hard to miss that giant crane When I asked what kind of ride was it going to be, Donna said she wasn't allowed to say I can't recall my source, but the rumour I've heard since, is that it may be another top of the range simulator ride based on the Transformer movies. It's due to open in June 2011 last time I checked, so we haven’t much more time to wait to find out at the time of writing this.

Our dining destination was Jardin de Paris, which was open exclusively for us

Due to the name, I thought it was going to be some kind of French restaurant, but it turned out to be a super yummy buffet serving mainly American fare.

This is only part of the buffet available

As we were in polite company, I made a conscious effort to control my portion sizes so that no one thought I was taking more than my share I had small portions of the following:

· Lettuce and tomato
· 'Normal' lasagne (you'll figure out why I wrote 'normal', when you read down a bit further )
· Korean ribs with boiled rice (extra super yummy!)
· Herbed mashed red-skinned potatoes (extra super yummy - I simply craved mashed potatoes during this trip!)
· A big pasta shell filled with feta cheese (extra super yummy!)
· A thick slice of roast turkey with gravy
· A small wedge of focaccia

Nest had roast turkey, fries, chicken tenders, salad, a big pasta shell filled with feta cheese, flavoured cheese balls (I can't remember these), lasagne, and an assortment of breads.

Other food available in the buffet, which Nest and I didn't get round to trying, was meatballs, prawns, lobster lasagne (yes, lobster lasagne), marinated sausages, and much more. I love seafood, and wouldn't have minded chowing down on some if I knew it wouldn't make me ill (I always worry about the freshness of seafood when I dine out, and tend to steer clear of it as a result.) To this very day, I'm still wondering what the lobster lasagne tasted like.

I was so tempted to go up for seconds (though Nest couldn't resist), but thought it better if I headed for the dessert platter instead, before I filled up completely. There was a freezer with two types of fruit flavoured ice blocks to choose from, as well as medium sized tubs of ice cream. I didn't look to see what flavoured ice cream was available, as I knew I wouldn't have been able to eat a whole tub myself ... well, not in the short time we had left for lunch, anyway. I stuck to the tray of cakes, and chose three tiny cakes for my dessert (chocolate, lemon, and plain sponge), and Coke as my choice of beverage. Nest stuck to the cake tray too (mini lemon cheesecake, mini cream cake, and what I can only describe as a mystery cake), and had diet Coke to wash it down with.

My dessert (was so excited, I couldn't even hold the camera steady!)

Nest's dessert

We chose a table for two in the very corner of the restaurant, where we had a full view of the room, and could see the mountains outside the window. There were black and white portraits of people dining in the olden days, hanging up on the walls, but we didn't recognise anyone (though I think one of them may have been JFK's brother.) The chef did the rounds of the tables, checking that everything and everyone was ok, which I thought was good. Nest got annoyed after the chef had left, as the chef had mentioned that we had chosen the most romantic table in the restaurant, not realising that we were brother and sister. LOL!

After lunch, the group reformed in the queuing area for the Animal Actors show. I had a quick bathroom break first, and when I arrived at the meeting place, found Nest there talking to Donna by himself, as everyone else had been seated, which I knew would've been embarrassing for him (I never deliberately set out to embarrass Nest, as I know it can work both ways, plus there's nothing worse than a joke backfiring in public, and being made to look like a fool!) A front row section of seating had been reserved for our group, which was great - it totally eliminated the stress of hunting for the best seat you could get, while everyone else is doing the same thing.

The pre-show consisted of a lot of interesting facts projected up onto a screen, about animals in general, and sometimes in relation to training them. Like I'm sure I mentioned in my 2007 review, the fact that sticks in my mind the most, is that cats are the hardest animals to train, due to their independent nature.

The main part of the show was pretty much the same as when we saw it in 2007, so I'll just write about the new bits:

· A chicken came on stage and opened up a lunch menu to display "pork", by pecking on a button, then left the stage. A pig then trotted into view quick smart, and changed the menu to read "chicken". Later on it was changed by another animal, to "vegetarian".
· A boy was chosen from the audience to come up on stage and sit on a chair. He was instructed to think of two items of clothing, which a dog would go backstage to retrieve. The first item the dog retrieved, was a hat. The second item the dog retrieved, was a bra, which the boy totally denied thinking of. An orangutan dressed in women's clothing, then appears on stage looking unimpressed, and demands the item back, as if she has been terribly inconvenienced.
· The same boy was then asked to remain seated on stage, while the trainer showed everyone how she trained the dog who had been retrieving the clothes. She put a doggy treat in front of the boy, and then turned and walked towards her dog. As her back was turned, a tiny little dog zipped from backstage to snaffle up the snacka, then disappeared just as quickly, before the trainer turned back round to face the boy. The trainer jokingly suspected the boy of having eaten the doggy treat, and told him that it was meant for the dog, not him. This happened a few times, and luckily the boy took it in good humour. He was awarded an arcade games pass for his involvement.
· An orangutan called Harry, and his trainer, came on stage for a conversation. The trainer asked Harry a question, passed the microphone to him, to which Harry made a farting noise into. The trainer then talked to Harry some more, then passed the microphone over to him for a response, which just happened to be prolonged fart noise effects. The trainer took back the microphone, as he had had enough of Harry's cheekiness, but Harry snatched it back and made one last fart noise, signalling the end of the act. Nest loves primates and fart jokes, so this was the perfect mix for him
· A fennec fox was carried out onto stage briefly, to get him used to large crowds of people. He didn't seem stressed, which was a relief. A white cat was also brought out later on by the same trainer, and I could tell he wasn't enjoying itself, as he tried to escape up and over the trainer's shoulder In the end, I think he wanted to take his frustrations out on the dog looking up at him from below, seeing as he wasn't having any luck with the trainer.

When I write up a journal entry properly, I then double check Nest's journal for details that may have slipped by me (I didn't do it for my Sydney entries, as they were easy, but I'm definitely doing it for the American entries, as they are so detailed.) I love it how one of the things he wrote for the Animal Actors show, was, "A cat ran out and a little dog chased it."

We learnt that seeing the live shows as part of a VIP group, that we got to stay behind afterwards for a Q&A session. We skipped the Animal Actors Q&A session though, to experience the Simpsons Ride as a group. Nest didn't want me to buy the resulting souvenir photo (after all this time, I can't remember why. It mustn't have been particularly memorable then.) When we met up with Donna afterwards, she told us that the most we move on this simulator ride, is the initial eight foot rise. After that, you move roughly 20 inches either side, but any extra sensation you detect is as a result of your imagination.

After the Simpsons, our group caught a screening of Shrek, then braved a walk through of the House of Horrors. A woman in our group emerged from the house with a frozen look of terror on her face and on the verge of tears. A teenage boy not part of our group, bolted out soon after, and ran as fast as his legs would take him, away from the house until we couldn't see him anymore. Maybe they both had had an encounter with Chucky? Even though I was still scared going through the House of Horrors, I enjoyed experiencing it with our group, as I had more people around me to hide behind I'm assuming Nest enjoyed it more too, as that meant his jumper sleeve would be that little less stretched

By that time, we were due for the last Waterworld show. The queue for this was horrifyingly long, and I was extremely grateful that our group was allowed to go in ahead to our reserved seating area. Unfortunately, our reserved seating was up the very back in the dry area, and Nest and I wanted to sit where the action was - down the front in the soak zone, so we separated ourselves from the group so as to get the full experience of what the show offered. Once the main gates opened, the seating filled up so quickly. To warm the crowd up (or should I say, cool them down?! ), three stuntmen adopted a third of the audience each, and pitted them against each other as to who could cheer the loudest. For motivation, we had buckets of water strewn across us. I could be biased, but I believe our section was the best, as was our motivator (though the one to our left was awesome also, as he was a big guy like our security guard bro, Johnny, and had the same stern demeanour about him, which really got him drenching his audience with the most buckets of water!! Nest and I laughed in disbelief when that same guy threw his bucket to the side, and picked up a large water blaster and absolutely hosed his audience with it! Nest and I soon stopped laughing though, when the water blaster was then turned on our section!) One guy was chosen from the audience, to use a water blaster on the stuntman in the middle. Unbeknownst to the chosen audience member (and us), as soon as he started hosing the stuntman, the stuntmen on either side, blasted the audience member either side with water blasters! Unfortunately, I couldn't remember these actors' names (I didn't get the chance to read the information board outside the arena gate), but I believe they were all actors from well-known TV shows (which I also can't remember the names of, though I think one of them may have been ER.) Nest and I got soaked during these motivational sessions. Thankfully, we had the foresight to put an emergency poncho on Nest's camera bag and my backpack, so the gear inside would stay bone dry.

Our Waterworld "motivator"

The Waterworld show was based on Kevin Costner's 1995 film of the same name, where the polar ice caps have melted, flooding the earth, and everyone is looking for dry land while existing on floating cities in the meantime. There's a good group of people, and a bad group of people, who unavoidably clash during their search for a more concrete way of life. The clash is illustrated by a variety of impressive water-based stunts such as a lot of diving off tall platforms (sometimes as a result of an explosion going off), zip lining, and jet skiing (the wake of which drenched the people sitting closest to the front.) Throughout the show, a lot of pyrotechnics were used, such as explosions going off, gun battles using blanks, the evil leader being set on fire, and a brief firework finale after this massive explosion. Nest and I enjoyed the show, as we had never seen it before. Nest had been videoing the show, and was so disappointed when his camcorder battery ran out before the explosive finale.

With the conclusion of Waterworld, also came the conclusion of our VIP tour, which we were really sad about, as we had had the best fun ever. I would seriously happily pay more money to have the tour go that little bit longer (even though we had pretty much covered everything the park had to offer.) It would be great if the Backlot part of the tour could be a litter longer, so we could perhaps have a look inside one of the writers' bungalow, such as Alfred Hitchcock's, followed by a look around the second floor of the prop warehouse. I would also love to be able to have a look inside the Bates Motel ... but not while Norman was in, of course Oh, and I would also love to be able to walk down the main street of Cabot Cove, but I suppose that type of access would hold the general tram tours up too much. Lastly, it would be great to be able to attend all the VIP Q&A sessions at the end of all the live shows.

Donna had said her goodbyes before we entered the Waterworld arena to take our seats, but Nest and I wanted to thank her one last time after the show, for providing us with such a great day. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get to her in time afterwards, as everyone was trying to leave the arena at once, which made it impossible to get ahead to the area we suspected she was at.

As we couldn't do anything about the tour being over, or not being able to catch up with Donna at the very end, we took her last bit of advice in foregoing the Q&A session with the Waterworld cast, and rushed to catch the last showing of T2 (based on the Terminator movies), followed by a Q&A session with the cast of that. We caught up with a few members of our group, who had tagged onto another VIP tour group and their guide (why was their tour still going?! ) While we were waiting for the show to start, a couple from our group were asking Nest and myself about our home town. I so hope we didn't bore them, as there's hardly anything to do in Canberra!

During the pre-show to T2, the marketing spin for Cyberdyne Systems was saying how it can provide 5000 TV channels for granny, and if she couldn't choose, that the computer would choose for her. Nest and I both laughed out loud when the program the computer chose for the little old granny, was Murder She Wrote! Nest is always stirring me about being 'old', but I wouldn't go as far as granny old

T2 hadn't changed since we had last seen it back in 2007. We both registered that it seemed a lot louder though, which we couldn't remember from last time, but we soon found out why in the Q&A session.

The Q&A session after T2 was great! I was happy to just sit and listen, as very rarely can I think of a decent question to ask in these situations. I was a super massive fan of the Terminator films during my teens (I still like them now, but I'm not as fanatical), and I got wondering as to what questions my young self would've asked if given this same chance back then. We got to talk to the actors who played the characters of John and Arnie. The lady who played the role of Cyberdyne Systems representative, introduced them, and then had to hurry away to prepare for the next show. John entered the Q&A session in the same way he enters the show - by free repelling from the roof, which was suuuuuuuuper high up. They were really nice people, and I could tell that they were genuinely happy to be there with us despite the gruelling performance they had just put in. The actor who played the T1000 didn't come out, as he was meant to be stretching for the difficult scenes, but John and Arnie laughed and said he was probably just lying on the couch out back watching the football.

Five groups of actors alternate doing the shows, which is an important occupational health and safety factor when you consider that up to 40 shows a day are performed during the summer months! :0 (In the low season, they can perform as little as ten shows.) It's possible for the same person to play multiple roles (except for the bulky terminator guys) to cover staff absences. As part of their training for the roles, the actors were required to attend a three day bootcamp! :0 Now that's dedication!

The Stage Manager is responsible for overseeing each performance. As great as the show is, it must get a bit repetitive at times, especially during the summer months and the 40 performances a day! She explained that the show was performed at such a loud volume, so as to cover the noise the 2500 pound large screen makes when shooting up to make the motorbike door usable. She made the large screen go up and down for us without the cover music, to illustrate this point. Loads of smoke is used when preparing for this scene, so that the audience can't see the doors, therefore making it look as if the motorbike really is riding out of the movie and onto the stage.

The funniest question asked during our session (thankfully not by me, for a change!), was if the red objects at the feet of the giant terminator models, were made of jelly, as the person asking had seen them moving during the show!! John laughed and said no, they were actual lights, and just needed the maintenance crew to come by and tighten the screws.

Terminator model with "red jelly"

After our Q&A session, the actors happily posed with us all for photos, and we were also permitted to take photos of the giant terminator models (photography is prohibited during the show.) We learnt that Sergio, the guy playing Arnie, had a role the following day in an episode of Lie To Me, which we were all very excited about for him.

We experienced a bit of a lost feeling being left to our own devices suddenly after having our fun organised for us since early in the morning, and didn't run into our group members again. Having said that, we certainly knew how to keep the fun going though, and made a beeline for the Lower Lot to ride our favourite ride, Jurassic Park Even though the tour was over, as long as we wore our VIP lanyards where staff could see them, we were permitted to use the 'Gate A' entrances for the remainder of the evening, allowing us front of line access. Due to this access, we were able to ride Jurassic Park pretty much twice in a row (we were still required to get off the ride, and just had to run around to the special queuing area again.) The fact that it was now totally dark, made our journey all that much more exciting.

Next, we switched over to the Mummy. Unfortunately, we weren't able to squeeze a second go in, as it had gone 6.30pm, the Lower Lot's closing time for the evening.

Tomb Treasures was still open though, so we went in with the intention of buying something, as our VIP passes awarded us 25% off any purchases we made in any park store (including the larger Universal Store in City Walk) that evening. After having admired so many items in the store the night before, it felt weird when I walked out with nothing. I did find a pink t-shirt with a nice gold Egyptian design on it, but there wasn't one in my size

We headed up the skywalk to the Upper Lot next, with the intention of going on the Simpsons Ride, but it had closed for the night too, as time was rapidly approaching 7pm by that stage.

On our way out of the park, we stopped in at the Nick Store, where Nest bought a Patrick Star "Brain Freeze" t-shirt.

As we were approaching the Cartooniversal store, we saw that there were still a lot of people inside, so we thought we'd go in ourselves. I made some small purchases of:

· Jurassic Park ride postcards to send to family and friends back home, telling them how it was our favourite ride and what a great time we were having.
· A pink 3D Patrick Star luggage tag: I knew we'd have to make use of our tan coloured vintage Mickey Mouse duffle bag due to an overflow of 'stuff' before our trip was up, and I thought this big pink tag would stand out nicely, and help differentiate our bag from other similarly coloured ones.
· A Spongebob and Patrick face washer: This only lasted one use, as the material ended up being of really poor quality
· A pair of adult-sized Spongebob and Patrick thongs: I bought these for our bro, Johnny, back home. He loves watching Spongebob, and his favourite footwear are thongs. These ones are bright yellow, with a big bright pink Patrick on one, and Spongebob surrounded by bright colours on the other. The things that hold them to your feet are white. I gave them to him for Christmas, and his reaction on opening them, were, "Where the hell am I meant to wear these?!" (He works as a security guard, and because of his stern demeanour, he would be stirred mercilessly by his friends and colleagues if they caught him in them.) I laughed so much.

Just before exiting the park, we popped quickly into the Universal Studios Store, where I bought two Hollywood postcards for my own personal collection, and a black t-shirt with a pink and silver jewelled Universal Studios logo on it.

Determined to make the most of our 25% discount option for that night only, we then continued on to Universal City Walk, where we spent ages in the Universal Studios Store there, as well as Hot Topic, the fun store next to it (our discount option didn't apply at the latter though.) Nest bought loads of cool stuff (a t-shirt, a variety of postcards for his personal collection, a Homer Simpson photo album to put the postcards in (we're not sure what to do with the over-sized postcards that don't fit), and four souvenir pins), where-as I didn't buy a thing. On hindsight, I have absolutely no idea why this was (especially as I would've loved a Hello Kitty handbag and purse, as I genuinely need to replace my current super worn set), unless it was because I was concerned this early on in the trip, about our money lasting.

After such an exciting day, I asked Nest if he wanted to end it by having dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, but he said he'd prefer to end it quietly by having room service for dinner, as it would give us time to catch up on our journal writing (today's entry was a massive effort to write up!), and we'd hopefully get to bed that little bit earlier for tomorrow morning's early rise and the big day ahead. Nest's reasoning was more than fine with me. We stopped off at Sparky's to get a cone of twelve mini cinnamon sugar coated donuts to share on the walk back to the hotel.

For dinner, Nest had a salad (feta cheese, tomato, lettuce, cucumber and pineapple), an eight inch BBQ chicken pizza (BBQ sauce base, chicken, red onions, mozzarella, and fresh cilantro), a fruit cup (like we had this morning), and a diet Coke. I had a Hollywood Hills Club sandwich (shaved ham, turkey, roast beef, pepper Jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and bacon) with a side of coleslaw and a regular Coke.

After having rung in our dinner order, I then rang downstairs to book a taxi for tomorrow's activity, only to be told it wasn't necessary, as there are always taxis out front. No worries there then.

We both spent ages writing our journals that night, as we didn't want to forget a second of the great day we had had. We were certainly going to miss being able to use the special 'Gate A' lines to rides and attractions, not to mention our 25% discount in all Universal park stores, that our VIP passes afforded us (they were dated, therefore only valid for that one day.) If you only have a day to spend at Universal Studios, and you can get to the check-in point by the appointed time, then I demand this be the way to spend your only day there! It is so worth it! The only point the tour didn't cover, was the Lucille Ball tribute, and you can easily cover that in your own time after the tour. On our next trip, I'm definitely booking us a spot on the VIP Tour again. Next time, I'm going to make it for a weekday, to see how much difference that makes to the experience, and whether we'll get to see stars and crew at work or not.

Do you know how you're quite aware you should steer clear of certain foods because they don't agree with you, but sometimes you can't help yourself, as quite often these forbidden foods are so yummy? One of my forbidden foods is pork - it just doesn't agree with me. As you may recall, there was shaved ham and fried bacon in my dinner. The combination was oh so yummy, but boy, did I pay for it afterwards I didn't get to bed until 3am as a result, but I've got no one to blame but myself. Sleep didn't come until half-an-hour later, as I kept on thinking I heard something moving about in our room (I think I paid one visit too many to the House of Horrors! )

Next entry: Deluxe Tour of Warner Bros Studios with the best tour guide in the world!