Guest Services at Universal Studios Tours

There are many services that will help you enjoy your day at Universal Studios, and you should definitely take advantage of the ones that apply to your situation. The folks at Universal want you to have a positive experience, and these services are meant to help you do just that.

There is a Will Call service located right outside the gates. Here, you can have tickets that were purchased online reprinted if necessary, get ticket reservations, or put your pet in a kennel. Also located outside the gate is the Group Sales Window. Here, you can renew your annual passes, or replace lost annual passes. The Annual Pass Center is also located here.

The Guest Relations booth is where you will find visitor information concerning hotels, campsites, and other interesting things to do in the area. You can also get assistance and guides for guests with disabilities and audio assist units. Travel assistance, lost and found, and the lost childrens center are also located in and near the Guest Relations booth.

Strollers and Wheelchairs are available for rent in the upper lot. Lockers, where you can store your items for the day, are also available. ATM Machines are located at the main entrance and in the lower lot by the Jurassic Cove Caf. You may use travelers checks and credit cards at the ticket booth and in the gift shops. Checks are not accepted at Universal Studios, and proper identification is required for the use of credit cards and travelers checks.

First Aid is located in the upper lot near Animal Planet Live. There is another first aid station inside the Jurassic Park Visitors Center, which is situated in the lower lot. There are eight designated smoking areas, which are indicated on the park map. Smoking will not be permitted in any other areas of the park.

You should also take advantage of the Package Deliver Service at Universal Studios Tours. This service will allow you to buy merchandise, and then pick it up near the exit before you leave. The package pickup is located near Universal Film Company.

Again, all of these services are designed to make your visit to Universal Studios Tours more enjoyable. If you have any problems at the park, including problems are situations that are not discussed here you should find a staff member and request assistance. They will do everything within their power to help you rectify your problem, and continue with your Universal Studios Tour.

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Private Yacht Charters: Perfect for Honeymooners

Are you and your romantic partner about to be married soon? If so, have you started planning your wedding? Although it is important to focus on the planning of your wedding, you may also want to take the time to plan or at least think about your honeymoon. After all, there are many individuals who feel that their honeymoon is just as important, if not more important than their wedding.

If you have yet to decide on a honeymoon destination, you are urged to examine private yachts. Yes, private yachts. In the United States and even all around the world, there are a large number of individuals and companies that have private yachts available for charter. When you charter a private yacht, it is also like you are renting the yacht. Many times, the only difference is that you are given your own personal yacht crew. In fact, that crew is just one of the many reasons why you should think about chartering a yacht for your honeymoon.

As it was previously mentioned, most private yacht charters come with a yacht crew. This crew most commonly includes a captain and people who are often referred to as deck hands. Depending on the particular yacht chartering company that you choose to do business with, you may have a number of other professional onboard. These professional may include a maid or even a personal chef. What does this mean for you? This means that by chartering a private yacht for your honeymoon, you could really get a five star service; five star service that is often found in luxurious hotels or vacation resorts.

Speaking of luxury, luxury is another one of the many reasons why a privately chartered yacht may be perfect for your honeymoon. If you arent already aware, yachts are like traditional boats, but they are larger and they tend to have more onboard amenities. It is not uncommon to find yachts that have dinning rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and even a laundry room! It is also important to note that many yachts are luxurious in nature. It is not uncommon to find the cabin of a yacht decorated elegantly or with hardwood floors. In some cases, luxury yachts have even been compared to five star resorts.

It is also important to note privacy. Privacy is the whole reason why people decide to charter private yachts. It enables them to have a private vacation, trip, or honeymoon. In fact, as it was mentioned above, the only other people aboard your yacht should be trained staff. You may also take comfort in knowing that most yacht chartering companies require that their onboard staff sign non-disclosure documents. This means that they are legally barred from discussing any part of your vacation with anyone, whether those people be their friends, relatives, or the media. While you might not necessarily be worried about your honeymoon being leaked to the public, it may still give you comfort in knowing that it will not be.

A honeymoon aboard a private yacht sounds absolutely amazing doesnt it? What is even more amazing is that you can also get married aboard a privately chartered yacht, if you want to. A number of couples have been known to do so. Depending on where you are, location wise, you may be able to have your ceremony in the open waters, slightly off the coast, or you can even get married aboard your chartered yacht when it is still docked in the port; the decision is yours to make. If you havent already started planning your wedding or if your plans arent set in stone, you are at least encouraged to think about having your wedding ceremony aboard your privately chartered yacht. It would likely be a ceremony that you would never forget.

As you can see, there are number of different reasons why honeymooning aboard a privately chartered yacht may be right for you. Of course, the decision is yours to make, but you may at least want to give it some serious thought. Traveling, privately, on the open waters may be the perfect way to romantically celebrate your new union as husband and wife.

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Ellis Island: Site of Picnics, War, and Immigration

Ellis Island: Site of Picnics, War, and Immigration
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was once the main immigration station for people
entering the United States. About a third of Americans can trace their ancestry to this
entry point. Today Ellis Island is a museum accessible by ferryboat.
The island is named for Samuel Ellis, a wealthy colonial landholder. He once owned the
land and used it as a picnic area. When selling the island, Ellis advertised it along with
several other items he had for sale, including a few barrels of excellent shad and
herrings and a large Pleasure Sleigh, almost new.
The U.S. War Department purchased the island for $10,000 in 1808. They built defenses
there in the buildup to the War of 1812. Fort Gibson was erected to house prisoners of
that conflict. Fifty years later during the Civil War, the Union army used the fort as a
munitions arsenal.
When the Civil War ended, Ellis Island was abandoned for twenty-five years. Then, in
1890, the government wanted a new immigration processing center. (This would replace
the Castle Garden Immigration Depot, the countrys first immigration station, which was
located on the tip of Manhattan.) Ellis Island opened in 1892 as the main processing point
for newcomers; at the time, about 70% of all immigrants passed through the island
facilities.
The first immigrant processed was Annie Moore, a teenager from Ireland who was
meeting her parents in New York. (She received a $10 gold coin!) The Ellis Island staff
continued to process immigrant steamship passengers until 1954, when the last immigrant
was the Norwegian merchant seaman Arne Peterssen. In the more than six decades of
operation, the immigration building on Ellis Island saw more than 12 million hopeful
immigrants. After 1954, the building was not attended to for about thirty years. It was
eventually refurbished in the late 1980s and re-opened as a museum in 1990. It is now
under jurisdiction of the US National Park Service.
Immigrants experiences on Ellis Island differed with social class. Wealthier immigrants
who traveled first or second class generally entered automatically without delay. Third-
class steerage passengers had medical exams and interviews. In the end, about two
percent were sent back across the ocean after these procedures. With these people in
mind, Ellis is also known as The Island of Tears and or Heartbreak Island.
Standard interviews included twenty-nine questions, including name, skills, and amount
of money available. Adults who seemed likely to become a public charge would be
turned away. The medical exams on Ellis Island were brief; they usually lasted only six
seconds! However, people who appeared ill received much more attention. Chalk
markings were put on their clothes to indicate suspected medical conditions. People who
didnt discreetly remove these markings were typically sent home or to the islands
hospital. About three thousand people travelers died in Ellis Islands hospital.
The United States enacted Quota Laws in 1924. These restricted immigration and
resulted in most processing being performed at embassies and consulates instead of
freestanding immigration stations. After 1924 Ellis Island was only sporadically used to
see war refugees and displaced persons. The island was used for Japanese internment and
to house German Americans accused of being Nazis.
Ellis Island was once the subject of a border dispute between New York and New Jersey.
Today the two states have divided ownership of the historic site: the main building
containing the museum is part of New York, and the old hospital buildings are part of
New Jersey. The monument has been managed and preserved by the National Park
Service since 1966.
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