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8 Nov 13, 11:38 PM
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Imagineer
 Join Date: Jul 09
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Our Wonderful West Coast Adventure! Day 9 - Hollywood - Missing Minions
Finally, a lie in! It was much needed! We were exhausted! Mind you, we only slept til 7.30pm but dozed til 8.30am. We had originally planned to use the food and beverage credit in the hotel but had slept too late for that really, so we got ready and headed down for the 9.10am Metro (red line, just 1 stop to Universal City so very convenient hotel base again!)
We found the free tram to Universal (over the road from the Metro station) and got to the park at 10am. It was a bit chaotic getting in as we were directed to the turnstiles as we had already pre-paid for our tickets, but apparently as we only had a voucher, that didn’t count so we had to go to Will Call to get our tickets. Very disorganised bag check before that too with all sorts of gaps to get into the park, crowds blocking the view of anything and then getting sent back out again.  IMG_1891 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1885 by nataliepope183, on Flickr Never mind, we were soon in and the plan was always to go to Transformers first before heading to the Studio tour. What I hadn’t anticipated was how much the escalators to the lower lot would slow us down, so we decided to just get the lower lot done while we were down there and risk the queue of the Studio tour So we headed into Transformers which we really enjoyed (think Spiderman but Transformers), and then went to Jurassic Park (more or less the same as Orlando), before riding The Mummy.  IMG_1753 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1759 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1755 by nataliepope183, on Flickr By now it was just before 11am, so we grabbed a churro to nibble on before the tour ($3.91) and waited 30 minutes for the Studio tour. Not too bad in the end!  IMG_1770 by nataliepope183, on Flickr Highlights for me were King Kong 3D and Wisteria Lane but we didn’t get good pictures as were in the middle rather than at an edge. Also it moved a bit quick, not really an opportunity to take my snaps!  IMG_1795 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1793 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1791 by nataliepope183, on Flickr This is a miniature set which was used in the new King Kong film. It’s really small but at the right angle, gives the effect that it’s super big!  IMG_1787 by nataliepope183, on Flickr This 747 was used in the Tom Cruise film ‘War of the Worlds’. Steven Spielberg really wanted to use a real 747 in the movie but the budget wouldn’t allow so he paid around $60,000 out of his own money for it. He had it all bashed up ready for the film, but what he hadn’t expected was for it to cost an etra £200,000 to get it to the movie set! Oops!  IMG_1810 by nataliepope183, on Flickr By now it was 12.30pm so we headed to Louie’s for lunch. We love its Orlando counterpart and were hoping for the same pizza joy. We ordered a whole pie as we were pretty peckish and a slice just wasn’t going to cut it, but it wasn’t the same as the Orlando one, though still enjoyable. The pizza (which was huge!) and a soda came to $36.49.  IMG_1819 by nataliepope183, on Flickr |
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8 Nov 13, 11:38 PM
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
Join Date: Jul 09
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We just made it to the 1.10pm showing of Animal Actors which was cute (and not something we’ve done in Orlando), and we saw a Marley from ‘Marley and Me’!
 IMG_1832 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1830 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1829 by nataliepope183, on Flickr We then tried to find me a Minion sipper cup as I’d seen lots of people with them but they were sold out everywhere! We literally went to every drink stand and shop in the park! I was gutted! In the end I just bought a Minion tshirt (bright yellow with a giant eye on it!) ($26.95), Universal Studios magnet ($2.95) and postcard (55c), total $33.19.  IMG_1880 by nataliepope183, on Flickr We also grabbed a drink ($3) before heading to the Waterworld show at 2.20pm. It’s a shame they’re getting rid of this as the effects are excellent but I can see why they want to bring something more current into the park, and Super Silly Fun Land and Harry Potter will be excellent additions to what is really a half day park.  IMG_1861 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1875 by nataliepope183, on Flickr We left the park at 3pm having done everything we wanted to do. We didn’t ride The Simpsons as the line was about 40 minutes all day and we have already ridden several times in Orlando so weren’t all that fussed. We also had in mind that this was our only chance to do the Stars Homes Tour which was included in our Citypass. As we walked to the tram, we grabbed a huge frozen lemonade from Popcornopolis in Citywalk for $4.49. They had some awesome Minion marshmallow treats!  IMG_1895 by nataliepope183, on Flickr We had a bit of a problem with the tickets machine at the Metro station when trying to go home and it gobbled up our $2 but we just paid again as to try and get it back was a right faff! The time was more valuable to us than $2! |
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8 Nov 13, 11:39 PM
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
Join Date: Jul 09
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We made it back to Hollywood & Highland for the 4pm Stars Homes tour and saw loads of the sights that were on the list. I did this tour to see the sights more than the Stars Homes, as I didn’t fancy the HOHO but maybe in hindsight I’d have done the HOHO. I don’t know, I didn’t feel quite right staring at people’s homes. It didn’t occur to me before we went that I might feel like that. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but not sure I’d choose the homes over the HOHO again. Highlights for me were the Beverley Hills sign, Regent Beverley Wilshire hotel from ‘Pretty Woman’ (one of my all time favourite films), Rodeo Drive, and of course, the Hollywood Sign from Mulholland Drive.
 IMG_2000 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1980 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1970 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1991 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1987 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1949 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1913 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_1905 by nataliepope183, on Flickr We also saw homes belonging to Simon Cowell, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, and The Osborne’s old house (from the TV show) amongst others.  IMG_1956 by nataliepope183, on Flickr Some of the Halloween decorations were amazing!  IMG_1952 by nataliepope183, on Flickr The begging for tips was also a bit inappropriate, and we were asked to tip $8-10 each. We left $10 in total. The driver was a bit irritating, making bad jokes, and slurping their drink into the microphone. I also think a $20 tip was a bit much! We arrived back at Hollywood & Highland at 6.20pm and headed to the hotel for a shower and change of clothes before heading to Hooters! We finally made it after all those times of saying we would! I did a bit of packing before we went out though and Matt went to snap the Hollywood sign which we could see from the hotel’s common areas  IMG_2018 by nataliepope183, on Flickr And some piccies of our room  IMG_2007 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_2009 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_2010 by nataliepope183, on Flickr We left the hotel at 7.05pm and had a wander round the Hollywood and Highland Center first, before going to Hooters. It was unlimited boneless wings night that night but we prefer our wings bone in, so opted for the normal menu. Matt had 20 wings with 911 sauce with curly fries, and I had 10 wings with BBQ sauce and cheese sticks. With 2 sodas it came to $50.62.  IMG_2020 by nataliepope183, on Flickr I always expected it to be full of unsavoury women but it wasn’t like that at all. The football was on, and the girls were really lovely (albeit not wearing very much! lol).  IMG_2021 by nataliepope183, on Flickr Matt first started on his wings complaining that they weren’t very hot, but soon enough, he was beading…the sauce is a slow starter apparently! Lol. He was a very happy man that night! By now he was 59 wings down, and 41 still to go in 5 days…would he do it? Have you ever seen a happier man?!  IMG_2034 by nataliepope183, on Flickr  IMG_2040 by nataliepope183, on Flickr And my cheese sticks were yummy too!  IMG_2023 by nataliepope183, on Flickr We passed on desserts in Hooters and popped to a tacky shop for some magnets. We bought 3 for us and 1 for my sister, which came to $22.86. We then stopped by Coldstone Creamery (5 minutes before it closed!) for some pudding to take back to the room – Matt had strawberry banana rendezvous and I had Oreo Explosion which came to $13.30. The lady in the shop bagged them up for us to take them back to the room which was handy as otherwise they’d have melted all over our hands!  IMG_2041 by nataliepope183, on Flickr After munching our ice creams, and repacking, we climbed into bed at 10.45pm. |
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9 Nov 13, 12:11 AM
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Imagineer
Join Date: Feb 10
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Loving your TR, looking forward to more.
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Chilly's Happy Ever After Trip Report
Alternative West Coast including DCL Trip Report Claire & Mikes Wedding Trip Report Golden Triangle Trip Report |
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9 Nov 13, 10:36 AM
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Imagineer
Join Date: Feb 12
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Wow well done Matt, seriously impressive !
 He did look happy in that photo.Another great day, great piccies too. I laughed at the guinea pig photo, one of them looks just like our piggy ! Is there a Minion ride at Universal there ? Look forward to the next report,thank you
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9 Nov 13, 11:35 AM
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Imagineer
 
Join Date: Nov 12
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Another great day! We are planning on going to universal next year. Do you think you would you need a whole day to do everything?
Looking forward to reading more.
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Sarah Las Vegas & California - 2014 Orlando - 2000/2001/2002/2003/2004/2005/2006/2007/2010/2013/2014/2017 |
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9 Nov 13, 10:27 PM
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Apprentice Imagineer
 Join Date: Jan 12
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Loving the report! We did Hooters in Orlando and loved it, the food is amazing and the girls are just really friendly rather than in your face which I thought they would be.
Cant wait to read about Disneyland!
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1999 - Hotel Cheyene DLP * 2002 - Explorers Hotel DLP * 2003 - Quality Inn I-Drive * 2006 - Explorers Hotel DLP * 2012 - Rosen Inn I-Drive * 2014 - New Port Bay DLP * 2016 - Beach Club * 2018 - Give Kids The World Village
  IG:alixbennettx |
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10 Nov 13, 09:39 AM
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VIP Dibber
Join Date: Jul 12
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We loved Hooters too in Vegas, Ds loved it even more!
Hope Matt achieves the wings challenge... Another fun packed day and I agree re the Stars homes, when we went for the first time years ago we just did the sights and movie location tour and we liked that. Star homes always feels a bit like snooping and if I am going to snoop I think I would rather see the fantastic homes from the inside!
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Cali,NP LA,Vegas 92,98,13,15 WDW 93-99,00-09-,11,12,13,14x2,15,16 DC/N Carolina 12,10,08
 25 Silver Years,Halloween and 15 2014 Mini Trip report Dream, 1st Cruise, May 15 Mini Trip Report DH 50th B'Day Xmas at Disney 2012/13 Trip Report West Coast, Las Vegas, Canyons and Deserts 2013 Trip Report |
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10 Nov 13, 02:35 PM
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Imagineer
Join Date: Jun 09
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Lovely day, brings back a lot of (very good) memories! Pussycat
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12 Nov 13, 08:00 PM
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
Join Date: Jul 09
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The guinea pigs did make me laugh! They reminded me of Buttons, my little house bunny! There isn't a Minion ride yet but the merchandise is everywhere! It is coming next year, but better than Orlando, as they are opening a 'Super Silly Fun Land'!
We could have spent a full day if we had done Simpsons and a couple of the rides again, but we didn't feel we needed to and also we don't regret not staying, our time was better spent doing something new We also went off peak so going during the summer hols for instance would make a difference
Disneyland 1st day is up now!
You'll have to see if he does the challenge  Ooh I'd love to see inside those homes! But as I said, next time, I'd probably prefer to do the HOHO
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