Planning a vacation to Florida?
My husband is active duty military. How do we go about finding military discounts for a Florida vacation? Also, any other tips would be appreciated from those that have been there. We have never gone on a vacation before. When is the best time to visit so that places wont be crowded? Where are the nicest beaches and what are the best attractions? How soon in advance do we need to book a hotel room? Thanks so much for any help.
June 14th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
the current Disney promotion is a $99 4 day base ticket. Hopper and Water fun parks can be added for $25 each. this is a significant savings over a regular Disney ticket. Shades of Green is the on site Army run hotel which is MUCH less expensive than most other Disney resorts Except the Values, but are MUCH larger and nicer than the Values are. SoG sells out very quickly.
Sea World( all Anheiser Busch parks) allows free admission once to each park as well.
Unoiversal Studios also offers discounts I beleive. your locall ITT office can give you other ideas.
June 14th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
You should wait till global warming takes place down there.
June 14th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Florida sucks, I was born and raised there. Right now, we’re just trying to get out.
You want to go somewhere nice for vacation? New York City, Boston, Chicago, these are places Americans should be visiting, not freaking Disney World.
June 14th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
There’s an interesting town of psychics, Casa Dega, that’s near Daytona—worth a visit. The heart of winter is usually the peak season in Florida, but as Spring nears some of the tourism diminishes a bit, and in the summer there are usually discounts simply because fewer people leave their home states to get to a warmer climate. Fort Pierce, Florida tends to be slightly less expensive and is along the ocean—it was featured some years back in a travel magazine as one of the least expensive for tourists (although this may not now be the case). Other responders may know more about the more southern parts of the state, but if Disney World is a destination for you, there are some interesting water parks, shuttles, and rather inexpensive motels nearby or there is a hotel right in the park itself that is really nice. We also found a Jungle Theme miniature golf course, a small mall with a ferris wheel and salt water taffy place that showed how the candy is made and a double-decker British bus restaurant. It’s been about nine years since I’ve been there, though, so perhaps some of this has changed. Have a joyous vacation! As to military discounts, I’d check with someone on base, with local travel agencies by phone, or go on-line—or you might call the Florida Chamber of Congress to request information and ask them to send you a tourist packet,
June 14th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
My wife and I are both active duty, we enjoy traveling, however we do quite a bit of research before we go using all of the other resources the internet has to offer like Expedia.com, Kayak.com, Hotels.com etc we contact them by phone and ask if they offer a military discount.
In addition we also go to ITT/MWR to see their best deals, ITT/MWR is located on the base and is a source for numerous discounted deals for military service members and family.
There’s also an Armed Forces Vacation Club, it costs you no money to get into however it’s like having a time share. I don’t know a whole lot about it, but I will be looking into it this year as we decide on where we’re going for our annual family vacation.
I don’t know much about Florida other than Disney World is in Orlando. I was in Pensacola 3 years ago for Recruiting Orientation School and other than the good food and the possibility of running into Roy Jones, I was not too impressed with Pensacola. So check our MWR, ITT, AFVC along with the usual travel sites and don’t forget to ask for a military discount. Good Luck!
Navy Chief Navy Pride!
Navy Recruiter
1989 – present
Active Duty
June 14th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Now is the best time to go to Florida. The parks aren’t crowded but you need to check before you go to see if there are any closures. This is the time of year that the parks do maintenance on the rides. As for lodging, I highly recommend Armed Forces Vacation club http://www.afvclub.com . My family has stayed in a few of there condos and they are fantastic. You won’t find a better deal anywhere. You can go to the individual facility web site to find extra info on the rooms and area. Enjoy your vacation.
June 14th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
As the other poster stated, AFVC is good. However… they are best for off season travel, not on season. The units are time shares and resorts, but are only available when they aren’t booked by owners. And Florida, in season…. nothing will be available. Now, there is Shades of Green outside of Disney. This is an AFRC and is only for military.
Also, try contacting some of the MWRs at the bases in Florida. They may have some excellent resources. We’re working on a trip to the Ozarks and the Ft. Leonardwood MWR has a great website.
As for time frames…. I’d try to get that booked ASAP!
Have fun!
June 15th, 2010 at 11:06 am
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