Zero

I didn't blog yesterday because, simply put, I was too damned tired. So today, I'm going to try and pull a little bit of double duty. Ready? Here we go.

05/27/2009

Yesterday was the Universal Studios tour. I got up stupid (and I do mean stupid) early to head out and catch the Rt 10 ARTS bus that runs not far from our hotel. After catching the bus, I made my way to the convention center to begin the wait.

I was there an hour early. Yeah, I had myself a pretty long wait. But soon enough, more and more Transfans began to show up and we had ourselves a good size crowd. There was laughing, joking, and many long nerdy conversations about toy robots. I was in heaven.

Once our tour buses arrived, we all climbed aboard, took our seats and began to enjoy the ride. Upon our arrival, we decided it would be best if we traveled the studio using the buddy system. I hung out with a small group of fans, led by "Chicago" and "Aussie". Are the names indicative of origin? Dunno. I digress...

We decided to hit as many rides as possible. The first was Shrek 4D. Being a total Shrek virgin, I can honestly say that the attraction was a lot of fun. I'm actually a bit interested in seeing the movies now. (I can hear Prime groaning in the back. To which I say, "Tough." To which he replies "Scre' ye, ye li'tl bas'ard" in an atrocious Scottish accent. Weirdo.)

After Shrek, Aussie wanted to hit the Terminator feature, so we headed over to catch the show. Unfortunately, it had already started, so we had to wait. In the meantime, we had a quick lunch.

I keep forgetting how Godawful expensive it is to eat in a place like that. Seriously, ouch.

After the meal, we went back and took in the Terminator. I would be lying if I said it didn't creep me out at a couple of points--part of the event involved having several Terminators shooting out some targets overhead. The very moment the blasted 'bots popped up, my heart began racing. I might adore most everything robotic, but anything that comes from Cyberdyne has a tendency to scare the living hell out of me. And the T-1000000 was no different That thing could cause nightmares.

After the attraction was finished, we were all about to leave when we were told by the ushers that our group could stay and meet the actors. Earlier in the day, we decided to buy a few 'Front of the Line' passes and one of the perks of said passes was a meet-and-greet. So we stayed, asked a few questions, met everyone and got a few pictures. Much awesomeness, if you ask me.

Chicago decided that we should hit The Simpsons ride afterwards, so we headed over. After taking a few pictures and video of Springfield, we hit the ride proper.

A word of warning: If you ever decide to ride that particular attraction, you might get a bit of vertigo. If you feel a bit dizzy, just put your head back and shut your eyes. Trust me, it helps. The attraction is actually a motion simulator--your brain and body may not sync up immediately and it might throw you off a little. It took me a few seconds to adjust to it but once I did, I had a blast.

We wandered about for a bit, then hit Jurassic Park. Four words: Most. Awesome. Ride. Ever. I didn't get too wet when we made splashdown, but Chicago got freaking soaked. I have never laughed so hard in my life.

Once we had gotten away from the dinos (and I had gotten myself a cute little souvenir), the rest of the group headed to The Mummy ride. I saw four words that encouraged me to sit that one out--high speed roller coaster. I don't do too well with those. Mostly because I risk throwing up. But I did visit the nearby gift shop and snagged another souvenir. This one was a litte pewter Bastet figurine. I can't help but think it was cool.

By now it was getting late in the day, so we hit two last attractions. We saw the behind the scenes/effects show and Backdraft. Both were a lot of fun, but Backdraft freaked me out towards the end. Stupid collapsing catwalk.....

By now we had approximately an hour and a quarter to wander about. So wander we did. There were costumed characters out and about, so I got a couple of pictures with some of them. It wasn't long afterwards that we left the park and our tour buses came.

I left Universal Studios exhausted and achy (my everything hurt!), but utterly ecstatic. It was wonderful.

Today:

Today was the Hollywood tour and Prime had the customizing class, so we both had to get up stupid early. There was just one problem: We had only gotten four hours worth of sleep! Now usually, I'm the one who's dragging their tail to get up and get dressed in the morning. Not so today--it was Prime who couldn't get moving. Seriously, he just wouldn't move. (Not that I blame him.) But after some prodding, we were on our way.

We missed the first bus, but caught a later one. After arriving at the convention center, we went our separate ways. I waited outside for the tour bus, while Prime headed inside for the class. Once the buses arrived and everyone got checked in, we were soon on our way.

This tour was different; we were basically being driven from place to place and given a bit of time to see the sights and take photos. I was able to see the Hollywood Bowl, the Chinese Theatre, walk down the Hollywood Walk of Fame, see the Kodak Theatre and best of all, walk down Rodeo Dr. I even ducked into one of the shops with a few of the others and walked around. The sales clerk kept glaring at us. It was hilarious. (And I'd do it again. In a second.)

We also made an unexpected detour to the La Brea tar pit. It seems we inadvertantly left someone behind, so he had to take a cab to catch up with us. I'm actually kinda glad it happened; I've never seen anything like the tar pit in my life. I found it a little bit sad.

Once we got back, we were dropped at the convention center. The first sight that greeted us was the incredibly long line for pre-registrants to pick up their gear. At first we all freaked out--we were thinking that was the line for the club store! But our line was much, much shorter.

I caught up with Prime and apologized for being late. We didn't have much time for talk; not long after, the doors opened and we were allowed inside. Prime and I made our way towards the club store when I saw something. It looked like a wing. A yellow, car door shaped wing.

That was when I gasped. And it wasn't the typical sort of gasp, either. This one was reserved for someone special. Namely Bumblebee.

I was staring at a movie Bumblebee statue.
I had to fight the urge to hug him.

Prime mumbled a soft, "Oh hell," as we passed by. He knew I was going to be insufferable after seeing this sight. But I kept myself pretty much in control until we got to the store. We got our forms, placed our order and paid. When we left, we spotted DA (who got in last night) sitting nearby. Prime rearranged our swag and gave me permission to go take a few pictures of Bumblebee.

I lost count of just how many I took. I was actually afraid I might fill the SD card.

Once Prime had gotten everything together, we met up with yet another friend who offered to stash our stuff in their room. So we headed outside. It was then I spotted someone who looked familiar--it just so happened to be the King himself. So I got his attention then nearly fractured one of his ribs hugging him. Good times, good times.

We stashed our swag, grabbed some eats and got back to our hotel. All in all, it's been a wonderful couple of days. I wish it would never end.

--Weasel, "I'm both sleep and food deprived, but I feel just great!"