Hello Friends and Family,
Link to this year's index by clicking here.
California Dreaming, Part 1 |
Apology: First I must apologize to all my friends in California that I was not able to get together for a visit — my job was chauffeur and I did not control the schedule. Maybe next time. |
There are two courses there — the Legend and the Resort Course. I played the latter. I was paired with a couple and their friend, all from Canada and we had a lovely time playing together. Fortunately, they had played this course before and Ted was able to give me tips on aiming points, etc. |
Incidentally, I did not see Arnold Palmer there but I did spot his parking spot. People's respect for The King was most evident — the parking spot was empty — no one wanted to take his parking place. |
But Pi-chan has visited Tokyo Disneyland many times and wanted to visit Universal Studios — sticker shock notwithstanding. Soon after we entered the park, she encountered Shrek, the green ogre. He stars in the park's Shrek 4-D attraction. What is 4-D you ask? Well, you start with the 3-D glasses, add in seats that move in sync with the movie and a few extras thrown in like sprays of water (I hope it was water) when Shrek sneezed or at other wet places in the film. My first time — it was cute. |
This was my second time and it still entertains but seems a bit shorter than I recalled. Do take care if you have a nice camera (or anything else that might be damaged by water) — because you and your belongings will get wet. Ask for a bag in the adjacent shop for protection. They also sell ponchos for $3 but unless it is a cold windy day, that really isn't needed. |
Outside the ride is a very scary-looking mummy guy. That's odd — Pi-chan does not look very scared. They did offer one service outside this ride that I thought was a good idea. They have lockers where you can place your valuables before riding the roller coaster. You obtain a free locker by placing your right index finger on a reader (originally read when you enter the park). Upon exiting the ride, you repeat the process and your locker opens. It seemed to work well but I wondered about the quality of the finger print reader and whether it might sometimes give away your valuables to someone else. Now that would be scary! |
They retain much of the classics — the flash flood (in the middle of a bright sunny day), ... |
Jaws which surprised Pi-Chan who was on the right side of the tram followed by the house on the hill from Psycho. Curiously, when we came to that spot in the tour, everything reverted to B&W. I wish they could make it look like nighttime — now that would be scary! |
There were some new attractions in the Back Lot — namely this jumbo jet crash site. Since I could not understand the Japanese tour guide, I cannot give you any details — but it was very realistic looking. |
These are the bad guys on grungy jet skis — who delight in spraying water into the audience. The first half dozen rows are marked that you may (read "will") be soaked. |
Soon after the above, the head bad guy appears. In this future scenario, global warming has melted the ice caps and glaciers so that all land is under water. The heroine has discovered a place that is still above water — and the bad guy wants the information. So the battle is on. |
Then a surprise — we hear the sound of an aircraft that crash lands into the lagoon. It was awesome — although I cannot remember what it had to do with the story — I'm sure someone will let me know. |
The battle continues until the good guy defeats the bad guy. |
Of course the flaming bad guy sets off the big finale's flames and explosions. It was fun and not to be missed if you go to Universal Studios. |
Outside the theater, is a bike like the one Terminator rode. These two bad biker chicks jumped right on and away they went. |
To be continued... |
Life is good.
Aloha,
B. David