Staying at the Disney World resort gives you an extra hours at the park every day.

So what does this mean to you and the family.

Well  it means that you have extra hours to spend in the theme park every day for an hour earlier in the mornings or you can spend up to an extra three hours after the parks are closed to the public. So you can see how great this is for  for guest staying in the Disney resort.

It means that you and the family  have time to explore the parks at a leisurely pace.

To get this advantage make sure you purchase the Park Hopper so that you can go from one park to the other on the same day. A basic ticket  only visit allows you to visit one theme park so  you can see the advantage of purchasing the Park Hopper.

Just remember that you need to have a Resort I.D to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours at the Water Parks.
To help you plan your trip to Disney World here are the early hours for November 2009.

Disney World Extra Magic Hours November 2009

Morning Extra Magic Hours

Magic Kingdom – 5, 12, 19, 26
Epcot – 3, 10, 17, 24
Disney’s Hollywood Studios – 7, 14, 21, 28
Animal Kingdom – 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

Evening Extra Magic Hours

Magic Kingdom – 2, 8, 16, 22, 30
Epcot – 4, 13, 20, 27
Disney’s Hollywood Studios – 1, 9, 15, 23, 29
Animal Kingdom – 6, 11, 18, 25

As our hotel (Citigate Central) is not too far from Central Station, we decided to catch the train to Circular Quay. The return ticket cost $4.40, as we were only going to Circular Quay and back, so it wasn’t practical to buy the multi- trip ticket.

Walking around Circular Quay gives you a spectacular view of both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. Both are well known icons in Sydney.

Unfortunately since Paula had a bit of a cold and wasn’t feeling too well, we didn’t spend too much time around the Harbour. We walked up to the Opera House from the train station, took some photos and then walked back and got on the train back to our hotel.

We didn’t mind so much since we have been to Sydney numerous times and Paula spent most of her growing up years living in Sydney so it wasn’t like we hadn’t seen it all before.

The Opera House was designed by Denmark’s Jørn Utzon who won the contract to build his unique design when he won a design competition run by the NSW Government. It was officially opened in 1973 and the Opera House was World Heritage Listed in June 2007.

The Opera House is world renowned for it exquisite acoustics and as a venue for the performing arts.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened in May 1932 by the then Premier Jack Lang. It was promptly nicknamed ‘The Coathanger’ because of its unique shape.

While you are visiting Sydney why not do the bridge walk where you get to walk to the top of the bridge and take in the views of Sydney and the beautiful harbour. This activity is recommended for the fit.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the largest steel arch bridge in the world. It is not the longest as that distinction belongs to the New River Gorge in the USA.

Nestled to the side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge is Luna Park, which is a historical theme park at Milson’s Point. It was opened in 1935 and since the closure of the Fantasy Glades, Sega World and Wonderland it is the only theme park in Sydney.

Entrance is free, so bring the family for a stroll around this historic park and let the kids ride on the age old delights of the mad mouse, the dodgems, the ferris wheel, the Tumble Bug and take a ride on the Pirate Ship which does a 360 degree turn. There is plenty to keep the kids amused.

Tonight was an absolutely awesome experience, we have just arrived back at the hotel after seeing Elton John at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Our seats were on the second mezzanine, in the middle, three rows back (row C seats 409/410) but the theatre is built in such a way that everyone has a fantastic view.  Elton was fantastic, although his voice has mellowed with time, everyone is very forgiving because he still sounds great and he gives everything to his performance and everyone just loved being there.

Dressed in a black chinese style jacket that contrasted nicely against the Red Piano that was set on a black and white striped star edged in a red light, Elton opened the show with the perinneal favourite ‘Benny and the Jets’

Elton is excellent in concert and this was no exception. In real life he sounds pretty much exactly like he does on his records.

Elton was backed by his highly talented band members: Davy Johnstone on guitar, Guy Babylon on Keyboards, Bob Birch on bass guitar, Joh Mahon on percussion and the amazing Nigel Olsson on drums.

The stage props were somewhat amusing and we weren’t sure what their purpose was as they didn’t seem to tie in with any of the songs. Perhaps the huge boobs with enormous pink nipples, the banana set between two peaches and the pair of legs in high heels and the lipstick were representative of Las Vegas.

For one of the songs those seated in the front few rows were able to get up on stage and surround the piano as Elton played.

All I can say is we loved the show and the tickets were a steal at $125.00 plus $12.50 booking fee and $5.00 tax – total $137.50.  When Elton was recently in Australia the tickets were a lot more expensive at $300 plus, and we would have had to take a trip to Sydney and stay overnight.

There was a photographer taking photos that were later turned into an album with a photo of the visitors on one side and a signed photo of Elton on the other.  The photographer on our floor didn’t make it to our section which was a shame because it would have been excellent to have had such a great looking souvenir of the night.

If you are in Vegas while Elton is here, then do yourself a favour and go and see the show. Just be warned that if you are a bit sensitive to seeing full frontal female nudity then you might want to stay away.

Tickets range in price from $100-$250 plus tax and booking fee.

The song list for the night was:

Benny and the Jets
Philadelphia Freedom
Believe
Daniel
Rocket Man
Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Tiny Dancer
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Candle In The Wind
Pinball Wizard
Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting
I’m Still Standing
Your Song

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to see Elton John in concert at Caesars Palace.Tickets are available for a variety of dates at TicketsNow

St Patricks day is being celebrated with a parade down Market St. So it’s down for an early breakfast and off to catch the cable car in Powell St. The Powell-Market and Hyde-Market cable cars run North/South across San Francisco.

This is Paula’s first time on the cable car. After yesterday I am now an old hand. It doesn’t take too long for the men to turn the cable car around so that it is facing in the right direction and we are off.

We clatter our way up and down the steep hills, and because it is such a nice day we sit outside so we have a great view as we head to Market St. The parade is lots of fun with only a couple of annoyances when people walk in front of the video while I am filming. Not that it matters much as we have now found a great editing program – Microsoft Movie Maker.

We still have to go to Circuit City to buy a digital voice recorder. CIircuit City is on Van Ness St so we need to catch the California line cable car which runs East/West across San Francisco. Because of the large crowds waiting for the Hyde St cable we decide to walk to California St. Only undertake this trek if you are fit or take frequent rests on the way up the really steep hill. By the time we reached California St my legs were a bit shaky and it was with relief that we arrived.

The cable car was full so we both had to stand on the outside holding onto the outside rails. A young German tourist offers me his seat but I graciously decline as standing on the outside is part of the attraction of riding the cable. It takes about 5-10 mins to walk from the cable car drop off to Circuit City and before long we have purchased the Olympus digital recording device for $59.99 and set off back to the hotel to experiement with it.

Later we go for dinner at a cafe on Fishermans Wharf and well I have to say it is the most disappointing meal we have had to date. We order fish and chips – the fish is white cod and is coated in a heavy batter that tastes slightly burnt and unappetising.  However, the young waiter is very friendly and efficient and well worth the tip.

There are some interesting characters in San Francisco. How about this for instance – dress to match your dog.

San Francisco has some great views and architecture and many of the buildings have an attractive facade.