Universal Studio was in the itinerary, but was not for the 1st day initially. However, we decided to move it up, from Day 4 to Day 1 as both of us recognised the fact that a fatigue mind couldn't plan well, so we better stick to something that's more 'idiot-proof' - a theme park should be quite safe since it's somehow 'all-planned-for'.
It's back to sub-reality! Yes, surrounded by the cartoon characters! The familiar ones include Peanuts and Snoopy which I was a bit surprise - as I recall seeing them in the Knotts Berry Farm in US (LA)! So, it's also under the umbrella of the Universal Studio!
It's one of those places where we find people spending 10s and 10s of minutes to queue for a show or a ride that lasted from 5 minutes to half an hour. Well, "wait time > ride/programme time". What else can we expect? It's the same for all the theme parks all over the world. If there isn't any queue, you think it's still worth going? Hm... the theme park couldn't survive if you are the only client!!!
Hahah.... So, relax and join the queue. Do what Romans do in Rome!
入乡随俗。来了，就是要把时间挥霍出去。精打细算？行不通！
We queued for the following...
- ET Legend - Thought it was the ride which I experienced previously (can't remember whether it was a GoldCoast or at LA). That would be a good one to start off with I thought. Unfortunately, it disappointed us... it was snapshots of "ET" and some of its models (talking in Japanese), which did not quite make sense to us... disappointing... I must admit: Wrong choice...
- Of course, one other thing that made YL flared-up was the photo-taking stage of which all who entered will take a picture with "ET". "Why? and can't visitors have a choice, etc..." She questioned. Of course, to some, it's against one's rights & principles!!! (yes, we have to right to do or not to do certain things on request). Well, from the theme park's perspective, it's just another revenue generating opportunity. Since visitors will not be going through the same entrance again, let's take down some potentially good memories in print that he/she could choose to bring home. For so many photos that they take everyday, why worry that they'll pick ours and do anything undesireable. I think, big organisations like this could be trusted! We are not in any of those mini-operations! Moreover, those people are just doing their job (they've been tasked to do). Of course, we still have a choice, if you would have insisted, it's fine to skip this item... Well, the experience could not be too different from one theme park to another... The purpose of going through the same motion is to revisit the experience :D Missing a couple of them is fine... the key is... just relax and enjoy...
- The Spiderman ride was a good one - an exciting one! It's one of those indoor roller coaster (something like the Indiana Jones). But the highlight is, it's coupled with those 4D effect!!! It's the first time I experience the ride of this kind! Worth going :D
- The Back-to-the-Future ride is a typical theme park ride - no surprise, but it's the revisiting of the experience! It doesn't come with the 4D effect.
- Another one that comes with a long long queue was the Jaws ride in Amity Village. To compare with what I went through in the other Universal Studio, this is a scale-down show! A couple more (better ones, such as the parting of the Red Sea) were not available here.
- The Terminator 2: 3-D show started off with a longwinded introduction... sigh... it's really buying time (I guess it's because the entire dialogue was in Japanese, though it's a live show). No surprise either... well, it's worth the value of money to watch such shows :D
- The last item was the Universal Studios Cinema 4-D show (Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic). The sky turned dark and the queue was extremely long... It was already 5 pm. Well, surprising, the wait was shorter than expected 'cos the show ran in the theatre. Equivalent to the Terminator 2: 3-D show. Yawn yawn and dozed off intermittently... because of the long.... day.
What other thing(s) that caught my attention...
- The Snoopy bun! So cute!!! I bought one, took a picture and ate it while it was still hot. 啊！我把可爱的“史奴比”吃进肚子里了！
- The spiderman-fested souvenir shop! Of yes, shop as if I've unlimited budget! 蜘蛛侠，你的魅力不可挡也！
All in all, the key objective is just to relax and any surprise was really a bonus (to me). No where, it's near the ones I visited in LA or even Goldcoast. Those were better! or was it because, experiences and exposure over these years have heightened my expectations? Hm... of course, is age another factor? I wonder... not really... I'm a "changed" person when I'm immersed in the environment... but somehow, it could not quite successful in bringing out the 'young me'...
Back to the hotel at almost 8 pm. Checked it and went out for dinner. A bento set - something simple and manageable...
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