Minion Wonderland - Universal Studios

Making that first turn to get to the gate is a bit nerve racking, they say you are on the list but they give you “the number” just in case. Having it already dialed up, we approach the security guard’s gate.

“Hi, how are you today.” Always start with the niceties; maybe they will treat you like they know you.

“Can I have your licenses?” We hurriedly scramble in our purses and produce the legalities. It feels like an eternity while he inputs them into the system to find our names.

“Where are you ladies going?” he leans menacingly out the window, I pause a second trying to remember.

“The bungalows.” Whitney replies, I smile like I was expecting it. He frowns and nods his head in approval; I felt my face start to turn red.

“Here are your passes, just go straight through and take a right down….” He kept talking as I grabbed the brightly colored passes and stared at them for a few moments. My name was on those passes. I finally have made it into a real studio.

“Thank you!” Whitney sings as she nudges me to go forward. I thank the guard as well and lurch into wonderland. The first time driving onto Universal Backlot is one of the coolest experiences a person can ever have. It doesn’t matter if you are just working at one of the detached bungalows or if you are a part of the staff, you get this feeling that “I have made it”. When you see the massive movie posters that light up each boring grey wall of the stages you realize that this is more than just advertisements… these posters are trophies, they are showing off what has been accomplished on this lot. You could get wonderfully lost back there which is probably why it is so hard to get in initially; people say it is one of the hardest studios to get into in Hollywood, thank goodness we didn’t have an issue.

            When a tram full of tourists from all over the world drives past you and takes your picture you know that the feeling you felt at the initial entrance was completely logical – you are a super star for all they know and you definitely feel like one. Driving through the lot, you pass people drinking their coffees and making notes on their binders while trying to hold up a conversation with the three people next to them. You see people driving around on their golf carts, not really looking at you because you are just another guy but you try to take another look to see if you recognize them. There are grip trucks everywhere that are unloading and loading, makeup trailers, PA’s running around with coffee and updated budget sheets to put in production binders…it is all chaotic and wonderful at the same time. We pass the Illumination Entertainment studio with all the happy minion statues out front like they just popped out of the movie - I feel like I am not in a real place, this is fake, right? We drive past the Backlot Café, which is the one place on the entire Backlot campus to get food for the everyday studio workers; I have a feeling I will be spending quite a bit of time here.

            We round the corner past the big Ted statue to get to the road that leads to the Bungalows where we will be spending every single day for the next week and a half. We pass the DreamWorks studio with the little fishing boy sitting on the moon to welcome you into the gate. For the first time I really was able to ponder what that meant for me as a child, watching that logo come up on the screen as I committed to memory some of my favorite movies that they created. This studio is a place of creativity and creation; it is a place where people can come from all over the world and make something that is from their imagination, when you are making something that you know will touch others it is like you are sitting on the moon as a child again. Someone once told me that when you imagine things you are using the same brain activity that you use when you experience real life and sometimes even more so. To create a reality such as a movie you have to have an imaginary mentality and to be on this lot is such a privilege – to be surrounded by so many people that I will never meet that have created some of the greatest movie masterpieces of our generation is an unparalleled feeling. I couldn’t wait to get to work.

            The Bungalows, which are nothing more than grey wood paneled work trailers, are not beautiful to look at aesthetically, but they were honestly the most exquisite buildings I had ever seen; this was where we would be living and sometimes sleeping constantly while preparing for the upcoming shoot. This was our office.

            Universal Studios is a fantastic place filled, like said above, with magic and imagination that comes alive. There are so many sets that you can see when you take a tram ride through the studio. What most people do not know is that a lot of movie sets are not actually in “Philadelphia” or “Canada”, but rather in a sound stage or set that has been used over and over again by different productions. The set for “Back to the Future” and “ How I Met Your Mother” are one in the same.  A lot of different New York or big city productions sets are filmed at Universal Studios, when you are able to go there to take the tour you will get a lively tour guide to tell you all the different movies and TV shows that have been filmed on the lot. Quite a few reality and game shows are filmed on location there and have their own sound stage such as “The Voice”.

            Universal City Walk is the section of Universal Studios that everyone who visits California needs to go to at least once. It is the big outdoor shopping center that is introduced by the Universal Studios Globe fountain at the entrance. The City Walk has restaurants and sweets shops, a movie theater, pretty much everything you could ever want as a tourist. There are live performers that come and grace you with their music at the big courtyard in the middle and there is usually a group that does a flash mob at one point. The best part about City Walk is that you do not have to pay (except parking) to walk around and enjoy a casual dinner and drink while people watching and sniffing around at the different shops.

            Los Angeles is filled with so many different options to shop, star watch, gawk at and experience, Universal Studios is one of the iconic places that you have visit when you come to the City of Angels. After walking on the star’s footprints at the Chinase Grauman Theater, braving the traffic and getting the worst sunburn of your life at Venice beach, ending the day at City Walk will wrap up the experience of a California day.