Economical NY

One of the most economical ways to plan a trip to NY is to purchase a NYC CityPass. What that is, is a booklet with tickets to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the new Greek and Roman galleries; Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); Guggenheim Museum; the American Museum of Natural History; a pass for the Empire State Building Observatory; and tour of the Manhattan skyline aboard a Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise. visit each attraction.

Neer Heard of it.

I have never heard of a New York CityPass, or at least a tourism New York City pass. If you’re looking for an affordable and unique gift for this holiday season why not get that someone on your list the New York CityPass. Their 6 famous attractions is so amazing and if you have a New York CityPass, you’ll surely save a lot of money because you can now buy it for half price.

Furthermore CityPass saves time by allowing visitors to skip most main entrance ticket lines and it saves money, because New York CityPass is sold at 50% off the combined admission price. A New York CityPass is $65 for adults (compared to $130 price if the tickets were purchased separately), and $49 for youths 12-17 (a value of $89.50.) CityPass offers overnight delivery options and inexpensive gift wrapping with a personalized gift card. Excellent and exciting gift especially if you plan to vacation this holiday season in NYC.

New York CityPass for saves cash

There is so much excitement but New York City is not cheap! I have a deal that will save you bundles! The New York CityPass is the only way to go. Let me explain! There is so much to do like The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the new Greek and Roman galleries. How about a trip to the top of the Empire State Building Observatory! Or a tour of the Manhattan skyline from the water aboard a Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise. I know this all sounds amazing expensive but not with the New York CityPass. Right now for the holidays you can get your New York CityPass for 50% off! You cant beat that deal anywhere! Plus another bonus is with the New York CityPass you do not have to wait in the long entrance lines! Just so you get an idea of how much you will save I will give you a run down of some prices. A New York CityPass is $65 for adults if you compared that to $130 ( if the tickets were purchased separately), and $49 for youths 12-17 (a value of $89.50.) you will end up saving a lot! The New York CityPass gives you tickets to the places I mentioned before and many more like Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum and the American Museum of Natural History.

New York for Less

The concept of selling passes to more than one venue known as a "CityPass" is not new, especially in Europe and England, yet here in the states you can now take advantage of a similar program with the New York CityPass. What you get is easy, each pass contains a ticket to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the new Greek and Roman galleries, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Guggenheim Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. There's also a trip to the top of the Empire State Building Observatory and boat tour of the Manhattan skyline through Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise ships. Making it even better you get public transportation information and insider tips on the best time to visit each attraction and a map. My two must see places are the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise, no matter how many times I experience them it's always enjoyable.

New York in Xmas

A New York CityPass might be the one Christmas present they will cherish for a long time. With this pass, a person can visit many of the favorite sites without waiting in a long and painful line, they have a ticket and can enter. If I went to New York, I’d want to see the Empire State Building’s Observatory is wanted by everyone, as well as a Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise to view the skyline from the water. My favorite ticket would be the trip to the American Museum of Natural History to see their coral reef, exoplanet, and cosmic collision, and other displays. I always visit art museums around the world when I travel and the chance to see New York City’s top three would make my day. New York Metropolitan Museum has several displays of Asian art that I’d like to see to compare against what we observed in China. Solomon’s Gift, the founding collection of artwork at the Guggenheim Museum would be a real thrill. The George Seurat exhibit and Asian Cinevisions at the Museum of Modern Art would be fun.

Chicago Hancock Tower Prices

In addition to all the traditional reasons for getting together, my cousin is thinking about getting his post-graduate degree at Northwestern. He’d never been to Chicago before, so my aunt and uncle wanted to take him to one of the two sky-high observatories. I suggested having lunch at the Signature Room at the 95th in the Hancock Building so we could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. The prices are fairly reasonable for downtown Chicago and for the location, and it’s actually a floor above the Observatory.

The Hancock was fitting into the stereotype of big-city gougers, taking advantage of the tourists. Besides the admission price they charge $4 for an audio tour (get an additional set of headphones for $1 more), and $1 for each of the telescope. To get around this I have three recommendations: one is to make reservations at the Signature Room for lunch or dinner. Another, for adult visitors, is to have a drink at the Signature Lounge (on the 96th) and enjoy some appetizers and the piano player. With those two you won’t see the displays featuring information on the history and development of Chicago, which even my teenage son was reading with interest, so that’s something to take into consideration. The third is to purchase a Chicago CityPass or a GoChicagoCard if you plan on seeing more attractions. These programs charge one price for admission to multiple favorites, including the Field Museum (which has a must-see Maps exhibit right now), the Art Institute, and Shedd Aquarium. For any of these options it’s best to go during the week, if possible.

I suppose the big question is “is it worth it?” Without the frustration of the price increases and the wait, I’d say yes. It’s exhilarating to be 1000 feet up in the air and get the bird’s eye view, and to see so many of Chicago’s famous landmarks from one vantage point.

Read more...

Southern Califronia Tips

The PhotoPass photographers are happy (or at least willing) to take pictures with your personal cameras. We often asked them to take our picture with our personal camera, and they were always as cheerful as possible to do it. It is nice to have some pictures with all of us, rather than just 4 out of 5. We also let them take some with their cameras, it doesn’t cost anything unless you eventually buy something, and they might take that one picture that captures your trip perfectly.

We bought a California CityPass and also went to Universal Studios and Sea World. We all especially enjoyed Universal Studios. The Citypass coupons for both those 2 parks were accepted directly at the entrance gates, we did not have to go through a ticket booth of through will call.

Read more

Getting around Manhatten

The first morning I ended up in Manhattan was pretty overwhelming. A short 3 minutes walk from Port Authority brought me up to Times Square. It was exactly how I imagined it to be -- very busy and lots of animated digital advertisements all over the place. They are bright even in the morning.

I remember it took me quite a while to get myself oriented. My first stop was the visitor center to get some info. For this trip, I had planned not to go for a Broadway show but would definitely want to get into the David Letterman's Late Night Show (more about that later).

I also got the CityPass for New York. It costs $65. With that I get access to six attractions at half the entrance prices which includes:

* The Empire State Building
* A 2 hour Sightseeing Cruise around the Manhattan Island
* The Metropolitan Museum of Art
* The Guggenheim Museum
* The Museum of Natural History
* The Museum of Modern Art

This saves quite a bit of entrance money. The other thing about this pass is that I could use it to bypass the long lines that often forms in these popular attractions.

There is another kind of such passes. I think it's called "Go New York" or something like that. I did not like that one. This other card allows you access to places by the day ... i.e. visit as many places as you can in a day for a price. I did not want to run from one attraction to another the whole day long. My plan was just to visit one major sight a day, maybe two.

Read more...

Spring Break in San Diego

After going to California to visit Disneyland a couple of times with my Mother-in-law I know that there is so much more I want to see and do in California. I really would like to go to San Diego. My husband has told me stories of when he and his father visited the San Diego Zoo. The kids and I would love to see the zoo.

Get a Hollywood CityPass with gets you into the Hollywood Wax Museum, Starline Tours of Hollywood, Red Line Tours and the Kodak Theatre or the Hollywood Museum in the famous Max Factor Building. There is also a very interesting San Diego Haunted Ghost Tour for 1½ hour tour to visit San Diego’s Haunted Locations.

My son though would be taking the tour to Legoland. They’ve got lots of rides, plenty of shows and many other attractions. Plus there is plenty of legos to play with and that could keep him content for quite some time.

Read more...