Universal Studios Hollywood...

We made a family trip yesterday to Universal Studios Hollywood yesterday. It's been decades since I've been there and just as long for my wife and was the first time for both of the kids. That being so I figured we should see the Park in style, so we went with the VIP Experience.

I once saw a Travel Channel segment that highlighted this "VIP Experience" and it really looked cool. Now the tickets are not cheap ($149 a person) so I had very high expectations. And on the day after I have to say they were mostly meet. The whole family had a great time and we now have a special day that we will remember for the rest of our lives. That's pretty hard to put a price tag on...

In case your interested, I'm going to break down each point made in the marketing material.

First off you have to actually reserve a VIP slot. Each VIP group is limited to about 10-14 people and they only have a couple per day. You get a special guide who will be with you for 6+ hours. Mike, our guide was outstanding. He took great care of us. He was very knowledgeable about the park, the Studio and the industry. And most importantly he wasn't fake. He really seemed to care that we enjoyed ourselves.

You can request specific guides, so if you go, ask for Mike...

"The unique VIP Experience offers:

You will be pampered like a Hollywood star with exclusive behind-the-scenes privileges to Universal Studios' movie and production facilities, where many of the most famous movies and television shows in the history of Hollywood have been - and continue to be - filmed."

This was included as part of the motorized studio tour amd was great. Instead of the huge tram of 200 people, ours was a small transport, just for our group. We traveled down to the front lot, were we stopped and got out and walked around. Mike showed us the different buildings where films are made, talked about the process (pre, production, post), etc. As we walking we got to see the Oscar's and Emmy's awarded to Universal.

"Plus, preferential treatment and special access to all attractions and shows in the park.

• All day admission to Universal Studios Hollywood, plus . . . "

While the VIP tour covered most of the day, there was a bit of time before and after when we were on our own. We got there early for our VIP reservation, so the VIP Front Desk crew got our badges all hooked up and let us into the park. At the end of the day, Mike turned us loose, but before doing that made sure that we knew where we were going, made suggestions what shows to go to and how to get there.

"• Explore the Universal production backlot, including Universal's world-famous Prop Warehouse, sound stages and sound mixing rooms. "

We were also able to walk through the work areas where post-production work is done. As we entered the big sound duping room there were a couple guys in there working... These guys stopped what they were doing and chatted with us for a while. That was pretty cool....

The Prop Warehouse was pretty cool too. This huge building is filled from top to bottom with props. EVERYTHING you can think of was there. Racks and racks of dishes, guns, cellphones, swords, games, electronics, chairs, desks, etc, etc. This is also a working area, so we were not turned loose to play with stuff, but we did get to walk slowly through to check it out.

"• Walk through a working sound stage "

We got to enter the Cross Jordan sound stage. They were filming in some of them, but the Corner's Office was available. We were toured through the stage, walking through the set, taking pictures the whole way. Mike talked about the filming, the sets, etc. I thought it was interesting the level of detail in these sets.

"• See legendary movie sets and award-winning production locations closed to the general public "

During the back lot driving tour, where the trams go through "Little New York", we stopped, got out and walk around. We also walked over to check out the Back To The Future town set (where the clock tower is), which has now been changed around for another show.

Later we also saw all the "normal" tram areas like Earthquake, Jaws, etc, etc.

"• Relax in the VIP lounge"

We started the day in the lounge. Free drinks and snacks were provided while we waited for everyone to show up. Very nice and quite room...

"• Receive VIP front-of-the-line and reserve-seating privileges at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park attractions and shows "

This part just rocked. Out VIP pass got us through special ride and show entrances, which placed us in the best seats and no line waiting for the rides. Instead of the 45 minutes line wait for Jurassic Park Ride, we went through the special entrance which put us right at the front. Five minutes max from walking in to getting on the boat. The hours we saved from waiting in line let us see much more of the park. In the end, we went on every ride and saw every show, except Fear Factor (we might have made that if we moved fast, but it was at the very end of the day... we were bushed!).

You can get this same, front of the line perk if you buy the Front of the Line Pass, but you won't get the special backlot tour nor the personal tour guide.

The one area that could really be improved was the lunch break. We were turned loose to fend for ourselves for lunch. This makes sense in that it lets the guests choose for the themselves what they want for lunch, but then again there are only a couple places to eat. Plus all the places are just stripped down fast food joints... Also as you expect, the food is not cheap. Fighting through the crowds for the food, hunting all over for a place to sit, took just a little shine off the day. It would have been perfect if a special lunch was provided. Even if it was the same food, but at least less crowded and the seats were set aside...


All in all, I believe the money was very well spent. We had a great time and I'd recommend it.

I'll upload some pictures once I pick out some cool ones (we only took 80+ pictures... ;)