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We had a movie date over the weekend in Downtown San Luis Obispo at The Movie Experience, also known as Downtown Centre Cinemas. It's centrally located and is part of a big shopping complex. 

What made this date stood apart from the rest was that I had an awesome dinner while we were watching the movie in the movie theater and my dinner is not hot dogs and popcorn. The movie theater doesn't blatantly say you can bring your own food and drinks to the movie theater, but it also doesn't say you can't. So, I ordered a California Burrito (that's my awesome dinner) from San Luis Taqueria online and picked it up 45 minutes later. We had already bought tickets online for a movie at 6PM at The Movie Experience.

Fortunately, San Luis Obispo Taqueria is only a block walk away from The Movie Experience, so we stopped in there really quick to pick up my burrito and then made our walk to the theater. I walked in there with the to-go bag in my hand and there were no questions asked.

I'm originally from San Diego and that is where the California Burrito was first created so I'm so happy that now, California Burritos can be found practically in every major city in California. San Luis Taqueria did it justice. It had the fries, the carne asada, sour cream, quacamole, pico de gallo and all the flavors wrapped tight in a very authentic tortilla. I made sure to get a small container of salsa from the salsa bar before I left the place when I picked up my burrito because without the salsa, it would not be complete! I devoured that burrito while watching the first half of the The Flash.

The Movie Experience (I can't get over how interesting this movie theater name is; so many unintentional puns) is not a large cinema but it has the best location that's smack in the middle of Downtown San Luis Obispo so there are many places to walk to before and after the movie. I really enjoyed the movie experience (see what happened?). Now, some of the seats are kind of torn but our seats reclined! This is the first movie theater that I got to sit in reclined seats so this was a real treat for me! The first few rows were reclined seats that you had to specifically pick from the chart when you bought your tickets.

After the movie was over, we decided to have a night cap before we ended the night, so we stopped in Eureka! I ordered the Farmers' Market Cocktail and thought my actual drink looked even better than what they had pictured at their bar. See the photo that I took of my drink below.

Eureka! (exclamation point intended as that's their actual name) is only a block away from the movie theater and one block from where we parked so it was perfect. When we parked at the Marsh Street Parking Structure, we picked up our parking ticket from the machine as we entered in. However, when we left, the gates going out were all open so we didn't have to pay for our way out for some reason! Surprising, we had free parking for that night! 

I highly recommend parking at this very parking structure if you're planning on going to the movie theater in downtown. It may not be free to park every night but it's so close and convenient.

If you'd like to map our adventure and see how amazingly close these places are from each other (about 1 block from each other!), here are the addresses of the places that we went on our movie date night below:

Marsh Street Parking Structure: 871 Marsh St., San Luis Obispo Obispo, CA 93401

San Luis Taqueria: 1032 Chorro St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

The Movie Experience (Downtown Centre Cinemas): 888 Marsh St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Eureka!: 1141 Chorro St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

See my YouTube Short from this movie date night at The Movie Experience is below. It's a vibe!

Reading Suggestions:

• Read about my movie watching experience at the Regal Cinemas in Arroyo Grande.


• Read about my experience watching movies outdoors at the Sunset Drive-in in San Luis Obispo.


• Read about my staycation at the Granada Hotel & Bistro in Downtown San Luis Obispo and the places we went for that night in December when the beautiful Christmas lights were up.


• Read about my date night in Pismo Beach and the three places we went.


• Find a list of place in San Luis Obispo County where you can drop off the kids for a night of fun for Kids Night Out or Parents Night Out for an evening.


• Read about my sushi date with my husband at Kanpai Sushi in Shell Beach (part of Pismo Beach).

• Popcorn
• Chocolate
• Soft Blanket to cozy up
• Bottle of Wine or Sparkling Soda
• Box of Tissue, if the movie is a tearjerker 
• Basket with Handles to put everything together, but also can be reused by your special someone around the house

2024 Update: The Lucia Mar Summer Swim Program has finally implemented an online registration and payment system! Therefore, the infamous long line to register your kids for summer swim offered by Arroyo Grande High and Nipomo High Schools is no longer required. However, enjoy reading my old story below on when I did have to get in line to register my kids for summer swim for the previous years.

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On June 2 (a week before the school year was about to end and summer break was about to start), I made it to the registration time frame to register my kids at the Summer Swim Program between 5PM - 7PM that evening at Arroyo Grande High School. I was praying that my husband could get home from work earlier than anticipated so he could watch the kids while I wait in that traditionally famous line on the sidewalk of Arroyo Grande (AG) High School to register both my kids for their awesome swim school program. Thankfully, he did. I thought this would make it much easier for me to register them for their swim class. Well, I got in line there by myself at AG High and even arrived 5 minutes before the registration start time and there were already about 30 - 40 parents/guardians in line in front of me! Guess how long it took me to finally get to the front of the line and register my kids for their swim school this year? I'll tell you in this post but right now, I'm going back to memory lane...because I did this before, a year ago. 

Last Year's Swim School Registration Experience

Last year, I was in line for 1 hour and 45 minutes at Arroyo Grande High to register my kids for their Summer Swim Program and I even arrived at the school 5-10 minutes early before their posted registration time. I had both of my kids with me as my husband was working a night shift and I had no childcare. I didn't think it was going to take that long as it was my first time registering for them for this swim program. I thought maybe I'd wait an hour tops since I already filled out the online pre-registration forms! Well, I was wrong. My kindergartener at the time was getting antsy but as a friendly little guy, he made friends with a few kids who were playing in the grass. A few minutes later, my older son joined in. An unplanned playdate happened while I was in line! It's becoming quite a gathering! I'm glad that happened, but I wasn't anticipating it. I didn't want to lose my spot while I was waiting in that growing registration line, so all I could do was holler from afar to my kids if they were doing something they were not supposed to do. Fortunately, I was in a line with other parents who understood and were not bothered by my loud calls.

After about 15 minutes in line, it felt like I was in line for a Disneyland attraction ride; all the parents were eager to get to the front of the line except there were a few familiar faces as most of us are parents with kids who attend at least one of the Lucia Mar School District schools. I started thinking to myself that it would be nice if there were a coffee cart that was selling craft coffee while I waited in this slow moving line. Then, 30 minutes later, I thought to myself that it would be nice if they had a couple of food trucks here selling tacos as it's around dinner time and I'd enjoy having dinner while I waited in line. Well, there were no food or drinks for sale. The only table that was collecting money is the swim school's table that sat right inside the entrance of the pool area. I think they missed an opportunity for some food sales. There were probably close to 50 parents from a glance and I think at least half of them would appreciate some sort of place to get snacks for the kids. And you know, some of us came with kids so each order could be hefty. There were kids who were younger than mine who were getting antsy.

An hour later, I was still only halfway there from the front of the line. Oh boy! My kids were getting hungry and thankfully, I had snacks in my purse. My kids would find me to eat a couple of bites and then continued to play. My kids were having so much fun playing with the other kids, they weren't bothered if I had moved a couple of yards ahead. So, when the distance got too far, I did my loud holler to tell them where I was at. Because you know, from the waist down, I look like a lot of moms in this line.

I've got to say, even though I was only able to chit chat with a couple of the parents around me, I was impressed by this entire tribe. Everyone was patient and resilient. Sure, I heard expressions of annoyance from other parents that they wished that the program would allow them to pay everything online instead. However, I think I've narrowed down to the reason why Lucia Mar District's Summer Swim Program would like parents to pay in a physical line in person like the old days. If you've dedicated this much time to get in line to register, there is less of a chance that the families would cancel their swim school schedule. That's what I think. What other reason could there be? There are so many softwares online that they could partner up to easily collect payment. The tech is there. But what they need is commitment from parents and kids for the summer. It seems to work well for them because they've been doing it this way for so many years.

It's like rushing or pledging for a fraternity or sorority and they want you to prove that you are down enough for the brotherhood or sisterhood! Except this is: are you down enough for the swim school program and commit to your initial schedule!

I don't know for sure if this is the case, but I like to find analogies.

This Year's Swim School Registration Experience

You've scrolled this far down so I'm going to tell you right off the bat that I waited for 1 hour and 50 minutes this year in that Swim School Program line at AG High. Yep, it took even 5 minutes longer for me this time. Without having my kids waiting in line with me, it was easier but it didn't make the line go any faster because it's not like the kids in line registered for themselves. It's the parents.

For the first 45 minutes while I was in line, I put my headphones on and learned about ChatGPT and how to test their API from a tutorial that I found from freeCodeCamp. I figured I'd make the best of my idling in this line and learned a bit about AI.

Just like last year, there were little kids who gathered in the grass to play with each other. There were some sighs and expressions of frustrations about how slow the line was and why can't we just pay online; but the parents stuck around. Some with even checkbooks ready in hand because method of payments were: cash, check or PayPal. There were still no food or drinks for sale (another missed opportunity again). 

Is It Worth It?

As I stood in line halfway through, I started thinking: why did I get in this line again? Is it worth it?

Since my kids attended swim school at AG High last summer, I can tell you from experience that this summer swim program is wonderful. I enrolled them for two weeks. My kids progressed considerably more in those two weeks compared to the 3 months when they were taking swim lessons at the nearby swim school business. It's because when you sign up for a week at this summer swim program, you attend every day from Monday - Friday and that helps reiterate what they are learning. I was also impressed by how patient and professional the high school athletes were. From what I can tell, many of the swim teachers (if not all) are water polo players or are part of the swim team at AG High. It's good for little kids to find role models who are teenagers and what better way to see that first hand than if they are being led and taught how to swim by these kind and cool kids?

Things to Consider Before Waiting In Line and/or Participating in the Summer Swim Program

• If you are flexible about which time(s) and week(s) that you'd like to register your kids for summer swim, then I say dodge this registration line and just come in person at their main table during their swim schedule. I even saw a parent do that on the first Monday of the summer swim program and she was able to get her kids registered 10 minutes before the start time of the next session.
• If you are definitely getting in that famous registration day line so that you can make sure you get the spots you want, bring a beverage to drink in hand (non-alcoholic, of course because you're at a high school, man!)
• Bring snacks or your dinner if you know you and your kids will be hungry while waiting. 
• If you are friends with other parents who are getting in this line, go together. It could be like a catch up session while waiting in line.
• Bring headphones if you'd like to watch a movie from your phone while you're in line. It'll make it more pleasant like when you watch a movie while you're on a plane.
• Pre-register by filling the registration forms online before coming there to pay. It'll make it easier for them when they are putting your kids' names on their schedule book/sheet. It may be a requirement before paying, as well.
• On their flyer and website, they said that they don't issue refunds on paid registrations so be absolutely sure when you sign the kids up and pay for the summer swim program by Lucia Mar District. The locations include both Arroyo Grande High School and Nipomo High School pool areas.
• I pre-paid for 2 weeks for my kids, not thinking that there is a possibility that they could pass their current level by the end of the week. That happened to one of my kids! Luckily, they are flexible with updating the level that they are placed for the next week, even for pre-paid registration, as long as there is room. There is currently no reminder system for parents to remember which session their kids are signed up for, so you just have to make sure you add it to your own calendaring system on your phone or at home.
• On a sunny day, there are very little shaded areas at the pool area, especially in the afternoon, so bring a sun hat or cap.
• There are benches for parents and guardians to watch their kids during their swim lesson session. Last year, AG High didn't have bleachers out so some parents resorted to bringing their own lawn chairs to sit at the pool area when all of the bench spaces were taken. This year thus far, there were bleachers are out, so there's a lot of place to sit!
• Every day during the weekday in the summer, Arroyo Grande High School's Pool has Open Swim in the afternoon for families to practice swimming on their own. They now call it Recreational Swim. You can buy a pass for that. It's only for 1.5 hours a day but maybe that is all the practice you and your kids need. It can get crowded though.

Suggested Reads:
• Read about my personal review of Mustang Waterpark in Arroyo Grande.
• Read about my personal review of Ravine Waterpark in Paso Robles.
• Read about my experience at SLO Swim Center in San Luis Obispo for Family Recreational Swim Hours where my kids got to practice swimming safely in a nice warm pool with lifeguards on duty.
• Read about my experience at Lompoc Aquatic Center (in Santa Barbara County) where my kids got to go down waterslides. 

Being outdoors can create such wonderful memories but it comes with a risk. Even if the sun seems mild, it's good to have sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses and a sun hat to protect your skin. Swimming is always one great idea to improve your mood and get a bit of exercise if you feel bummed out for any reason so they are always great skills for kids to have.

I've gone to both Planet Fitness in Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo and there are some similarities and differences between the two.

Similarities with Planet Fitness Locations

All across America, every Planet Fitness uses the same logo, splashes of purple inside of their fitness centers and a very distinct brand. However, because every real estate space can be different, the lay-out and subtle details may be different.

I have the black card membership from Planet Fitness so that means that I can go to any Planet Fitness across the nation. I've even worked out on the East Coast while traveling and visited the Planet Fitness there with my scan code from my Planet Fitness app with no issues and no questions asked.

I did the same thing here in San Luis Obispo County and have visited both the Planet Fitness in Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo (city), which opened after the Arroyo Grande location.

Differences Between Planet Fitness in Arroyo Grande and Planet Fitness in San Luis Obispo

Overall, I prefer the Planet Fitness at Arroyo Grande. However, here's a list of differences between the two:

• At the Planet Fitness in Arroyo Grande, I feel like the majority of the people who usually go there came to exercise with more focus. That means they are not on their phones as much while they are on the treadmill or chit chatting as much while lifting weights. On the other hand, I feel like 80% of the people on the treadmill at the Planet Fitness in San Luis Obispo, when I visited, had their heads down, glued to their phone in their hands while moving on the treadmill. I usually see less of that at the Planet Fitness in Arroyo Grande. I felt like my motivation was affected as I was not feeling as pumped up when I visited the San Luis Obispo location.
• There is a full body mirror in the locker room at the Planet Fitness in Arroyo Grande in the Women's restroom. In the locker room of the Planet Fitness in San Luis Obispo, the mirror is wider but you can only see half of your body. I guess I'm self-conscious and like to make sure nothing strange is hanging out of my lower body. If you want to see your full body, you'll have to go in one of the dressing rooms that are across from the showers at the Planet Fitness in San Luis Obispo.
• The Planet Fitness San Luis Obispo's shopping center has a bit more options for dining like a Japanese restaurant and an Indian restaurant, in addition to a couple of fast food chain restaurants. So, if you're planning on picking up lunch or dinner after a work out, the Planet Fitness in San Luis Obispo has more options.
• The Planet Fitness San Luis Obispo definitely has newer treadmill machines, which I can put my phone in the center tray at an angle, and it'll stay that way. I like to listen and view music videos on my headphones while I jog and this was really nice. I can also put my phone on the center tray of the treadmills at the Planet Fitness Arroyo Grande but it doesn't stand up at an angle as well and would just lay flat most of the time. I could still watch the videos this way but it's just not at the best angle.

Similarities Between Planet Fitness Arroyo Grande and Planet Fitness San Luis Obispo

• The Planet Fitness in Arroyo Grande is located close to a Starbucks. I'm a coffee drinker so this makes it very convenient for me. The Planet Fitness in San Luis Obispo has a VONS located next door that has a Starbucks inside! They're similar in that they are both located very close to a Starbucks coffee shop.
• There's a Carl's Jr within the same shopping center for both Planet Fitness locations in Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo, which I found very interesting!
• Both Planet Fitness locations is located next to a grocery store, which makes it very helpful with running grocery errands right after a work out.

I enjoy going to the gym at both Planet Fitness locations in Arroyo Grande (AG) and San Luis Obispo, but I have a preference towards the one in AG because of the good work out vibe.

As I notice more things between the two locations, I'll continue to add to this blog post.

To see a list of reviews for fitness centers that I've worked out in Five Cities (South County of San Luis Obispo County), go to this blog post.

Your ideal work out session is very personal. Some people like to be outdoors to exercise, while others like to be alone. For working out at home, you can get a nice yoga mat, some dumb bells and just select a free exercise video from Prime Video from your TV. Working out options is aplenty, but you just have to make sure you get that motivation and the right exercise equipment that works for you.

Earlier this week in Pismo Beach, we stumbled on thousands of Velella, also known as By-the-Wind Sailor. They are so magnificent and beautiful. They're tiny and look like they have a sail on them. 


For the first time in many years that I've lived here, this is the first time I've seen them at our beach! I was so excited. They have little legs on them and eat plankton. In person, they look very purply blue but it was a cloudy day so they have this darker color when I took pictures of them. See my video short below to see better angles of a velella that I captured.


A few days later, we had a beach day and drove on the beach on the south side of Pismo State Beach from Grover Beach to Oceano. (Pismo State Beach encompasses Pismo Beach, Grover Beach, and Oceano.) These by-the-wind-sailors were washed up along the beach in multitudes! You could find thousands of them within a few yards. See the video short I captured while I was there.


See more pictures that I've taken at Pismo Beach.

Reading Suggestions:

• I've seen whales from the Pismo Beach Pier before. See videos of the whales I saw while walking the pier. Walking on the Pismo Beach Pier is always free.

Being at the beach can so fun and creates wonderful memories but it comes with a risk. Even if the sun seems mild, it's good to have sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses and a sun hat to protect your skin. Being outdoors is always one great idea to improve your mood and get a bit of exercise if you feel bummed out for any reason.

My kids get a week off from school for Spring Break. It's a total of 9 days of no school if we count the weekend before it starts as well. This year, I've logged what we did each day during this break! We stayed local for the first part of the break and then went to Los Angeles for the last 2 days. Jump to our Universal Studios Hollywood Trip on Day 7. I'm putting Day 1 as the Monday that break officially started, calendar-wise. Here's the day-by-day breakdown of what we did for Spring Break this year:

Day 1 - Played at Sinsheimer Park in San Luis Obispo

We ran shopping errands at The Home Depot and Whole Foods Market in the morning. Then, we went to Sinsheimer Park in San Luis Obispo in the afternoon and brought our cardboards with us to slide down the green hill. My sons love doing this. If your kids are not used to sliding down a hill, I would pay close attention to them as they can get hurt if they roll down awkwardly. Sinsheimer Park is a large park with a lot of benches, large slides for bigger kids and a smaller area for the toddlers. Address: 900 Southwood Dr, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. To see all of my pictures and quick thoughts on all of the playgrounds that I've visited in San Luis Obispo County, go to the Family-Friendly Events page. 

Day 2 - Pool Day at SLO Swim Center

We lounged around the house during the day while watching re-runs of Bluey on TV. Later on, we went to the SLO Swim Center for Open Swim Hours, that is also referred as Family Recreational Swim Hours. Also located right by Sinsheimer Park, we returned to the very area the next day for a swim for 1 hour and 20 minutes. They were open during our Spring Break in the evening from 5:30PM - 6:50PM for the public to enjoy during the weekdays. The cost was $4.25 for adults and $3.75 for children. Even though it is only for 1 hour and 20 minutes, the kids were happy and my little one slept very well that night. For the Family Recreational Swim Hours session during Spring Break, you get to use the heated therapy pool that's outdoors with a shaded canopy. The shallowest end of the therapy pool is 1 feet; and the deepest is 4 feet. I love that they make it clear that it's intended for families for these particular hours. Note: Spring Schedule Recreation Swim Hours are different than the Summer Recreation Swim Hours as the SLO Swim Center changes their hours from season to season. You'll have to check their website periodically to see the new updates. We've also enjoyed Family Recreation Swim Hours during the summer break and there were two different sessions on most days for the summer! We attended their first session for the Summer Recreation Hours between 1:45PM - 4PM (first session of the day when there were two) and the lifeguards had to take a 10 minute break in between so it was mandatory that everyone got out of the water, but you can bring snacks for kids to enjoy during that 10 minute break if you want to. The 10 minute break may seem kind of weird but they do it to make sure the life guards get a break and for safety reasons. This break only happens you're going to the session with the longer duration. Address: 900 Southwood Dr, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 

During the summer, Arroyo Grande High School has open swim hours for the family, which is a another great option for the kids to learn how to swim every day during summer break. You can pay a daily free or a whole summer pass. My kids have taken swim lessons from the Summer Swim Program at this high school. Read about how long the line was to register my kids for swim lessons for AG High's Summer Swim Program.

Day 3 - Chill and Packing Day

On Wednesday, we decided to do some more shopping in the morning to get some new clothes first and then, a bag of Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips as my sons have really been into them lately. We decided to have a more mellow day and didn't go anywhere else after that. My kids were really bored later in the evening as they were used to doing something active yesterday and the day before. Later in the evening, the kids started packing their own clothes to get ready for our LA trip this weekend. It's nice that they are old enough to be responsible for that. I just give them a verbal list of items to pack and then, they put the clothing items in their light-weight small suitcase that they share. It was like a scavenger hunt for them.

Day 4 - Played at 16th Street Park in Grover Beach

 
We attempted to have a beach day but the wind was so chilly! We were in our beach gear, parked, walked down to the sand in Pismo Beach, stood for a few minutes and decided that the cold wind was too miserable and walked right back up the steps and sat back in our car. Since the beach was a no-go, we decided to play at the playground at 16th Street Park in Grover Beach instead for an hour and a half for some outdoor play.  

I was a bit disappointed while we were at this park. There were half a dozen big kids (maybe Middle School or High School aged) who were blocking the entrance of the slides at the playground. My sons were intimidated by the "teenagers" (which is what my 9 year old son referred them as) so they alerted me and I had to ask the big kids if the little ones can use the slides. And then, after me asking is when my kids could enjoy going down the slides. It's a bit annoying but inevitably happens around school breaks. I want to point out that this is the third time at this specific park (16th Street Park) that my kids have had issues with older Middle School aged or older kids. One time, two of them even told one of my sons to try drugs to "feel special" and my son went straight to me to report it. It has been ridiculous. After we got home, we decided to make oobleck using arrowroot powder as a "science" experiment. See a list of all of the playgrounds that we've visited in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County and the pictures that I personally took at these playgrounds.

Day 5 - Pokemon Party at Arroyo Grande Library

We had been looking forward to this Friday for a couple of days because there's a Pokemon Party at the Arroyo Grande Library! My kids have just started getting into collecting Pokemon cards earlier this year so this was their very first Pokemon related trading party. Arroyo Grande Library has been the only library in all of San Luis Obispo County that has hosted a Pokemon Party that I've seen this year so far! They always plan great events throughout the year. See all story times at San Luis Obispo County Library or see upcoming family-friendly events in San Luis Obispo County on my Events list. My kids completed a Pokemon ball craft, played bingo, went on a Pokemon Scavenger Hunt and traded cards with each other.

They had a wonderful time and didn't want to leave, even when the event was officially over. They connected with other boys on the same hobby and it was so amazing for me to see how kind everyone was to each other.

Day 6 - Baseball Game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

We decided to travel a bit south to Los Angeles and watched the Dodgers play against the Cubs on Jackie Robinson Day! It was about a 3.5 hour drive from SLO County, which is not too bad. I love that every one on both teams wore the number 42 that day in honor of Jackie Robinson. We sat on Reserve Level behind home plate. I thought it was a good view. See my picture above to see my view from my seat. We kept the kids happy with popcorn and chips. We left before the 7th inning to avoid getting stuck in bad traffic as we parked our car instead of using the Stadium Express Bus. It was a fun time and the kids were ready to get back to the hotel room to relax for the rest of the night. The walk from the car in the parking lot to the stadium and up to the Reserve Level and then back was quite a walk!

We stayed overnight in Los Angeles for this trip. My family liked the hotel that we were staying at. It's a Hyatt Place and I used my free award night at the Hyatt Place in Glendale in Los Angeles for the one night stay. I've been a member of the World of Hyatt Loyalty Program for over a dozen years now and I feel that it's worth it. It's one of the ways that I've been able to save for a free night here and there. When we travel, we try to stay at a Hyatt if we can help it so that we can earn points towards a free night stay a couple of times a year. Hyatts are usually comparable to other hotel chains in the area when it comes to price and amenities.

This particular Hyatt Place location used the Metropolis web app for valet parking, which is convenient because they use a digital ticket and did away with paper tickets. If I needed my car, all I had to do was go on the Metropolis link from my phone to request it. No need to call ahead of time. It was very efficient. I would stay here again as it was so close to the big mall down the street called The Americana at Brand. Regrettably, we didn't get a chance to check it out but it has dozens of restaurants and stores, and I hope to check it out in the future when I come back to this area again.

Day 7 - Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles

Since we had planned to go to the Dodger game in Los Angeles, we decided to make the best of it and went to Universal Studios Hollywood the next day and for the last day of Spring Break to check out the new Mario Kart ride in their amazing Super Nintendo World. It had been a long time since my husband and I had been to Universal Studios Hollywood and this was my sons' first time. It was an amazing day there! We spent the extra money and got Super Nintendo World Early Access Ticket for an extra $30 each person (might have increased if you're reading this months or years later) so that we can ensure that we get to ride the new ride and enjoy the area before it got too crowded. We also took advantage of the early access to book a reservation for lunch there by scanning the QR code in front of Toadstool Cafe. Toadstool Cafe is a Mario Bros. themed restaurant with Chef Toad as the chef. See my pictures below of the cool things we ordered.

We're so glad that we made a reservation through the QR link right when we got there because by 10AM, all reservations for Toadstool Cafe were booked for the day! Rides that we went on included the new Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge ride, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Jurassic World - The Ride, The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash, The Simpsons Ride, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Transformers: The Ride-3D (not in this order). 

The whole family really enjoyed what Universal Studios Hollywood has done with Super Nintendo World! I can't wait to come back again.

Even though we live 3.5 hours drive away and 3 rides broke down while we were in line or on the ride, I still enjoyed the trip. Like many machines, rides can have issues. The Mario Kart had technical difficulties right when it opened so we had to wait about 20 minutes after already getting in line around 7:15AM (we bought the early access pass). Thankfully, it was fixed before the kids got too antsy and we were able to ride it before the rest of the whole park opened for the general admission goers. The second ride that had issues broke down after 5 or 10 seconds after we were already sitting on The Simpsons Ride. It's a simulator ride so it moved but didn't travel. They had to ask us to get off the ride and then restart the intro video before climbing back on again. The third ride that had an issue while we were there was the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We were almost at the tail end of the ride when it stopped and my son and I couldn't see each other's faces (only our legs) so I was worried for him, but after about 15 long seconds, it continued again. You'll have to be mentally ready for these technical difficulties on rides if you're planning on going to Universal Studios Hollywood. Read about a previous trip in Los Angeles when I stayed in Little Tokyo. 

At the end of it all, I was really happy with all of the plans and the activities that we did for my kids' Spring Break. Overall, the kids' week long Spring Break was a perfect mix of down time and new fun adventures!