memo to self: write to Universal Studios Hollywood

Sarah and I were supposed to go to Universal Studios Hollywood today, but when she got up this morning, her back was a mess. We were to meet a friend, so I went ahead without her.

I had never been to any of the parks around here, and I have to say that I was a little disappointed today. To me, 'theme park' implies roller coasters and the like, but at USH, there was only one roller coaster, one splash ride, and one tilting-car ride. And, since it's a theme park, a LOT of retail. It was great to see Nikky, though, and I enjoyed wandering the park with her.

The one big disappointment was the all-you-can-eat pass. On the strong recommendation from a couple of Nikky's coworkers, we bought each bought the pass which, for $25, lets you eat (no beverages) all you can eat at six or so of the park's restaurants. We were advised that the food was so expensive that if you plan to eat two meals at the park (lunch and dinner), it was a good idea. However, once we bought the pass, we realized that there were a couple of other catches:
* For every restaurant that the pass covers, there were easily three that it didn't.
* Those extra restaurants had the more interesting food (mexican, bbq, etc.).
* At some of the restaurants that were covered, only a selection of the menu was available to the passholders. Greasy burgers, yes. Healthy club sandwiches, no.
* Unless you plan to eat an entree, a side, and a dessert at each meal, the pass is definitely not worth it. A burger was $8.50, but it comes with fries, and if you just eat two of them, you're only out $17.
* The not-including-beverages thing was a big disappointment.

All in all, I think that USH is a great place to take out-of-towners and people who would be impressed with a backstage tour, but only if you buy your food a la carte.