UNIVERSAL STUDIOS (Day 5 - part 6)

We then entered a charming Mexican village.

We paused near a bridge and it began to rain heavily all around us. Then came thunder and lighting. A moment later, a wall of water came rushing down from the top of a cobblestone street. Again, we miraculously escaped! The water is drained away and pumped back up to be used for the next flash flood. The effect was first added to the tour in 1968.

The flood was used in the 2002 comedy Big Fat Liar.

Around the corner was Six Points Texas, which got its name because it consists of six streets all leading from one point. Apparently there are two sets of doorways: extra large ones to make the women seem more vulnerable, and slightly smaller ones to make the cowboys look more impressive. Foam rubber and plastic are made to look like brick and stone, and glass windows could be replaced with sugar glass which breaks into harmless soft-edged pieces.

(left) The Livery Stable barn dates back to the silent era of movies..

We entered the set of The Good Place, a tv comedy which premiered in 2016. It had a distinctly European feel.

We drove into Stage 50 (the only split level soundstage in the world) and found ourselves in a San Francisco subway station.

"Earthquake: The Big One" was built in 1989 and simulates a 8.3 earthquake (thanks to a gimbal which shakes the tram). Ironically it has been closed twice due to real earthquakes. Within a matter of seconds, we were subjected to fire, a derailed subway train and a sudden flood. The entire attraction can reset itself in just 15 seconds to be ready for the next tram.

Another western set ...

The Jaws attraction opened in 1976, one year after the release of the movie about a 25-foot shark that terrorizes a small community. None of the movie was filmed here so this is simply a copy of the set on Martha’s Vineyard (an island in Massachusetts) where the entire film was shot on location. There used to be a "collapsing" bridge here as well, but eventually it became too unstable.

Bruce, the animatronic shark, malfunctioned for most of the shoot, which why it isn't seen very often in the movie. Fortunately, our imagination of the shark (conjured up by the music always associated with it) is far more terrifying than actually seeing one. Because of the complexity involved, it ended up being a combination of three animatronic sharks, each which could move in a different direction. A shark sled moved it back and forth along an underwater rail.

We pulled into the quaint town of Amity Village, New York.

As we round the harbor, suddenly we hear the oh-so-familiar music .... Duuuh dun. Duhhhh dun. Dundundundundundundundun duhdaduuuhduuuuh! A sight tingle crawls up my back. Over there! A fin breaks the surface of the water and begins to head towards us.

Suddenly a boat tanking station on a nearby dock bursts into flames!

And then the shark leaps up right next to the tram. Ok, ok, I admit it, it definitely startled me... but hey, I was #1) distracted by the fire and #2) the thing was RIGHT next to me, spraying water everywhere. I rest my case.

The shark makes a few more leaps alongside the tram...

... then swims off, still hungry.

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