Tag Archives : Tours


TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood   Recently updated !

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If you find yourself at Hollywood and Highland let me encourage you to make time to stop by the TCL Chinese Theatre. For years I stayed on the outside of the theatre due to lack of time to go inside but a few years ago I went inside for the first time and loved it.  For those of you who have not been to the theatre on the outside they have cement blocks with hand and foot prints from stars dating back to the very early days in Hollywood hand and foot prints of stars like Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe to George Clooney and the cast of Harry Potter.  You will find that everyday visitors stop by and take pictures placing their hands and feet inside the prints of their favorite stars.  Shirley Temple and I have the same hand size but that is the only hand print that mine comes close to fitting.  At least a few times a year the theatre will host an event to honor different celebrities by having a ceremony and adding their hand and foot prints to the collection.

On occasion the theatre will hold contests through instagram and twitter where they will give out vip seats to the ceremonies.  I was lucky enough to get selected through an instagram contest to be a vip for Gena Rowlands ceremony but due to some technological issues I did not find out I had won till it was too late.  So if you enter be sure to check your instagram or twitter account often so you do not miss out on any cool opportunities.  The theatre is also home to several big movie premieres throughout the year so if you are near by you can show up and try to see some stars walk the red carpet.  The theatre also plays hosts to different film festivals on occasion so keep an eye out on their twitter account for any information on that.  I have yet to be able to make it down to the theatre for a red carpet event so I unfortunately cannot say what that experience is like but it is on my to do list.  If you do decide to see a movie here please note that only one movie will be played in the huge impressive theatre, there are some smaller theatres to the side of the main theatre.

Two and a half years ago the theatre was celebrating an anniversary and held special screenings of old movies for 25 cents.  My friend and I went there to see The Godfather which was an incredible place to see that movie for the first time.  The screen is the second largest in the world and is quite impressive.  There are always some props and costumes from various movies in the lobby which is nice to see as well.  Last spring my mom and I decided to take the vip tour of the theatre.  At the time the tour was $13.50 and I will say that you do not see anything on the tour that you would not see if you bought a ticket to a movie.  However, you get to hear a lot of cool stories about the theatre and Sid Grauman the man who created it all.  If you are a huge movie fan the tour is worth the money to hear about the stories.  I encourage you to park underneath the Loews Hotel and the Dolby Theatre.  You can get the ticket validated at the theatre or any of the shops in the area.  You will pay around $2-$22 depending on how long you stay.  Also while you are in the area you may want to take a tour of the Dolby Theatre, home to the Oscars.  Oh and if you get hungry I highly recommend 25 degrees, a burger place at the Roosevelt Hotel across the street.

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For more information on the theatre visit their website: http://www.tclchinesetheatres.com

Follow the theatre on Twitter: https://twitter.com/chinesetheatres

Follow the theatre on Instagram: https://instagram.com/p/0lCVxWgBX5/

Follow me on twitter and I’ll be sure to retweet the theaters events: https://twitter.com/lovemichelle89

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Visiting the Hoover Dam

In January I was in Las Vegas with my parents and my mom and I decided to make a day trip down to the Grand Canyon stopping for a visit at the Hoover Dam on the way.  The Hoover Dam is just a quick drive away from Las Vegas but it is far enough way that you should eat a big meal before you go because there is hardly any food places out by the Hoover Dam.  My mom and I took our time taking pictures on top of the dam and went inside the visitors center to get information.  We decided to take the basic tour which meant we would not have to spend too long inside the dam, being in places like that freaks me out!  We chose the power plant tour and took a picture in front of a green screen which they replaced with the dam and I think the picture turned out really nice.

Hoover dam

This is the green screen picture.

After the picture we were taken inside a theatre where we watched a short film which informed you with the background information on the Hoover Dam.  You are then taken down into the dam in an elevator which is crammed full of people.  I tend to get nervous in elevators because if they get stuck you do not have too many options to get out.  I had expressed my concerns about the elevator and about being underground to the gentleman who talked us into taking the tour.  My mom was interested in taking it but I was a bit anxious.  He made me believe that the elevator was huge and would not have that many people.  Well as it turns out he and I have very different ideas on what a big and not crowded elevator look like but I survived.  Once we were taken down inside the dam we were brought into a room and we learned about where the water comes from, where it goes, how much is there and so forth.  After that we were brought through a tunnel into a big room that I would have been fine to stay in for a few hours where I was ready to leave after a minute in the first room and in the tunnels.  We were underground for less than 30 minutes so it did not take too much time.  We were very impressed by our green screen picture so we bought that and headed back outside to take some pictures before we headed off to the Grand Canyon West Rim.

There is a charge for parking in a covered structure so if you do want to visit the Hoover Dam without taking a tour you are able to do that.  I really enjoyed seeing the Hoover Dam and would encourage you to check it out if you will be in Las Vegas or another nearby location.  Stay tuned for information on the Grand Canyon West Rim and the Skywalk.  For more information on the Hoover Dam check out their website: http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service/DamTour.html

Hoover Dam Inside

Inside the large and open room in the Hoover Dam

Welcome Hoover Dam

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