Holiday Showdown Tuesdays at 10 pm on BBCAmerica

[Chorita KaBoom]

"Holidays can be stressful enough - but what happens when you end up going somewhere you would never dream of with a bunch of people you don't know?! In Holiday Showdown, two families with polar opposite views of what makes a great family vacation are sent off to swap holidays for one week each - together!

How it works...
In week one, everyone lives by the rules of Family One. In week two, the tables are turned, and Family Two takes charge as they both embark on a very different vacation. At the end of the two weeks, both families come together for a Holiday Showdown "Last Supper" to give their full and frank views on their experiences."

I've seen two episodes of this and it's a hoot. This weeks episode had a "large" Family whose ideal vacation was Las Vegas, and an other whose ideal is Hiking in Yosemite. At the start the Lawson's say that they want to show that larger people are capable of doing things and that they are fit. They also want to renew their wedding vows - Vegas Style. The Harrison-Walts are very outdoorsy, and they want to climb Half Dome in Yosemite.

Vegas First - Gambling, All you-can-eat buffets, a chocolate factory tour, and the highlight - a helicopter tour of Vegas at night. The Harrison-Walts are good sports but can't take the excessive consumption, and being so close to the nature of the desert, seeing it from their air-conditioned suite, but not being able to enjoy it.

Yosemite - While they're not entirely roughing it, staying tent/cabins, the Lawson's find their accommodations entirely lacking. They make their first trek the next day, a relatively easy 5 mile gently downhill hike to a ranger station where they'll camp, with the Half Dome accent the next day. Unfortunantly, The Lawson parents are knackered less than 2 miles in to the hike. Mr. Harrison-Walt has to carry Mrs. Lawson's pack for her, so she can continue, grudgingly, to the campsite. Adam, the Lawson's son, though seems to be very excited about the whole thing. He is upset when his parents refuse to go on to climb Half Dome, as well as let him go with the other family. The Harrison-Walts finish the rest of the downhill climb from the ranger station (another 5 mile hike) in the time it takes the Harrison-Walts to climb Half Dome and take the trail back down to their cabin. As tired and sore as they are, the Lawson's seem to take a little pride in their 10 mile in 2 day hike, though they are very vocal about it being the worst experience of their lives. The final activity is biking down a mountain. Adam desperately want to participate, but Mrs. Lawson is pretty adamant about not letting him, as she and her husband don't think that they can even fit on a bike, let alone have the strength to pedal. Eventually, the Harrison-Walts convince Mr. Lawson that they will make sure that it will be easy for Adam and they will ensure his safety. Adam keeps up with the other family and has the time of his life, completing the decsent in an 1 and 1/2 hours.

At the final dinner, they discuss the 2 vacations. The Harrison-Walts confess how much they hated Las Vegas. Well aware of how the Lawson parents felt about theirs, they claim that they were the winners, because at least Adam really enjoyed the hiking, camping and mountain biking. Back home however Adam seems to recant this.

While I do not like gambling, there are many other things to do in Las Vegas that the Lawsons chose not to do, and didn't allow the Harison-Walts to do. I think that it was a shame that they couldn't be at least a little bit flexible in this respect, yet The Harrison-Walts didn't press them into doing every activity they had planned.

[Tirlittan]

I was wondering if anyone watched this one. I like it They showed last night probably a rerun from tuesday: A family that goes to Cancun to party, and a family that goes to do missionary work in Ghana. You can imagine what it ends up being drinkers vs. 3-times-a-day-church-goers. I ended up liking the missionary family better, they did hang on there in Cancun although it went somewhat against their beliefs, but they tried to be good sports, and they saw lots of good stuff in there (relaxing on beach, dolphins). However, when the "Cancun" family came to Ghana, the mother and mother-in-law were so disgusted that they did not eat the special meal the local villagers had cooked (foregoing their owl meals to provide to guests), constantly having disgusted faces, and whining about smell and hygiene. The "Cancun" elders ended up checking to a luxury hotel... Then they cried that they were not allowed to come to the big party the locals held in honor of the missionary family (they wanted none of the work, or hard life, just the parties is how I see it...). On the positive side, the son of the "Cancun" family and his fiancee did not check into the luxury hotel, but followed the missionary family and enjoyed it a lot (although they admitted that very likely they will never come back ). Thumbs up to the young "Cancun" people for being good sports.

[chakram777]

Hello there
I'm the mother of the 'large' family on the Vegas/Yosemite episode. Firstly I'd like to set the record straight about a couple of points made. The hike was nearer 12 miles and we were doing it in August in the middle of the day in 100 degree heat. Secondly we had to wear brand new hiking boots and were expected to carry full back packs. As far as the mountain biking was concerned, I have not ridden a bike for over 20 years, so there was no way I was going ride down a mountain, especially as I'm terrified of heights!! There was no way we were going up Half Dome either. The other thing I wanted to say was we know there are lots of other things to do in Vegas other than gambling and eating, but we were very restricted by time and what was allowed to be filmed. We had several other activities we wanted to do, but were unable to do them. Just remember that a lot of what you see on the TV is not how it actually happened. That's what editing is all about!!

[candor]

My heart went out to you, chakram. I had the same kind of vacation in Yosemite with my way-too-healthy friends -- and I had to pay for it. I'd rather have gone to Vegas.

[chakram777]

Thanks. Don't get me wrong, Yosemite was very beautiful and we would probably go again, but we would do things totally different. We would stay in a hotel and go for gentle walks, instead of longs hikes. We have been to Vegas 3 times since recording the show and each time we have found different things to do other than gambling.

[candor]

I'm seeing Vegas for the first time in June. We're going to eat, gamble, shop, eat some more and then we're going to ... well, what happens in Vegas will stay in Vegas. Except we're going with my 75-year-old parents, so that may include retiring for the night at 10 a.m. Yep, we wild.

[chakram777]

Hi Candor
I thoroughly recommend seeing several shows. We saw David Copperfield and Ron Lucas this last time. My husband and son saw Lance Burton when they went in February. Where are you staying? If you want any advice, let me know.

[agamergirl]

I love that show. I keep forgetting it's on, though. I am going to try and go see Jerry Seinfeld at Caesar's Palace in August. I hope I can get the funds to do it. I love him and I've always wanted to go to Vegas.

[chakram777]

I would recommend anybody staying for the first time to try one of the hotels off the strip. They are cheaper and also less imposing. We stayed at Sam's Town on Boulder Highway last time. It is a really nice hotel and great for families. David Copperfield was $100 per ticket and Ron Lucas was $30.

[candor]

We got a package deal with Southwest Airlines and the Imperial Palace -- $400 a person for two nights, which includes airfare. So I figure even if it's a dive it's still a good deal.