Friday, 22nd March 7.00pm GMT
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Thursday, 21st March - Universal Studios
The WaterWorld show is not, as I'd first thought, a dolphin/shark show, but an action show involving some incredible pyrotechnics, stuntman feats - and a lot of gunfire. There was even some comedy, as one of the cast hosed innocent audience members from behind as they walked to their seats, whistling nonchalently if they whirred round to see where the water had come from.
The show is based on the apparently dire Kevin Costner movie of the same name, but condenses the original's 3 hours playing time into a dramatic 15 minute action show. The highlight for me was a scene where the bad guy's plane catapaults in from nowhere behind the main set, up and over the buildings at speed, only just stopping in time a yard or two from the audience. Apparently this gets cut out of the show if the winds go above 25mph. I'm not suprised!
After the non-stop action of WaterWorld, it was on to a slightly tamer show, based on an American TV show or station called "Animal World"
I am not generally a fan of animal shows, but this was full of humour and some genuinely clever animal tricks. More to the point the animals seemed to be enjoying themselves and looked well looked after. The show proved a nice restful break before the next show, quick tour of the "Mummy Returns" maze, and the gut-wrenching "Back to the Future" rides. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed in these shows and rides. The "Terminator 2" show is a mixture of comedy introduction and then stunning live show/3D movie presentation. An extended scene from the movie plays in stunning 3D: Arnie's shotgunm points out from the screen just 2" away from your face, aliens whiz all around and in front of you, robots explode leaving mercury like goo floating all around you. There was no other word for this show other than "awesome"
After finding out how mild the E.T. ride was, I ignored the warnings about motion sickness for the "Back to the Future" ride. Big mistake! Seated in a De Lorean mocked-up car, this is an amazing IMAX screen experience, where you whizz around buildings, through glass, around skyscrapers at breakneck speed, down great chasms, volcanoes, massive ice structures etc etc. All the while your car is jolted around - it is an unbelieavably real experience because your brain just refuses to accept the fact you are not moving at the speed your eyes are telling you you are. I came off feeling rather queasy, but glad I'd done the ride, and feeling somewhat proud of the fact that, despite my ongoing motion sickness problems, I was the only one in our party who who hadn't closed his eyes during the whole ride. That being said, this is really a ride that needs to be done on an empty stomach
I left the theme park at 7.30pm and arrived back at the hotel 2 hours later (the drive back in the dark was a nightmare!). All-in-all this was a fantastic day, and one I know I will never forget. If you have any interest at all in movies, then Universal City is a "must do" trip for anyone in this part of the world.
After a late night getting the first two pages of this report up on the web (with the last two pages actually done on the morning of Day 3), tomorrow will be a quiet day moving to the Beverly Plaza hotel and meeting the first of the other Lord of the Rigns oscar party attendees. Click here to read my entries for Day 3.