UNIVERSAL STUDIOS (Day 5 - part 3)

Springfield, which opened in 2013, is the town from the animated tv comedy, The Simpsons.

(righ) They can't seem to find Sean!

Sideshow Bob makes an escape.

(right) Mr. Burns' manor

Unfortunately it was a 50 minute wait for the ride so we ended up not getting to go.

We took the Starway escalator from the Upper Lot down to the Lower Lot. It opened in 1991 and is 1/4 mile long.

The looooong escalator down ... ending at the Jurassic World pool (where the ride ends with a splash)

The next section was based on The Mummy movies (the first one made in 1999) which are action-adventure films set in the 1940s about the awakening of a cursed mummy named Imhotep.

The ride, The Revenge of the Mummy, opened in 2004 and is an indoor, mine-cart-type, steel rollercoaster that can quickly hit speeds of 45 mph and lasts only about 2 minutes. We were rushed past vengeful mummies, Egyptian tomb imagery and a scarab beetle attack. The most unexpected part of the ride was the sudden stop halfway through, then shooting off again... backwards!

The entrance ... guarded by a scarab

(right) When you stick your hand in the hole, you get hit with a quick, strong blast of air!

The Book of the Dead

And unfortunate soul ... Imhotep speaks to us in a large mirror. It's his intention to steal our souls.

Funny heiroglyphic instructions ... about to board the rollercoaster

Next door was the Transformers, a series of science fiction action films based on a toy line that began in 1984. Two alien robot groups who are at war (the good Autobots and the evil Decepticons) can transform into different things, such as vehicles and animals.

Good guys Bumblebee and Optimus Prime happily take photos with and greet visitors.

Megatron (leader of the Decepticons) battles with Optimus Prime.

At first, the ride was closed. We returned later and things were up and running again.

Transformers: The Ride 3D (or Battle for the AllSpark) is a 3D dark ride. A vehicle (shaped kind of like an open-topped car that can hold 12 people) follows a 2,000-foot-long track. It can also swivel 360 degrees (including at different tilting angles) in order to place us before thirteen 3D high-definition video screens, some up to 60 feet tall, making the experience quite immersive.

Again, there was a story. As we walked through the line, videos explained the situation to us. Apparently the Decepticons have come to Earth in search of the AllSpark (a powerful energy source that can turn technology into sentient life) and are attacking the base where a fragment of it is stored. We were being recruited to help the Autobots.

At the end of a series of highly-entertaining corrodores (which served as the line), we were handed a pair of 3D glasses and stepped into the high-sided cart, which was supposed to be an Autobot named Evac. He would speak to us the entire time. Immediately, the AllSpark ends up falling in our possession and it becomes a chase as we flee with it. For me, there was so much action happening so quickly that found it difficult to keep up with what was going on.

Jurassic World evolved from the original Jurassic Park movie (1993), wherein scientists have created a wildlife park on a remote tropical island of dinosaurs that they have genetically recreated. It is now 22 years after the initial events and the island is now a successful dinosaur theme park. Of course, things go wrong and the monstrous creatures escape their enclosures.

We arrived just in time at the Raptor Encounter to see a live show. And yes, the velociraptor was just a person in a suit, but it was a VERY impressive suit with the ability to control many subtle features such as the eyes. It was quite easy to soften one's critical eye and allow the imagination to see an acutal living prehistoric beast standing before us.

The gates open and the raptor is released.

A handler keeps us (hopefully) safe.

A very loud roar!

The eyes could open fully or completely close.

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