Lets talk "Free Express Unlimited Express Pass" at Universal Orlando

Right now If you book a Hotel stay.... Not Package …. Just a Hotel stay at one of these On-Site Resorts: Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Hard Rock Hotel® and Loews Portofino Bay Hotel you will get  Universal Unlimited Express Pass for free. Notice I mentioned only Hotel Stay and not Package. I will will explain that a little more here in just a bit. 

Unlimited Express pass What is it: 

• Universal Express Unlimited ride access to skip the regular lines at participating rides and attractions at Universal Studios Florida and Universal's Islands of Adventure. That's a value of $129** per person, per day. Valid theme park admission required. Not valid at Universal's Volcano Bay.
  
  *Requires theme park admission. Valid only at participating rides and attractions in Universal Studios Florida and Universal's Islands of Adventure. Not valid at Universal's Volcano Bay. Excludes separately ticketed events. Park-to-Park admission required to board the Hogwarts™ Express. Benefit valid only for guests of Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Hard Rock Hotel® and Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, for the number of guests staying in the room for the length of hotel stay. Available during normal theme park operating hours only. Additional restrictions may apply and benefits are subject to change without notice.
  
  **Based on average price of a 2-Park Universal Express Unlimited™ pass ranging between $84.99 and $189.99.

So that is the legal explanation based on official verbiage directly from Universal Orlando's Website. 

My Verbiage is this. This unlimited Express pass has tremendous Value depending on the time of year you go to Universal. It is worth its Weight in Gold During peak travel times like spring break and Holiday Rush, but at times during the school year, its basically is a piece of paper that has some value depending on the ride or attraction. 

The express will cut down your wait time drastically during peak travel periods allowing you more access to more rides than if you were to be just in the regular standby line. It is not a Cut to the front of the line pass, its pass to get you a reduced wait time in an express line. Say the line was 2 hours long. Express Pass will cut that wait down maybe to 30 minutes. That is a pretty significant reduction of time and well worth it. Downside of the express pass is that in most attractions, you miss the storyline build up for the ride, especially in rides like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Escape from Gringotts, and Transformers to name a few. If you have been on the attractions a few times and wish to skip the experience to build up the ride with the pre-shows, no harm no foul, more rides for you.

Now during Non-peak Travel times, normally when school is in session, the express pass loses value as you can see the price range above in the description. Rule of thumb is this: The less express pass cost, the probability of needing It is much lower. Many Days (especially during the weekdays)in September- early December, January-Late February, and Later April to Mid-May many of the rides will be walk on or have minimal waits. So there may be need for Express pass for Rides like Escape from Gringotts or The Hulk Coaster.  See it still has some value.

So how do you get this express pass and is there a "hack"?

It's pretty easy to get the express pass when you book a hotel stay or Universal Orlando Package and stay at one of the Beautiful resorts of Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Hard Rock Hotel® and Loews Portofino Bay Hotel. On your check in day, you will get your picture taken for each member of your party and issued the express pass that expires on the day at Park closing when you check out. So as long as you have a Valid Theme park ticket, you now have unlimited access for you entire length of stay. Pretty awesome! 

Now for the hack that can be pretty frustrating to some.... Let me preface this that there are  rumors out there that Universal is trying to shut down this hack, so it may not work for you if the do this. 

People during peak travel period (Spring Break and holiday rush)will book 1 night stays at Loews Royal Pacific Resort and Hard Rock Hotel® in lowest room categories knowing that they will get 2 days of express passes for free, but they will not actually stay at the resort. They end up saving a TON of money on having to buy express passes. Not only do they get the Unlimited Express passes, the now also get the early park entry. 

How much a deal is it? Let's say you have a Family of 5, Buying 2 days of Express passes at the Highest price range$189.99+tax that is going to be roughly $1899.99+ Tax. You have to buy theme park tickets also.  A Standard 2 queen bed room, the least expensive room, Non Discounted at Loew's Royal Pacific for  Adults on December 26th, 2021 runs roughly $784 for the night plus comes with for 2 days express pass and early entry into the parks for "free".  That family of 5 just roughly saved $1115.90.  Not a bad hack if you are trying to save money during the peak travel period times. 

That family may not even stay in the hotel that night because they are staying at rental house, timeshare or maybe a lower end "cheaper" hotel in the area. 

Could Universal close down this hack? 

Yes because in the verbiage of their express pass benefit they have this clause. Additional restrictions may apply and benefits are subject to change without notice. 

How could they close it down? 

Add a length of stay clause during peak travel times in order to get the express pass. 

Could Universal Be losing money on the hack, yes and no. With the express pass they are selling "air" to reduce your wait. While this may have value to you, I am going to let you in on a little secret..... The express pass benefits Universal more than it does you.... The more time you spend waiting in line, less time you are are buying food and souvenirs. 

Ready to Book that Universal Orlando Vacation? 

I am here to help you every step of the way. 

You can reach me via Facebook at Matt's Firehouse Family Vacations ,email me at matt@firehousefamilyvacations.com, or call me At 269-491-0161

Aquatica Revisited: An Honest Review

Over the years, I have had the pleasure of visiting several different water parks, both indoors and out. I have visited the largest outdoor water park, Noah's Ark in Wisconsin Dells, which is an amazing water park. The largest indoor water park, The Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio; it may have size but that's about it. A few mom and pop water parks that had two slides at the most and are no longer in business, and some major park chain water parks. I have also visited all of  the water parks Disney World has had, River Country  included. It pretty safe to say, I like water parks and enjoy going to them and on my last trip to Orlando, I revisited Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. I also recently visited the AquaVenture at Atlantis in Nassau.  The visits to those water parks made me really appreciate Aquatica.

Aquatica.... you have arrived

Aquatica is a water park that is part of the SeaWorld Orlando park complex that includes SeaWorld and Discovery Cove. Aquatica opened in 2008 billed as a whimsical, one-of-a-kind waterpark unlike any you've ever experienced, immersing you  in the playfulness of the sea. This park heavily relies on the uniqueness of water park attractions with animal interactions.

The star attraction of this park is  Dolphin plunge, a water slide that send you through the home of  black-and-white Commerson's Dolphins. When I heard about this attraction, I was sold and dead set on getting to this water park. I went into this park with high expectations and was really looking forward to the animal interactions like those of the Dolphin Plunge would have to offer.

Hello little guy, is there someone in that slide?

Look you have a friend also!

As always when heading to a water park, I plan on getting there at gate opening, crowds are generally smaller, lockers and chairs are easier to find, plus you can usually get a decent amount of slide time in before the afternoon showers interrupt the day and gates are closed because the parks are at capacity. My expectation grew as we entered the park with all the lush foliage and theming that is present around the Dolphin Plunge slide and the Commerson's Dolphins.  The kids excitement grew as well; we just had to get on that slide. So we got a locker that just happened to come with a "free" souvenir towel then headed straight for the Dolphins Plunge.

 Our  excitement turned to frustration because as soon as we got to the top of the slide, my daughter, who wears a shirt over her swimsuit to help from getting badly sun burnt, was told she couldn't ride with the shirt on and had to exit the slide and put it in the locker. This after walking past several park employees that monitored the line for the slide and no signage indicating shirts were not allowed. So, instead of walking all the way back to the locker, I had my daughter take the shirt off and I went and waited for her to ride, then gave her her shirt back after her journey through Dolphin Plunge(this was the only slide the unposted rule was enforced on). At the end of her ride, her reaction to the slide was rather lackluster.  So it was my turn to ride and I will have to say, I too was disappointed. The problems with this slide is the tube that goes  through the tank with the dolphins was cloudy and hard to see out of, plus you actually go through that portion of the slide so fast, it is hard to see the dolphins. The dolphins would have to be literally right next to the tube to actually see them.  Needless to say, out of the 4 of us that rode it, none of  us saw the dolphins while on the slide, and none of us liked the slide. The dolphins are best viewed from the underwater viewing area near the entrance of the park. Now the themeing and foliage that are around Dolphin Plunge is very detailed and also has some nice bridge overlooks for those long waits to use the slide.It is a decent experience with a lackluster slide, if you are more interested in just seeing the dolphins, skip the slide and head over to the underwater viewing area. Sporadically throughout the day there were trainers in the underwater viewing area to educate about the Commerson's Dolphins. Now to be fair over down at Atlantis's AquaVenture they had the infamous Leap of Faith Water slide through a tank of sharks. It has the same lackluster type slide that speeds your through the tank so you can't see the Sharks. The other tube slide that went through the tank was slower and more unique experience!

The best view for the Commerson's dolphins
is the underwater observation area off the slide

After spending our time at the Dolphin Plunge we headed over to the newest addition to the park at that time, Omaka Rocka. Since our visit Ihu's Breakways Falls has opened and I eagerly want to experience those new slides!
Omaka Rocka is a tube slide with sections that are half-pipes.  My family loves the half pipe/funnel slides and this one had several sections that fed into smaller versions of  half pipe slides, so it was bound to be a hit. It ended up being pretty boring. The reason this was boring, the half pipe sections of the slides became mini-splash down pools and did not allow the experience that larger half pipe slides offer.(google a youtube video of Michigan Adventure's Funnel of Fear for a good idea of what large half pipe slides are like)  So the first two slides of the day were not home runs.  So we decided to hit Roa's Rapids.

Roa's Rapids is a fast moving river with water falls, rapids and lush foliage all around. Roa's Rapids far exceeded our expectations and was by far the star of the park for my family and myself. We spent hours floating this river. My wife and I had to drag the kids out of it.We loved that it was a free of  inner tubes and you could opt in to wearing a FREE personal flotation devices. While there were no animal interactions on this river, unlike the lazy river Loggerhead Lane, giggles and cheers filled this area of the park. A special note about Loggerhead Lane, while it is the a lazy river, one can easily miss the fish tank on this river because of the split in the river and placement of the tank. Also be forewarned, to access some of the water slides(just a couple), you have to walk through Loggerhead Lane to get to them. This can be very confusing if you don't follow the signs.

The rest of the water park  had standard water park slides, kid's slide& splash complex, and a well themed, but tame wave pool with a sandy beach.  The animal interactions were just ok.  We loved Roa's Rapids, and it was interesting to see Commerson's Dolphins in a water park(just not the water slide affixed to them). Aquatica is a nice small water park and is well worth a visit. If you can, definitely look for a deal where you can get a day at SeaWorld or Discovery Cove that includes admission to Aquatica(currently those deals are available but could change at anytime). Aquatica has it picturesque areas but still has room to improve.Roa's Rapids made up for the shortcomings of Dolphin's Plunge. This is still a young park and a new concept for SeaWorld, I hold hope out that this park can be expanded and improved upon. Aquatica is probably one of the better Water Park in Central Florida. It's hard to live in the shadows of Wet n Wild, Typhoon Lagoon, and Blizzard Beach, but  Aquatica has stepped out from the shadows and become a force in Central Florida.We will come back to the park over the years because over all, it is a really is a nice park.

Aquatica is neatly placed behind Seaworld, as you can see it behind
Journey to Atlantis here.

The Weather and your Central Florida Vacation

Disclaimer: The suggestions in this blog posting are just that suggestions.You should always follow the Directions and Warnings given by Weather Professionals and Medical Professionals . 


Like it or not, weather can have profound impacts on your vacation. It can leave you with a blistering sunburn, soaking wet, cold, injured, or even killed. Knowing this, it is always important to watch the weather when you are on vacation. In just about every state there is the cliche saying, "If you don't like the weather in(insert location name here), wait 15 minutes and it will change." Knowing the location you are traveling to can give you a good idea on what to expect, but  Mother Nature loves to throw you a curve ball and it always seems to happen when you are on vacation.

The weather even has effects on Pooh's friends.

 
Here are some things to take into consideration when traveling to the theme parks in Central Florida.

Obey the signs, they are there for a reason.

• Florida is the Lightning Strike Capitol of the United States. While the number fluctuate every year, the numbers are the usually the highest in Florida for people struck by lighting. On our 2011 trip in August, we were across the street at SeaWorld when 8 people were injured at Discovery Cove by a Lightning strike. These people were "lucky" they weren't killed, but less than a month later at Adventure Island in Tampa, an employee evacuating a slide was killed by a lightning strike. Lightning is not something to mess with, so take cover when lightning is in the area.

• Hurricane season in the Atlantic begins June 1st and ends November 30th. While these dates are significant, hurricanes can strike Florida before and after these dates, but if you are planning to travel to Central Florida during these times, make sure you check your Trip Insurance policy and your destination’s policy about their procedures dealing with Hurricanes. Here is Disney's Policy. If you happen to be in the area when a Hurricane strikes, don't be that guy thinking they can get the vacation videos or photos of a lifetime, leave that to the weather professionals and news stations. Follow instructions given to you by officials and most importantly stay safe.

Even though it's pouring, not the best time to hop in the pool.

• Tropical Storms and Tropical Depressions can be just as bad as a Hurricane. Tropical Storms are well-organized storms with tight rotation and low centralized pressure with measured wind speeds of at least 39 mph. Once it has reached this point, it is assigned a name. They can dump a lot of rain in a short span of time, trigger tornadoes and fierce lighting.

 
 

Storm Heading in over Contemporary from Poly's Dock.

• Pay close attention when watches and warnings are issued; The National Weather Service issue these watches and warnings when conditions are favorable for the development of storms that can produce Tornadoes, hail, damaging winds, and frequent lightning strikes. There are several apps for phones and tablets now available that allow you delayed radar information, this is one of the few reasons I agree with having one of these devices with you on your trip. Also remember just because you are familiar with how storms travel in your neck of the woods doesn't mean you can predict the direction of a storm or how quickly it is moving when you are at a theme park.

•  Just because it's cloudy and cool that doesn't mean you won't get sun-burnt. Always lather up with sun screen. I have been on trips where I have gotten a blistering sun tan, VERY painful. Bring along a hat and sunglasses as well. Hand held fans can be helpful and so can the little mist sprayers, but remember when you add water to your skin; it can magnify the sun rays causing severe burns or even wash away your sun screen, so make sure you continue to lather on the sun screen throughout the day.

 

Afternoon shower building and heading towards EPCOT

Storm about to unleash heavy rain and lightning at Riverside.

• In the spring, summer, and fall months plan for at least a thunderstorm every day. Sometimes they happen in late afternoon and are brief, but they can pack a wallop and bring torrential downpours when they strike. On our last trip, one evening we got 4 inches of rain within a half hour. The paths that formed the lines for the Tower of terror were literally small rivers. The storm formed nearly on top of the Disney property and came with little warning. The line for Tower of Terror was 20 minutes, when we got in line the skies were clear, by the time the doors opened on the drop shaft for our ride, the sky was so thick with rain you could not see more than 5 feet out of the tower. Even though we had planned for rain every day by having all our valuables in zip lock bags in our water proof back pack, I ended up losing my phone to the rain because it was in my pocket.  These storms do wonders for clearing out Theme Parks though. Remember Outdoor attractions will close in certain weather conditions. Some attractions will stay open if there is just light rain with no lightning, but remember riding a roller coaster in light rain may feel like you are getting a chemical peel from those rain drops.

See it does snow at Disney World

• It is going to be Hot and Humid. Plan on the heat because it can be very hot no matter what time of the year you travel. While the late fall and winter months can be very frigid and darn cold (it can snow and freeze iguanas out of the trees), it can be very warm also. With the warm comes high humidity. When these two combine it can aggravate health conditions (asthma, common colds, elderly, infants, and other ailments) so take a break in the heat the day. Make sure you are staying hydrated, find air conditioned retreats, and do more activities when it tends to be cooler like early morning or at night.

After the storms, some nice photo ops can happen

• The weather will cause travel problems. Just because it is sunny in Florida doesn't mean it won't affect your flights. Weather may delay or cancel flights into Central Florida. While a storm in New York, Chicago, Denver, or any major hub will cause hic-ups across the country. Foggy conditions in portions of Florida cause roads to be closed by  brush fires or thick fog.  Torrential downpours from storms can leave I-4 at a standstill. There is even what is called Florida Ice on the road that can happen in long dry periods. Roads can become very slippery as if you were driving on ice.

Remember you are on vacation and weather will be part of your vacation. There is plenty of indoor activities and rides that you can partake in during bad weather. Make sure you make the proper preparations for all types of weather, even for the sunny days.  Have fun, don't become a statistic. 

T-shirts

A shipment of T-Shirts just arrived. T-Shirts are $15. Shipping is free

T-shirts are in limited supply and selling fast so
Contact me at Matt@firehousefamilyvacations.com to place your order today

Available in Black, Red, or Navy

Front with small Logo

Back with large logo

Traveling with someone with a food allergry

When you have someone in your family that has a food allergy, your dining options tend to become limited. Disney on the other hand works with that person to make their dining experience is as pleasant as possible while addressing the food allergy. My wife has a food allergy that tends to make dining difficult. She is allergic to onions. Onions, in all of its various forms, are in more foods than most people realize. So to help people understand how Disney goes out of their way for food allergies, my wife has taken over the blogging duties for this post.

Anyone with a food allergy will tell you that it isn’t easy to go out to eat; you never know what you can and cannot eat. Most servers when I tell them that I have an allergy are pretty good and will go talk to the cooks, or look on the packages of the food to find out whether I can have something or not, then come back and tell me. Sometimes no one at the restaurant can tell me what I can eat or not, this is not the servers fault but the restaurants’;that is truly inexcusable.

This is where we celebrated our anniversary

Last spring when we were making a few of our dining reservations for our trip to Disney I was worried about which restaurants I would be able to eat at, and what they would do so that I wouldn’t go hungry.So when making Advanced Dinner Reservations, I let the person on the other end of the line know I had a food allergy.  They assured me that they would put that on the reservation.  At our first dinner at The Magic Kingdom, Cinderella's Royal Table, I made sure that the hostess was aware of my allergy and when we got seated, on our ticket in big red capital letters it said “ALLERGY” when the server acknowledged it and told me that I would not be able to order my dinner until the chef had come out to discuss what on the menu I would be able to eat. When the chef came to the table, he knew every ingredient in every dish, 

so she knew exactly what I could have; I was very impressed and relieved, but this was for a plated meal.

My goofy hubby

The dining room is beautiful

 I had fears about eating at a family style meal, which is a wonderful option at Disney. When we got to this meal at the The Good Turns Restaurant at the Land in EPCOT, I was informed there were numerous dishes I wasn't going to be able to have but the chef asked me what I would like and put together a plate with just about everything that was on the regular menu specially prepared for me minus any ingredient that would have onion in it. . There ended up being so much food on that plate I couldn't eat it all. I did learn the hard way though, that even if you do tell them when you make the reservation that there is someone with a food allergy, you still have to make sure you tell the hostess when you get there; it doesn't get put on your ticket without doing that, there is a small communications error in the chain there. I was very impressed by how out of their way the chefs at Disney went, and how serious they took my allergy.

Not only did I have a great meal, I got to meet Pluto also.

I am looking forward to our next trip to Disney, not only because of the parks, but because I know, I will be able to go into a restaurant and say “I’m allergic to Onions” and know that I’m going to have an enjoyable meal. I would highly recommend to those of us with food allergies or other dietary requirements to eat at Disney. It was annoying to not be able to choose 100% of what I wanted to eat, but it was a huge relief to know that the food I was eating was not going to cause me problems.

Universal Orlando Partner Hotel: Holiday Inn &Suites Maingate

Holiday Inn & Suites Main Gate

Value, location, and quality are some of  the things I look for when  looking at a room for a vacation. Disney does a great job of offering their  guest a wide range of rooms to meet their guest needs. Disney resorts,even the value resorts, are by far some of the best quality rooms across the country. Adding in the location and the perks Disney resorts offer, you really can't go wrong staying on site. Universal Orlando on the other hand, has 3 elegantly themed hotels, great location, great perks, but the price can really stretch your budget. This is where Universal Partner Hotels  bridge the gap  offering a wider variety of room options and pricing. The Universal Partner hotels give Guest  a great value,quality room, along with some perks, and some offer really good locations next to Universal Orlando.

We wanted to make the most of our August 2011 trip to Florida. We wanted to make it a mega Central Florida trip allowing us enough time to do everything thing we wanted to do along with visiting places we hadn't been before. To do that, we opted to split the trip into two parts, Disney and then Everything else. In the decision to do this, we looked into staying at the Universal On-site hotels and decided that if we wanted to do as much as we could around the Central Florida area, we would have to opted for a Universal Partner Hotel. After much consideration, the choice was made to stay the Holiday Inn & Suites Main Gate Kirkman Road for our everything else part of the trip. Our Disney Portion would be spent at Disney's Port Orleans- Riverside, our family favorite.

Part of the Front Room of our Suite.  Nice sofa that folds out into a bed.

When it comes to the Holiday Inn & Suites Maingate, you really can't beat the location and the ease of access by car or by walking to the Universal Orlando Resort for an off-site hotel. Just remember parking is not free at Universal and the walk from this hotel  is a small trek. In order to get to either the Island of Adventure or Universal Studios you are going to have a journey through City walk,you can find out more about that here. 

The value of this hotel is marvelous. The beds are comfy. Check in and check out were a breeze and the hotel staff was friendly.We were even pleasantly surprised to get a free upgrade from a regular room to a Suite. The hotel has easy access to I-4, I Drive, and literally is right across the street from the Universal Orlando Parking Garages.The ease of getting to all the attractions in the Orlando attractions areas from this hotel is great. There is a TGIF Fridays attached to the hotel, a small gift shop, and a small pool. It is an older hotel, but was under renovation during our stay. We stayed in the portion of the hotel that had not been renovated, and while the hallways showed some age, the room was in very decent shape minus a few scoff marks on the wall.

A Glimpse at the Bedroom of our suite.

The room we had offered 2 queen size beds in one room, a couch that folded out into a bed in another room, 2 flat screen TVs, a full sized refrigerator, and a small kitchenette area with a sink and coffee maker. The view from our room was a sweeping view of parking lot that in a previous visit, 10 years earlier, used to contain a bungee swing.Now no signs of that exist.(Honestly, we were not here for the view)
 If you looking for an amazingly themed pool, spectacular views, or overly themed rooms; this hotel is not for you.You can pay for that across the street and  that is something I would do if I am going to have a short stay(one or two nights) and are just going to do special events that Universal Orlando has to offer(examples:Halloween Horror Nights, Summer Concert Series, Mardi Gras music series, etc.)or just feel the need to splurge. This hotel is a great value for families, extend or short stays, and the value increases substantially when you book a Universal Orlando package.Make sure you contact a a Universal Parks & Resort Specialist, like myself, to see what kind of package you can get for your stay here or at any Universal Partner Hotel or Universal On-Site hotel.

Based on what we wanted to do, the package we booked included the Orlando Flexticket Plus and Early Entry to the Island of Adventure for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The Orlando Flexticket Plus ticket option gives you unlimited admission and park hopping abilities for Universal Studios, Island of Adventure, Seaworld, Aquatica, Wet N Wild,Citywalk, and Busch Gardens Tampa for 14 days from the first use. An added bonus is that once you pay for parking for the day, if you save your reciept you don't have to pay for parking for the rest of the day, just show your flexticket and parking reciept to get readdmission to wherever you are headed after that first park of the day.(This was the terms of the ticket in August of 2011, parks included and parking terms can be changed at anytime.)


I would just offer 3 warnings about this hotel.
 #1Be aware there is a hard sell time share here. You will be informed that you have a welcome package with coupons and a map of area attractions awaiting for you in the front lobby. When you pick it up, the person tries to get you to commit to going to a time share presentation for a resort that is "close" to the Disney properties. Once again this happened in August of 2011, this may or may not still be there, this had not been there in previous visits.
#2 If your planing on using the shuttle to Universal, don't, it really is not convient and the times for pick up and drop off , from lack of a better word, SUCK. If you have a package that allows you early entry to the parks, you are either going to have to walk, drive, our get a cab.This not unique to this hotel, it a problem for all off site hotels since the transportation is not provided by Universal and is from an outside company.
#3 Be prepared to look for a parking spot. You are in competetion for spots with a rental truck company,  TGIF Fridays, and other hotel guest. It was frustrating at nights to come back and have to wait for a TGIF guest to leave so we could have a spot since the rental trucks took up a chunk of the parking lot.There was talks at the time we were there, that the rental Truck company was going to be told at the end of their contract, they would need find someplace else for their trucks because that portion of the lot is prime expansion property for the hotel.

Room Tip: Ask for a room that is not facing kirkman Road

First stay June 2000. Last stay August 2011

You can get there from here, but how? Part 2

    Today's post is prompted by the sudden surge in gas prices. In You can get here, but how? Part 1, I gave my insights and shared some of my misadventures of flying into the Central Florida area. Flying is my preference because it is quicker to get there and generally easier. I didn't start flying to Florida though, until I was out of high school.

I am an Eagle Scout and proud even if  I don't have the bumper sticker.
This was my Scout Troops bus

    My first visits to Florida came via the open road and was within my parent’s vehicle pulling a pop up camper. I was too young to remember that trip, but have been told it  happened not  long after Disney World opened and it was cold, causing the trip to be cut short because everyone got sick. Since then the chariots that ushered me to Florida were a Boy Scout Bus and conversion vans.

   After discovering the joys and general ease of flying, I tried the option of  driving to Florida only once since then and probably won’t do it again unless I get a plush RV to make the trip in. Traveling by car, bus, or van tends to a much more affordable mode of transportation for large families or groups, even with high gas prices. The Problem is, depending on where you live, it could be pretty time consuming and burn valuable vacation time. I can’t recall a trip that we took by automobile that didn’t come with some delay or hassle.

1,217 miles  In perfect world 21 hours....in a perfect world.

   The trip from my hometown of Portage, Michigan to Patrick’s Air Force base near Cocoa beach Florida(generally our first destination on the road to Disney World) was supposed to take roughly 21 hours. The route looks easy enough on paper and of the several times we traveled the route, closest we got to our destination was about 36 hours. Fortunately those planning the trip, built in wiggle room so we wouldn't lose days at Disney and would be able to make our pilgrimage to Ron Jon's Surf Shop.(If you have never been to Ron Jon's Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach you haven't lived!!) Unfortunately, the trip down would leave everyone grouchy and exhausted.  We would always run across several delays ranging from a private plane making an emergency landing on the highway, mechanical problems with the bus leaving us stranded at  garage in Atlanta with 40 some scouts for over 10 hours, or when you stop to food or potty break, rounding up 40 some scouts that have been cooped on a bus could be a chore, especially when the food joints freak out when the bus rolls up.

One of the Runaway Truck Ramps on Mount Eagle

   There was always a few things to look forward to on the bus ride. One happened to be to try to be awake when the bus took on Mount Eagle. We would watch in anticipation to see if any trucks burned their brakes up and ended up out of control or on the runaway truck ramps. Never had the luck of seeing it happen, but you could always smell the burning brakes.

  Another highlight of the trip down was when we crossed a state line.The driver would blow the airhorn and say "Welcome to fill in the state name!" over the P.A. The closer to Florida we got, the more anxious people would get and want to be off the bus. It may not seem like much to get excited about,  but then again we were young and it made us happy. That is after the other form of enjoyment  that got taken away. That  being  me putting a Honk if you're ____ sign in the bus window. Once the scout leaders finally figuring out why people were honking when they went by, I got several lectures from several of the scout leaders and even a few snickers from them while they were chewing out. Of course, I got  a major lecture and threat to be sent home by the Troop Leader ,who happened to be my dad. That wasn't embarrassing for him at all.

This was the last time we drove to Florida circa 1997 The munchkin and I look much different now.

   Like I said in the first post, I hate being cooped up and  I am a sucker for roadside attractions, so when the bus stopped, I tried to be the first one off and the last one back on. Doing so, I would collect just about any brochure at a rest stop to try and keep my mind occupied. I just loved state welcoming centers, especially Florida's, that one even gave you free orange juice! Those brochures I gathered, would be littering the bus by the time we got to Disney World leading to me "volunteer" to clean the bus while everyone else was setting up camp and beginning their assault on the theme parks and arcades.( Yes, some people I traveled with would spend more times in the arcades than the theme parks, especially when The Contemporary Resort had the massive arcade on the bottom floor.)

  Once the bus was cleaned and camp was set up in Creekside Meadow at Fort Wilderness, we were turned loose for a week of fun at Disney World and the bus would sit dormant awaiting our trip back north, unless of course we had a side trip planned to Universal.  The scout bus truly favored the trip back north. Unlike the trip south, there was never mechanical problems or delays on the way home. It was as if the bus was mocking us because the vacation was over.

  Occasionally, there would be a chase van that followed us down with family members or for scouts that had no seats on the bus. That was the coveted ride because you could stretch out in the van more than you could in the bus.  The van though, was just as problematic as the bus. So much so, that within mere miles of making it to Cocoa Beach one trip, a call came over the CB radio that, " The van has blown up were pulling over NOW!" Silence hovered in the bus with everyone thinking the worse had happened, especially since the was no return calls on the radio when the leaders on the bus were trying to locate were the van was to know the extent of the problem. It turned out to just be a radiator that blew, but still ended up being hours in a garage, delaying our fun.

I told you to stop and ask for directions.

   Driving to Florida is not for me, but it is for a lot people. It can be the most affordable transportation for large groups or families. If you do plan on driving, plan for mishaps, traffic delays, and tired cranky people.  Make sure you stay alert and take shifts driving, navigating, and PLEASE DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE. It would be a bad thing if you were headed through Atlanta in the middle of the night with everyone fast asleep except the driver, then hear several hours later, "Welcome to Alabama", but that is a whole different story.