Universal Studios

Universal Studios is without any kind of doubt a dream for any cinema lover. Everybody knows, Universal Parks and Resorts and daydreams of someday being able to discover all the secrets that the movie industry hides.  Universal Studios is a theme park and movie studio, but how cum has it become a major theme park and therefore a massive business?

Universal Parks & Resorts is the theme park division of NBC Universal, being this property of Comcast and General Electric. Universal Theme Park incorporates many replicas of attractions and movie sets in all their Theme Parks around the world. We must take into consideration that it is the third-largest themed park company in the world, for instance; in 2011 approximately 30.8 million people visited the Universal Studios theme parks.

Universal Studios Hollywood is part of the Universal City, located in San Fernando Valley a region in Los Angeles County. The City counts with 1,7km2 being one of the six biggest film studios in USA and one of the oldest and most famous movie studios still in use. But how did all of it start?

Since its opening Universal City offered tours of the movie studios, however it wasn’t until the 14^th of March in 1915 when Carl Laemmle opened Universal Studios for a price of $0.05 to the general public. The pack included a visit to the studios as well as experiencing all the action that was going on and also a lunch box. However, in 1930 the tours were discontinued due to the many films that were coming to Universal. Few later in 1962 after Music Corporation of America took over Universal Pictures they decided to include the studio tours back again and consequently increase their profits. So back in July 15^th 1965 the new tour was released this time including dressing room visits, peeks at actual production and staged events. It was also during this year that the first park attraction opened named, The War Lord Tower. Since then many new attractions were added and it was then when the actual theme park was created.

Universal Parks & Resorts also owns the Universal Studios Orlando Theme Park, opened in 1990 and is the largest property NBC Universal own; nonetheless, it is the second largest resort in Orlando after Walt Disney World. Moreover, Universal Studios does not only count with these two parks, it also has one in Japan (Osaka) that opened in 2001 and the last incorporation to the themed parks is the one in Singapore (Sentosa Island), which opened in 2010.

All of the themed parks are extremely similar and offer the visitor a world of experiences were they not only discover all the tricks, stunts, special effects and backlots of the cinema industry as well as experiencing thrilling, world-famous attractions that combine the world’s most famous stories and characters from films and television with innovative rides and show technology.

The fame of these parks has become so large that each one of the parks receives millions of visitors every year, the fact that nowadays the cinema and television industry has grown to such extent and is a huge part of our lives has enabled the growth of these parks making the Universal Studios Parks and Resorts one of the world’s most popular entertainment vacation destinations and consequently a business with plenty of profits.

Universal Studios Parks are perfect for any vacation plan, enabling visitors for only one-day visit, two-days visit or even a longer stay at the many resorts Universal Studios has. Which include a huge range of hotels, from Hilton or Sheraton Hotels, to much more economic choices. Of course, the themed parks also count with numerous restaurants, café’s, shopping centres, boutiques and many other customers’ requirements. Probably this is the reason why Universal Studios Hollywood Park is also known as; “The Entertainment Capital of LA” and the Orlando one is known as; “The Park that lets you ride the movies”. The themed parks offer a complete experience not only in terms of attractions and movie sets but; food, accommodation and shopping experiences that will make its visitors feel like real movie stars throughout all the experience. 

The price list is the following:

TICKET	ADULTS	+3 YEARS OLD (UNDER 122CM)	<3 YEARS OLD
1-DAY PASS	$80	$72	FREE
2-DAYS OFFER	$89	$81
12-MONTH PASS	$129

Join us soon in our next blog post!

Amélie Poulain

Probably everybody knows about the film Le fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain, the French movie that had great success around the world collecting many awards and recognitions.

The film narrates the story about an innocent cute girl from Montmartre who finds a little box and decides to look for its owner. That happening makes her see that she wants to help people and change their lives. But how has that fiction movie changed Parisian’s lives in reality?

The popularity of the film caused a deep impact in the district in which it was set. Many locations of the movie such as the Café Tabac des deux moulins and the market de la Butte, have become a must see for the visitors of Montmartre. The tourists die for living in their own skins the feeling of sipping a coffee at the bar where Amelie worked or taking a photo at the market where Lucien was abused by his boss.

The curiosity is that neither the bar nor the market where created for the film. Both places existed before the shooting and were real business directed by real people.

The bar is still exactly the same as it is seen in the movie, so everybody can go there and find even the same decorations and furniture that you once saw in the film. The only thing that has changed in there are the prices: now they are much higher than before the production!

The owner of the market is Ali McDoughy; the man who never imagined that one day he would become the most famous Café seller of the city. At the back shop, McDoughy keeps every newspaper article in which he has appeared, since many media and journalists interviewed him after his business appeared on the big screen and became such a big boom.

And guess what our next blog post will be about….would you like feeling part of a movie?

Madame Tussauds

We are back again!

Have you ever dreamed of meeting your idol? Bumping into a well-known pop star or even any royal member? Madame Tussauds makes it possible. Today we are going to talk about the well-known wax museum that has spread around the world these last years.

The wax French artist Marie Tussaud founded the famous wax museum, but how did she come up with the idea? Marie’s mother used to work during the 18^th Century for Dr.Philippe Curtius who was a physician and wax sculpture artist who taught Marie the art of wax modelling. After the death of Curtius, she left Paris and moved to London where she started to travel with her collection throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. Many of these exhibitions gathered thousands of people who were amused by the wax figures of renowned people such as Voltaire or Benjamin Franklin.

Her first permanent exhibition with nearby 400 different figures was set in Baker Street, London, on the highest floor of the Baker Street Bazaar. But the museum included a very uncommon exhibition that curiously turned out to be one of the most famous parts of the exhibition: the Chamber of Horrors. This part of the exposition included victims of the French Revolution, criminals and murderers. Once dead, her sons decided to turn the entire exhibition in what it is known today; Madame Tussauds Wax Museum with plenty of renowned people. But how has this wax museum become one of the major tourist attractions in all of the cities it has opened?

Nowadays, there are 15 Madame Tussauds around the world, being this:

·      USA: Hollywood, Las Vegas, New York, Washington D.C.

·      Europe: Amsterdam, Berlin, Blackpool, London, and Vienna.

·      Asia: Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai and Busan.

·      Australia: Sydney.

The museums have become a huge tourist attraction that gains millions and is visited by many tourists throughout the whole year. Every single museum includes different figures and is in constant change, making every gallery different from the rest and therefore attracting tourists not only for one visit but also for many more.  For instance, the Hollywood Madame Tussauds has many different exhibitions such as the A-list Party a celebrity “party” were you can mingle with the most well-known celebrities of the moment, you may also step into the spirit of Hollywood and experience all the splendour and glamour of the golden era of cinema as well as visit the Wild West, Crime, Action Heroes or Sports area. In addition, you may experience some of the greatest movie moments of contemporary cinema and meet your favourite movie stars hard at work in what goes behind-the-scenes. And as if that wasn’t enough you may visit the Awards Ceremony part, which consists of a non-stop parade of encounters with Hollywood stars not only from the present but also from the past. Other museums, such as the London one, offer similar exhibitions with other more cultural related zones where you can share room with the greatest minds and creative people in history such as Einstein or have a Royal appointment with the English Royal Family and even have an Audience with the Queen!

Today’s wax figures at Madame Tussauds not only include celebrities, but music, TV, film and sport stars, historical, political and royal figures, world leaders as well as famous murderers and criminals, offering a full experience in meeting illustrated and legendary worldwide people. The prices of the tickets are the following:

Ticket	UK Prices	USA Prices
Adults	£30.00	$25.95
Children	£25.80	$15.95

           

Due to the family disagreements in 1889 Tussauds was sold to a group of businessmen but is currently owned by a leisure company called Merlin Entertainments who bought The Tussauds Group on 2007. Merlin Entertainments is the largest entertainment company in Europe and the second globally after Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

But how can a wax museum turn out to be a major tourist attraction around the world and become a business? The main reason is due to the importance of media and entertainment activities, such as cinema or music. They have created many celebrities who have a huge degree of public fascination and influence in day-to media generating a huge amusement and interest in people seeing or meeting their idols. Madame Tussauds approaches people to the uncountable celebrities that exist today making many dreams come true. Also, what’s best of all is that they offer you a complete experience with exact copies of the dresses they wear or their exact hairstyles, turning it into an even more real experience.

The following update will be about…a French nook!