THIS ICONIC THEME PARK RIDE IS TURNING 60 — AND IT'S BETTER THAN EVER
A giant Kong gorilla is thundering towards me through the jungle as I feel a woosh of air in my left ear.
I turn to face the wrath of a Tyrannosaurus and as I do, I’m hit with dinosaur spittle. Luckily, my 3D sunglasses take the brunt of it.
There’s nothing seemingly to separate me from these thunderous forms, fighting and charging through the jungle while I sit in my open-window tour tram, which is physically shaken from side to side by each crushing footstep in the dinosaur dance unfolding around us.
It’s utterly mesmerising and as realistic as being sucked into Jurassic Park itself.
Terrifying? Not really. Because reality was suspended at the gateway to Universal Studios, Hollywood – where imaginations, as well as dinosaurs, run riot.
Universal are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their cult Studio tram tours which started back in 1964, somewhat more sedately, as a way of selling cheap lunches.
In those days, as silent movie stars filmed their scenes, local entrepreneurs hit on the idea of launching tours for the public to watch them in action.
The tours proved so popular that sales of lunches shot up. Studio executives noticed the trend, and decided to make money by launching their own tours.
They designed the now-famous open-sided trams, and invited the public to come and watch movies being made.
How do I know all this history? Well, our affable guide called Bob (who went to film school in the 1980s) talks us around the tour, and delights us with the secrets behind the film sets we’re visiting.
We stop off at Wisteria Lane, where Desperate Housewives was filmed (a selfie dream!), and as we race from familiar house to famous house, we discover that whenever Bree Van de Kamp opened her door, it was never very wide. Why? Well behind her hallway is in fact a public toilet.
We drive slowly past the original Psycho House and – an anniversary special – we disembark at Bates’ motel, and see a very convincing Norman Bates walking from room to room.
The actor is a believable lookalike – and you don’t need to have seen the original 1960 Alfred Hitchcock classic to know this young man is deeply troubled.
Behind the motel, post for a selfie in the grip of a giant King Kong, or stick your head in the mouth of a shark. And that reminds me – Jaws.
We visit the set of the original film, and as we watch some animatronic divers meet a grisly end, a giant plastic shark rears up beside our tram while oil drums explode into flames behind it.
From a sudden flood cascading down the road to a car chase alongside the cast of Fast and Furious (incredibly realistic and guaranteed to have me sticking to 20 mph in future), there’s action, nostalgia and fun in every corner.
We visit the props unit – a giant warehouse – and see a pile of shoes for the newly released The Fall Guy, alongside furniture and lamps of every description, from every period of history.
And once you’re off the tram tour, there’s still more fun to be had. Dare to dive and swoop on the Harry Potter ride – as Harry and Ron race beside you on their broomsticks. Face the rollercoaster joy of The Mummy, jump in a cart for Bowser’s Challenge, and Augmented reality ride, beside Mario and his friends in their multi-coloured Super Nintendo World.
When we stop for lunch in the Moulin Rouge restaurant, we have time to admire the stunning backdrop of the Hollywood mountains behind us.
Characters such as Dracula and bizarrely, a New York cop, come up to enquire if our food is good and the answer is yes – the lunch buffet is utterly delicious.
A trip to the Hollywood sign
On our trip, we came face to face with not one – but TWO – famous Hollywood signs.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary, Universal have built a scaled-down version of the most famous sign in the world. We also took a tour guide hike – through Bikes and Hikes LA – up the winding Hollywood mountainside paths, where we got close to the original sign, celebrating it’s 100th birthday.
Our Californian guide explained that the sign originated as an advertising board, the brainchild of a real estate executive who couldn’t sell his newly-built homes in the area.
There’s the ghost of a doomed actress who is said to haunt the sign (our tour guide insists he did indeed witness a strange ghostly encounter one deserted evening as he made his way down the winding mountain path) and then there’s the fun of rattlesnake spotting (none on the day we visited) and Hollywood home spotting (several amazing mountainside mansions are even on Airbnb).
Meanwhile if you want momentoes of your visit, there’s a supply of themed 60th anniversary merchandise ranging from t-shirts, backpacks, pillows and a popcorn bucket shaped as an iconic glamor tram.
The park is orderly, good natured and not too big that you can’t enjoy it in a day – although you’ll be tempted to do several rides again and again.
My only tip? Book now and go before August to catch the full anniversary extras. This is one tram you really can’t afford to miss.
Need to know
Universal Studios Hollywood Buy a Day, Get a 2nd Day Free Special Offer Ticket costs from £92 / €102 per person, booking through AttractionTickets. Tickets are gate-ready offering instant entry to the park, bypassing the ticket and voucher lines. The second visit to Universal Studios Hollywood can be taken any time within six days of the first visit.
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2024-05-26T07:04:23Z dg43tfdfdgfd