Universal Pictures: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

DKDinara Kantbekkantbek_dinara · Nov 29, 2015Read

If I were to tell you about my travels, my friend Sam and I headed west. It wasn't easy to decide, given the short timeframe—her return ticket was 10 days earlier than mine. We managed to plan everything correctly and set off for San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. It was truly an adventure of a lifetime. We ran through airports, buses, and subways. We bought bus tickets directly on Greyhound online (it's much cheaper that way) and asked the station staff to print them for us. In San Francisco, we left my friend's luggage, bought an 11 PM ticket, and went to see the Golden Gate Bridge. We had no idea how to get there, how to get back to the station, and we were short on time. Despite that, we went. We were afraid we might be late and didn't know the bus schedule. But most importantly, we managed to take photos. We accidentally met a traveler from Dubai; he asked us to take his picture, and we told him, 'You know, we're in a hurry, we don't have much time.' He started asking questions and said he had a rental car and would be happy to drop us off where we needed to go. If it weren't for him, we definitely would have been late. We hadn't eaten since 7 AM and were starving; food wasn't included in the plane ticket price. We had half an hour left, we looked for shops, but didn't see anything. We ran into a restaurant—it looked upscale—and you should have seen our appearance: shorts, sneakers, a hoodie, and a bag in our hands. The waiter looked at us and was actually startled, giving us a look like, 'What are you doing here?' As for tickets, don't do what we did. Tickets from SF to Las Vegas were sold out, so we had to go through Los Angeles. We had to go to LA anyway at the end, since our return ticket to Boston was from LA. In Los Angeles, I found Palak from India on a website; he had recently moved from New York for work. He wrote that he would be happy to host us. It even turned out that he was in Vegas on the same day we arrived. He met us, took us to the city center, and even took our luggage to Los Angeles. Yes, yes, I trusted everyone, even though I was seeing him for the first time in my life, but my intuition didn't let me down. We walked around Las Vegas. A fantastic city. You walk into one hotel and forget about everything. Casinos, Bellagio, Caesars Palace... September 8th... In the morning, Palak met us in Los Angeles. Everything you've seen on TV is now before your eyes. Universal Pictures, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood, the best Disneyland in the world. We took a tour where they show the homes of all the Hollywood stars in Beverly Hills, like Bruno Mars, Johnny Depp, Avril Lavigne, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lopez, the house where the great singer Michael Jackson died, the hotel where Whitney Houston said goodbye to life, and many others. September 11th... From the trip, I arrived in my native Hyannis, and my friend went to New York. After staying there for 3-4 days, I felt sad that all the students had left—some home, some to travel—and all the tourists had dispersed. I packed all my things, didn't wait for Saltanat, whom I was waiting for, said goodbye to everyone individually, and decided to leave. Everyone came to wish me luck and gave me souvenirs. It was very sweet. It was sad to realize that it was all over. When Matt and Katherine saw me off for the last time, Matt had tears in his eyes. He said, 'Wherever you are, I will pray that everything goes well for you'... Most importantly, I bought a ticket from Boston to New York, but I thought the latest one from Hyannis to Boston was at 10, but it turned out to be at 8. It was already 6 PM. Thanks to Mr. Richard, who, while picking me up, reminded me and suggested buying the ticket first instead of picking up the luggage. I managed to fit it into 2 hours, did everything necessary, stopped by Dunkin' and Stop and Shop to say goodbye to my colleagues, and was at the station 10 minutes before departure. The feeling that I might never return here and might never

Gguest_16007Oct 1, 2009Read

Universal Pictures is one of the richest and most influential studios in Hollywood!!! We arrived at Universal for the first time looking for work. We felt so incredibly important. Like, driving onto the movie studio lot and all that stuff :))) We bought a parking pass, parked the car, and walked in. This little town inside the studio is a really cool place. There are tons of different shops (Guess, Fossil), souvenir stalls, cafes, and of course, the signature Universal Store!!! I would even say that the selection of souvenirs in the local shops is sometimes better than on Hollywood Blvd. Oh, and Hard Rock Cafe is located here too. The huge guitar covering the entire building in front of the entrance is mind-blowing. The interior doesn't disappoint either—in the center of the hall, above the bar, hangs a full-sized convertible, all shiny and beautiful, and it rotates. Everywhere you look, there are photos of rock stars, some of their concert gear, and, of course, autographs. Also, somewhere between the concert venue and the start of the souvenir shops, there are unusual fountains. They are built into the pavement, and a person walking by might not even notice them. And then they all start their splashes one by one :))) Opposite the cafe, in front of the entrance, hangs a huge pair of cups and saucers, just beckoning you to come in for a visit :))) Further on, a huge King Kong hanging on one of the shops almost waves at you. Nearby, anyone who wants to can sit for a makeup session—you can turn into any character, and also become the owner of bloody fangs :))) And of course, what many are waiting for is at the end of the alley. The famous Universal globe! Guys, it's so cool. You stand there, the music from the studio intro is playing, and right next to you is the rotating, spraying globe. A red carpet and huge gates with the words UNIVERSAL STUDIOS! HOLLYWOOD!!! written in proud letters. P.S. The only thing I regret is that, due to various circumstances, we never made it into the park; I would have really loved to ride the Simpsons Ride and see other amazing things. I hope to make up for it all this year :)))