ceilidh1

We are moving over to San Pedro this morning and have no plans to do anything other than eat dinner at San Pedro brewing. I’m more familiar with Long Beach and San Pedro than with Hollywood but we are just going to chill and decompress today. Tomorrow is cruise day!!!!

I thought of you while at La Brea yesterday and while hiking to the Hollywood sign today. I didn’t think of you when I dragged my reluctant kid to visit Madame Tussaud’s. In a word..creepy! Miss you!

Back at the hotel I did some laundry and need to get packed up as tomorrow we head to San Pedro for our pre cruise tradition of staying the night before at Crown Plaza.

After the movie, DS spotted the Ghirardelli store and decided an ice cream was needed. This is what a $22 sundae looks like..,yes, that’s $22

When we were researching this trip, we decided that we would each choose 2 activities we wanted to do. My two were Warner Brothers Studio and the Hollywood sign. DS chose Universal and going to see a movie at the Chinese Theatre. I’m sure the latter was a form of revenge for my making him hike today. I’m not a movie theatre person at all and I was not thrilled at the thought of going. I was even less thrilled at his choice of movie - King Kong vs Godzilla. What now????? How is this even a thing? I despise made up monster movies such as this. But this was his choice, so off we went. Firstly, the theatre is beautiful and the seats were so comfortable. It’s a much nicer theatre than any I’ve been to previously. On to the movie…I can safely say it was probably the worst movie I have ever seen in my life!!

After lunch we went to Madame Tussaud’s. This is a place I have wanted to visit for as long as I can remember, but it has never quite worked out. DD is literally terrified at the thought of being among people who look real but aren’t, so we have always just not done it. Today, I got to fulfil my wish as DS was more than happy to visit. Let’s just say that I’m glad I went and got it out of my system, but I will never need to return. In a word, it was “creepy”. I expected those figures to just come to life any minute - like when someone is pretending to be a statue and then jumps out at you. I think I set a record for how quickly you can get through that museum. On the plus side, the 4D Marvel movie they showed was very well done and one of the best 4Ds I’ve seen.

After the hike, we got a Lyft back to the hotel and dropped our stuff before going in search of food. Today was DS’s turn to choose where to eat. Much to my dismay, he had his heart set on Johnny Rocketts. We used to have one in Vancouver and it was his favourite place. He was so sad when it closed down, so as soon as he spotted one here he made up his mind to eat there. So, off to Johnny Rockets we went!

Today was our hike to the Hollywood sign with LA Bikes and Hikes. We chose the easy/intermediate hike so knew we wouldn’t be going to the very top. The hike meeting point was Innsdale Trailhead, which was a $20 Lyft fare from our hotel. The group doing the hike was huge - lots of kids and families. Tour guide Sarah mentioned several times that she usually didn’t have such big groups. The hike itself was very easy - I would put it at a walk rather than a hike. Very well defined trails and, for this one at least, you could do it without any kind of guide. Sarah was great for pointing out landmarks and interesting bits of info. She showed us the former homes of Mama Cass, Mick Jagger, and Madonna. I was in my happy place the whole time. I love being in nature (though my first live is the ocean) and seeing the cacti and succulents just filled me with joy. DS was not so thrilled and was counting down the minutes until we were done. We had great views of both the sign and the LA landscape, and I enjoyed every second. The entire hike took just under two hours, so this was perfect for us!

Our hotel has been very quiet at night and in the morning, but this morning (ironically the only morning we weren’t needing to get up at stupid o’clock) we were rudely awakened by yelling, screaming kids playing what appeared to be tag in the hallway outside the door. This was 7am. I mean, come on! I’m a parent. I get it. Kids are excited and having fun. But i would never have let my kids do something like that - heck mine wouldn’t be allowed to run up and down hallways, period. Never mind at 7am. I sometimes wonder about parents…

Ok, so this chip insanity is a thing! I thought I was going crazy. It’s ok though as I did girl math and paid $3.99 for pringles rather than $5.49 for lays. DS was quick to point out that pringles have half the amount of chips. He doesn’t understand girl math,

I’ve done some research into these cute little robots that are everywhere here. Apparently they are used for Uber eats delivery. So now, of course, I want to order Uber eats to get a robot, but you can’t request a robot. It’s random. Today I spent 15 minutes stalking one of them until it got “stuck” as it couldn’t get down from the curb. I wanted to help it. I literally stood there debating if I should do something for a good 5 minutes. It was like the robot just gave up all hope. ***** off its lights, closed its eyes and just shut down. I need one of these in my life!

Just popping in to say that it’s only your best cruise because you haven’t yet sailed with me… Happy to hear it’s going well!!! Fingers crossed I will be saying the same on Sunday!

On a side note, what’s the deal with the price of chips in this city? I have sticker shock every time I buy chips in Vancouver, but they are even more expensive in Hollywood! I literally paid the same in USD as I would pay in CAD so that’s a 30% higher price!!!! Why???

After the studio tour, we got a Lyft back to the hotel for a quick bathroom break and freshen up then headed down to Hollywood Boulevard for the hop on hop off bus. The narrated tour was ok, but the actual timings were off so some things they were talking about we had either already passed or were nowhere near! We did see the major sights, though, and hopped off at La Brea tarpits. We spent an enjoyable afternoon at La Brea then hopped back on the bus to complete the loop and end where we began. I realized that I hadn’t had lunch (DS had pizza at Warner Brothers at 11am) and I was starving. However, DS was wilting fast and I figured that rather than go find something to eat we should just grab something to take back to the room and enjoy our white castle burgers that we had got in target! Back in the hotel we feasted on White Castle, chips, sprite, and mango mimosa. I almost had a meltdown when I couldn’t get the top to pop on my mimosa bottle. I pulled so hard that the cork snapped. Luckily, the front desk had a corkscrew so I was able to ease the remains out in an unconventional champagne cork popping style.

Just finished the Warner Brothers tour. Very enjoyable. The first hour is on a tram where you drive around with a guide. We got to see the sets of a bunch of different movies and shows and were able to get off the tram and walk around in some of the spots. DS was excited about the Young Sheldon and Abbott Elementary sets as he recognized them. The next two hours or so were self guided and we got to see and learn about how different aspects of movies and shows are made. Soundwork, lighting, special effects, etc. We had photo opportunities on the Friends couch and Harry Potter stuff. There was some cool interactive stuff for Harry Potter and DC which we both enjoyed! Very fun morning out.

I might be fan- girling a little right now! On our tour at Warner Brothers I spotted Missy from Young Sheldon and may or may not have shrieked. She turned and waved to me.,,

Another early start this morning as we headed to the Warner Brothers studio tour. I braved the included breakfast at the hotel - toast, bagels, waffles, oatmeal , coffee, juices. Pretty basic. It’s a little nuts as they have one staff member serving all the food and it’s impossible for her to keep up. Still, it’s free and it filled the hunger gap. Uneventful Lyft ride and we are at the studios awaiting our tour. So far it’s been a lot “wait here”, go into this room, wait another 10 minutes, go into this room, wait another 10 minutes. Not a lot of touring or info just yet 🤣

Things I wish I packed part 2 - Toilet paper: Yes, the hotel provides it. BUT it is not the triple soft, super thick, cashmere, velour brand I use at home. Not sure if anyone here is familiar with the “paper” they used to have in British elementary school bathrooms. This was actually boxes of what can only be described as squares of plastic. I know it’s not really plastic, but it sure as heck wasn’t paper either. This stuff was stiff, waxy, slippery, crinkly and not designed to serve the purpose for which it was attended. The hotel paper isn’t that bad, but of all the paper I have ever used, this one is up there as second worst. - Sunscreen: I know, always use it even when there’s no sun. I know this. I don’t follow this. I only ever use sunscreen if I’m somewhere super hot or I’m heading to the beach. For this time of year it never even entered my head to bring it to LA. My face is a beautiful shade of lobster this morning!

undercover Tourist site. We’ve used them a lot for Disney and universal and they are great. The Universal site was sold out for the day I wanted!

Price depends on when you visit. They have a limited number so you do need to book early/in advance. The Universal site was sold out for the day I wanted but there is a site that specializes in all things Disney/Universal that we have used many times. It turned out less expensive and available on this site. Our passes cost $389 each. The girl math calculated that without them we would have paid for 2 days park admission (instead of one), plus 2 days of universal express (which wouldn’t have helped for Mario), plus early admission to Nintendo world, plus a night at the universal hotel since we would be doing two days there, plus lunch at the park. I think we ended up spending less by getting the passes and had a much more enjoyable experience.

We did some souvenir shopping, played a few more games, then headed back to the upper lot to finish our day. Last ride of the day was Kung Fu panda. Quick stop at the Hello Kitty store to grab something for DD and a duck into Hogsmeade for a butter beer to go! Headed out of the park exactly 12 hours after arriving and got a Lyft back to the hotel. Whst a fantastic day! I don’t think I would ever do universal without a VIP tour again!

To end the tour, we were taken through the VIP line and secret entrance to Minions and Secret Life of Pets. Neither ride is on my top 10, but they are cute and worth doing if there is no wait. We said goodbye to Andrew (he had been with us from 9:15am to 5:15pm) and tipped him. We then used our VIP passes to do the Simpsons ride (the passes continue to get you express access after the tour, too) We then went back to Nintendo World where DS got a power up band ($46!) and played some of the mini games. To me, it looked like “playing” basically consisted of punching stuff with an “M” emblem and getting some flashing lights, but what do I know? I honestly could not figure out what was so appealing about this Nintendo World as there was only one ride and not a lot of other stuff to do, but it was wall to wall people. We made our way to Toadstool Cafe for dinner. DS was so excited. I was surprised it wasn’t more expensive (not that it wasn’t overpriced, but I actually expected it to be more overpriced) and the food was pretty decent. DS ordered a Mario Burger and a Star Lemonade and I ordered a Luigi Burger and a coke (no alcohol here). We also ordered a Beanpole for dessert (no actual clue what this was, but it was really good). The food was presented really well and came with little take home souvenirs. You could also pay extra for Mario plates/cups/etc. We didn’t. The place was cool with interactive windows but it was so loud!!!

Since we had been held up on Jurassic World, Andrew arranged for a bus to pick us up and take us up to the Waterworld show so that we didn’t miss it. We had reserved seats and were in the perfect spot. That show is fabulous!

After lunch, we made our way down to the lower lot and rode Transformers and The Mummy. Once again, we bypassed all lines (wait time was 75 minutes at this point) and Andrew held everyone’s bags so we didn’t need to waste time getting lockers. Next up was the ride we had all been waiting for -Mario Bowsers Challenge. This ride had a 90 minute wait and there is NO fast pass or skip the line UNLESS you have the VIP tour. In addition to getting in the ride in under 10 minutes, Andrew gave us all the tips and tricks to “win” the game. DS loved this ride. If I’m honest, I thought it was kind of “meh” (probably because I’m not a gamer and literally had no idea what I was doing). Judging by the lines I was in the minority. DS had his mind set on eating at Toadstool Cafe, which required reservations. It had nothing available and he was disappointed BUT Andrew gave us a secret QR code and told us to go to it at 12:30pm and there would be spots opening up! He was right! We snagged a reservation for 6:30pm. I know 100% we would not have got this without him. The final ride in the lower lot was Jurassic World. We love all the Jurassic movies and were looking forward to this ride. Andrew asked is we would like to get wet or stay dry -before I could stop him, DS announced he wanted to get soaked! Ugh. The VIP tour guests were provided with ponchos, so we donned our rain gear, skipped the line, and got front row seats. The ride was everything I had hoped for. And they weren’t kidding about getting wet. The first (smaller) drop we went through resulted in a wave of water that ended up in my shoes and formed a huge pool in my lap (I guess my poncho had created a little dip and it filled with water). That water was COLD. Now the fun bit comes. As you near the final drop there is a huge animatronic T-Rex roaring and snorting. For some reason, the ride broke down right there. So for the next 10 minutes or so we just sat there with the T Rex breathing on us. I had visions of us having to wade out or, worse, swim. Thankfully, it started back up again and sent us hurtling down the final drop where I got drenched. And I mean drenched. I got off that ride looking like I just stepped out of the shower!!!! So fun.

By now it was lunchtime. The tour included lunch at Margaritaville. The restaurant was closed other than for VIP tour guests, so we were seated immediately and service was fantastic. In addition to the entree choices, there was a salad and dessert bar. Soft drinks were included, but of course I had to try a Pina Colada Margarita (which was awesome). For lunch, DS went with the cheeseburger and I went with the steak. Both were great! I didn’t try the salad but the dessert was top notch - mini cheesecakes, fruit tarts, chocolate cake, Bundt cake, and cookies.