Thank you ! Would love to go back and knowing what I know now, would certainly have a better and safer experience. You're right - Universal Studios is more about the show than the rides - the Water World show (not sure if you've seen it) was one of the best shows that I've seen!
Space Mountain was also okay like you said - nothing really special about it other than the fact that you can't see what's going on in the ride. Splash Mountain was great but was completely soaked after and then had to walk around in wet shoes (probably should have known to bring an extra pair of socks but at least did so when I went to Disney California Adventure the next day).
Would you have any suggestions about other places / things to do in LA? Restaurants? Other events?
Maybe it was Water World and not Batman. No, we didn't see that one, either.
I'm trying to think what else there is the LA area. We've not been to many restaurants, really. We usually end up at some kind of Mexican food place, but like El Pollo Loco. :)
There's a Six Flags (Magic Mountain), if you like harder rides. It's up the hill before you get into LA. There's Hollywood itself, the Hollywood Bowl. Take in a game of some kind at either the Rose Bowl or the Coliseum.
If you want to go farther south, into Orange County again, they also have Knotts Berry Farm. It's been a long time since we been there, but they do have a lot of rides.
And if you end up in San Diego, they have Legoland, SeaWorld, a Safari and a pretty nice zoo. You'd probably want to check out the beaches anywhere from San Diego to LA County. We really like the Laguna Beach area, which is in Orange County. Problem is, so do a lot of other people.
There's usually some kind of flea market going on where you can find all kinds of things to buy. Then, of course, you got to lug it all back. :)