Things to Do in Irvine
Things to Do Deals
Yoga Center of California
- Costa Mesa
Practiced yogis elucidate breathing exercises, meditations & various yoga styles while students pursue joy, health & inner peace
Daveys Locker Whale Watching
- Balboa Peninsula Point
Spy sea lions, dolphins, and multiple species of whales from a 65-foot cruise ship with a sundeck, wraparound seating, and a snack bar
Newport Pontoons
- Mariners Mile
Brand-new pontoon boats with retractable tops, grills, stereos, and 360-degree windows so riders can walk around while cruising
Recommended Things to Do by Groupon Customers
Gondoliers bedecked in striped shirts nurture romance while serenading guests during languid gondola rides along Huntington Harbour's lush waterways. Equipped with 13-foot oars, Sunset Gondola's imported Venetian vehicles stretch 37 feet from end to end. While some packages come with amenities such as chocolate-covered strawberries, guests are encouraged to bring along their own snacks and beverages. Gondola rides are also available for special occasions, including proposals, wedding ceremonies, and mustache debuts.
"Shake it!" your headset blares as you push on the jet's throttle. Your nose tips, the ground becomes a wall, and you're diving in a last-ditch effort to lose the fighter behind you. Its shots go wide and it swoops overhead, leaving you to level out just as the radio tower ends the dogfight: "Knock it off, knock it off." With your wheels back on the ground, you step out of the simulator's cockpit and catch your friend’s eye: Missed me.
At Flightdeck Simulation Center, aerial battles between friends take place on the ground. The screens of nine authentic military fighter-jet simulators broadcast the same views a pilot might see while soaring at 600 knots. Though the simulators remain on the ground, all the controls, radio orders, and UFO weigh stations mirror those encountered on an actual flight. People may come in with a friend or with a party, where guests and friends target one another during virtual missions, from the introductory Fox-1 experience to the three-hour Viper-1 course, which covers advanced topics such as missile avoidance. After team-building events, participants can even receive personalized dog tags as souvenirs.
Flightdeck Air Combat Center also has an exact replica of a Boeing 737-700 cockpit. Inside, a 180-degree wraparound screen transports pilots to airport runways from around the world. Commercial-flight drills present common challenges such as piloting through turbulence and wiping spilled coffee off the controls, testing visitors between their takeoff and landing.
