USA-Cruise-Europe-Day 9

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Day 9

This day was our trip to Universal Studios. We had to leave early as it was nearly an hour to drive to the Studios.
There are actually 2 theme parks in the same area: Universal Studios & the Islands of Adventure-your ticket does cover both parks.







We reached the Studios before 8 am, parked the car (you had to pay for parking as well!) & went inside the complex.







The first ride we went on, The Revenge of the Mummy (an indoor roller coaster) nearly put me off rides for the rest of the day - it was really scary. After that I chose fairly tame rides.

We then took the Jaws ride. You board a boat with a host & everything starts of fine, the next thing there are explosions, a shark sighting & then Jaws attacks (all very dramatic!).








We watched the Shrek 4D show which was very good. It included water being sprayed on your face & air blowing around your legs during the experience. Then we queued up to watch the making (with audience participation) of a disaster movie - the queue was long so it took us a while to get inside. To keep your mind of the length of the queue there were old movie props/sets which included wrecked planes & a mechanical Jaws.







For Lunch, the adults ate Turkey legs. Since they were so big & chunky, we just shared them per couple.







After lunch we watched the Fear Factor Live show. This is a show of dares where the players have to do or sorts of activities
(some really disgusting). One activity was that the players were strapped into a harness that held them from the ceiling
& the winner would be the person who could dangle up in mid air the longest. Another dare was drinking a mixture of all horrible ingredients including live bugs. Another activity saw a woman with her face enclosed in glass & they put in live scorpions.







Later on we decided to do the Jimmy Neutron experience which I expected to be tame, but it was not! - It was one of those 3-D
simulations where you were strapped into a chair - I felt a bit queasy afterwards, vowing not to do any more rides for the rest of the day.

After that we headed back to the main entrance to take some pictures & then we walked over to the Islands of Adventure.







We walked through the Park, seeing rides including the Incredible Hulk Coaster & various kids rides at Seuss Landing.







Next we saw the Lost Continent, which features some great structures & an experience called Poseidon's Fury.







We decided to take a ride on the Jurassic Park River Ride (boat on river) with Dinosaurs everywhere-it was good fun.
After that we walked past the Comic Strip & went through Marvel Super Hero Island. We ate dinner at Bubba Gump's Restaurant (which was just outside the park).

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