CityPass marks ten years as America’s top ticket

CityPass invented itself in San Francisco ten years ago, and since then has been the reigning champ for North America’s big city vacations. The CityPass concept is simple: A sleek easy-to-purchase ticket booklet containing admission to the most-visited attractions and sightseeing at up to 50% savings - with information, tips and maps - that speeds a visitor past most entrance lines and straight to the exhibits, views and thrill rides that make the trip.

CityPass continues to distinguish itself as the entrée to the continent’s bold-face names and icons, with city-by-city combinations that number 63 museums, harbor cruises, aquariums, theme parks, entertainment, historical locations, sky-high observation decks, cable cars, trolleys, buses, trains, and sightseeing plus other signature values.

The ticket booklet fits in a pocket, each includes five or six major attractions, is designed for the limited elbow room of a single visit, yet, typically, packs a nine-day vacation wallop. It can be purchased online at citypass.com, or at any participating attraction in each city. More than 14 million CityPass tickets have been redeemed at museums and attractions since the launch of CityPass in 1997. Customer satisfaction surveys indicate that 99% of CityPass users would recommend them to friends.

Visitors to ten destinations – New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Hollywood, and Southern California – enjoy the ease, value and CityPass genius for cutting through the clutter and going right to the heart of what, in each city, makes the most memorable group of experiences.

CityPass also has a devotion to evaluating what truly is the best line-up in each city, and how the ticket booklets can be improved to better serve visitors, while remaining a well-proportioned value. San Francisco CityPass, for example, added the Aquarium of the Bay, Asian Art Museum and welcomed San Francisco legends See’s chocolate and Boudin sourdough bonus coupons. Toronto CityPass gained the Hockey Hall of Fame. Option tickets introduced visitors to a choice of attractions according to their interests.

The following is a summary of 2007-8 CityPass ticket booklets, prices – effective April 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008, and attractions, valid for nine days (except for Southern California, valid for 14 days) from first use:

CityPass Destinations

New York: CityPass reveals the city’s cultural highlights with a line-up of tickets that takes visitors from midtown Manhattan to the Upper West and East sides, to the top of the Empire State Building, and on a spectacular boat cruise around the island. There’s no mistaking the energy, ambition, and creativity that fuels this world capital. CityPass really cushions the cost of touring The Big Apple. Tickets include:

• The American Museum of Natural History, a magnet for all ages, includes admission to all permanent collections ranging from butterflies, ancient civilizations’ artifacts, to the cosmic collisions and space travel within the Rose Center Planetarium. Gold, a special exhibition with a ton of gold in a thousand forms illustrating Nature, greed, beauty and power appears through August 18, 2007; CityPass ticket holders can upgrade for only $9 to see the exhibition.

• Guggenheim Museum, East Side landmark building and cultural jewel; its summer exhibition will be Divisionism /Neo-Impressionism: Arcadia & Anarchy, April 27-August 6, 2007, shimmering, luminous works and optically vibrant paintings of the era.

• The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), stunning home to art, ideas and thought-provoking exhibitions.

• The Empire State Building Observatory, made famous in dozens of movies, stories and television episodes, is the quintessential view of Manhattan, daytime or by moonlight.

• Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises ticket offers either a two-hour Half-Circle tour of Manhattan or an evening Harbor Lights Cruise, both of which glide by the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, with breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline.

• Additional values reflect further savings in a pricy destination: Bloomingdale’s shopping, and priority seating and special offering in 12 Manhattan restaurants including Rock Center Café and Brasserie 8 1/2. Adult CityPass, $53.00 ($106.00 value); Youth, ages 6-17, $46.00 (87.50 value).

Atlanta: CityPass, the most recent and biggest ticket booklet, spotlights Atlanta’s fresh attitude, spectacular new and updated attractions, and its special place in history. Locals like to say that there’s something new opening every day. CityPass attractions include:

• Georgia Aquarium, opened in 2006, is a dazzling sea adventure, as demonstrated in its numbers, such as eight million gallons of water, 120,000 rare and intriguing animals, and 500 species in five unique galleries.

• The High Museum of Art is the Southeast’s largest art museum, a series of light-filled contemporary galleries that invite inspection for exhibits that vary from African masks to peaches. A ground-breaking collaboration with Musee du Louvre in Paris means visitors will see paintings and sculpture that have never before appeared in the United States. Now through September 2, 2007, Kings as Collectors casts an unparalleled insight into the art that caught the eye of monarchs.

• The World of Coca-Cola will relocate to a new home adjacent to the Georgia Aquarium this summer. Inside find a wealth of information, products and advertising about the soft drink that so famous that 13,000 Cokes are consumed every second of every day, around the world.

• The Atlanta CNN Studio Tour is a 55-minute glimpse of the news organization that changed the way the world gets its updates. In the center of Atlanta, it hums with breaking developments and well-known faces.

• The first of two option tickets allows ticket holders to customize their visit according to their interests or the season. Choose the sweeping scope of Fernbank Natural History Museum, Atlanta’s home to dinosaurs or the blooming grounds and conservatory of the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

• The second option ticket provides admission to either Zoo Atlanta for a peek at the newest little panda; or an encounter with destiny at the Atlanta History Center; until May 13, 2007, see a portion of Martin Luther King Jr.’s never before displayed handwritten letters and speeches.

Additional values include: an invitation to see the city from the Sun Dial revolving rooftop restaurant and bar atop the Westin, special offers at Atlantic Station shopping destination, historic walking tours, and the Fox Theatre. Adults, $59.00 ($120.00 value);Youth, ages 3-12, $45.00 ($82.00 value) including tax. Note: prices are subject to change with the re-opening of the World of Coca-Cola May 24, 2007.

Southern California: CityPass delivers thrill rides, wild animals, comic creatures, movie magic, and incomparable sun-destination entertainment. This CityPass actually covers an entire region, and was the first collaboration of these California attractions, each of which is a destination in its own right:

• A 3-Day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper Bonus ticket valid for unlimited admission to Disneyland park and Disney’s California Adventure for three days during “The Year of a Million Dreams”.

• Universal Studios Hollywood excitement ranges from a Studio Tour and behind-the-scenes gawking, heart-pounding rides, and a host of shops and restaurants to regain momentum, all brimming with Southern California casual style.

• A choice of either the world-famous San Diego Zoo in the middle of San Diego’s Balboa Park – a deluxe admission that includes the Bus Tour and SkyFari Ride, or the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park – the Nairobi admission including Wgasa Bush Line Railroad and all shows and exhibits.

• San Diego’s SeaWorld Adventure Park encourages getting wet. Shamu’s show splashes the crowd; kids reach in to touch sea life; time stands still on the Atlantis water ride, and history is revealed in shipwrecks.

A bonanza of admissions – surrounded by all that is Southern California – CityPass tickets are $235.00 (a $329 value); Youth, ages 3-9, $189.00 ($268.00 value).

Boston: CityPass is steeped in the city’s history and seafaring personality. Attraction locations frame a city begging to be explored on foot and local trains, its rich past and host of historic characters resonating in each step:

• Skywalk Observatory atop downtown Boston’s Prudential Center gives a perspective of Boston’s compact water-hugging dimensions and views up and down the coast.

• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, houses collections of art, sculpture, textiles, and artifacts near Fenway Park. A comprehensive exhibition of Edward Hopper paintings, watercolors and prints runs through August 19, 2007.

• Museum of Science entices all ages to examine 550 interesting exhibits, live animal shows, actual lightning strikes and other demonstrations. This summer, delve into Darwin’s life and naturalist theories in a special exhibition.

• New England Aquarium, near the Central Wharf and historic Faneuil Hall and its marketplace, showcases Atlantic and exotic sea life.

• John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum is a must for all Americans. A sense of the man and his times is set against the outdoor panorama of Boston’s skyline and the Harbor Islands. Through September 23, 2007, explore A Journey Home – JFK and Ireland, a look at the President’s connection with ancestral Ireland.

• Harvard Museum of Natural History is a one-of-a-kind museum on the august grounds of what is arguably our nation’s finest university. Quirky, singular collections in vintage surroundings make this a don’t-miss respite.

The Freedom Trail in Boston’s Old North End passes in front of a bonus ticket restaurant; Union Oyster House has been famous for Yankee-style seafood since 1826 and offers CityPass visitors a special welcome. Adults, $39.50 ($78.95 value); Youth, ages 3-11, $21.50 ($42.95 value).

Philadelphia: CityPass celebrates the patriotism of our nation’s founding fathers and captures the vitality of a beautiful, distinctly American city. Tickets include:

• National Constitution Center is chock-full of American history and artifacts to increase public understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the ideas and values it represents. New additions to the permanent exhibition lend a human angle to U.S. historic events: a letter from George Washington to Thomas Jefferson in France the day after the Constitution was signed; the coat worn by the orchestra leader on the night of Lincoln’s assassination in Ford’s Theatre; Teddy Roosevelt’s “Rough Rider’s” jacket and shaving kit with presidential seal; and ceremonial copy of Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon.

• A option ticket allows entrance to either the Academy of Natural Sciences, operating in Philadelphia since 1812 and a repository of wisdom about life on every continent, or the Independence Seaport Museum, through September 3, 2007 the site of Women and the Sea, a fascinating examination of women mariners, the plight of those left behind during ocean voyages, and legends of mermaids, sea nymphs and goddesses.

• Philadelphia Zoo is a family draw with cheetahs, hippos and rhinos.

• Franklin Institute Science Museum, a state-of-the-art facility for hands-on experiences in downtown Philadelphia

• Adventure Aquarium’s highlights are the African River Experience and the deep sea wonders of the Jules Verne Gallery.

• Philadelphia Trolley Works, unlimited use of the Trolleys’ or Double-Decker buses 20 stops for two consecutive days.

Bonus tickets include an invitation to dine at 140-year old Original Bookbinders Restaurant in the cobble-stoned downtown section with priority seating and an offering from the kitchen, and specials throughout Reading Terminal outdoor market. Adults, $49.00 ($94.65 value); Youth, ages 3-12, $34.00 ($64.90 value).

Chicago: CityPass captures the city’s cultural gusto and its Lake Michigan landscape. In bracing winds or during summer festival season, CityPass attractions are both shelter and stimulation in an eventful itinerary:

• High above Michigan Avenue, dubbed Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, the Hancock Observatory orients visitors to the city, Lake Michigan, and a view to Michigan and Indiana.

• On the Museum Campus, three attractions satisfy curiosity about land, sea and space. The Shedd Aquarium exhibits and shows are unforgettable; The Field Museum’s imposing facade hints at the huge surprises inside, among them Sue, the largest, most complete T. rex ever found and, through June 3, 2007, Treasures of the Titans, jewelry for celebrities by Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, Faberge, and Bulgari; and the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, that celebrates and forecasts space exploration.

• Farther south on Lake Shore Drive is the Museum of Science & Industry, the point of pride that Chicago Tribune readers named one of the 7 Wonders of Chicago.

Also included is a Bloomingdale’s invitation for a gift and discount. Adults, $49.50 ($92.35 value); Youth, $39.00 ($70.20 value).

Toronto: CityPass is a Canadian holiday value. Long considered a safe international destination, Toronto is also accelerating its reputation as a hotbed for creative energy and architecture. The Hockey Hall of Fame is a new addition to the 2007 program. Perched on the seaway, Toronto is a visual banquet:

• More than a sports museum, the Hockey Hall of Fame is a vibrant and interactive celebration of the game that defines Canada and a sport that has been adopted by at least 80 other countries. Exhibits dedicated to the game’s greatest players, teams and achievements include an up-close look at hockey’s most-coveted trophy, The Stanley Cup.

• The view from the CN Tower – the world’s tallest building – offers spectacular views of Canada and New York State all the way to Niagara Falls.

• Casa Loma is Toronto’s 98-room castle, complete with ramparts and secret passageway.

• Ontario Science Centre is dedicated in all its exhibits and demonstrations to inform families and change the way people think about how the world works.

• The Royal Ontario Museum is presently in the process of completing a new building to showcase and compliment its collections.

• Toronto Zoo expands on a zoo concept, adding a water play area and gardens on its 710 acres, in addition to 5,000 animals.

Adults, $59.00 CAD ($111.55 value); Youth, ages 4-12, $39.00 CAD ($72.94 value). Note: USD rate may vary monthly in accordance with the current Canadian Dollar exchange rate.

San Francisco: CityPass tags the city’s top attractions from hilltop to waterfront, skipping through Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, Chinatown and Union Square. Perched on the edge of the Pacific Rim, deriving its identity from both East and West, San Francisco shares its rich culture, lively architecture and art collections, bay views and signature cable cars:

• Muni & Cable Car 7-Day Passport includes all Muni transportation – cable cars, trolleys, streetcars, buses and trains with unlimited rides for seven days.

• Blue & Gold Bay Cruise, a one hour sailing under Golden Gate Bridge, past Sausalito, by Angel Island and around notorious Alcatraz.

• Aquarium of the Bay, memorable for crystal clear underwater tunnels to observe some of the Bay’s 20,000 animals and sea life.

• The ticket for de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park – classic American art to powerful African sculpture – also includes the Legion of Honor if visited on the same day.

• Exploratorium at the Palace of Fine Arts is more an experimental laboratory combining art, science and human perception than a traditional science museum.

• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, in the heart of the Yerba Buena Cultural District, is a comprehensive collection of modern and contemporary art.

• An option ticket offers a choice between the California Academy of Sciences & Steinhart Aquarium or the Asian Art Museum, a repository of art and culture of the world’s largest continent.

Tickets for a taste of San Francisco’s See’s chocolate and Boudin sourdough bread, a Pier 39 Fun Pak, Giants’ stadium tour and Bloomingdale’s shopping certificate complete the San Francisco blockbuster. Adults, $54.00 ($107.45 value); Youth, ages 5-17, $39.00 ($79.00 value).

Hollywood: CityPass gives the starstruck a reason to cheer:

• Starline Tours of Hollywood, a two-hour narrated Movie Stars Homes tour, wending past mansions and cottages of yesteryear and today.

• Hollywood Wax Museum houses the distinctive faces and forms of the greats. This may be the best – or only -- chance to get a photo with Brad or Liz or Bogie.

• Red Line Tours Behind-the-Scenes Tour dishes along the 2-block Walk of Fame, shares Tinsel Town secrets, and points out film locations in a quick hour.

• Choose either the a tour of the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards and other awards events or the Hollywood Museum in the Historic Max Factor Building for 5,000 eye-popping displays of sets, props, and memorabilia.

Adults, $49.95 ($89.90 value); Youth, ages 3-11, $39.00 ($62.90 value).

Seattle: CityPass punctuates this dramatic Pacific Northwest panorama with attraction tickets that seem to explain why scores of people dog-ear magazine features and dream of relocation.

• Towering firs and lush landscaping of rhododendron and azaleas make the Woodland Park Zoo a prime place for family relaxation and nature gazing.

• The city’s Elliott Bay waterfront sports three important attractions: Pacific Science Center and admission to IMAX theatres; the Seattle Aquarium’s Northwest aquatic world of moon jellies, fancy fish and playful otters; and a one-hour Argosy cruise of the bay – easily upgraded to a Locks Tour for a closer look at the salt water of Puget Sound accompanied by the stories of Seattle.

• The Museum of Flight boasts a Concorde, decommissioned Air Force One, and more than 80 other aircraft and interactive exhibits.

Adults, $39.50 ($79.25 value); Youth, ages 3-12, $24.00 ($48.00 value).

The CityPass Web site, Citypass.com offers ticket booklet purchase, brochures and maps for download, details and links to every museum and attraction, a new special exhibits section of notable traveling exhibitions, transportation options, insider’s tip on the best time to visit, a pricing grid to compare savings in each city, and the “look inside” web technology to see every ticket in every booklet. CityPass is a partner in America’s Greatest Cities, a non-profit organization comprised of seven U.S. cities promoting the best in cultural, historical and urban tourism.