California Day 12 - Universal Studios Hollywood

Since we were all up by 4am the next morning, we easily got to Universal Studios in time to meet our friend KT (Ryan's godmother) before the early admission opening time. Though Ryan isn't exactly what you'd call a huge Harry Potter fan (he's never shown any interest in the movies, memorabilia, etc.), he and Rich have been reading the books at bedtime together the last few years. Honestly speaking, I think the trip to Universal's Harry Potter Land was far more driven by Rich than Ryan. ;-) I tried to squawk/protest the admission cost by suggesting other activities (it's over $100, so that's at least as much as Disneyland, right?), but I was overruled by Rich who really wanted to go to the park 'for Ryan' (wink wink).

So off we went...and thank goodness we sprung a few more dollars for the early admission, as it got us into Harry Potter when it was still nearly empty/no lines. Later in the day when we returned for a final ride, it was a madhouse and you wouldn't have had a single picture without 400 other people in in with you.

The happy couple with their adopted half Asian child... :-D

I must admit that despite my griping about the prices here (since the park is half the size or smaller than Disneyland), that they did a phenomenal job capturing the essence of Harry Potter. I was impressed by the ambiance. As much as I wanted to get a souvenir for 'Ryan' (i.e.- Rich), a coffee mug was $27! Twenty seven dollars. Um...no, thank you.

But on this day, our lucky little boy's godmother treated him to the park that day, getting both his admission and giving him some money for a few souvenirs. So look who was over the moon being able to score some candy! (A year ago, he'd have blown all his $ in the first store within minutes. This time, he priced a few items, chose the one that seemed most reasonable, and saved the rest for 'later.' Proud that he's growing up a bit!)

The other realization of how much he's grown? Two years ago, Scooby Doo was his favorite cartoon and he would have died and gone to heaven to have taken a photo with them (or at least agreed willingly to a picture). This time I had to really urge him to take a photo with Velma and Scoob, and then when it was done, I could hear him quietly mumbling that Velma had talked to him like he was a baby. :-D

I will admit to being very impressed by this raptor, which was quite lifelike in his movements and roars and scaring the living crap out of many people who were innocently strolling by...including  Ryan (who jumped back and frantically whispered to me, "That's fake, right?") :-D (No buddy, it's a real dinosaur roaming the theme park.) ;-)

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Once Kathy had to leave for her three hour drive home...we were able to meet up with Rich's brother and nephew. It was awesome getting to spend time with them, and they willingly took Ryan on rides long after we were nauseated (we're not spring chickens anymore).

We ended up leaving the park around 4:30 because Ryan had been drooping for hours from his lack of sleep the night before, but did manage to see every show and ride that he'd wanted to do before we left. We saw a stunt show where a man set himself on fire for about 15 seconds. However, instead of being impressed and wowed, Ryan seemed more horrified at the riskiness. (Thank you Jesus for not giving me a macho Beavis & Butthead-like son with an obsession for fire.)

On the way out through Universal City Walk, we'd hoped to grab a few VooDoo donuts for my dad, but the line was even longer than the one we'd stood in in Portland, so we had to skip it since Ryan was by that point, nearly comatose. Within a few minutes of getting into the car, he passed out in the backseat and slept through our dinner at Chipotle (something I don't think I'd be capable of doing at any age, even with severe sleep deprivation and starvation...as I can always muster the energy to eat).

Enjoying his first glass of butter beer in Harry Potter land!

We had a great day at the park with KT, D & J...it wouldn't have been the same without them!