Itinerary - VIP Memphis 2007
Tuesday 4th September
8.30 Guests arrive at Heathrow Airport for check-in.
Following luggage check-in there will be a ‘Welcome Meeting’ at our designated VIP Lounge - here we will hold our reception and all travellers will be introduced.
11.30 Board Virgin Airways (departure gate to be announced on day) for transatlantic flight to Miami.
16.20 Arrive at Miami (local time)
Following customs, security checks and our entry into the USA - coach transfer to the Fontaine Bleau Hotel.
19.30 Guests meet for drinks reception in the Hotel bar. Guests then have the evening to themselves to relax, explore and take advantage of local amenities.
Wednesday 5th September
Guests have a free day and evening to overcome their ‘jet-lag’ and enjoy the sun, sea, sand, shopping and the other delights that Miami has to offer.
Thursday 6th September
11.00 Guests meet for brunch. (Restaurant/meeting place to be confirmed).
14.30 Guests leave hotel for coach transfer to Miami Airport.
Arrive Miami Airport for flight check-in.
16.20 Depart Miami for Memphis via Northwest Airlines
17.55 ‘Touch Down in the Delta Blues’ - Arrive in Memphis where we will meet our coach for transfer to Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel, our home for the next 5 nights.
19.45 ‘Welcome To Memphis’ - Guests are invited to meet at the Hotel reception/foyer. Introduction to Mike Freeman and then a short walk to The Rock ‘n’ Roll Diner on Elvis Presley Boulevard for dinner.
Alvin and Mike will answer questions and discuss guests’ hopes and fears.
Friday 7th September
10.30 Guests are invited to meet in The Heartbreak Hotel reception.
Our VIP Tour of Elvis’s home, Graceland, has been booked to start at 11.00 am. (This can take 5 hours or more and includes the Graceland Mansion, the Elvis After Dark exhibit, Elvis’s Automobile Museum, Elvis’s Custom Jets and the Sincerely Elvis exhibit.)
19.00 Guests meet in Hotel reception for our transport to Beale Street.
Beale street is the home of the Blues, guests have the opportunity to remain with Alvin and any other members of the group or explore the sights and sounds of Beale Street and the surrounding area as they so wish. Look out for BB Kings Blue’s Bar, Elvis Presley’s Diner and the Hard Rock Café.
23.59 Coach returns to Hotel.
Saturday 8th September
09.00 Guests are invited to meet in hotel reception to board our executive coach for the trip to Elvis Presley’s birthplace, Tupelo. (This will be an all day trip - timings for the planned itinerary will be announced as the day unfolds.)
18.30 (approximately) arrive back at The Heartbreak Hotel.
20.00 Guests are invited to meet in hotel reception to board coach for dinner at Marlows Restaurant, where we will be joined for dinner by Elvis’s life-long friend, Mr George Klein.
23.00 Coach departs for transport back to The Heartbreak Hotel.
Note: Complimentary snacks and refreshments are available on board the coach during the day, however, our meal times will be arranged as the day progresses.
Sunday 9th September
07.15 Guests are invited to meet at hotel reception for a private walk up to The Meditation Garden in The Graceland Mansion.
08.30 From The Heartbreak Hotel reception, guests are invited to board our executive coach for The Grand Tour of Memphis.
This is a full-day schedule.
Note: Complimentary snacks and refreshments are available on board the coach, however, our meal times will be arranged as the day progresses. It is proposed that we will also be eating at one of the many restaurants on Beale Street during the trip.
The Memphis Tour will include:
A visit to Elvis’s Circle G Ranch (the ranch he bought to accommodate his love of horses) - possible step out.
Elvis’s former home at 1034 Audubon Drive (the home where he lived before he bought Graceland) - step out.
The former Kennedy Veterans Hospital (Elvis’s army physical took place here) - drive past.
Former Libertyland site (this is where Elvis would have fun riding the roller coaster, hiring the whole fairground for himself and his friends, something he did right up to his death) - possible step out.
The Mid-South Coliseum (it was here that Elvis performed for the last time in Memphis on July 5th 1976) - possible step out.
Memphian Theatre (Elvis would rent the theatre for himself and friends, watching movies throughout the night after regular customers had left) - drive past.
Overton Park Shell (Elvis performed here in his early career and also as support to Slim Whitman) - step out.
Methodist Hospital (former location of Baptist Hospital where Lisa Marie was born and where, sadly, Elvis was pronounced dead on August 16th 1977) - drive past.
Sun Studio (we drive past as actual tour is the following day).
Humes High School (Elvis’s High School) - step out.
Former location of American Sound Studio (where Elvis recorded such greats as Suspicious Minds and In The Ghetto) - drive past.
Poplar Tunes (where Elvis would shop and purchase records, and one of the first shops to stock Elvis’s own recordings) - step out.
Former location of Crown Electric (where Elvis worked and drove the delivery truck) - step out .
Lauderdale Courts (the housing project where the Presley family lived when they first moved to Memphis from Tupelo) - drive past .
Forest Hill Cemetery (where Elvis’s body was interned before being moved to Graceland) - drive past as coach cannot pass through cemetery roads.
East Trigg Baptist Church - drive past.
Former location of First Assembly of God’s Church - drive past.
14.00 Riverboat cruise up the Mississippi River.
Stax Museum of American Soul Music- drive past.
Day-time visit to Beale Street.
Former location of Loews State Theatre (where Elvis used to work).
Peabody Hotel - although to be confirmed, it is hoped that we will meet Bernard Lansky (Elvis bought all his clothes at Lansky’s at the beginning of, and during, his career) at his shop which is now situated in the Peabody Hotel. And, of course, we will see the famous Peabody Hotel Ducks.
Timing for this trip will be dependent on several factors i.e. traffic conditions, guest time spent visiting different sites etc. On our return to the hotel at the end of the day, guests can enjoy free time in the evening to spend as they wish.
Monday 10th September
09.00 Guests meet at Hotel reception to board coach to take us to the legendary Sun Studio.
At Sun Studio, as well as the ‘Studio Tour’, guests will have the chance to take coffee in the famous Sun Studio Café and visit the Studio’s gift shop.
Following our visit to The Sun Studio, the day will also consist of a visit to:
The Memphis Rock and Soul Museum and The Civil Rights Museum.
The day will conclude with dinner again on Beale Street.
(Exact timings will be announced on the day, however, this is a full-day excursion. We have allowed guests one and a half hours to visit each attraction. The timing on the day will govern whether or not we return to The Heartbreak Hotel to change for the evening. It may be that we go directly for dinner without a return to the Hotel. The day will conclude with dinner again in the Beale Street area.)
23.59 Return transport to The Heartbreak Hotel.
Tuesday 11th September
07.00 We check out of The Heartbreak Hotel and board our coach for transport to Memphis airport.
Following the short drive, we will check-in at Memphis Airport.
09.20 Depart Memphis on Northwest Airlines flight to Miami.
12.45 Arrive at Miami airport.
In Miami guests will gather and meet for an afternoon farewell luncheon. (Venue will be announced nearer the time).
19.25 Depart Miami for transatlantic flight on Virgin Airways to London Heathrow.
Wednesday 12th September
08.50 Guests Arrive at London Heathrow Airport (local time).