Well we made it to Anaheim on Sunday, had no problems getting out of La Guardia at 10.15am but saw that lots of flights were cancelled later on that day. We had an hour delay in Chicago when the plane we were supposed to get on was cancelled from Islip. Southwest repositioned a plane from Baltimore so we were very lucky. Arrived Orange Country 6pm. We left our hotel in Manhatten at 7am Eastern time so it had been a long day.

We did visit the Frick collection on the Sat afternoon before we left New York and it was amazing. I would say it will be the only time I will see a Rembrandt, Van Dyke, Turner, Cezanne Gaisnborugh etc etc all in the same building. It is a magnificent collection.

Oh by the way for thosse who may be interested the Carmel car service we used from Radio City Apartments to La Guardia was $ 38.50 including toll fee but excluding tips. Taxi fare from John Wayne airport to Candy Cane Inn Anaheim was
$ 35.00 excluding tip.

Last night our plan was to go to Disneyland to see the fireworks as it was the only night they were going to be on while we were there. As we were very tired that was all we planned to do that night so staked out a good spot about two hours early, took lots of photo's of all the lights etc and waited until 9.25pm. About 8.45 an annoucement was made that the fireworks may be cancelled due to high winds and sure enough at 9.25 they were cancelled. I was very disappointed, I have also developed a cold, and was very tired so it was the greatest end to the day. To me the fireworks are a very important part of Disneyland and now I don't get to see them. Very sad ;-(

We have spent most of the day at Disneyland today, did the Pirates of Caribbean ride which was fun, and the canoe ride but basically just wandered around and took in all the sights. Saw Billy Hill and the Hillbillies and that was great. We stilll have another two days to use. Tomorrow we go to Sea World San Diego.

Picked up at 8.20am by a Greyline bus which went around all the hotels and then took us to the Greyline terminal where we transferred to the bus taking us to San Diego Sea World. It was a full bus 55 people in total. The bus trip took 1 3/4 hours and was very comfortable in fact so comfortable that I slept most of the way.
Once at Sea World we went straight to the Shamu show, sat in the very last row of the Soak zone thinking we would be safe there, BIG MISTAKE, we got soaked to the skin mostly me as my husband had the presence of mind to hold his backpack in front of him. He said he wished he had taken a photo of my face as the water hit. Apart from that the show was fantastic although you do wonder at these magnificent creatures being treated like circus performers. We sat around for a bit after the show trying to dry out but eventually gave up and jsut kept walking around. We were dry again by about 4pm. We went back to see the show again at 4pm but sat up the top this time. We wanted to watch the show again without using the camera and video camera.

We also took in all the other shows, the sea-lions performance was hilarious, very well done. Also saw the dolphins, and had a laugh at the pets show with the dogs, cats, pig, and ducks.

The bus didn't leave until 6.15pm and we got back to our hotel at 8.30pm so it was a long day but very enjoyable.

The double decker wind bus, no fireworks b/c of wind, the soak zone, good grief! :-< Where do you go next? B-)

Sounds like y'all did some really good planning. You're certainly making some great memories! Hope you are enjoying your trip as much as I am enjoying your report!

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

Today we did a bus trip to Universal studio'smwith greyline buses. Again we were picked up from our hotel at 8.20am and taken to the Greyline bus terminal in Anaheim. A total of 4 buses went to Universal Studio's filled with people from a variety of countries. Although taking a bus means a long day it beats having to cope with the stress of driving on the wrong side of the road and the huge amount of traffic.

The trip was supposed to take 45 minutes but in actual fact took twice as long due to an accident on the freeway. We did the studio tour first which we really enjoyed especially the special effects like the flash flood, earthquake, cars being blown up etc etc.

Also saw Shrek in 4 dimension which was hilarious, seats moving, spraying water, winds being blown around your neck depending on the storyline.

Another great show was Water World we took great care this time to stay out of the soak zone. As my husband said I have learned a new word while in the US, "soak zone". This show displayed some great special effects and was worthwhile seeing.
Also seeing how the special effects are added to the movies was very interesting.

As we are not into rides we actually ran out of things to do by about 4pm and the bus didn't leave to go back to Anaheim until 6pm so that was a bit of a pain having to wait around another two hours. The trip back was a lot quicker though took the promised 45 minutes.

Tomorrow is our last day in the US, we don't leave LAX until 10.30pm so have virtually a full day to enjoy ourselves. Not sure what we are going to do yet as we have done our dash at Disneyland, and without a car cannot visit some of the other sights in the near vicinity. May just have to do some shopping at one of the local malls unless some Fodorites have some other suggestions.

I hope you really had a good time! I enjoyed your report.

No idea what you can do the rest of the day. Take a bus somewhere?

For something different, visit the Museum of Jurassic Technology and make sure that you see the rooms with the microscopic designs.

Your progress reports have been a lot of fun to read. It is fun to look at our country through the eyes of a visitor. Thanks for visiting and so glad you had a good trip. Have a easy and safe flight home.

I'm not sure I understand where you are. If you're in Annaheim, I can't help. But if you can/want to go to LAX early, there are plenty of things to see near there. The Getty Museum is not far but not sure how much a cab would be.
http://photo.net/ca/getty

Woke up Friday to rain, walked to the Anaheim Visitor Center where we received directions as to how to get to the nearest shopping center. Told us to buy a $3.00 bus pass which could be used all day on any bus. Spent a couple of hours at the shopping center but then decided to go to LAX early. I rung up and booked a Disneyland Express bus which picked us up from our hotel. $ 19.00 per person. We got a real surprise to find a 55 seater bus stopped to collect us and we were the only passengers on the bus. Didn't seem to be a very economic move on Greyline's part. Still we had a good ride, took about 45 minutes.

Our flight left LA 10.30pm Friday and was relatively uneventful. Luckily it wasn't completely full and we managed to get a window and an aisle seat with no-one in between which was great. One slight hiccup when DH mislaid his passport going through the security check. After a frantic search we managed to locate it in the sleeve of his jacket which he had taken off to go in the security bin. He had his passport in his hand, but only a boarding pass was needed so put the passport in the bottom of the bin under his jacket. Hmmm I kept mine in my hand.

Arrived back home in Nelson this morning Sunday 22nd April. Skipped Saturday completely due to the time difference between the US and New Zealand which seems very weird but on our way to the US three weeks or so ago we ended up arriving in San Francisco three hours earlier than when we left NZ!!!!. It takes a bit to get used to a 13 hour flight, didn't get much sleep more like dozing in short bursts. Will catch up on sleep tonight as we are not intending going back to work for another two days.

By the way I recommend Candy Cane Inn as a great place to stay in Anaheim. A short walk to Disneyland but they also run a free shuttle which we used several times. It is rated very highly on Trip Advisor, a motel rather than a hotel. A continental breakfast is included in the price which consists of cereal, toast, bagels, muffins, fruit,coffee, tea, cocoa, and juice.

DH and I had a fantastic time visiting the US only got to see 4 main areas San Franciso, WashingtonDC/Baltimore area, New York and Anahiem, but this was more than enough to see in the three weeks we were in the US. Thanks to all the Fodorites who have given advice, recommended hotels, given directions etc, you made the research for this trip so much easier than it could have been. I will try and be of some use to any travellers from NZ and Australia in particular who are planning a trip to the US in the future.

nelsonian:

A 55 seater bus for two people, LOL.

I enjoyed reading your trip report and am so glad that you made it safely home.

Sandy