Universal Studios - Day 5

So...finally to day 5. We decided to go to Universal Studios. I was the only one who actually really wanted to go here. I had always wanted to take the studio tour...what I have really always wanted to do was take the tour and see some big movie star but that didn't happen.

We started our day with taking a bunch of pictures in front of the Universal Studios globe. As soon as we walked inside the park we saw started seeing a bunch of Characters. So just like all the other days we had to get their autographs for Kaiya's book and some pictures with them. Curious George was quite the character and drew a heart on my mom's face and then played peek-a- boo with Ella.

My dad wanted to get a picture with Frankenstein he then got down on Ella's level. Not a good thing. She wasn't too sure about him.

Then we saw Shrek and Fiona. Fiona was a very nice lady and played the part well.

Then Spongebob!

We then went and watched a Dodger's baseball game. Just kidding. Cirdan and Kaiya took a picture in the seats that looked like it was a stadium.

After that we went over to The Simpsons area.

We had to check out the famous Kwik-E-Mart of course and then Kaiya and Cirdan went on the Simpsons ride. Kaiya came out of the ride freaked out and Cirdan told me I HAD to ride on it. We then met up with my parents and they watched the girls while Cirdan and I went on the studio tour. It wasn't as cool as I had expected...maybe my expectations were too high?

The best parts of the tour was...

Where we witness the explosive special effects of the Fast and the Furious...

The still-smoldering movie set from War of the Worlds...this was actually amazing to see. I couldnt choose which picture to post so I posted them all!!






Norman at the Bates Motel...

and my favorite...Wisteria Lane (Desperate Housewives). It looked small in person!

Bree's house...

Gabrielle's house...

When we got off the tour Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell were there to interview us...I WISH!!!


We met back with my parents and the girls and Kaiya had gotten her face painted like a cat.

One funny story - when we were on our way back to meet my parents my dad and Kaiya were playing up in the Curious George toys. At one point the alarms go off and there are 2 big buckets of water that pour on top of your head if you are standing underneath. My dad had no clue. The alarms went off and Kaiya and him were standing under the buckets. They got soaked!!

Here is a picture of the toy with the bucket and Kaiya running back mad that she got wet.

The rest of the day we just walked around, ate at a restaurant with yummy hamburgers, saw some shows (a short 10 min or so 4D Shrek movie), and went on some fun rides....

Cirdan finally convinced me to go on the Simpsons ride with him...a little bit scary for me because I'm a big chicken.... but super fun! You ride with 7 other people in a car in an enclosed room. It's a virtual roller coaster. One part Maggy spits out her binkie and you get wet...you really feel like you are there! It ended up being my favorite ride of the week.

Donkey from Shrek was at a waffle stand...he had the Eddie Murphy, donkey voice but there was a person talking and interacting....and the guy was absolutely hilarious!

Cirdan was pretty entertained and went back 3 times to chat with Donkey.

The last big thing we did was go walk through haunted house. It was insane! There were live people hiding and jumping out and reaching out at you....it was wild. If you go there, its a must.

Here are some more character pictures we took...

Here are some more pictures from the day...

After Universal Studios we drove around Hollywood and then drove out to Rodeo Drive to see the shops. I would have liked to just walk down that side walk to just pretend...

SeaWorld - Day 4

Day 4 in California we planned to go to San Diego. Once again none of us had been to SeaWorld. By the time we got through traffic it was around 11:00 am. The park was pretty empty...except for a lot of little Kindergarten age kids on field trips. We started by walking through the Clydesdale barn which I thought was kind of weird. I never expected horses at SeaWorld!! We then went over to the Atlantis area where there were a few really fun and playful dolphins.
Then Cirdan, Kaiya, Ella and I went to the Wild Arctic Interaction while my parents went off to see the sea otters? In the Wild Arctic we saw some seals, hand polar bears.

We then went to the Penguin Encounter which was so fun!! I loved those little penguins. They were super cute.


We went to the Shark Encounter. Kaiya was kind of scared of the sharks but I reassured her that they could not hurt her.

We ate some lunch at the Calypso Bay Smokehouse and then headed over to meet my parents at Shamu Stadium to watch the show. After much debate we sat in the splash zone but up on the top row over along the side of the stadium. Fortunately, we did not get wet (I was scared about my cameras). The show was AMAZING. Those animals are so smart...I came out of there wanting to be a trainer.

After the show we saw the flamingos...very pretty...then went to the Sesame Street Presents Lights, Camera, Imagination! A 4-D movie. The movie was such a cool experience. The seats in front of you shot out water so you got a little wet but it totally makes you feel like part of the movie!

Awesome 3D glasses...

Next we went to the Dolphin Stadium which was another very cool show. The dolphins and Shamu were definitely the highlights of the day. After the show we went to the little shops and Kaiya went with my parents to play in the Sesame Street Bay of Play where they rode some rides.





Honestly, I don't know if I would go to SeaWorld again. It was cool but nothing that I would want to see again. I did definitely love that we had the opportunity to experience it.

I absolutely love a fast food restaurant in Arizona named Filibertos. They have very yummy food at such a good price. Every time my dad goes to AZ I make him bring me home a burrito. I had totally spaced it that there are Filibertos in California until my mom mentioned it so I looked it up online at the hotel and they had 2 in San Diego. After we left SeaWorld we went to the best Mexican fast food in the USA. :) I was so giddy.

We started driving about 45 minutes back to Anaheim and decided to turn around and go back so we could see the San Diego temple. We had seen it from the road when we were driving to SeaWorld and it was unbelievable. You see pictures but in real life it is so breathtaking. My mom planted some seeds in Kaiya's head telling her she should get married there when she is older (MUCH older).