Why don't you try the fadeIn() instead of using a show() with delay(). I think what you are trying to do can be done with this. Here is the jQuery code for fadeIn and FadeOut() which also has inbuilt method for delaying the process.
$(document).ready(function(){
$('element').click(function(){
//effects take place in 3000ms
$('element_to_hide').fadeOut(3000);
$('element_to_show').fadeIn(3000);
});
}