Archive for the 'Orange County' Category
Thanksgiving travel: Black Friday hotel deals in Los Angeles & Orange County
November 23, 2009 11:24am
It’s not too late to book Thanksgiving travel for this weekend. Lucky for us Southern Californians, there are some Black Friday deals to be had right in our own backyard. Priceline’s travel “Ekspert,” Brian Ek, named his best shopping cities based on “the best ‘Name Your Own Price’ hotel deals for Thanksgiving weekend.” In order of the biggest savings, the top four cities/regions where you can save money on hotels this weekend are Orange County, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Ek said that Orange County showed a 46% median savings for rooms and Atlanta, Philadelphia and L. A. showed 45% median savings. The important thing to note about his top city picks is that it’s not all about price — these destinations have availability.
“As expected, traditional big shopping cities for the Black Friday weekend, like New York, Chicago and San Francisco, offer significant hotel savings, but room availability is going to be tight. The same holds true for getaway cities like Las Vegas and New Orleans. For these cities, I recommend being as flexible as possible in your star-level selection to maximize your chances of getting a room at a bargain price,” said Ek.
While the list is based on availability and median price ranges for deals via Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price” feature (check-in dates for Friday and Saturday), I looked at rates for hotels near South Coast Plaza on Priceline’s main hotel page. I found the four-star Westin South Coast Plaza for $99 per night, four-star Hyatt Regency Irvine for $99 per night, and the four-star Fairmont Newport Beach for $129 per night. The three-and-a-half-star Hilton Irvine was priced at $78 per night. Rates are on average for a two-night stay Nov. 27-29, pre-tax.
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Image credit: Priceline.com]
Newport Beach’s Christmas Boat Parade: Plan ahead to cruise in its midst
November 18, 2009 3:21pm
If you’re not going to be in the popular Christmas Boat Parade in Newport Beach, then one of the next best places to see the lights and action may be aboard a Hornblower yacht.
On five consecutive nights, Dec. 16-20, the Christmas Boat Parade Dinner Cruise, put on by Hornblower Cruises & Events, sails “right through the middle of the entire parade,” said the company’s director of marketing, Sara Copping.
And if you want one of these prime lookout spots, you’d better plan ahead. These cruises sell out every year, usually one or two weeks before sail date, said Copping.
The cruises last from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and cost $115 per person (pre-tax). You’ll get a glass of champagne upon boarding, a four-course seated meal and live entertainment. Read the rest of this entry »
FlyAway bus service links LAX to Irvine
November 17, 2009 10:45am
For Orange County residents and visitors, access to our country’s third-busiest airport has just gotten a little easier. This week, a new nonstop FlyAway bus service began carrying passengers between Los Angeles International Airport and the Irvine Metrolink Station.
The new service on a 22-seat bus running on compressed natural gas is available to travelers six times daily in each direction. The earliest and latest departures from Irvine are 4:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m, and, upon arrival at the airport, passengers are dropped off at their terminals on the departure level.
Buses headed to Irvine depart from the arrivals level of LAX between the hours of 9:45 a.m. and 9:45 p.m. See the LAWA website for the schedule. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Holiday Festival of Trains’ rolls into Nixon Presidential Library
November 16, 2009 9:14am
All aboard, children of all ages: This week, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum will open its holiday-themed world of miniature toy trains, wending through old snow-covered villages, past an 1890 Bavarian castle, over mountain passes and near thousands of trees.
Though a preview evening tonight for the “Holiday Festival of Trains” exhibition is only for Nixon Foundation members and their guests, the exhibit opens to the general public on Nov. 17, said Olivia Anastasiadis, the venue’s supervisory museum curator.
The exhibition, which runs through Jan. 10, will hold a number of attractions, like the Mountain of Trains featuring a 40-foot-long platform and more than 16 trains moving along 1,500 feet of track. Also on display will be vintage monorail model trains as well as pieces of monorail trains first used in 1959 at Disneyland. A Lego train scene boasting a 20-foot-long suspension bridge was constructed by members of the Southern California Lego Train Club, and Lego’s classic Emerald Night train will be riding these rails. Read the rest of this entry »
Big Grizzly Mountain coaster coming to Hong Kong Disneyland
November 14, 2009 4:48pm
The Big Grizzly Mountain roller coaster at Hong Kong Disneyland will take riders through an abandoned gold mine packed with dynamite and overrun by grizzly bears.
Set to open as early as 2012, the runaway mine train ride is part of a nearly $500-million expansion at Hong Kong Disneyland that calls for the addition of three themed lands.
Big Grizzly Mountain will serve as the centerpiece of the Grizzly Trail themed land, the Chinese park’s version of Frontierland. The new ride blends the themeing of Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad coaster with the setting of the Grizzly River Run water ride at Disney’s California Adventure.
Hong Kong Disneyland to add ‘Toy Story’ themed land
November 13, 2009 8:54am
Visitors stepping into Toy Story Land at Hong Kong Disneyland will feel like “Star Wars” action figures in a land of Barbie dolls — smaller-than-life interlopers in a land of larger-than-life toys.
Super-sized Tinker toys, Lincoln logs and dominoes line the walkways as towering “Toy Story” characters Rex the dinosaur and Woody the cowboy welcome visitors at the twin entrances to the lushly landscaped land.
Set to open as early as 2011, Toy Story Land is part of a nearly $500-million expansion at Hong Kong Disneyland that calls for the addition of three themed lands.
The three new rides include:
Hong Kong Disneyland expansion to add three new themed lands
November 12, 2009 8:54am
Disney brass and Chinese government officials hope a nearly half-billion-dollar investment over the next half-decade in Hong Kong Disneyland will boost attendance at the struggling theme park.
The ambitious expansion plan calls for three new themed lands featuring a mountain-range coaster, a Haunted Mansion dark ride and a “Toy Story” kiddie area.
A land-by-land look at the expansion:
First look: Phineas and Ferb characters at Disneyland
November 11, 2009 8:05am
Phineas and Ferb may not have any idea what they’re doing for summer vacation, but they know how they’re spending their Christmas break: “We’re going to Disneyland.”
The perpetually bored stepbrothers from the Disney Channel’s “Phineas and Ferb” animated show turned up as costumed characters at Disneyland this week for a taping of the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade, which airs Dec. 25 on ABC.
It was the first time that the costumed characters have appeared in a Disney theme park, officials said.
Two California luxury hotels added to AAA’s 2010 Five Diamond Award list
November 6, 2009 2:45pm
Open less than a year, the Resort at Pelican Hill in Orange County like all hotels, has struggled against the tides of a beleaguered economy. But that doesn’t mean it can’t take a great compliment. The luxury coastal property is one of two California resorts that have danced into the exclusive ranks of AAA’s just-released Five Diamond Award list for 2010. [Corrected at 5:45 p.m. Nov. 6: An earlier version of this post said the Resort at Pelican Hill is south of Laguna Beach. It is north of Laguna Beach.]
California, with 20 five-diamond hotels, also added the opulent Grand del Mar in San Diego to its coffers.
The new Golden State additions join the company of some real longtimers, like the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, which has populated the list for 24 consecutive years, and the Peninsula Beverly Hills, with 17 consecutive years under its belt.
The Michael Jackson theme park that never was, but still could be
November 5, 2009 12:29pm
Michael Jackson dreamed of a theme park based on the J.M. Barrie story of “Peter Pan,” complete with looping roller coasters, 3-D flight simulators, water rides, stunt shows, dinner theater, nighttime spectaculars and hotels.
The Disney and More blog has the full story of how the dream nearly became reality, including blueprints and concept art from the envisioned project.
In the late 1990s, the King of Pop partnered with Burbank-based Landmark Entertainment Group — the creators of the Spider-Man ride at Islands of Adventure and the Jurassic Park water ride at Universal Studios Orlando — to draft a plan for Peter Pan’s Neverland theme park.
The concept looks remarkably similar to Disneyland past and present, with all the Peter Pan parts of the park (pirate ship, dark ride, skull rock) amplified and embellished with plenty of pixie dust.
Peter Pan’s Neverland envisioned a grand entrance into Victorian London with replicas of Kensington Gardens, Big Ben, Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament.
On Neverland Island, reached by boat, there were six themed lands:
Read the rest of this entry »
