Scouting the best airfares, hotels, cruises and vacation packages

Hilton Anaheim offers $79 per night room rate to SoCal fire evacuees

November 17, 2008 6:00pm

The devastation from the Freeway Complex fire has claimed 113 homes in Yorba Linda, officials said today.

Now the Hilton Anaheim is offering a $79-per-night room rate and waiving its $75 pet fee for residents who were forced to evacuate their homes, according to a release from the hotel.

Displaced residents may book a room at the special rate by calling the hotel at (800) 222-9923 and asking for the “FD” rate code. There’s no mention of the special rate on the hotel’s website, but it does provide directions and a description of the premises.

Guests seeking this rate are required to have a valid ID that matches ZIP Codes in evacuated areas. Note that this offer is open to displaced residents from any fire-evacuated area in Southern California, not just Orange County.

– Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Photo: www.hilton1.com]

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Post-fire update: Cultural events coming up in Santa Barbara

November 17, 2008 5:23pm

The fires that have swept through Southern California burned nearly 40,000 acres and destroyed more than 800 homes and other structures. In Santa Barbara and Montecito, the Tea fire that started Thursday evening and took its toll on 210 homes is now reportedly 95% contained, with an expectation of full containment by 6 p.m.

And life, according to Shannon Brooks at the Santa Barbara Convention & Visitors Bureau, is starting to get back to normal. The fires shut key tourist stops on Friday and Saturday, but all are up and running now.

So if you delayed a weekend getaway to Santa Barbara because of the fires or are just starting to plan a late-fall trip, here are some cultural events to keep in mind.

Santa Barbara Zoo: The zoo closed last Friday during the height of the Tea fire. Now, its website reports cheerily, “Skies are clear and sunny, it’s a great day for the zoo!” For those seeking something to do besides eat turkey, the zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. On Dec. 7, the Snow Leopard Festival features animals and kids, 12 and younger, romping in snow (presumably not together?) — from 10 a.m. until the snow melts.

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‘Bob the Builder’ 4-D movie to debut at Legoland California in 2009

November 17, 2008 1:00pm

Legoland California will add the first-ever “Bob The Builder” 4-D film to the Carlsbad theme park in March 2009.

In “Bob the Builder and the Roller Coaster,” Bob and his anthropomorphic tool friends build a roller coaster after first making a model out of Legos. At the same time, Spud the Scarecrow builds a slapdash birdhouse that falls apart. The moral of the story: Make a plan. (Or: Don’t let Spud build any roller coasters at Legoland).

At the end of the 10-minute, computer-generated animated movie, audience members wearing 3-D glasses take a ride on the newly constructed coaster. Fourth-dimension wind and mist 4-D special effects add to the experience.

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'Amazing Race 13': Make glorious in Kazakhstan

November 17, 2008 12:06pm

Though Borat was nowhere to be found Sunday night on Lap 8 of CBS’ “The Amazing Race 13,” there certainly was a comedy of errors to engage fans. Yet again, several of the teams failed to read the clues properly, which caused a heck of a lot of grief for the five remaining teams.

After spending the last two episodes in Delhi, India.  the contestants flew 1,000 miles to Almaty, Kazakhstan, and then had to make their way via taxi to a nearby chicken factory.  Four of the teams had to spend the night outside the factory gates because it didn’t open until 7:30 a.m. Superbad frat brothers Dan & Andrew, who caught the last flight out of Delhi, made it to the factory just as the place was set to open, so everyone was beginning this lap on an even playing field. Contestants had the choice of doing the Roadblock, in which one member had to find a golden egg among 30,000 chickens, or try their luck at the Fast Forward — travel by taxi to a nearby restaurant and eat a traditional meal made out of the fat of a sheep’s backside. EWWWW!, or in this case EWWWE!

The first place brother and sister team of Nick & Starr and the newly dating Terence & Sarah raced to the restaurant to try their luck. But alas, Terence is a vegetarian and hadn’t eaten meat in 15 years, and though he tried to down the food, he just couldn’t.  Woefully behind, Terence & Sarah had to leave the restaurant and go back to the coop.

Though Nick & Starr nearly chucked their cookies, they finished in first place for the fifth time, way ahead of the rest of the crowd.

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Fly to Tokyo from Los Angeles (LAX) for $866

November 17, 2008 10:46am

Deal: In case you missed this deal in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, here is some incentive to get yourself over to Japan: Singapore Airlines is offering round-trip flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Tokyo, Narita, Japan (NRT), for $866 and up, including taxes and fees.

Caveats: This “sweet deal,” as categorized on the airline’s website, is for inbound and outbound travel Mondays through Thursdays only. You must stay a minimum of three nights — and not stay longer than six months.

When: Buy your tickets by Dec. 9, for departures on or before Dec. 10, 2008.

Why: Digest the dizzying bright lights of Tokyo, then board the Shinkansen to the temple-rich Kyoto. Read the rest of this entry »

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Last-minute: Qantas 2-for-1 airfare deal to Australia and New Zealand

November 17, 2008 9:00am

Quick — Qantas released a 2-for-1 deal over the weekend that expires tonight. And we’re not just talking the cheap seats. Qantas has all travel cabins on sale, including economy, premium economy (where available), business and first class seats.

Deal: Get two seats for the price of one. I tested dates in March but couldn’t seem to get the deal when trying to book online. It would give me the price for one adult, and then it was doubled for two passengers. If you are trying to book this deal, I would spend the extra $15 and call Qantas and do the booking over the phone. But hurry: The offer ends tonight.

When: Book by 11:59 p.m. PST today for travel between Feb. 16 and April 30.

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Southern California fires: Metrolink to resume service; traffic and evacuation info

November 16, 2008 9:42pm

Some progress has been made on the three major wildfires still blazing in Southern California. As of earlier this evening, firefighters were “keeping a cautious eye” on the Sayre, Triangle Complex and Tea fires. Read “Firefighters Begin to Gain the Upper Hand,” and — from L.A. Times’ breaking news blog L.A. Now — “Sunday ‘Very Good’ for Firefighters.”

Rail travel and road conditions have improved. After temporary suspension of some services this weekend, Metrolink announced this evening that its Antelope Valley and Inland Empire-Orange County lines would resume regularly scheduled service Monday morning, Nov. 17. However, you should expect some minor delays on both lines, according to the Metrolink website.

And if you’re wondering about your morning drive-time commute, you can search for closures by highway number on the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) website, or call for recorded updates at (800) 427-7623.

Note that as of 9 p.m. Sunday evening, most but not all evacuation orders had been lifted - check the latimes.com home page for the latest updates overnight.

Here are a few more resources for road condition, evacuation and facility closure updates. Read the rest of this entry »

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Holiday gifts for green travelers

November 16, 2008 6:54am

You know who they are — the friends who ride their bikes to work every single day, rain or shine; who never splurge on a shower more than five minutes long; who spend their carbon-neutral vacations on sustainable tours run on veggie fuel; who are so green they’re practically purple.

Don’t even think about getting them more reusable bags this year (those are so ’90s environmentalist). Instead, consider these more cutting-edge gift ideas for the environmentally conscious or wanna-be-green travelers on your list. All prices listed are excluding tax.

Voltaic bags
These bags are futuristic in design and function. The exteriors are embedded with waterproof solar panels that give you, with the larger bags, up to 14.7 watts of energy. A battery pack stores extra power generated, so you can listen to your iPod or charge your cellphone or laptop during non-sunlight hours too. If you’re not yet eco-impressed, get this: The fabric on these totes is made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (soda bottles). Read the rest of this entry »

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2008 Responsible Tourism Awards winners

November 15, 2008 10:13am

The 2008 winners of the Responsible Tourism Awards, which I blogged about in June, have been announced, and New Zealand has emerged as the overall winner for its environmentally and culturally sensitive tourism strategies and practices. Contest judges selected the country for “proving that it is possible to develop a national strategy which uses tourism to help make better places to live and to visit.” In this contest with 13 categories, New Zealand also won in the best destination category.

Founded by Responsible Travel.com and sponsored by Virgin Holidays, the Responsible Tourism Awards have been going since 2004. For this year’s showdown, the general public nominated tourism entities for various categories, then judges made the final selections. Following are several of the other winners. Read the rest of this entry »

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Jonas Brothers tape 2008 Christmas Day Parade at Disneyland

November 15, 2008 7:07am

The Jonas Brothers recorded “Joy to the World” at Disneyland before hundreds of screaming fans for the annual Christmas Day Parade to be shown on ABC.

Nick, left, Joe and Kevin ran through “Joy” a few times due to some technical difficulties, recorded a holiday greeting for the 2008 show and posed for photos with Donald Duck’s nephews — Huey, Dewey and Louie. (Watch video of “Joy” and an unplugged version of “Burnin’ Up.”)

MiceAge columnist David “Darkbeer” Michael posted photos of “American Idol’s” Ryan Seacrest, who once again will host the Disneyland segment of the parade (which originates from Disney World). MiceAge columnist Andy Castro added some pics of Seacrest getting his hair and makeup touched up.

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