My "free" day at Universal Studios

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   As I mentioned last week in some long forgotten post, I had a free 1 day - 2 park pass to Universal Studios' theme park. Every year for the past 2 or 3 years around the end of summer they send them out to local residents to get people into the place spending money because the summer tourist crowds are all gone. 

And considering that a 1 day admission costs $89.99!!!  it is a pretty fair bargain.

So anyway, I decided last week Wednesday Sept. 24th would be the day I'd use the ticket since it expired on the 30th.

The previous evening, I visited their website mainly to make sure I remembered how to get to the main entrance & parking garage. Then I figured I ought to check into the parking fee, as I didn't think they'd include that for free too.

Upon clicking on the corresponding link for parking info I find that they want 12 FRICKIN DOLLARS just to park in their garage!!!!! "Screw that" sez I. So I went to the website for the local metro bus line. I copied down the bus schedule & route #, & the next morning walked a couple blocks & caught the bus that runs down there. 

At a buck seventy five each way, I enjoyed an appreciable savings indeed, especially when you consider it would've taken about a gallon of gas to get there & back driving which would've added almost another 4 bucks to the original $12.

So anyway, I get down there & it's not very busy at all. There were lines, but they were short.

I strolled around the park a little then went on Terminator-2 3D, which was pretty good in terms of the visual 3D effects. The filmed portion starred the Governor of California as in the original movie & there were live "actors" running around, but the cool part was the 3D stuff that you had to wear 3D glasses for, or as they were referred to in the make believe "set up" to the story "protective eye wear" because supposedly the audience was part of a tour of the headquarters of the evil corporation that made the cyborgs who ran amok during the "tour".  But there were all kinds of scary things like that shiny sharp pointed sword thing the T-1000 could turn his finger into in the original movie coming straight at your face looking for all the world like it was going to poke you right in the eyeball, & these little silver flying saucers appearing to zoom all around the inside of the theater & hover right in front of your face as if you could reach out & grab one. Pretty good.

After that I inevitably started thinking about food. I passed a hot dog stand & my jaw dropped at the sight of the menu sign that read $7.49 for a hot dog & chips!!! So I checked out a pizza restaurant & it was basically the same thing. Then I inquired about this thing called the All Day Meal Deal or something to that effect. Basically for $20.99 + tax, you can eat all you want at three restaurants, drink not included, so I got that. For another $8.99 I coulda gotten an All-U-Can-Drink souvenier cup, but I passed. Thank God they were decent enough to have water fountains in all the restroom alcoves.

So I went thru the line, had a slice of pepperoni pizza & a Caesar salad that woulda cost $7, but with my wrist band, I paid nothing.

Then I went on the Simpsons ride which was pretty good too. It was the former "Back to the Future" ride which I had been on once many years ago, & it was a lot of fun.

About an hour or so after the pizza, I stop into this 1950's style "burger joint" type place & see that their prices are all in the $7 - $8 range as well, so I get a double cheeseburger & fries platter. I ate that & upon leaving it begins to dawn on me that had I gone to the burger place to begin with, I could've gotten that same platter, paid the 7 bucks + tax, & very likely not been hungry for the rest of the day, having only spent 7 bucks & change instead of the $23 & change I spent on the all day food pass. D'OH!!!!

Then I walked over to Islands of Adventure just to look around. I didn't think they'd let me on the "Incredible Hulk" roller coaster, given my size & even if they did, I didn't think it wise. So I hung out there, shot some video of it & the surrounding area & headed back over to the main park.

Around this time, around 3:30 in the afternoon, I was getting to the point where I was satisfied with having seen pretty much all I wanted to see, & the park was scheduled to close at 6:00 pm, with all food service ending at 5:30.

I was ready to leave, but I still had that damned all day food pass I'd paid for but not yet gotten my money's worth out of. So I headed back to the burger place. It had been a good couple of hours or so since the last time I ate, & though I easn't exactly "hungry", I figured I could stand to eat again.

So instead of a burger platter this time I get the grilled chicken sandwich platter, which was pretty good. Finished it, got another one. So by now, I'd had the $7 pizza & salad, the $7 double cheeseburger platter & the two $8 grilled chicken platters for a grand total of $30 (+tax) worth of eatin for $23 & change. But I figured what the hell. It was now after 4:00 pm & I was ready to GTF outta that place. My feet were tender stumps that I could barely walk on. But I needed to get them for just one more meal. I knew I couldn't eat any more, but I knew I'd be hungry again the next day, so I went thru the line again & got a "chicken fingers" platter (w/fries) & took it outside along with a stack of napkins which I wrapped the chicken fingers in one & the fries in another, put the rolled up food back into the cardboard serving cups they came in then stuffed em in my pockets & headed for the exit.

Got down to the main pick up/drop off area, waited about 15 minutes for the bus, got on, sat back in the A/C & relaxed for the ride home.

Wound up getting back to my house around 6:30 pm tired-assed out.

Long day.

I doubt I'll use the pass next year.


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