Universal Studios II

Alright, this time I'm definitely writing about Universal Studios. My family are Harry Potter and Simpsons fans. That is what makes Universal so great.

First, there was going into Moe's and having a beer. OK, a coke, but same idea. People sometime see drawings or animation and say, "That looks just like the real thing". This time I was in Moe's and thought, "This real setting looks just like the cartoon". It really did. Inside and out. Everything was there and in the right place. Super cool. Next door they had a food court, but the places were all from the Simpsons - The Frying Dutchman, Lard Lad Donuts, Krusty Burger, etc. (The Krusty Burgers really are delicious.)

The only criticism - They could have had more realistic people working there. At Moe's, it was just some guy and he didn't seem very into it. How hard would it be to get a guy who looked and sounded a little like Moe? I wish I had that job. Every once in a while I would take a phone call and yell out, "Everyone, I need Amanda Hugginkiss. Everyone pipe down. I really need Amanda Hugginkiss." I would be great at being Moe. At least better than the guy that wasn't putting any effort into it at all.

Also, they had a Quick-E-Mart. They had a female cashier. Why not an Indian guy? And after the sale, "Thank you. Come again." It would add a lot.

But those are little things. The whole park was cool. They had a big section of Harry Potter shops along with Hogwarts Castle. It was fun to see people's faces when they walked in and see it for the first time. Other than the throng of tourists, it really did seem like you were there. A lot were dressed for it though, having bought Harry Potter robes and wands. That would set you back about $100.

But they had other lands. They had sections devoted to Jurassic Park, Dr. Seuss, Newspaper comics, Hollywood, etc.

This outdoes Disneyland probably only because there is a point of diminishing returns. I've probably been to Disneyland ten times, so its not quite as exciting now. Universal was well run, but not with the Nazi-like efficiency that Disney puts into it. So Disney probably still gets the nod at number one, but Universal is awfully good.