While most first-time Los Angeles visitors consider this to be a must-see stop, bear in mind there many other attractions that define Hollywood without the steep prices and tourist traps found here. Despite the amusement park cliché's, hard-core sightseeing and entertainment junkies will make this required visiting. If you get here when the park opens, you'll likely save yourself from long waits in line -- arriving early pays off.

The first-timer favorite is the tram tour, during which you can experience the parting of the Red Sea, take a trip to old Mexico and Little Israel, duck from spitting creatures in Jurassic Park, visit Desperate Housewives neighborhood and Dr. Seuss's "Whoville," escape a thunderstorm and flood; see the airplane wreckage of War of the Worlds, see the still-creepy Psycho house; be attacked by the ravenous killer shark of Jaws fame; and survive an all-too-real simulation of an earthquake that measures 8.3 on the Richter scale, complete with collapsing earth. The trams have audio-visual monitors that play video clips of the TV shows and movies shot on the sets you pass by as this guided trip circles the 415-acre complex all day long. This tram ride is usually the best place to start, since it's on the lower level of the park, which gets really crowded in the afternoon.

Many attractions are based on Universal films and television shows, designed to give you a thrill in one form or another. Take your pick from the bone-rattling roller coaster Revenge of the Mummy -- The Ride, the virtual world of Terminator 2: 3D, visit a jungle full of dinosaurs in Jurassic Park -- The Ride, which includes an 84-foot water drop, or experience a simulated warehouse fire in Backdraft that is so real you can feel the heat.

Shrek 4-D reunites the film's celebrity voices to pick up where the movie left off in a 15-minute trailer of 3-D animation shown in an action simulation theater. Fear Factor Live and the House of Horrors are guaranteed to provide screams, while the Animal Actors show provides milder entertainment courtesy of some talented furry friends. The newest attraction based on the Simpsons animated series, opened in summer 2008, takes you on a journey like no other through their Springfield neighborhood in a ride that only the beloved, albeit cantankerous, Krusty the Klown could dream up.

Throughout the park you'll wander through prop-style settings of a French Village or a travel back in time to the good ol' '50s, as costumed characters mingle with guests and pose for photos. Aside from the park, CityWalk is a separate venue, where you'll find a slew of shops, restaurants, nightclubs, and movie theaters, including IMAX 3-D. Due to a recent fire, the King Kong attraction was lost, but the rest of the park was spared and remains open and fully operational.