Day 9: Hollywood
Today we had planned on doing the touristy thing and planned on going on a studio tour of the Warner Brothers Studio.
We had a bit of sleep-in and then had a quick breakfast and left the hotel to find the bus to downtown Hollywood. We thought the bus stop was only 4 blocks away but it turned out being alot further than that and it took us an hour to get to the next bus.
We finally hopped on the bus and he took us right to the front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. It looked alot bigger in movies and on TV, but was still pretty cool.
We took a walk down the Hollywood Walk of Fame and looked at all the hundreds of stars below our feet. There were heaps of names I had never heard of, and a bunch that I did.
We got to the Hollywood information centre and asked where we booked the Warner Brothers Tour from and found out that the pick up point in Hollywood had shut down a year before; The studios were over half an hour away by shuttle, so we decided to give it a miss.
My this stage we had been walking for hours and we were pretty hungry. We decided to stop at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch.
We when got inside we saw they had a three course meal offer, I got all this for just $22
I also got a Mango cocktail, I even got to keep the glass afterwards!
After our very filling lunch we started to make our way home, we accidentally turned down the wrong street and ended up in front of LA Ink. It was a very happy coincidence. I didn’t go inside cause they looked pretty busy and at the end of the day they were working so I didn’t want to disturb them.
When we got back to the hotel, we just spent another night relaxing and watching American tv. There was even a car chase! We’ve probably walked so much in the last four days that we can go around the world. Twice.
Day 8: Six Flags
Today it was Tim’s choice to pick what were going to do; He wanted to go to Six Flags Theme Park.
It was about a 40 minute drive away and cause we couldn’t all fit in one taxi, we had to organise a shuttle to take us there. As it picked us up pretty early I slept all the way there. I woke up just as we arrived. The park wasn’t quite open yet, so we got in line and waited for the gates to open.
Once they let us in we headed straight to one of the big 8 rides. 6 Flags was mainly full of rides and not so much themed areas. All the rides were really big and really fast, so it wasn’t really my cup of tea. I only went on a select few rides.
Alot of the rides were closed for maintenance cause it was off season, and the rest of the rides had really long lines. We had to wait in line for at least half an hour for most of the rides. It was a long day of just waiting to go on a short ride. Although, the rides were pretty fun.
We left the park at around 5, before it even closed. We were all still pretty wrecked from the previous few days. We hopped back onto the shuttle and went for a nap as soon as we got back to the hotel.
At around 7 we woke up and went for dinner in the bistro at the restaurant. The food was pretty good for bistro food. I got calamari, and it had little baby octopuses in it as well; I wasn’t game enough to try them though.
After dinner we headed back up to our rooms and just vegged out for the rest of the evening. It was good to finally catch up on some relaxation.
Day 7: Anaheim to Los Angeles & Hellogoodbye
After a well needed sleep in we packed up our bags (something alot more difficult now that we spent the last two days buying gifts and souvenirs) and brought them down to the front desk ready for the shuttle to pick us up. We had some time to spare so we went to IHOP (International House of Pancakes) for breakfast.
All the food looked so good, it was really had to pick what I wanted for breakfast. I ended up picking Banana and Strawberry Pancakes. The stack was huge! And so cheap too. Pancake Parlour have a thing or two they need to learn from IHOP!
After a very filling breakfast we walked back to the hotel and got onto our shuttle bus to Los Angeles. I hopped in my ipod headphones and enjoyed the sights. We drove past so many recongisable streets and landmarks from shows and movies. We even drove past the back of LA Ink. After about an hour or so we were finally at our next hotel. It was the nicest one we had stayed in so far. It had a huge screen tv and bar fridge, something the other hotels had lacked.
We got settled into our hotels and my family went for a walk down to Rodeo Drive. I didn’t go with them cause I had missed out on buying a Hellogoodbye ticket through the ticketing website, but managed to find someone who was selling one and they had agreed to bring it to me at the hotel.
It was good to finally get some time to myself, I pumped the music up loud as I started to get ready to go to Hellogoodbye. Once 7 o’clock rolled around, I hopped into a taxi and went to the Troubadour. I was quite lucky to get a ticket, there were heaps of people outside the venue asking everyone if they had any spares. I was nervous that they wouldn’t let me in as the ticket had the previous person’s name on it, but it all went well and they let me into the venue.
Being inside and only 20 made me feel like I was 17 and had snuck into a club again, I felt like a child. But it was still exciting to be there. I found a seat on the balcony of the club and watched the first band from there. They were called Now, Now, Every Children and they weren’t that bad. After they finished I wanted to get a little closer to the stage and managed to get right next to the stage, but to the right of it. I still had a perfect view of everything though. I didn’t move from that spot for the rest of the night.
The next band up was called You, Me and Everyone We Know. I listened to them while I was getting ready and I really liked them. They were poppy and kinda punky, in a way they kind of remind me of the Audition. My kind of music; They put on a good show too. Next was a band called Gold Motel. They were kind of indie, but not too bad. And Finally it was time for Hellogoodbye to come on stage.
They played alot of their new stuff and not so much of their old, which was kind of disappointing but I think it’s cause Forrest is the only original member of the band now. It was still a really good show. Everyone got into it and they played really well. They made lots of jokes in between songs and there just generally just a good atmosphere. After they finished their set they walked off stage and of course the audience asked for more and they came back and played two more songs. They finished with Here In Your Arms, the single of their last album. On the last note of the song, they shot confetti into the crowd.
Once everyone moved out of the room, I went over to the merch stand and bought a 7” yellow coloured vinyl which I got Forrest to sign and a cd for You, Me and Everyone we know which I got them to sign. I stuck around for a bit and spoke to the bands. I was the first Aussie the guitarist from You, Me and Everyone We know had ever met; Apparently I have an accent too!
It was nearing midnight when I decided to call it quits. I said my goodbyes and hopped into a cab; I never worried about travelling by myself until the cab driver turned around looked at me and chuckled while we were waiting at the traffic lights. I made it back to hotel safe and sound though.
Day 6: California Adventure
Another early morning to squeeze in as much as possible. We still had a few things left to do in Disneyland and we had all of California adventure to get through.
We walked to the park and headed straight to the Grizzly River run to get our Fast pass for the World of Color, which was going to be shown later that night.
We figured we’d quickly finish up Disneyland before heading on all the rides in California Adventure. The first thing we needed to view was Moments with Mr. Lincoln. It was pretty interesting to see why Mr. Lincoln was one of the most influential presidents. There was a short movie about his life and then there was an animatronic presentation, it was really lifelike.
Next we headed to Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, it was pretty much exactly how it sounds; We all piled into a submarine and went on a short Nemo Themed journey.
After we finished that we had seen everything at Disneyland and made our way back to California Adventure. We started on the Hollywood Back lot, it was a cool glimpse into how the Hollywood Studios would look when we visited them on Monday. The first stop on the Hollywood back lot was The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I decided there was no amount of courage that I could summon up that could get me to ride it. I was way to afraid of heights and falling for that. So I sat outside the ride and waited for my family to get off the ride.
While I was waiting there was a parade of the Incredibles, they didnt really do much except walk up and down the street and wave to people. There were also some guys on the jumping pogo legs, that made them look like kangaroos or something.
After they came back from the ride, we got some lunch then saw that there was an Aladdin Musical show about to start. We made our way to the amphitheater and took our seats in the mezzanine. The show was actually really good, the used all the best songs in the movie and threw in some pop culture references such as Miley Cyrus and Angry Birds.
Once the show was over we made our way to Paradise Pier and got in line for California Screamin’. Despite my fears, I realised this was one ride I couldn’t go without going on. We were in line for about half and hour, then it was our time to ride. As soon as we got into the carriage my nerves set in. The ride took off very fast and shot up into the air about 120ft. There was many swift turns and even went upside down. I was screaming the whole way. I was very happy once it was over, but I was glad I went on.
Next we headed on over to Mickey’s Fun Wheel. Although it looked like a normal Ferris Wheel, it had a twist; the carriages weren’t attached to the side of the wheel. They were on a track and were free to roll along from side to side. It definitely made it more interesting.
We strolled along the rest of the pier as we had some time to kill before a new attraction was about to open up in the park, ElecTRONica. To celebrate the release of the new film they had changed the colour of the park to glow blue, just like in the movie. It was opening at 6.30. When the time came and it was dark enough they turned on all the lights and opened up Flynn’s arcade for the first time. They also had a DJ booth set up; It very much had a night club feel to it. They were even selling Tron based drinks. 
Once we had our fill of Flynn’s Acarde we checked out the last little parts of the park. Alot of it was closed for the season, or just didn’t catch our eye. Then at 9.00 it was time for World Of Color. We got a spot next to the pier as close as possible and got ready for an amazing show. And it really didn’t disappoint. I had been impressed by the Bellagio Fountains, but this was a million times better and like it was on acid.
The colours were absolutly amazing. They projected scenes from Disney movies onto a giant jet stream of water and synced up music with the fountains as well. The whole thing went for half and hour and was the highlight of the holiday. I managed to get the whole thing on video, but the end of it my arm were dead. They included songs from The Little Mermaid, Pirates of the Caribbean, Finding Nemo, Wall-E and Pocahontas just to name a few.
By the time it finished we had missed the start of the fireworks at Disneyland. We ran over to the entrance of the park so we could at least see them from there. The fireworks were quite good, but compared to World of Colour, seemed quite dull. It probably would have been better to see them over the castle, but we were content with what we saw.
The day was now over but we were absolutely wrecked, we had spent the last two days walking around the parks and everything hurt; it was well worth it though. We went back to our hotel and crashed, knowing that would be able to get a decent sleep in the next day.
Day 5: Disneyland!
As soon as we arrived in Anaheim, you could see the excitement building within all of us. We woke up early and had a quick breakfast in preparation for a big day at Disneyland!
Our hotel was only a short walk away from the park and we were there within minutes. We got our tickets and made our way through the gates.
We walked down Main St USA and we could see the Disney castle perched upon a hill at the end of street. It was a lot smaller in real life. It was also pink, something I never knew.
Next was Tomorrow Land; I went on my first ride there with my little sister. The Astro Orbiter; just a kids’ ride, they’re in control of the rocket and can make it go up and down. After that, we all went on Astro Blasters. It was a Buzz Lightyear themed ride where you had to shoot at targets and get a score. It was actually pretty fun. The next ride was Space Mountain. I’m normally not good with rides, but I figured I’d suck up my courage, I was at Disneyland after all. Space Mountain was pretty similar to the Bermuda Triangle ride, but the whole thing was in the dark, minus a starry background. It was a little scary for me, but not too bad. The next part of Tomorrow Land, was Innoventions; A kind of ‘House of Tomorrow’ if you will. It was pretty crappy to be honest, they tried to teach us all about energy conservation and it had a high tech theatre room, stuff that’s already pretty common in houses in Australia.
When we had finished up with Tomorrow Land, we grabbed a bite to eat and made our way over to Fantasy Land. Home of the famous Alice In Wonderland Teacups and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. We checked out most of the rides here, The Teacups, The Flying Dumbos, Storybook Land and the Matterhorn Bobsleds. We wanted to check out ‘It’s A Small World After All’ as well, but it was closed for the season, which was disappointing.
After Fantasy Land, we made our way through Mickey’s Toon Town. It was pretty much pulled straight out of ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’ with the old school look. As it was more of a kiddy area, there wasn’t that much to do there except one small roller coaster that I went on with my little sister again.
From there we moved onto Frontier Land, a western themed part of the park. There we went on the Big Thunder Railroad, a fast moving, twisty-turny train. It was pretty fun. After that we went on the Mark Twain Riverboat. It was a full sized steamboat; it was good to do something relaxing as we had been walking around all day.
Next was New Orleans Square, which contained the most exciting part for me; Pirates of the Caribbean. Although it was only a boat ride, it was very thrilling to see for me, given my love for the movies. It was good to see how it all started. As we walked through New Orleans Square, we checked out all the stores and even got to listen to some jazz bands. At the end of New Orleans Square was the Haunted Mansion. Other attraction that was good to see, to see how the movie came about.
Once passing through New Orleans Square we made it to Critter Country, however the main attraction of Critter Country, Splash Mountain, was closed for the season as well; There wasn’t much else there that caught our eye so we gave it a miss and headed to Adventure Land.
There we walked through Tarzan’s Tree House and got in line to go on the Indiana Jones Adventure. As there was about a 40 minute wait, we got ourselves a fast pass; it enabled us to come back later and skip the line entirely. While we were waiting for our turn on the ride, we hopped on the Jungle Cruise. It was just a short cruise along a river with crocodiles and other prop animals on the side while a tour guide made witty jokes. It was a good way to kill sometime and it was another good chance to rest our legs. By the time that ride was over, it was time to go back to the Indiana Jones Adventure. The ride was set in some 4WD cars that made their way along the tracks, bumping and turning sharply along the way. We even had to escape from a giant boulder, just like in the movie.
After we finished that ride, we had seen everything in the park. We made our way down Main Street USA back to the entrance, stopping properly in the all the shops along the way. We bought some souvenirs while we were there. I got myself a Mickey Hat with my name stitched into the back of it, a couple of shot glasses, a pirate themed snow globe and a magnet. I also got myself some Disney Dollars.
Once we finished shopping we finally left the park and it was about to close. We left out a couple of things because the lines were too long, but we had a whole day the next day to complete them.
We headed back home all tuckered out and went to bed, knowing that we’d be doing it all again the next day.
Ok, so that took me a lot longer to write than I thought, I’m gonna head to bed now and I’ll update the next three days tomorrow. This blog has no photos cause I didn’t have my phone on me on that day and I borrowed my sister’s. When I get a chance I’ll update photos to this one too.
Vegas Casinos
The Bellagio
Paris
Cirque Du Soleil ‘Love’
The view of Treasure Island from The Mirage
Casino Royale and Harrah’s
The Mirage
New York, New York
M&M World
MGM Grand
New York, New York
Luxor
Luxor
Luxor
The Pirates of Treasure Island
The Volcano at The Mirage
Caesar’s Palace
Caesar’s Palace
Caesar’s Palace
The Fountains at The Bellagio
Day 4: From Las Vegas to Anaheim
Sorry I haven’t updated much in the last few days. The hotel I’m staying at has the slowest wi-fi in the world. I can’t update photos at the moment but I’ll update my blogs.
There’s not a lot to report from today.
The day started at 5am to finish packing our bags to get ready to fly to Los Angeles. The shuttle picked us up at 6 for our flight at 8.32. I slept for most of the flight even though it was only 40 minutes long.
Once we arrived back at LAX we took another shuttle to our hotel, right across the road from Disneyland!
Once we arrived at our hotel, we couldn’t check in til 3 so we needed to find something to do to fill in the time. We went for a walk around the streets of Anaheim and eventually we came across a Cheesecake Factory. We were quite hungry at this stage so we stopped for lunch.
The portion sizes were humongous, which should’ve been expected by now. But it was definitely on the bigger side of what we had seen.
After a very filling a satisfying meal, we still had some time to kill so we went bowling. We were all so tired however, that we didn’t bowl very well. We headed back to our hotel room, which was now ready and all had a nap.
We awoke a couple of hours later bored and in need of something to do. We headed back to the shops where the bowling alley was at and saw that there was a movie theatre there also. We settled on watching TRON Legacy, which half of us hadn’t seen yet. I thought it was a pretty good movie.
After the movie was over we made our way back to our room, in preparation for what was sure to be a big day ahead of us.
I’ll add photos to this blog once I’m somewhere with a better internet connection
