Universal Studios Hollywood

October 16, 2008

Universal Studios Announces New Holiday Hours!

For the first time in its history, Universal Studios Hollywood will remain open on both Thanksgiving and Christmas day to offer families a chance to celebrate two of the year’s most traditional holidays at The Entertainment Capital of L.A.   Hours of operation will be 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 pm. on Thanksgiving and 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Christmas.  Universal_studios_globe_wbldgs

Universal Studios Hollywood has always been a favorite destination for families to celebrate special occasions and also an ideal place to visit with out-of-town friends and family,” said Larry Kurzweil, President and C.O.O., Universal Studios Hollywood. “We’re excited that our theme park will now be open every day of the year for our guests’ enjoyment.”

Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of L.A., includes a full-day, movie-based theme park and Studio Tour; the CityWalk entertainment, shopping and dining complex; the Universal CityWalk Cinemas; and the Gibson Amphitheatre concert and special event venue.  The theme park features such groundbreaking attractions as the all new  "The Simpsons Ride,"  “Revenge of the Mummy™ – The Ride,” “Shrek 4-D™,” “Jurassic Park® – The Ride,” and the world-renowned Studio Tour, which takes Universal_studios_jurassic_park guests behind-the-scenes of such landmark TV and movie locations and sets as Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds.”

If your holiday plans take you to Southern California, make sure you visit Universal Studios Hollywood!  Get Away Today is the only place you can receive Adults at Kids Prices and 2nd Day Free tickets!  These tickets give you great savings over the gate price, plus allow you admission within seven days of your first visit...even over the holidays!  Book your Southern California vacation today! 

August 08, 2008

Universal Studios Hollywood Summer Thrills

Step into your OWN summer blockbuster with a visit to Universal Studios Hollywood! With new attractions and electrifying entertainment, now is the perfect time to go! Universalstudios_simpsons_ride

The long awaited Simpsons Ride™ is now open and ready for you to climb aboard and experience non-stop laughs and excitement as TV’s favorite family and their quirky cohorts guide you through an adventure in “Krustyland”. The blending of the newest technology, animation, and amusement park thrills make this a definite “must-see”.

Also joining Universal’s star-studded line-up this summer is The Adventures of Curious George. This 30,000 square foot play area beckons visitors young and old alike to “monkey around” in outer space, the jungle, and the zoo. Special water effects add to the experience of this family-friendly attraction, and make it the place to be on a hot summer day!

Perennial park favorites including the famed Studio Tour, Revenge of the Mummy--The Ride, Jurassic Park—The Ride, and exciting entertainment of the park’s unique shows and wandering “characters” allow you catch a behind-the-scenes glimpse of movie magic and become a part of your big-screen favorites.Universal_studios_sign 

Get Away Today Vacations offers you unbeatable savings to Universal Studios with ticket options ranging from “Buy 1 Day, Get the Second Day Free,” and “Adults and Kids Prices” to the incredible benefits offered by our discounted Front of the Line passes. Universal Studios makes a great weekend getaway or addition to your Southern California vacation!

January 11, 2008

Universal Studios: Ten Things You've Always Wanted To Know

Universalstudiosheader From the very beginning, Universal Studios Hollywood has always been a great place for family fun. Here are ten things you can do that will help your family as you make the journey to Universal Studio Hollywood:

1. See your favorite stars at Universal Studios.  The TV audience booth at Universal Studios Hollywood is the place to get tickets for the day’s network show tapings. The shows are free with your admission ticket but you need to get to the studios early because of the limited availability.  Remember, some shows tape each day, but you can call ahead to see when your favorite show will be filmed.  Tickets to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which tapes almost every day, are available for free at the Hollywood Ticket Outlet near the Blues Brothers Stage. The VIP Experience admission ticket is another great way to be a part of movie-making action. It includes an in-depth tour of the studios and you never know who or what you might see.

St1 2. Experience the magic of the celebrated Studio Tour.  One of the most famous and entertaining features of Universal Studio Hollywood is their renowned behind the scenes studio tour.  This tour takes you into the actual sets of some of your favorite flicks such as Jaws, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park. Because it has such an outstanding reputation, the earlier you go on the studio tour, the better. The studio tour tram gets more crowded as the day goes on. Another thing to be aware of is the tour closes before the rest of the park and you don’t want to miss it!

3. You don’t have to just watch the shows, you can be a part of the action.  Participating in Fear Factor-Live! is the best way to join in on all the fun. If you are interested in grossing out your friends and family, head over to the casting office at the beginning of your day at the park and sign up. Also, watch for opportunities for the crowd to get involved -Universal Studios is always watching for the next big star!

Jp1 4. Universal Studios offers free kennel service.  Few people know this, but Universal Studios Hollywood actually has a free kennel service! Just drop off your cat or dog at the guest services window in front of the entrance and have fun knowing that your family’s best friend is in good hands. Universal does ask that you bring a carrier for your cat, but there are no other restrictions. Just be sure to choose a hotel that will allow Fido or Felix to come along!

5. Make the most of your time in the park.  Since many of the park’s attractions are shows, be sure to check out the show schedule right when you arrive, or online before you go. This will save you a lot of time planning your day. Also, the earlier you arrive, the shorter the lines, so be sure to arrive a little bit before the park opens for the best wait times. The Front of the Line ticket is an excellent option, especially during summer months and weekends, which allows you to take advantage of reserved seating at all of the shows and walk to the front of the line on all of the attractions.

Spidy 6. Universal Studios Hollywood is the perfect place for a family vacation.  Universal Studios prides itself on being a great place for the whole family and is full of attractions that will appeal to audiences of all ages. The Nickelodeon Blast Zone® and the great Shrek 4-DTM attractions, are great for the wee ones, while Jurrassic Park the Ride® and  Revenge of the Mummy® - The Ride are thrilling for those older kids and kids-at-heart.

7. Take advantage of the Package Delivery Service.  At most theme parks, when you buy a souvenir you have to carry it around with you all day. However, as you buy souvenirs at Universal Studios Hollywood,  simply tell your cashier that you want to use their free Package Delivery Service. You’ll be able to pick up your purchases on your way out of the park at Universal Film Co. near the exit. It couldn’t be easier than that!

Sherk8. The “Child Switch” option is a great feature available on most rides.  While traveling with young children, look for rides marked “Child Switch” throughout the park. On these rides you can have one adult wait with your child, then switch when the ride is over so that no one in your family has to miss a minute of the fun! The best part is you can take advantage of Child Switching all day long!

9. Meet your favorite characters at Universal Studios Hollywood!  At Universal Studios many of your favorite characters, including Spongebob Squarepants, Shrek, Spiderman and Marilyn Monroe go around the park greeting guests. That means no waiting in line to see your favorite character, and you don’t have to waste valuable attraction time to “star gaze.”

Mummy 10. Satisfy your appetite with appealing food found all around the park.  Universal Studios has some great options for dining. Restaurants range anywhere from corndog stands to sit down dinners. Many popular chain restaurants like El Pollo Loco and Panda Express are located throughout the park. If your family members are big eaters, consider buying an All You Can Eat Pass which allows you to eat as many times as you wish at three participating restaurants in the park! You can also dine at one of the many restaurants at Universal City Walk which has over 25 options including the Wolfgang Puck Café and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

From the moment you enter the park in the morning to journeying back home, your trip to Universal Studios Hollywood can be a magical, memorable experience for the whole family. Universal Studios Hollywood is the best way to get a true Hollywood experience while visiting southern California.  Here at Get Away Today we have some discounted Universal Studios Hollywood Tickets you can purchase by going to our website getawaytoday.com, or by calling one of our friendly resevation agents at (866) FUN-TRIP!

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December 21, 2007

Hotel Spotlight: Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn (Universal Studios Hollywood)

Kingbed Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn at Universal Studios Hollywood is the ideal hotel from which to explore all that Los Angeles has to offer! Enjoy the excitement of Hollywood's Walk of Fame, Universal Studios Hollywood, City Walk, Dodger Stadium, Disney Studios, Warner Brothers Studios, Beverly Hills, and many more attractions just minutes from the hotel.

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--------------------START OF PODCAST TRANSCRIPT--------------------

Beverlygarlandexterior Todd Carlson:  (Announcer)
Travel news you can use.  This is the Get Away Today.com Travel Show. 
Get Away Today is a top provider of affordable, fun family vacations to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Hawaii, San Diego, Beaches, and Sandals in the Caribbean. The travel show is heard exclusively on Get Away Today.com.  And now, here's the host of the travel show.

Patrick Wiscombe:  (Get Away Today - Internet Marketing Manager)
It’s Friday, welcome to the Get Away Today Travel Show Podcast. My name is Patrick Wiscombe; thank you for tuning us in and taking us along wherever you’re listening today.  Coming up in the next few minutes, I’m putting the Get Away Today hotel spotlight on the Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn at Universal Studios Hollywood.  Yeah, that's a mouthful.  We’ll also going to give you an additional $10 off your vacation if you book it on our website, Get Away Today.com.  Use promotion code ‘podcast’ as you’re checking out to get the discount.  Stella Pack, Sales Director for Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn is in the Get Away Today studio with me right now.  Why is the name Beverly Garland so familiar?

Beverly Stella Pack: (Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn – Sales Director)
Most people will remember her as the mother in the television show “My Three Sons.”  She owns the hotel and purchased the land from Gene Autry.  The hotel sits on seven acres in the North Hollywood area and has 255 rooms.

Patrick Wiscombe:  You’re near Universal Studios Hollywood.  If you love movies or television, you’ll definitely enjoy Universal Studios Hollywood.  How did you get involved with the hotel?

Stella Pack:  I have been with the Holiday Inn brand for a long time, almost ten years.  Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn is one of the properties I wanted to work at because it’s different than other Holiday Inn hotels.  So, when I got the opportunity, I took it.

Coffeeroom Patrick Wiscombe:  How close is the hotel to Universal Studios Hollywood?

Stella Pack:  Were about a half mile away.

Patrick Wiscombe:  Oh, so your pretty close.

Stella Pack:  If you could roll down the hill from Universal Studios Hollywood, were right there.

Patrick Wiscombe:  Tell us about your hotel.

Stella Pack:  Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn is spread out.  It covers 7 acres of land.  We have a comfortable small lobby.  As you enter the hotel, you’ll see the front desk and a mural of the Hollywood area that was created by Miss Beverly Garland.  You’ll see posters of her movies throughout the entire property.  We offer two queen size beds or one king size bed in the suites.  We renovated all the suites, it’s awesome.  The new room smell is great because it’s like the new car smell.   

Theater Patrick Wiscombe:   That’s a good smell.

Stella Pack:  Yes it is.  It’s the most expensive smell you can buy.  [Laughter]  We have changed all of the mattresses in the rooms because our beloved Miss Beverly Garland stayed at a Hilton hotel and slept on one of the their pillow top mattresses and thought we needed to have them at our hotel.  So, we just got new pillow top mattresses in all of our rooms and we’ve converted our full size beds to queen size beds.

Patrick Wiscombe:  So, you only have queen and king size beds?

Stella Pack:  Yes.  We also offer 5 kid suites and 2 deluxe kid suites at Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn.  Each room can sleep up to six people.  When families go on vacation, family members need room so we have a little area where the families can play games.  We’ve also put microwaves and refrigerators in our guest rooms.

Splashbar Patrick Wiscombe:  Well, it sounds like you’ve got it covered.

Stella Pack:  Yeah, we try hard.

Patrick Wiscombe:  Let’s talk about some of the standard Holiday Inn amenities.  Let’s go down the list so people know what to expect when they arrive at Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn.

Stella Pack:  Well, each room has little mini size bottles of shampoo, conditioners, lotion, and plenty of towels.  If you forgot your toothbrush or toothpaste, we will them available at the front desk or we can deliver them to your room.

Patrick Wiscombe:  Just before we started recording this podcast, you were talking about a pillow menu.  I’ve never heard of a pillow menu.

Fitness Stella Pack:  We have about four types of pillows.  Our standard pillow is in the room and has a medium firmness.  That’s the standard for all the Holiday Inn hotels, but not every human being is standard [laughter] so we have different types of pillows.  We have a feathered pillow to a very firm pillow.  Housekeeping and bell service employees will gladly deliver the type of pillow you need to your room.

Patrick Wiscombe:  What else do you offer?

Stella Pack:  We have a tennis court.  Rackets are available in the gift shop.  All you need to do is give us your room key.  The new fitness center is next to the pool.  More and more people want to exercise while they’re on vacation so we wanted to make sure we met those needs.  Our exercise room is 1,200 square feet.  The pool is 80 degrees at all times and is near the sauna.  We serve a breakfast buffet every morning from 7 am to 11 am.  We’ve also renovated our splash bar and installed really nice leather seats, another good smell. [Laughter]

Breakfast Patrick Wiscombe:  I was reading that kids 12 and under eat free with a paying adult, is that right?

Stella Pack:  Definitely, that’s another standard benefit at all Holiday Inn hotels.  The Holiday Inn brand is very family friendly.

Patrick Wiscombe:  Since you’re so close to Universal Studios Hollywood, let’s talk about transportation.   I’m assuming you offer some kind of transportation to and from Universal Studios Hollywood.

Stella Pack:  Of course.  We offer shuttle service to and from Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Metro Link which is the Los Angeles subway system.  A shuttle service schedule is available at the front desk.  We also stop at the Metro Link which is like a subway in the Los Angeles and is one stop away from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  It’s very convenient so our guests don’t need to pay for parking or deal with any traffic. 

Beverlygarlandtwoqueenbeds_2 Patrick Wiscombe:  Stella thanks for coming in.  That’s Stella Pack, Sales Director for Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn.  Just a quick reminder as we start to wrap up, when you book your vacation on our website, Get Away Today.com, remember to use the promotion code ‘podcast’ as your checking out and we'll give you an additional $10 off your vacation.

Todd Carlson:  (Announcer)
You can book your Get Away Today Vacation right now by going to Get Away Today .com, or calling one of our friendly reservation agents at (866) FUN-TRIP.  This has been the Get Away Today Travel Show Podcast, heard exclusively on Get Away Today.com

September 12, 2007

Universal Studios: Halloween Horror Nights

Halloweenhorrornights2007 Three of the big screen’s most infamous horror film icons, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger and Leatherface, have joined forces somewhere inside Universal Studios Hollywood for 'Halloween Horror Nights.  Click here to purchase your Hollywood Horror Nights tickets.

Would you like to know more about this authentic, Hollywood movie quality scarefest?  Listen to the Get Away Today Travel Show Podcast with Patrick Wiscombe, the Get Away Today Internet Marketing Manager, and John Murdy, Entertaiment Director for Universal Studios Hollywood.

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Jasonvorhees2.  Itunes_whtIf you have iTunes installed on your computer, click the small iTunes logo right here in this paragraph to connect to the Get Away Today Travel Show podcast inside the iTunes store. Once you're there, click the 'SUBSCRIBE' button.  If you don't have iTunes installed on your computer, click here to download the software.  It's FREE!

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This year’s Halloween Horror Nights will feature four new mazes and the new edition of the “Terror Tram,” which will allow guests to venture on foot through the legendary Universal Studios Hollywood backlot.

Halloween Horror Nights will be take place on Friday and Saturday nights in October. Event dates are: October 5-6, 12-13, 19-20, 26-28 and 31. The event will begin each night at 7:00 p.m.  Closing hours vary by night during the event.

Freddy, Jason and Leatherface will each be featured within his own labyrinth of carnage, elevating the Halloween Horror Nights experience to appalling levels of madness and mayhem.

BatesmotelEach of the mazes will capture the gruesome tone of the notorious films.  They will catapult horror fans to an excruciating level of intimacy often kept at a safe distance by virtue of the movie or television screen.

The popular “Terror Tram” experience will allow guests to get off the tram and walk among the historic sets of the Universal backlot, birthplace of the horror genre. The backlot experience—incorporating such Hollywood landmarks as Psycho House, Bates Motel and the “War of the Worlds” airplane crash disaster scene—will play a pivotal role in the reemergence of Freddy, Jason and Leatherface where guests-victims will weave through the debauchery and fall prey to their tortured, sadistic minds.

Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights” will also feature a series of specially created, spine-tingling entertainment adding an alarming element to the overall Halloween experience. Highlights include the new “House of Horrors” maze where Universal’s most notorious monsters will descend upon guests as they navigate the creepy confines of vampire lairs, cannibal caves and psycho film slashers.

Freddykruger Universal Studios Hollywood’s favorite attractions will remain open for the nighttime Halloween Horror Nights experience, but many will feature a menacing twist. The standing sets and themed streets of the theme park will be transformed into a bloodbath, as if scenes from horror films that were left on cutting room floor exploded to life. A transformed “WaterWorld,” “Jurassic Park—In the Dark,” the “Revenge of the Mummy” psychological thrill ride roller coaster and “Terminator 2:3D” will all seem like tranquil respites from Jason, Freddy and Leatherface’s bedlam.

“Chucky’s Insult Emporium” will provide a mix of menace and humor to the event, and the ingenious sleight-of-sight performances by two internationally renowned stunt magicians, Kevin James and Brian Bushwood, will feature an original mix of unusual feats from risky fire-eating stunts to tactfully hammering nails into eyeballs and sawing people in half before literally re-attaching them before guests’ very eyes.

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July 26, 2007

Universal Studios Hollywood: The VIP Tour Podcast

Universal_studios_small Today we're putting the Get Away Today Travel Show spotlight on the Universal Studios Hollywood VIP Tour.  This tour is a must if you love movies, television, and great rides. 

Shari Butler, our very talented graphic designer, just returned from Southern California and wanted to share with all Get Away Today customers what you can expect when you visit Universal Studios.  During this podcast, we covered a wide variety of topics including: 

The Jurassic Park Ride:  She recommends grabbing a poncho unless you want to be soaked.  (By the way, the poncho is free is you're a VIP tour member.)

The 'Back to the Future' ride closes forever on September 3, 2007.  If you've always wanted to take a ride inside a virtual DeLorean, you need get to the park on or before Labor Day 2007.  Taking its place will be the new 'Simpsons' ride which will debut in the spring of 2008.  We think its a safe bet that doughnuts will appear at some point during the ride. 

Mummy1small Revenge of the Mummy:  The ride features what Universal Studio Hollywood calls a 'more shocking' experience that will leave riders breathless.  She agrees!

We discussed several more things that took place during her visit so please subscribe to the Get Away Today Travel Show podcast on iTunes or you can steam the audio off this blog post to hear the entire conversation.

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