Anaheim
Best Western Park Place Inn & Mini Suites – 1544 S Harbor Blvd, Anaheim
Location – brilliant. Straight across the street from the driveway to Disneyland. A 4 minute walk maximum to the gate which makes it very easy to come back to the room during the day.
The hotel is three storeys, with external access to rooms. Our room was a little dark but it was very clean and comfortable. The complex has a small pool and spa which isn’t very attractive but still well maintained.
There is free parking for one car only.
We were on the ground floor and with people come and going from their cars, it could be a little noisy during our afternoon nap but at night you couldn’t hear the people upstairs or next door.
There is free wireless internet and free local calls up to 30 minutes. There is a computer for internet access in the main lobby for a cost. There is also a printer you can use but its cable did not fit our laptop.
The hotel does not have a restaurant but offers a complimentary breakfast at the restaurant next door. Don’t get excited though, it was pretty bad food; cold cereals, juice, coffee, sweet pastries, cold toast and boiled eggs. There is also fresh fruit which consists of apples and oranges.
The staff were always very friendly and there was no hesitation in checking us in when we arrived four hours before check-in.
There is guest laundry facilities on the premises.
Anaheim Tips
· Leave the park for lunch. There are plenty of places just outside the driveway with better variety and for a lesser price.
· Although Denny’s are everywhere, we found the service and food the best at Denny’s in Anaheim.
· We used Supershuttle to get from the Airport to Anaheim. Very reasonable and well run.
San Diego
Days Inn SeaWorld/Airport – 3350 Rosencrans Street, San Diego
This hotel is not in the greatest area but is close to wherever you may want to go if you have a car.
The rooms have external access but the building is built in a square so there is some privacy and protected from the sound of the main road.
Our room was very light, bright and beautifully clean. We have read reviews of other people on Expedia and TripAdvisor who say that they had problems with their room but we didn’t.
There is free wireless internet in the room.
The hotel offers free shuttles to the airport, SeaWorld and San Diego Zoo but they are infrequent and don’t always run so it needs to be checked out before you commit to the shuttle. We drove to the Zoo and parked for free.
There is a free continental breakfast. You get a choice of two items from cold cereals, eggs, pancakes or muffins. However, we found that you can get two hot items and a bowl of cereal. There is also fruit, again apples and oranges and there is coffee and juice. It was an OK breakfast for two days. On busy times though, get in early as the service is pretty slow.
The staff were not very friendly and that seems to be a consistent review on Expedia and TripAdvisor. However, we were checked-in 2 hours before the official check-in time.
San Diego Tips
· There is a Mexican restaurant next door to the hotel, Tio Carlos Mexican Restaurant. It is nothing much to look at from the outside but inside is lovely and the food is brilliant as was the service, but bring your appetite. The portions are huge.
· Make sure you have a map before you go anywhere. Sites like San Diego Zoo are not well marked on street signs.
· Visit Old Town which is only about 5-10 minutes drive from the hotel. A great place to get Mexican wares without having to visit Tijuana (and having been there before I didn’t feel the need to go there again). We picked up a beautiful Mexican rug for US$20. Also there are a number of Mexican restaurants to try.
Las Vegas
Flamingo Hotel – 3555 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas
Check-in was busy even though we arrived 3 hours before official check-in started, although we were able to check-in early.
The room was nice enough but even though we told the lady at check-in we were getting married we did not get a room with a view, other than of the car park. If someone really wants to stay here, my tip is to ask for a view of the room AND close to the lift. We were almost as far away from the lift as you can get and it was a four minutes walk from the lift to the room, down two large corridors.
The room was fairly clean but our sink drained really really slowly and it was never fixed the 6 nights we were there.
Internet is not free but we were happy to pay the US$11.99 a day.
The hotel grounds are beautiful including a very large pool, some smaller pools (one with nude bathing) and water slides for the kids. Unfortunately the pools close at 5pm. There are many flamingos, ducks and swans on the grounds.
The hotel buffet, although expensive by Vegas standards, was brilliant. We ate there one night and decided to eat there again for our wedding reception (for all five of us). There was a tremendous amount to choose from including prawns, crab, sushi, salads, roasts, pastas, vegetables. There were also about 20 different yummy desserts includes crepes as you wait.
There is no guest laundry at this hotel so don’t expect to do any washing.
Grand Canyon Tour
We did a Viator Grand Canyon West Rim Adventure tour run by King Airelines. Pick up from the hotel, plane to the Grand Canyon, free lunch, Hualapai Indian Tour Guide, helicopter to the bottom of the Canyon, 20 minute boat ride on the Colorado River, helicopter back to the top, plane back to Las Vegas and return to the hotel. The total cost, including all fuel charges was A$380 per person.
It was supposed to be a 7½ tour and our pick up time was scheduled for 10.30am. We were actually picked up at 9.15am and sat around their terminal until after 10.30am. We left the airfield around 11.15am in a small six seater plane and took a 45 minute scenic flight to the Canyon. When we arrived we were standing around waiting until 12.20pm when our pilot gave us our helicopter time of 1pm. We needed to board a bus to get our lunch but by the time we got on the bus and travelled the 5 or so miles to get to the lunch spot, it was already 12.45pm and we had to get back for our helicopter flight. We were back in just enough time but they kept us waiting again until 1.20pm before we took our flight to the bottom. The boat ride was nice except we had Japanese people with us and a Japanese driver and spent more time talking to them in Japanese than he did speaking to us in English. By the time we returned to the top of the Canyon, we didn’t have enough time to get on the bus and eat before our plane left at 3pm. We complained to our pilot at 2.45 when we saw him and he rustled up some food for us. We NEVER got to see the Canyon from the rim. We were back at our hotel by 4.10pm. This was certainly NOT a 7½ hour tour, very badly run and, in my opinion, not worth the money.
My advice to anyone DON’T DO THIS TOUR. In fact my advice to anyone is NEVER BOOK ANYTHING THROUGH VIATOR. I’ll explain later under Honolulu.
Las Vegas Tips
· Vegas is so spread out that you really need a car to get around and all hotels offers free parking. My suggestion is hire a car, stay in accommodation off the strip and save a bit of money. There is a monorail which runs mainly at the back of strip hotels but it is about $4 a trip and not worth it.
· Even if not staying there, Circus Circus is a great place to visit with the kids (we had one child wedding guest). The Adventuredome has rides and games for the kids of all ages and in the hotel itself, there are free circus acts every half hour which are very entertaining. Also the midway games are fun but don’t win too many stuffed animals if you have limited suitcase space.
· If you want a scary thrill, ride the Manhattan Express rollercoaster at New York New York.
· Visit the MGM Hotel and check out the lions in the hotel area, which is free (not much in Las Vegas is free).
· The Rainforest Café in the MGM is also a great place to eat. They have animatronic animals which move on a regular basis, including lightning and rain (not on you) that happens ever 20 minutes or so.
· We found taking a taxi to the airport cheaper than getting the shuttle.
Orlando
Comfort Suites Maingate East – 2775 Florida Plaza Blvd, Kissimmee
This hotel we didn’t find in any travel brochures but was the best find on the internet. We paid A$105 a night plus there was a A$2.50 per person per night service fee which covers local calls and in-room safes, payable on check-in.
This place is off the main road in Kissimmee and super quiet. The hotel is beautiful inside and out. The room was extremely clean, the beds the most comfortable I’ve ever slept in with the softest down pillows. I didn’t want to get up every morning.
We arrived at 7am not thinking they would check us in but they did immediately.
The hotel offers free internet (cable) in your room. There is a free continental breakfast every morning which was excellent; cold cereals, mini muffins, pastries, toast, fresh fruit (oranges, apples, bananas), yogurts, coffee, juices and a changing selection of hot food daily so you also got variety. Some included French toast, scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon etc. But the best thing about breakfast was freshly made waffles, plain or chocolate chip. You could also get it in a Mickey Mouse face.
The pool is heated an open 24 hours. We met some of the nicest people in the pool at 11pm.
The hotel offers free Disney shuttles but they are very limited (a couple in the morning between 8.30 and 10am and a couple more in the late afternoon between 6 and 9pm). It wasn’t very convenient so we chose to take the car to the park every day. US$10 to park but if you changed parks, or leave and return, you didn’t have to pay again. We found it convenient.
The only downside with the hotel is that the lifts are dreadfully slow.
Across the street from the hotel is Kissimmee's Old Town and is popular for its weekend car shows. The Friday Nite Cruise features 1973–1987 model cars, and the Saturday Nite Cruise highlights 1972 models and older. Hundreds of cars are on display each weekend, and admission is free. Also there is Fun Town USA which has a variety of rides and games.
Things To Do
You have all your regular parks to do in Orlando and we did them all. Our views broken down by event are below:
NASA - we did the NASA Up Close & Personal Tour (minus the lunch with an astronaut). I was looking forward to NASA but we had flown overnight from Las Vegas and lost three hours and were very tired. It was a 1½ drive from the hotel. The tour was great and the guide very informative. There were plenty of other things to do at NASA but I had hurt my foot and could barely walk and we were both very tired. Our ticket did entitle us to go back another day but we just didn’t have the time.
Discovery Cove – This would be my favourite place on the entire trip. The day is totally exclusive except for the dolphin photos. We paid A$380 each which also included entry to SeaWorld and Busch Gardens. (This was US$14 on top of the Discovery Cove cost, a saving of about US$100). You arrive around 8am and are greeted by very friendly staff. You get your photo taken and are provided with a photo ID (which was also the ticket for the other two parks) which details your dolphin swim time.
There is an orientation and then you help yourself to a large spread for breakfast. From there you go and get your wetsuit or swim vest, your towel, your snorkel and mask (you get to keep the snorkel) and sunscreen. You also get your locker. As I said, all this is included. You are then free to explore until your dolphin swim. We snorkelled around the coral reef and then went into the stingray lagoon. All the barbs are removed from the stingrays.
At the dolphin swim you are broken up in groups of 8 and go out with a trainer. It is very structured which is fine. People forget they are still unpredictable animals. You get to rub, hug, kiss, watch the dolphins and listen to the keeper. You also get a dolphin ride too where you are out in deeper water and the dolphin pulls you back in.
After that we were at lunch and I’ve never seen so much food in my life. We then went back to snorkelling and then we went into the large pool which is heated and very warm. Leading off the pool is a flowing river. It takes about 20 minutes before you return back to the pool. There are floating devices you can use as you float around, under waterfalls and the like.
There is also a bird aviary you can walk around.
As the day is totally inclusive, you can go and get food and drink any time you like, including alcohol.
A definite must thing to do when in Orlando. It is located right near SeaWorld.
Epcot – Not the most exciting place in the world. A few rides, very Expo like.
Disneyworld – Not dissimilar to Disneyland except it is missing some of the good rides of Disneyland like Indiana Jones. The FastPass ticket is handy if a ride is busy and you want to come back at an allotted time and jump the queue.
The problem with Disneyworld is that it is on an island and you have to get on a monorail or boat to get there and back and just after we got back, you had to take the boat to get there.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Brilliant. So well organised. A lot of it is open plain so you do a safari type truck around and see the animals. There are also various rides you can partake in.
Universal Studios – It was OK. Had a few good rides and shows we liked.
SeaWorld – I was looking forward to SeaWorld (I had to the one in San Diego on a previous trip) and this time had booked a Dine with Shamu. We were very disappointed that when we went to check in on arrival, the dining wasn’t until 4.15 (and this was at 8.30). However we were offered a refund which we took. Enjoyed the shows, and seeing all the marine animals and of course Alan enjoyed the rides.
Universal Islands of Adventure – full on rides and pretty extreme ones at that.
Disney MGM Studios – We both actually found it pretty boring. Had a brilliant Indiana Jones Stunt Show but the others we saw were pretty lame.
Busch Gardens, Tampa – a mixture of rides and animals. Interesting combination. We really enjoyed our day and the drive to and from Tampa, about 70 minutes, was easy.
Orlando Tips
· We discovered Olive Garden Restaurant although they are everywhere in the USA. Inexpensive but brilliant Italian.
· We enjoyed having the car and found it very convenient.
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