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LAist's Money Wasters: Universal Citywalk Edition
Donna Summer said it best when she said, "You work hard for your money, so you'd better...try to not spend all your money in one place or risk being really deep in debt and then the rest of your life won't matter much cause you'll constantly be worried about spiking APR rates and a future without financial stability." Sure, we're paraphrasing a bit and adding additional meaning to the golden throated words of Ms. Summer, but you get the idea.
That's why LAist bursts onto the scene (for a second time, since we burst onto the scene last week as well) to bring you LAist's Money Wasters - a look at places within the City of Angels where you can (once you've parked and start walking around) waste more money than you ever imagined without ever getting back in the car. This week, we bring you our Universal Citywalk Edition.
Let's start with parking. Before you even get in the door you're gonna have to pony up $10. Sure, if you're going to see a movie, you'll get that back -- but a movie is gonna cost you at least $12. And if you're getting a snack and bringing a date, why not add an additional $24 to that. Before the movie you're probably gonna need something to eat so you'd better tack on a good $50 for anyplace from B.B. Kings to Buca Di Beppo. While you're walking around killing time before the movie but after the restaurant, you're gonna need something to do and so you'll either drop another $10 on video games, or $10 on trying that frozen pellet ice cream treat just because it's a novelty that's better than churros. If you don't go see a movie, you're probably gonna end up drinking yourself silly ($42.50) and finding that dinner just didn't do it for you and you're gonna need an extra snack of pretzels ($12). Of course, you'll want a T-shirt ($15) or some little trinkets ($22.50) before leaving the CityWalk for the night.
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All in, a night at Universal CityWalk will suck between $86 and $111 when all is said and done. And as far as we're concerned, that's a big time money waster.
Sure, there are other places that may very well suck your money out of your bank account just as fast as Universal CityWalk, and we're open to hearing about them. But as far as LAist is concerned, our good friends in Universal City have mastered the art of depleting our hard-earned money faster than any other locale...and they've done it all under one roof! Kudos! Yeee-hah! And they don't even have a waterslide or anything.
And as far as we're concerned, really -- it's an art form. Good job, Universal CityWalk -- we worked hard for our money, and well, you really know how to treat us right.
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Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
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