July 2nd, 2010 by
admin
The story of King Kong has been told multiple times. And each time Hollywood took a shot at it, the special effects were jaw dropping for their time. The most recent version of the classic story was directed by Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Ringsfame). He took the Kong Story and pushed it farther than his predecessors. And now Jackson’s contributed his tremendous talents to a jaw dropping experience called King Kong 360 3-D.
The new ride uses today’s best technology to give you a feeling of space and place that you are unlikely to have experienced before. Two seamless, compound curved screens, each measuring a massive 187 feet wide by 40 feet high make up the largest 3-D projection installation in the world. The massive screens surround the your tram and put you right in the middle of the action.
The Kong who rages around you (battling a T-Rex for example) is 30 feet tall and 20 feet wide. And if his digital bulk where turned into flesh and blood, he would weigh on the order of 6,000 pounds. And the digital wizardry that’s gone into creating this ride will have thinking that there really is 6,000 pound of gorilla out there. So please keep your hands and feet inside the tram at all times.
The new ride at Universal Studios Hollywoodjust opened yesterday (July 1) and its already recieved rave reviews.
The Los Angeles Times’ Brady MacDonald describes it as “The kind of awe-inspiring theme park attraction you can’t find anywhere else.” So be sure to find yourself at King Kong 360 - 3D when you visit Los Angeles. And with a 3, 5, or 7 day Go Los Angeles Card, your admission to Universal Studios is included free along with 40 more museums, sights, and tours.
Our friends at Universal Studios have a micro site for the ride you can find that features reviews as well as video on the making of the new attraction. Its bound to be THE ride of the Summer of 2010.
Planning a trip to
Los Angeles?
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Go Los Angeles Card.
May 6th, 2010 by
admin
This year marks the 40th annual Los Angeles LGBT PRIDE Celebration. This year’s theme is “PRIDE 365: Power. Passion. Purpose.” Hosted by Christopher Street West, the West Hollywood neighborhood named after New York City’s Christopher Street, home of the Stonewall Rebellion, this year’s celebration promises to be a memorable one and made it onto Smart Destinations list of the top five Pride celebrations where travelers can get their pride on.
The official web site for “PRIDE 365: Power. Passion. Purpose” is available here. It has got information on all the events, the parade, volunteer opportunities. There is information on the headlining entertainment,dance pavilions, and the new layout of festival grounds which boasts food, drink, socialization, community programming and unique exhibitors for the entire LGBT family. You will find it a great resource to plot out your participation for the June 11 to 13, 2010 celebration.
And if you can come to L.A. early or stay after June 13, you may want to take in the many sights and activities in and around Los Angeles. Grab a Smart Destinations Go Los Angeles Cardwhich puts forty of the best things to do in the area on to one ticket. The Go Card gets you free admission to all the city’s best sights, museums, tours, and cruises. The full list of the participating locations that offer free admission to Go Card holders is available by clicking here.
Planning a trip to
Los Angeles?
Read about attractions, tours, discounts, and more with the
Go Los Angeles Card.
February 11th, 2010 by
admin
LA is famous for its sprawl. This reputation is enough to scare visitors away from making a quick trip to the City. But even if you have a reason to stop while flying through LAX or if you can drive into town for a couple nights, Los Angeles can be a surprisingly rewarding place for a short visit.
Making plans for a trip to LA can be overwhelming because there are so many options. If you’re into sightseeing, I recommend the Go Los Angeles Card. It aggregates 40 top museums, tours and attractions from across the area onto a single ticket. It is priced to save you money compared to buying separate tickets. Buy it for the number of days you need and you only need to see 2 or 3 things to see the savings add up.
One popular destinations for visitors to LA is Hollywood. Here you can take pictures under the Hollywood sign at the Kodak Theatre, take walking tours with Red Line Tours, jump on the double decker bus tour, visit the Hollywood Museum, and the Wax Museum all on one block. Parking is very easy and inexpensive at Hollywood and Highland ($2-$6 with validation), so you can park early in the day and spend the rest of your time on foot. In Hollywood, it’s easy to see a lot in just one day, and the Go LA Card covers pretty much anything you would want to see.
Planning a trip to
Los Angeles?
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Go Los Angeles Card.
August 6th, 2009 by
admin
The Internet abounds with sites and tips dedicated to saving money on flights and hotels. Even people who don’t exhaustively read up on how to get the best deals typically visit multiple sites before booking a flight. Hotel booking used to be a one and done activity, but now typically involves a variety of sites as travelers make sure they are getting the best deal.
Expedia and other online travel agents’ sites dropping their booking fees was a direct reaction to travelers’ habit of researching flights options on their sites, picking the one they wanted, then booking it directly from the airline to save the $5 fee. It was easy to do, so not surprisingly most people did. Some went even further, using multiple sites and trying to find the optimal day and time to save even more on their flights. This behavior spawned a whole host of “meta search sites” like Kayak.com
, looking to make this kind of exhaustive searching easier. The NY Times’ “Frugal Traveler” had a great article on all the best tools and tips for researching travel and getting the best price, referencing sites like Kayak and Hotels.com
as well as a number of research options.
But the NY Times article - and most travelers - had no ideas past getting flights and hotels locked in. Despite the fact that the cost of the time a traveler spends in his or her destination often far exceeds the costs of flights and housing, people seem resigned to paying full price.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Not surprisingly, the Internet offers a variety of options that a growing number of travelers are tapping into to save on their “destination experience.” It is no secret that individual tours and attractions offer deals on their web sites that are available to anyone who buys in advance. And not surprisingly, aggregators of a wide variety of these type of buy before you fly deals are starting to have a growing presence online.
On popular example is Viator.com. This site allows travelers to select from destinations across the world and select from tickets to attractions, tours, events, airport transfers, and so on, often at a significant discount to walk up prices. And travelers might be surprised at the breadth of the offering. Disney, Grand Canyon, Broadway Shows, etc. are all on offer. But so is a Ghost Hunting tour in Edinburgh, skydiving in Australia, kickboxing matches in Bangkok - the list goes on and on.
Obviously committing to specific sites and activities in advance requires a bit of pre-planning. This fact alone has been as much a barrier as anything to more rapid expansion of travelers seizing on destination deals. For those looking to save while preserving flexibility and spontaneity, an attraction pass like those offered by Smart Destinations could be just the ticket.
The company offers a credit card sized ticket in 14 North American destinations that allows the holder to go into most if not all of the main attractions and tours in that destination for one prepaid price. Perhaps best of all, there’s no need to decide in advance what you intend to see. In destinations such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Diego, and Oahu, the savings offered by the card can be as much as 55% compared to individual tickets, and that’s not counting deals on shopping and dining that are included in the card.
So as you plan your next trip, make sure you don’t stop with flights and hotels, but give some thought to the things you plan to do once you get where you are going. You could end up significantly lowering the total cost of your trip with just a bit more effort.
Planning a trip to
Los Angeles?
Read about attractions, tours, discounts, and more with the
Go Los Angeles Card.
April 22nd, 2009 by
admin
Last Summer, over 1300 Smart Destinations customers were interviewed by a third party research firm (KRC Research). They were asked about their experiences buying and using the company’s Go Card and Explorer Passes.
94% of the customers surveyed said they were either “satisfied” or “extremely satisfied.” And most of that 94% said they were “extremely satisfied.”
The reasons why customers were so overwhelmingly positive about the Go Card experience were primarily:
- The quality and quantity of the attractions that accept the card for admission
- The fact the card was convenient and easy to use
- The fact that it saved them money compared to having to buy separate tickets at each attraction
Another key finding of the research was that 91% of the customers surveyed would recommend a Go Card or Explorer Pass to someone else.
So if you are considering buying a Go Los Angeles Card, it is nice to know that previous customers have such strongly positive reviews of the product.
Planning a trip to
Los Angeles?
Read about attractions, tours, discounts, and more with the
Go Los Angeles Card.
March 16th, 2009 by
admin
If you have never been to Universal Studios Hollywood– or just haven’t been in a while — you should head there and check out the new Simpsons ride. This motion simulator will blow your mind! The seats barely move, and yet you’ll feel like you’re riding on a jaw dropping roller coaster. Kids will yell in their seats, and you’ll get the wind knocked out of you just from the amazing visuals. The Universal experience continues to deliver! Get tickets to Universal on 3, 5, and 7 day Go LA Card passes and enjoy access to 50 other attractions as well, all for one low price.
Planning a trip to
Los Angeles?
Read about attractions, tours, discounts, and more with the
Go Los Angeles Card.
May 2nd, 2008 by
carrie t
Downtown Los Angeles photo uploaded by
The is gearing up for the Downtown Los Angeles Open House 2008. The weekend extravaganza, set for June 6–8, will give visitors and Angelenos the opportunity to sample living and playing in Downtown’s eclectic neighborhoods. Thousands of visitors are expected to attend Open House weekend events, which include residential open houses, cultural activities, food samplings and entertainment.
The event will offer residential open houses from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Residential property owners and developers, restaurants, retailers, hotels, bars, nightclubs, museums and art galleries will all be featured on the exclusive web page. The is offering a rate of $99 per night exclusive for participants, and other hotels are being encouraged to offer special rates. For more information or to learn how to participate, contact openhouse AT downtownla DOT com.
Planning a trip to
Los Angeles?
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Go Los Angeles Card.
May 1st, 2008 by
carrie t
Photo courtesy of Ciudad Restaurant
Ciudad Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles has an amazing late night happy hour from 9pm – 12 midnight on the weekends, and 9pm – 11pm on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Food specials include their signature dishes like Peruvian Ceviche, Argentine Gaucho Steak, Crispy Potato Rajas Tacos, and much more. This happy hour includes $4 drink specials to top it off!
Ciudad also offers a free dessert with purchase of an entrée to Go Los Angeles Card customers.
Planning a trip to
Los Angeles?
Read about attractions, tours, discounts, and more with the
Go Los Angeles Card.
April 28th, 2008 by
susan j
Hollywood Bowl photo uploaded by
Get tickets now for a show at the Hollywood Bowl this summer. With dramatic views and beautiful sunsets, the Hollywood Bowl is one of the best places to see a concert in the U.S. Mozart Under the Stars, Les Miserables in concert, Diana Ross, and Gnarles Barkley are just a few of the performances you can catch at the Hollywood Bowl from June to September. Tickets are available online or by calling 323-850-2000. Opening Night at the Hollywood Bowl is Friday, June 20.
Planning a trip to
Los Angeles?
Read about attractions, tours, discounts, and more with the
Go Los Angeles Card.
April 24th, 2008 by
carrie t
Farmer’s Market photo uploaded by
The Farmer’s Market has been open since 1934 and continues to be the premier market in Los Angeles for fresh groceries and eclectic dining. The Farmer’s Market is attached to a hip and trendy mall called, “The Grove,” which makes for an odd pairing but keeps visitors entertained for hours on end.
There are over 30 restaurants in the Farmer’s Market, including French, Chinese, Korean, and American fare. Parking can be tough in this area, so come early for breakfast and spend the day shopping at The Grove afterward.
The Grove also offers an exclusive discount book with the Go Los Angeles Card.
Planning a trip to
Los Angeles?
Read about attractions, tours, discounts, and more with the
Go Los Angeles Card.
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