Universal Studios is a safe place for kids

I’ve always wanted to be special.

Waiting in line at Disneyland, or Knott’s Berry Farm, or the San Diego Zoo, you see those people with shiny badges hanging around their necks, being ushered to the front, getting the royal treatment from some bright-eyed tour guide.

Yeah, I’ve always wanted to be them.

So, when I heard about the VIP Experience at Universal Studios Hollywood, I knew I had to book it for our family trip.

Even if it did cost an arm and a leg, and the other arm and leg.

At $239 per person, I did hesitate slightly, but then realized it would be a once-in-a-lifetime visit to Universal for my family, so why not do it in style?

The day began with real VIP treatment in a special lounge, where a continental breakfast was served up for us while the classic 1982 E.T. ran on the big screen. Our tour guide, a well-known LA stage actor named Lary Ohlson, made sure the dozen people in our group were well-fed. I was feeling special right from the start.

VIP Lounge at Universal Studios

Soon, Lary was leading us out into the park, past all those poor schleps waiting for the regular bus, and onto our very own VIP trolley.

Our first stop was a walk-through of some of the workshops responsible for set construction and prop design. Not terribly exciting for the kids, but interesting to see the nuts and bolts of movie production.

Workshop at Universal Studios

Next was a leisurely stroll to the Universal backlot, where my son perked up considerably when Lary told him that the very spot on which he was standing had been featured in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Site of the Nazca market scene from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

There was movie history all around us as we walked through the streets of the backlot. Every now and then, one of those regular buses would go by, filled with people staring at us and wondering why they weren’t special enough to get off the bus too.

Yeah, I was really feeling like a VIP at that point.

Walking through the old west

Next was one of the highlights of the tour, a visit to the multi-story Universal Props Warehouse, where we wandered down various aisles to gawk at everything from fake sausages to a Meryl Streep mannequin.

I’ve never seen so many salt shakers in one place, but it makes you realize that when any kind of kitchen or restaurant set is decorated, they need to have a pair of salt and pepper shakers on the table. There were also tikis, street signs, parrot figurines, skulls, and Chinese terracotta warriors.

Statues in the Universal Props Warehouse

The rest of the tour took us through other backlot locations, as well as the regular parts of the Universal tour. We were attacked by Norman Bates and the shark from Jaws, parted the Red Sea, and lived through an earthquake. At one point we passed by the Wisteria Lane set of Desperate Housewives and had to be very quiet, as cameras were rolling at that very moment. Then we stepped off the trolley again to walk through the airline crash set from Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, while the regular tour buses drove by with their gawking passengers.

War of the Worlds set at Universal Studios

It was finally time for lunch, and we were treated to the most incredible gourmet meal by a studio chef. They really went all out with the food, as they should for a VIP. We went back for seconds and thirds of everything, and definitely got our money’s worth.

Gourmet lunch on the Universal Studios VIP Tour

After that, we visited the set of The Tonight Show and stood on Conan’s star (this was before NBC gave him the shaft). From there, we walked through a sound mixing studio and then into the studio commissary to take a look at several Academy Award Oscars on display, including the Best Picture statuette for Gladiator. No photos allowed in any of those places, unfortunately.

My kids were quite pleased with the tour so far, but the best, for them, was yet to come. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to all the rides at Universal, including Jurassic Park, The Simpsons, and Revenge of The Mummy, where we were ushered straight to the front of the line. Again, feeling like a VIP with shiny badges around our necks.

Lary, the tour guide, and friend outside The Simpsons ride.

Also included in the tour was priority seating at all the live shows, including Waterworld, Shrek, Terminator, and Animal Actors. My kids were blown away by the spectacular Waterworld show. Lary, our tour guide, had us at each show promptly on time, and we didn’t miss out on anything. By tour’s end, we had seen and done everything, so with a few hours left before the park closed we just had to go and do some of it again.

All in all, a wonderful day for my family. From beginning to end, I felt like a VIP. Yes, it was expensive, but the memories were worth it. At least this one time.

Walking through the Universal backlot

Inside the Universal graphics workshop

The Court of Miracles on the Universal backlot

Desperate Housewives actresses

Lary checks for vampires

My son at the backlot saloon

Fake food in the props warehouse, destined for the set of The Secret Life of the American Teenager TV show

Salt and Pepper shakers in the props warehouse

A Mery Streep mannequin, used in The River Wild

Aisles of everything, in the Universal Props Warehouse

A fiery end to the Waterworld stunt show