Posts under ‘USA’

You have probably noticed Tripandom loves a good Disney Story well here is a real exciting one. The Disney corporation has just announced that it will spend squillions on its California Adventure park in Anaheim to bolster visitor numbers. They plan to give the park a huge overhaul and ad some great new attractions including a Toy Story attraction, 3 Cars attractions where you will be able to visit Radiator Springs and a Little Mermaid attraction. It is not yet known if it will be similar to the Mermaid attraction at DisneySea in Tokyo. It is expected the attractions will start coming on line late 2008 and be complete in around 5 years. The company has also just started work on a huge expansion of its California Hotel & Spa resort.

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Thousands of Trekies and even a few normal people flock to the Las Vegas Hilton daily to visit the Star Trek Experience for a amazing adventure to the 24th century in a 4D spectacular. There are two shows to catch the Klingon Encounter and the recently opened Borg Invasion both use state of the art technology and are great fun. The experience also features a Star Trek museum where you can see some of the original props and costumes plus plenty of memorabilia. And of course there is the Star Trek gift shop at the close of the experience where you can pick up just about any imaginable piece of Star Trek souvenir and while you are at the Hilton why not catch a show from Barry Manilow or one of the other superstar entertainers who regularly play there.

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The Joshua Tree National Park is located in Southern California and covers nearly 800,000 acres of the Mojave and Colorado Desert. The name of the park comes from the Joshua Tree which is a type of Yucca which people might remember from the U2 album of the same name. The national park is rich in animal life with coyotes, bobcats and jackrabbits among the most commonly seen animals. There are plenty of birds to see to including golden eagles, vultures, owls and the road runner. The park is easily accessible from Los Angeles with the entrance just under two hours drive along Interstate 10 and Highway 62. Read the rest of this entry »

If you have seen any TV shows featuring Seattle like Kramer, you would have seen the Space Needle its just huge, built for the 1962 World Fair this 605 feet tower has had over 45 million visitors to its platforms to see its amazing views. The obeservation deck is at 520ft above ground level and gives fantastic views of not only the Seattle skyline but the Bays, islands and surronding mountains. The trip to the top takes a mere 43 seconds and the centre is linked by a monorail system

In 1962 The Committee Hoping for Extra-Terrestrial Encounters to Save the Earth (CHEESE) claimed to have plans that the needle was constructed to send transmissions to advanced beings in other solar systems- no proof has ever been forthcomming.
http://www.spaceneedle.com/

In the late 1950’s a milkshake salesman came across two brothers Mac and Dick McDonald running a small but innovative hamburger restaurant in Bernardino, California. He got friendly and ended up going into partnership with the brothers and later buying them out in 1961 for $2.7 million dollars- the rest is history. Now McDonalds is the worlds biggest restaurant chain stretching to the four corners of the globe. The first branded McDonalds was opened in 1955 at Des Plains in Illinois, after decades of modifications and change what was left of the original building was demolished but a faithful replica of the original building has been built on the site using the original blueprints. It has been transformed into a museum with plenty of photos, memorabilia and presentations from the famous franchise. Strange thing is you can’t buy your favorite hamburger there, but there’s a nice new McDonalds just across the street.

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A new attraction has opened in the West Rim of Grand Canyon, a about 2 1/2 hours drive from Las Vegas and is sure to be a huge hit with tourists. Its a glass skybridge which horseshoe like walk is suspended 4000 feet above the Colorado River. Over 200,000 visitors have walked the bridge since it opened in March this year and now other tourist facilities are popping up to cater for the visitors to the area.
The skybridge has met with mixed reation, some people love it while others think it the $75 enterance fee and no camera policy stinks expecially when the only photo you can get of you on the bridge costs $25. For more information: www.grandcanyonskywalk.com Read the rest of this entry »

Like most hot tourist spots there is always someone out to scam the unwary, well New Orleans is no exception. There’s a troupe of scam artists out and about usually found down riverside or in Bourbon street who round up the tourist with the line “I bet you i know whe’ you got yo’ shoes” No these guys aren’t psychic they don’t know which department store or shop you bought them. They do a deal for some cash and then they scam you with the answer yo’ got them on your feet.- just as you think you’ve been scammed and decide to walk off the guy usually points out his huge mate down the road. Only a game person would not pay him.

If you know any other good tourist scams write us a comment below! Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve spent the day in the sun on Waikiki Beach and need to find a bargain or that special kitsch gift for the friends back home give the International Marketplace a go. There are over 130 stores with everything you will ever need- authentic Hawaiian Shirts, jewelry, nick knacks and lots of other cool stuff. If shopping gets too hard there’s a few good cafes and bars to kick back in for a while before doing a bit more bargaining with the friendly store holders. Most nights there is free entertainment to make a great evening of it and the market is open seven days a week from 10 to 10:30 PM. days a week from 10 to 10:30 PM.

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Well it might be more a kitsch souvenir shop than a full blow Willie Nelson museum but who cares it’s a lot of fun. Its one of the many some what half arsed attractions around the Opreyland in the Country Music capital of Nashville. Willie Nelson is one of Country music’s favorite sons with a list of amazing songs like On the Road Again, Always on my mind and of course his beautiful version of Georgia. Willie is a real colorful fellow and has been on the wrong end of the law quiet a few times for things like tax evasion and for smoking a bit of that green weed. Anyway back to the shop, I mean museum- There are quite a few good Willie Nelson displays and some of he other artists that Willie enjoys including Patsy Cline, Audie Murphy and of course Elvis Presley. You can pick up some pretty cool nick knacks including some of Willie’s trademark bandannas, fake Willie hair braids, musical instruments, photos, and other collectibles. The centre is just over the road from the Opryland Hotel at 2613 A McGavock Pike in Nashville and is right next door to a quaint little toy museum which will put a smile on any child’s face.

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Florida’s Gatorland has been entertaining guests for more than half a century, decades before Orlando became the theme park capital of the world. Opening in 1949 the family owned park has been at the forefront of Alligator preservation in the area. Now set on over 110 acres the complex is home to thousands of alligators and quite a few crocodiles as well as lots of other scaley reptiles, birds and other animals. One of the highlights of the park is the Gator Jumparoo show where huge alligators jump out of the water to snatch food of a handler. The giant reptiles jump nearly two metres off the surface of the water. There is also a gator wrestling show where some mad fool wrangles a 8 foot alligator in front of a full stadium- he must be mad. Gatorworld is open daily and is a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of Disneyworld or Universal Studios for a few hours.

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