Los Angeles , California ( CNN ) -- One media outlet billed it as the miners versus King Kong . The seemingly invincible 33 miners from Chile and five of their rescuers toured the Universal Studios theme park on Friday , and they were entertained with a tram ride through a tunnel featuring a lifelike 3-D clash with King Kong and Tyrannosaurus rex . `` One more time ! One more time ! '' the miners , the rescuers and their relatives chanted after the short movie feature concluded . The earthshaking simulator -- rocking the tram as if it were under attack by the beasts of the `` King Kong '' ' film -- did n't scare the miners , who were trapped 69 days after their gold and copper mine collapsed in August . `` Why not , '' the tram driver said . `` Let 's do it again . '' So it went . The miners of Chile -- who survived the longest mine entrapment in history -- had their way again , along with their relatives and the five rescuers . Helicopters and other TV news crews continued to follow them . The miners , rescuers and relatives are in Los Angeles this week for their first group tour to the United States since being freed last month . The group is in the nation 's second-largest city to attend `` CNN Heroes : An All-Star Tribute , '' which will air worldwide on Thanksgiving evening , November 25 . Organizers invited them as special guests . On Thursday , the entourage visited Hollywood landmarks such as the Walk of Fame stars on Hollywood Boulevard , including one belonging to Elvis Presley . It was an appropriate pilgrimage because miner Edison Pena had led sing-alongs to Elvis music to lift the spirits of fellow miners during the dark ordeal . In fact , he had asked for the music to be sent down into the mine as rescuers drilled a bigger hole to pull the miners out of the ground . `` He is the king , he is the best , '' Pena , 34 , said , as he posed for photographs beside Elvis ' star on Hollywood Boulevard . `` The sweetest of dreams . '' One passerby , Ron Prouty , 30 , a writer , was surprised to happen upon the miners . He was returning home from a Starbucks . `` To me they 're real heroes , and I think it 's beautiful they 're out in Hollywood , '' Prouty said . `` I thought a celebrity was here but this is better than a celebrity . '' For the majority of the visitors , the trip was their first time outside of Chile . At the top of their to-do list , besides resting after a 12-hour flight from Santiago , Chile , was shopping . `` I want to go to the mall and buy some shoes for my son and daughter , '' said Katty Valdivia , 40 , the wife of Sepulveda . For miner Juan Carlos Aguilar , 49 , and wife Cristy Coronado , 40 , the visit was a double celebration -- because they experienced the birth of their first grandchild , Emily Sofia Studer , born Wednesday . When Aguilar was trapped in the mine , his wife was concerned whether the ordeal would be too much of a strain on her pregnant 17-year-old daughter , Damaris . `` We were really worried , '' Coronado said , speaking in Spanish as did his colleagues . `` My daughter was far into her pregnancy and we were all consumed with what could happen . For those 69 days , we were a separated family . '' The miner-poet Zamora said he overcame the gloom of entrapment by doing something he had never done before : write poetry . He wrote 32 poems -- about his wife , mother , son , relatives , friends . He left copies of his verse at home and was unable to share his poetry . `` I never wrote before , '' Zamora said . `` It was a way of keeping me from suffering inside the mine . I wrote about feelings and how people were suffering on the outside and how they would ever rescue us . '' Like some other miners , he readily offered up his autographs to anyone wanting to meet him . `` The Poet , '' he wrote in Spanish near his name . Monica Araya , the wife of Florencio Avalos , the first miner who was pulled out of the ground last month , described the 69 days of waiting and wondering as one of her worst experiences . `` It was bad , really bad , '' said Araya . `` I could n't believe it . I was worried about his life , but I believed they would all survive because I had faith and hope . '' She has since noticed a few different things about herself and husband . `` We have changed , '' Araya said . `` We are more sentimental , and we enjoy more what moments we have together . '' Before arriving in Los Angeles , the group made a brief stopover at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta , Georgia , where the miners signed flags . One signed `` Corazon de Minero , '' which means `` heart of a miner . '' When miner Richard Villarroell prepared to board the plane in Santiago , Chile , on Wednesday night , the 27-year-old said he has only traveled to Argentina . `` I want to see the world , '' he said , smiling . `` I know all of Chile , but not the rest of the world . '' Villarroell , a mechanic , worked at the San Jose mine for two years . His girlfriend was pregnant while he was trapped . The miners captured the world 's imagination when they survived the longest mine captivity in history , beginning August 5 . For more than two weeks , many officials thought they were dead . But crews made contact after a small borehole enabled communication with the men trapped 2,300 feet underground . Rescue crews encountered repeated setbacks . Initially , authorities expected the miners to be trapped until Thanksgiving or Christmas because of the difficulty of drilling a new tunnel to extract them . On their U.S. trip , the miners and rescuers will get a whirlwind tour of southern California . They 'll see the sights and shop in Los Angeles and Hollywood through the weekend . The visit is a world away from the miners ' experience in the weeks after the mine collapse that trapped them . In the days before they made contact with the ground , some ate about a bottle cap 's worth of canned fish per day and drank mine water that tasted like machine oil . They have said they were prepared to die , even as they awaited their rescue . The miners and rescuers were invited by CNN to attend `` Heroes , '' an annual program now in its fourth year that shines a light on `` everyday people changing the world . '' The Chileans were extended the invitation because their plight and rescue captured the world 's attention and symbolized the resilience of the human spirit . CNN Heroes received 10,000 nominations from more than 100 countries . That list was narrowed down to the Top 10 CNN Heroes . The Hero of the Year will be revealed on the show ; the public votes to select that winner . `` The heroic efforts of the rescue of these miners was one of the most unifying and inspirational events of the year , '' said Jim Walton , president of CNN Worldwide . `` CNN Heroes is a fitting way for CNN to honor these men and their rescuers , '' he said . `` We hope viewers around the world will be heartened by the story of their rescue as well as the stories of this year 's top 10 CNN Heroes . '' ' The miners ' imprisonment began when a ramp into the San Jose mine -- located in the arid Atacama region of northern Chile -- collapsed . Shift foreman Luis Urzua told the men that they had a shot of surviving the catastrophe , but there was a good chance they would never again see daylight . The men occupied themselves by voting on everything , including how food should be distributed . Majority rule prevailed -- 17 votes plus one -- but the miners often managed to find common ground and most decisions were unanimous . Everyone had a task . No one was left alone . And they became masters of compromise and patience , even as their rations quickly began running out . CNN 's Alec Miran and Lonzo Cook contributed to this report .
NEW : Miners enjoy Christmas at Universal Studios . Workers and their relatives are ` ` We the miners of America '' from double - decker buses . A miner 's wife feared the ordeal would be too much on her pregnant 17-year - old daughter . But the daughter gave birth to a girl this Christmas , the first grandchild .