Another Travel Day - Las Vegas to Orlando

7:00 am - wake up at the Venetian and pack. I'm at a conference so I'm packing my computer and all the electronics. We decided a few days ago to not ship part of our luggage ahead of time.

It was too expensive and we have a new duffel bag that works perfectly.

So we're going to the airport with 2 suitcases, 1 duffel for check-in. We each have a carry on (computer and tote). also for you photographers, I pack my camera bag in my suitcase just to avoid the extra security.

11:00 am - calling bell service to pick up bags. He comes to pick up bags. Didn't forget this time to tip $1 per bag. We're parked in self park garage. They asked me to pull up to valet.

11:50 pm - had to go to the front desk to check out. We were given $100 incomped food and they had to take care of it there. Long line at check out. In room and express check out is the way to go.

12:20 pm - arrive at Fed Ex to overnight Halloween ticket to ebay winner.

12:50 pm - arrive at Las vegas economy parking. Found a good spot and I'm only paying $6 per day. Beware but the parking shuttle will not drop you off at the departure level unless you are disabled.

12:55 pm - Since we are disabled, we got dropped off. Very small line we were 2nd to check in.

1:00 pm - enter security. Long lines at security, but not super long. Fortunately wheelchairs have their own line. I was worried a little. I had to take off my belt and shoes, remove my computer, remove my celphone, keys, wallet and change. On top of that I had to manage Laurie's stuff too. Fortunately, in the wheelchair line they only let 1 party through at a time. This gave me ample time to pull everything together without getting anything stolen.

1:15 pm - arrive at our gate to Salt Lake City. By the way it's really dry and I got a nasty shock on the monorail hand post. It still hurt. At the gate we have to have preboarding instruction and then get our wheelchair checked in.

1:45 pm - get on plane. We're the first ones on. I start listening to podcasts.

2:15 pm - ready to take off. Plane has problems with auxilliary power. No air conditioning. I'm dying. Problem can't be fixed. But it's not essential. We take off 10 minutes late.

4:45 pm - we land about 10 minutes late and we rush to our connecting flight to Orlando.

5:00 pm - we quickly get to the other end of the terminal to check in. We are actually very late. We check in and ask to go to the bathroom before the flight. We are now the very last people to enter the plane. Yikes.

7:00 pm - I don't know where I am. But I'm watching The Devil Wears Prada. I want to kill myself. But my iPod is down to 25 percent and I'm bored...and desparate.

11:00 pm - the captain just notified us that we'll be landing in 25 minutes. Thank God. Here's what I did to kill the boredom:

- watched that silly movie.
- watched Desparate Housewives on my iPod. Now my iPod is down to 1/4 power.
- wrote two blogs about the Nightmare Before Christmas and Professional Wrestling
- small sections of a flash book.

God get me off this plane.

11:30 pm - we land. Now it baggage, rental car, room

12:00 am - we're on our way out to the resort. Itls very late and we check in. Once we enter the room we laugh. What a dump. The addage is true you get what you pay for. It's so small.

12:30 am - hunger. We drive to some fast food and its all closed. Fortunately there's Walmart. Food and McDonalds and now to sleep.

Orleans Buffet: Vegas Review

Orleans Buffet Travel Review

 

4 out of 5 stars

 

The buffet at the Orleans is another good value for the cheap traveler. Although, you will have to travel off strip again to get here.

 

Laurie and I went for dinner on a Saturday night.  We showed up around 7:30 and there was barely a line.  We were seated in minutes.

 

They have a "world" theme to their buffet.  Each station has its own theme including: Chinese, Mexican, U.S.A, Bar-B-Que, Seafood.

 

The choices at each station was a little sparse.  Maybe 2 main dishes per station.  I had the ribs, fried oysters, shrimp and chow mein. Laurie had the Mongolian BBQ.  The food was good and comparable to the price.  Dinner cost us about $13 each.  Very good value.

 

Dessert was pretty basic.  I was not inspired at all.

 

Alan Ng

 

www.mypalal.com

www.themeparkshopper.com

 

 

Leaving For Las Vegas 10/2006

We're on our way to Vegas. Weather looks good and so does traffic.

10:45 - We leave but we have errands to run.

11:15 - Finished errands and I got some Coke and donuts. Laurie got coffee.

12:00 - We're on our way. Laurie likes to chit-chat too much.

1:15 pm - We're in Victorville getting lunch at Taco Bell. Also switching off cause I'm getting sleepy.

3:00 pm - Stopped at Baker and guess what? The Bun Boy is gone. Now its a Bob's Big Boy.

3:30 pm - passed by Stateline. There is still a lot of construction going on. It's going to slow you down if there is traffic.

5:30 pm - arrive at the Venetian it took forever to drive down the strip. The problem is that traffic bottlenecks at one point and that's at Harmon st. Cars have to fight with pedestrians because they will not stop and they will jaywalk. Avoid going northbound on the strip from Tropicana to Harmon.

5:45 pm - check in arrive at suite. There's people in our room. OMG! Hotel will hear about this.

6:20 pm - wait for valet. We left late because we're complaing to the hotel staff. It pays to have a wife who complains.

6:30 pm - car arrive. Off to Walmart to pick up stuff we forgot.

7:20 pm - arrive at Orleans buffet. Buffet was about $30 for the two of us and it wasn't that bad. Nice variety of food to chose from. Lots of locals here.

8:00 pm - poker time. Did OK.

11:45 pm - went to hotel.

Tomorrow is my conference.

The Big Trip Preparation

Our big vacation is coming up. We'll be in Las Vegas for a week and then off to Orlando. Normally we wouldn't traval like this but an important conference came up that I have to be at for work in Vegas.

A two week vacation is always stressful. First, there's getting a friend to stay at my house and take care of Lexy. Check. Then there's luggage.

Luggage is a huge deal. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Laurie is limited in mobility. So she can't handle multiple bags. Since we're arriving in Vegas by car, we'll have a small set of clothes and toiletries that we'll leave in the car. For Vegas, we're going to ship some thing by FedEx Ground. Like our costumes for Halloween. We also plan to purchase many of our toiletries in Orlando when we get there.

Do you have any other tips?

Sea World Travel Review

Laurie and I went to Sea World today.  I had won tickets at work and we decided to take this holiday weekend to go.  I was given two complementary certificates.  On the certificate was nothing other than they were complementary.  We stood in line for about 10 minutes and when we approached the ticket booth, we were told:

 

1) the tickets had expired last month

2) this was the wrong place to redeem these tickets

 

I didn't know they were expired, but they could have written something on the ticket regarding where to redeem these tickets.  Anyways, we when to the guest services window to see if we could still get in.  They gladly redeemed the tickets for us and we got into the park.  VERY NICE.  Thank you Sea World.

 

We did not spend the whole day there, we went last year and many things were the same.  For a Sunday on a holiday weekend, the park wasn't that crowded.  The lines were good and the shows weren't completely filled.  You should still show early to shows, to get a good seat.

 

Pets Rule - We really liked this show, mostly because we have a dog and we like to see dogs and cats do tricks.  There was a sappy part where the emcee pretends to read a letter from a dog that was rescued from the animal shelter only to be enslaved to perform daily in shows such as this.  Fun show - 4 out of 5 stars.

 

Dolphin Show - Basic show of dolphins jumping, talking and doing coordinated leaps and getting us all wet.  There was a family volunteer.  Husband, wife and child. Each we're given opportunities to interact with the dophins.  One is a plant and this time it was the wife.  I was completely surprised.  In fact, Laurie tells me that the wife was kicked off the TV show, the Bachelor this week. Take splash zone warnings seriously 4 out of 5 stars.

 

You go to Sea World for the sea life exhibits.  This is where Sea World excels.  You won't be able to get this close to as many animals than Sea World.  We saw the Polar Bears, walruses, baluga whales, sharks and manatees.  Great Great Great 5 out of 5.

 

Service - The service at Sea World left a lot to be desired.  Each show has disabled seat and many were taken by non-disabled people.  So when a disabled person needs a seat and it is taken by someone who is not disabled, Sea World employees will not enforce the rules.

 

Sea World is not Disneyland, but then again what is? 

San Diego Cheap Hotel Tip

Because I perform weekly at the National Comedy Theater (www.nationalcomedy.com) in San Diego, I am constantly in the need of finding a cheap hotel nearby for an overnight stay.  As such, this tip is to tell you where not to go.

 

DO NOT STAY IN DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO

 

You can find some awesome dealt at 3 star and 4 star hotels in Downtown San Diego.  We stayed at the US Grant hotel one weekend for $80/night.  What they don't tell you though when booking the room is that to park in the hotel, it will cost you $20/night.  Now I'm paying $100.

 

During a conference, I stayed at the Grand Hyatt near the seaport and parking was also $20/night.

 

It's not worth it.  Old town and hotel circle are very fine choices and they don't charge for parking.

 

SEASONAL CITY

 

I've also never seen a city that had such radical seasonal rates.  It is very expensive to stay in San Diego during the summer and the weekend of Comic Con.

Excalibur Hotel - Las Vegas Hotel Review

3 out of 5 stars - Cheap Traveler Review

 

Laurie and I have had two opportunities to stay at the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas.  We stayed there this last week for just 1 night.  We were able to get a really cheap rate on Hotwire for about $50 for the night.  Two years ago, we did stay for about a week.

 

Overall it was a good hotel for the price.  I would never want to spend over $100 to stay there.  $50-$75 a night is a good value.  They have high-speed internet available for about $10/night - rip off.  The check in and check out process was good.

 

This last visit their internet was out and they were unable to process credit cards throughout the entire hotel.  Bad for them.  I'm sure it was a fluke.

 

The rooms are the reason to stay.  They are quite large and clean.  They use the antiquated air conditioner unit under the window, but it worked.  Bathrooms are large too.  The room comes with basic cable.  There is no automated checkout system.

 

The casino floor is pretty smoky.  They are getting better about having adequate non-smoking areas, but this place will always reek of smoke.

 

The buffet was also a good value for the price and they have a nice wide selection of food.  They have a Krispy Kreme on the premises.  A+++.

 

They have a Medieval Jousting Show.  Too expensive.

 

I also like the fact that there is walkway access to both the Luxor and Mandalay Bay.  If you want good value on the strip, definitely try the Excalibur.