General Chat / USA Road Trip

I'm here in San Jose so if you want local help feel free to ask.

Disney- if you aren't on the dining plan you're doing it wrong. You've obviously been enough to understand how fastpasses work. Got the pepepr market at coronado springs- everything is delicious, the steak ranchero is amazing. Try the School Bread from Norway at epcot. Try not to be offended by the UK pavillion. Eat at the sunshine seasons food court in The Land, get a fruit and cheese sampler. the grapes are the size of your head. Ride everest as many times as humanly possible, but in between rides appreciate the theming in Asia, its crazy awesome. Find the souvenir stand near yak & yeti and get a chinese-take-out-box lunchbox. Be aware that anything new and nemo-themed is aimed at families with young children. The current-surfing effect on the Living Seas ride thing is awesome though. Don't skip Barnstormer. Extra Magic Hours are your friend. Ride things during parades. Be slightly upset at how much a double bacon cheeseburger costs at pecos Bill's and then get one anyway because they're so goddamn delicious- just don't eat outside under the trellis or you will also be eating bird poop. Go to Boma at the AK Lodge and try the soups - ALL OF THEM - and eat seven zebra domes for dessert. Ride the TTA and the train and the monorail around in loops whenever you get tired. Get Dole whips. Do Kiiamanjaro early in the day when the animals are more active; don't bother doing rafiki's planet watch at all. Browse the shopping areas in Japan and China and marvel at how they go on forever. Do not eat at the Teppan Edo restaurant in japan- you can get better food for less at any japanese steakhouse outside of disney. Do not do easymode on mission space unless you really think you'll need it. Ride Toy Story, but get fastpasses ASAP- they run out quickly.

I think we need to be best friends forever.

Is that in support of my recommendations?

Thanks for the tips guys, especially on driving.

And Intamin thanks for the detailed response! We actually stayed in Coronado Springs in 2008 when we went to Disney and I agree the Pepper Market is delicious, ended up being one of our favourite places to eat...plus the checkout assistants always left stuff our bill which was a bonus!

These are the parks we are planning on hitting:

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
California's Great America
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Universal Studios Hollywood
Knotts Berry Farm
Disneyland
Disney's California Adventure
Cliffs Amusement Park
Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Sea World San Antonio
Dollywood (possibly)
Six Flags Over Georgia
Busch Gardens Africa
Sea World Orlando
Universal Studios Florida
Islands of Adventure
Old Town
Magic Kingdom
Animal Kingdom
Epcot
Disney Studios

I don't think I have missed any major parks that are within our range have I?

Check out Santana Row and the Winchester Mystery House when you are in San Jose, they are across the street from eachother.

when you are in San Francisco, eat here. San Francisco in June is actually not as nice as say, San Francisco in April. Weird microclimate up here, indeed. But a Giants game could be fun. Generally, I would suggest staying away from downtown Oakland because there is really nothing to do there and it's a deserted area after dark. Berkeley is fun for some types. There's some interesting little pockets of neighborhoods in the city; don't just stay near the hotels and touristy part of town and stay the hell away from Fisherman's Wharf.


Don't feel bad about missing San Diego. San Diego sucks (except for the greasy taco shop Mexican food. That's all I miss about the city I grew up in).

Still haven't been to Great America or Discovery Kingdom since I've been in the bay area, but I need to fix that.

22 August 2010 - Savannah

Great time to visit here. It should be about 90 and feel like you're swimming in 112 degree water.

What most people do when they visit here is stick to the downtown area (since the Southside is where all the locals hang and live). Depending on what you like to do, there's a variety of things down there. Most tourists take a trolley ride through the historic district and take ghost tours at night. If you like to party, Bay Street and River Street are the place to be. There's a shit ton of bars and clubs down there that are always packed on the weekends (I imagine you'll be arriving that Saturday night since the 22 is a Sunday). If you're not into partying, visiting River and Bay Street during the day can be just as fun. There's all kinds of cool places to shop and eat down there and it's all walking distance. I prefer the candy stores in the malls, but the two located downtown have similar stuff. Make sure you stop in and at least sample a praline. City Market is another area to visit that's similar to River Street. Some of my favorite restaurants in the area are Kevin Barry's (an Irish pub with live music most nights and DAMN good food), Mellow Mushroom (it's a chain, but this location has the best pizza I've ever had), Fiddler's Seafood, Thin Lizzy's, the Pirate House (a historic and very popular restaurant, it was really used by pirates back in the day!), and of course Paula Deen's restaurant The Lady & Sons. If you go to the Lady & Son's, a local tip is to get there and make reservations early. If they say they are full for the day tell them you are willing to sit at the bar. Sunday is buffet day I think.

Other than that you can head to the southside to shop or Tybee to see the beach. Since you're only here for a day I suggest sticking to downtown. Feel free to PM me if you want any specifics on stuff. I'll do what I can to help.

Looks like you'd be in Tampa around the time my college starts fall term, so altho im hoping to get an NE meet going there this summer might not be able to make it then. Still if you go to Miami I can give you some tips on whats fun around here. Should try Boomers, the Dania Beach Hurricane is the only coaster down here, but for a woodie it is really awesome and surprisingly smooth.

Hey guys.

Less than a week until I set off now. You've been awesome with all your suggestions so far and we'll definitely hit up some of your suggested sites.

Does anyone else have any last minute advice?

Local theme park advice (queue times, best times to ride certain coasters etc. would be great)

Anyone flown with Air Canada before and used a laptop? Actually anyone used a laptop on a plane before...I know the seats have a power port, I checked on seatguru, but how does it plug in...just your normal AC plug with the laptop?

Also if anyone has visited or lives and has any extra tips for things to do in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Durango, El Paso, Lake Charles, Memphis and Nashville it would be highly appreciated. I shall be printing this topic and taking it with me!

Oh and is Schlitterbahn on Galveston Island worth a visit at $40? And anyone know the best way to get to SF Discovery Kingdom from San Fran by public transport?

Oh and Florida locals...is Key West worth the drive from Miami and how would you do the Everglades in a morning/afternoon?

That's it...I think!

I promise to return the favour when anyone plans a trip to the UK!

oh God go to Key West if you have time. i have been there twice and i'll be going again 5-10th of July. the Keys are quite possibly the most chill places on the face of the earth.

at night Key West is lively with some very entertaining street performers. there are some amazing restaurants too.

basically, if you have a day or two to spare, the Keys are definitely worth it.

never been to the Everglades though, although i think i'm taking a day to do that when i go in July.

P.S. do what ][ says for EPCOT + ride Soarin a bunch and you are golden. do what he says for everything else at Disney World and you are even better

have fun!

Oh and Florida locals...is Key West worth the drive from Miami

Go. Seriously. Sunset on the boardwalk is amazing; like a festival every night.

-ACE

I'm about 20 minutes away from Santa Cruz - the Boardwalk is a great place to go...especially with their brand new state-of-the-art darkride, the Haunted Castle. I'm sure you'll love it.

http://beachboardwal...stle/index.html

If you also have time, check out the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz.

http://www.mysteryspot.com/

Edited by RCTCA, 23 June 2010 - 05:24 PM.

I'm not sure how big you Britons are on country musicm but Nashville is the home of it I went with my family about 8 years ago, and from what I remember:. Definitely check out the Wildhorse Saloon, Ryman Auditorium, and the Grand Ole Opry. We also did a dinner cruise aboard the General Jackson (I think that was the name) along the Cumberland River.

I'm slightly offended that you're skipping San Diego.

I'd also suggest driving through Yosemite or Sequoia if you can.

More parks you might consider: Lake Winnepesaukah (somehow it's technically in Georgia, but it's really in Chattanooga. Also, for a small park they have the best park gift shop ever), Lagoon (not sure if you'll be going by, but it's in Utah, and they have a decent number of credits).

Also, if you head to vegas from anaheim, there is a particular stretch on that road that is extremely long without a gas station, followed by a HOLY CRAP expensive gas station, followed by an even longer stretch without a gas station. So really REALLY watch your gas unless you like paying 5 bucks per gallon.

This is true, I've seen that place.

Vegas coasters - Speed is decent, Circus Circus is ghetto, Desperado can be ok (but don't expect much), and Manhattan Express is expensive and mediocre at best.

Riverwalk isn't terribly exciting, imho.

Agreed, though the general consensus always seems to be that it's pretty awesome.

Make sure you eat tons of BBQ in Texas (there's a place just off the freeway near SFFT that was great). And try sweet tea while you're in the South.

Go to Dollywood if at all possible. It's a somewhat smaller park, but it's dripping in atmosphere, and Mystery Mine and Thunderhead are both awesome.

SFOG - Make sure you ride Monster Mansion, it's a great darkride (and an absolutely amazing one for a Six Flags).

IOA - Mythos is an awesome restaurant, I'd eat there every meal if I could. It's somewhat expensive ($10-20 for a meal), but compared to the crap cheeseburger you'd normally get at a theme park, it's a great value. Cool theming, good food, classiness, and you get a waiter.

Also, you'll only do this if you're a terrible person with a soul as black as coal, but if you have any old tickets from WDW, you might be able to use them to get extra fastpasses.

Atlanta - I liked the Coca Cola experience, mostly because I really like trying a large variety of weird sodas. I was a little let down by the aquarium though (except for the whale sharks).

Anyone flown with Air Canada before and used a laptop? Actually anyone used a laptop on a plane before...I know the seats have a power port, I checked on seatguru, but how does it plug in...just your normal AC plug with the laptop?

The ones I've seen on American and such are just a normal AC plug, however, they might only have them in certain rows.