I had the chance to head to Universal Studios Hollywood yesterday. Although I have a pass and can go whenever, I usually only make it there, at best, about 3 times a year (it's ok.. the pass pays for itself on one trip). Due to the number of years that I've been going to Universal, I'm familiar with what to expect on a normal weekend operating day: Huge lines for everything including the restrooms, water mist sprayers to keep people cool around every corner due to a severe lack of shading and mediocre attractions. Of course, the "draw" to Universal is the Backlot Tour. This 45 minute journey takes you through a maze of large beige and brown buildings, numbered in big white fonts so that the tour guide can let you know which productions were shot in each one. To say that this part of the tour is boring would be, at the very least, a major understatement. You then move from the front lot to the backlot.. which is where the movie "magic" is supposed to come alive.
Only recently has the tour actually started moving into the section that used to be the Metropolitan area again. This is due to the large fire that ripped through the backlot on June 1st, 2008. This fire consumed Brownstone Street, New York Street, New England Street, the King Kong attraction and destroyed close to 50,000 archived digital video and film copies chronicling Universal's movie and classic TV shows, dating all the way back to the 1920s. $50 million later, much of what used to be has been either rebuilt or updated, including an all-new King Kong attraction on its way(why King Kong? Let the monkey die I say).
Universal Studios Backlot June 2, 2008
I took this shot the day after the fire. Charred, steel frames of fecades and smoke was all that was left of the former Metropolitan area. Courtyard square was the only portion left standing including the Clock Tower from the Back to the Future films as well as some fecades that remained around the north side. The hollowed out building near the bottom right of the screen is where King Kong used to be located.
Universal Studios Backlot March 27, 2010
Almost 2 years later - All of Courtyard Square and a large portion of the Metropolitan area have been restored to how they previously looked. According to the tour guide, they've already begun filming smaller productions here including music videos and most recently episodes of CSI.
It's nice to see them working hard on restoring this area, especially because it provides not only material for their tour but location shooting for upcoming films. I really hope that NBC Universal's next step will be improving the overall quality of their shows and attractions in the theme park area. The park itself is literally becoming another Knott's Berry Farm sans rollercoasters. The low ticket price on annual passes and $19.99 all-you-can-eat special is obviously hurting the park financially because it draws larger crowds but is reducing profit and, as is evident, decreases the number of man hours that they can afford causing attractions, eateries, and janitorial to be under staffed and overall lacking in quality.
Then again.... they could always just pull money out of their ridiculous advertising budget. :P
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