Posted by Jackie Hewett on Fri 21st November 2008 at 02:28 PM, Filed in December
Here are Trip Inspiration’s recommendations for places to go and things to do in December – while lots of it un-surprisingly centres on Christmas you will find some other ideas for getting away from it all.
For Nature &Wildlife:
Dive with Manta Rays in Yap - December is the best time to visit and there’s quite a bit to do and see besides diving.
For a Family Holiday:
Visit a European Christmas Market - these take place during most week-ends in December and some start in November. Some of the best countries to go to are Germany and France.
Lille Market
Take the little ones on a Lapland / Finland trip to see Santa, go sleigh riding and visit the elves. There are many companies offering trips – some only (exhausting) day trips and others longer (better if you can afford it).
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Posted by Jackie Hewett on Sun 16th November 2008 at 01:27 AM, Filed in USA Florida
This park is situated right next to the Universal Studios park, just of Universal’s city walk. I think it’s a bit of a schizophrenic park in that there are quite a lot of thrill seeking rides coupled with a great area and rides/play areas for little kids and not a lot in between. That said – no holiday to the Orlando parks would be complete without a visit, assuming you have the time. We visited both in October 2008 and 2006. If you are serious about your roller coasters you should either think about getting a fast pass (you have to pay around $40 extra per person for these) or about staying in the universal resort hotels as they chuck it in for free.
The kiddy area I am talking about is of course Seuss Landing. I love it – it’s just like walking into the pages of a Dr Seuss book. Absolutely nothing is straight – bridges, signs, pavements, lamp-posts, even trees are wonky. You are very likely to see characters here (they appear throughout most of the afternoon) – we saw the Grinch (very much in character throwing kids pencils and autograph books down), Cat in the Hat and Thing1 & Thing2. The merchandise is great here too – some lovely T-shirts and toys.
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Posted by Jilly Bowen on Fri 14th November 2008 at 02:11 AM, Filed in Travel Tips
Where would you like to go for your holiday next year? Back to somewhere you have been to before or how about a different far flung destination?
‘Are you barking mad or what!!!!!’ I here you say. ‘Don’t you read the news you stupid woman, don’t you realise it looks as though we are heading for a world wide recession!’
Of course I do. But hey, what if you can scrape up the air fair, or just want a change of scenery in your own country, plus are prepared to self cater would that make a difference?
What am I suggesting in these tough times?
The concept of Holiday Home swapping.
How does this work?
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Posted by Jackie Hewett on Sun 9th November 2008 at 01:31 AM, Filed in USA Florida
Fairly recently re-named from ‘Disney MGM’ this is a great park, with a lot to entertain visitors of all ages. This review is based on visits to the park in October 2008 and 2006
To my mind there are a two or three ‘Must Do’s’ which includes one of Orlando’s newest rides – ‘Toy Story Midway Mania’, the early evening show – ‘Fantasmic’ and the Indiana Jones Stunt Show.
Hollywood Studios Bash Street Parade
First ‘Must Do’ – Toy Story Midway Mania Ride – as this is one of the newest rides queues are horribly long. We visited the park on 2 days during October 2008 and the stand-by queue’s varied between 80 and 120 minutes, and on our first visit they had stopped giving out fast-passes. If you definitely want to do this ride my recommendation is to get a fast-pass as soon as you get to the park. To give you an indication – we got our fast-pass tickets just before noon which gave us a return time of between 6.20pm and 7.20pm. Whilst the ride is one of my must-do’s I am not sure it is worth a two-hour wait! The ride takes 8 people at a time in two co-joined carriages, each carriage can only seat two riders side-by side with another two back-to-back. The carriages twirl around a bit, but nothing too much for timid visitors (it’s not as dramatic as Men-in-Black at Universal Studio’s). The ride is quite similar to Magic Kingdom’s ‘Buzz Lightyear Spin’ – but in 3D. Each rider has their own lazer gun and has to shoot at various 3D targets presented on a number of screens while screens in the carriages keep score.
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I attended Universal’s Halloween Horror Night in October 2008. For quite a few years Universal have been putting on an adult themed Halloween evenings in the park which have allegedly improved year on year. Each year has a different ‘theme’, and this year’s was ‘Bloody Mary’.
Firstly, some practical details – there are a number of different tickets available. The evenings happen over 2-3 weeks in the lead up to, and including Halloween itself, but not on every night - usually not on Monday’s and Tuesdays. Sometimes they even go on a couple of days past Halloween. You can get single night admission (this year they were available via several sources from about $44) or get a ‘Frequent Fear Pass’ for $69 which is valid for several nights, but excluding Halloween itself. To attend on Halloween itself you will have to pay more, but I understand there is little extra happening on that night – you are just paying to be there on the specific day. Also, if you already have a valid Universal Park day time ticket for the day you wish to attend a Horror Night (other than the 31st) you can get re-admission for the evening Horror night for $29 per person (which is what we did) – and this includes the Orlando Flex Park tickets whether or not you have attended that particular park on the same day – so long as the ticket is actually valid for that day.
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