View Full Version : Going to Florida
Roger the cabin boy
1st Apr 2007, 07:22
Apologies to the purists for this non-aviation thread:
Taking Dragon Ops and clan to Florida soon - does anyone know if the big parks, Disney, Epcot, Seaworld et al, are still offering military discount to UK forces? If yes, would you mind letting us know how, where, why etc.
Grateful for any gen. Cheers.
acebaxter
1st Apr 2007, 07:29
I don't know about that one but you should be able to find out on the Disney website.
Tiger_mate
1st Apr 2007, 07:45
An ID card and question ref Military Discount got me a Ford Mondeo upgraded to a Lincoln Town car (Same car the President uses) without additional charge. Petrol for pennies and a motor like that added a lot to the holiday.
http://www.supanet.com/media/00/11/12/Lincoln-Town-Car.jpg
The 'tipping culture' of the US managed to bug me. My philosophy is 'Good Service = good tip. Their culture is 'Any service = tip' which wasnt compatable with my '****e service from a grumpy old cow - sling your hook' attitude.
http://www.militaryspot.com/military-discounts.htm
May help - unverified
http://www.forcesdiscounts-mod.co.uk lists free day passes available at Universal, Seaworld and Busch but i can't actually find out how to apply because the web links they supply seem to be broken.
adrian mole
1st Apr 2007, 08:35
If you go to the Recreation Center (Their spelling) at either Patrick AFB or Canaveral AFB you can obtain discount tickets for a multitude of attractions. There is a similar outlet at Jacksonville NAS and at DisneyWorld itself if you stay in the right hand lane at the park entrance you carry on to the Shades of Green Hotel where once again you can purchase discount tickets. www.shadesofgreen.org You need to produce ID of course but they do accept a RAFA Retired Air Force Pass and my Mrs still has her Dependents ID but don't tell the Plods!
Evalu8ter
1st Apr 2007, 11:49
I think "Operation Salute" is still going at the Busch parks (ie Sea World & Busch Gardens). All I did was pitch up at the gate, show ID and complete a form. Rather than go all the way out to Patrick / Canaveral you could go to the Navy PX, on Earhart Drive (next to MCO). There is a large MWR section there, as well as all the obvious PX attractions! You can E-Mail them before you go to get the latest discounts, so you can budget. You don't get much off Disney (5-10%) but you can get some excellent prices for water parks, dining shows, Kennedy and other museums. If you can get away from the family, go to Kermit's Fantasy of Flight and, on your way to Kennedy, drop in for an hour at the Valiant Air Command museum.
Have fun, PM me if you want any extra advice.
West Coast
1st Apr 2007, 17:08
"Their culture is 'Any service = tip'"
Nope. Its quite the norm to tie level of service to the amount, if any of the tip. You may have been taken advantage of because of differing cultures with regard to this. As a general rule, you don't have to tip unless YOU want to.
jayteeto
1st Apr 2007, 18:48
Last year the deal at Seaworld was for people who were operational, not reservists. Seaworld has a specific forces entry kiosk about 50 yards down from the main entrance (away from the entry to the main car park). They ask you and your party to wear a special ID as you walk around. I saw people being random stopped and getting handshakes etc. Always try for a discount ANYWHERE, including shops, don't be shy, they absolutely love the military. Every Shamu show has a slot where all allied forces (and families) are invited to stand up and you get a huge show of appreciation. Really nice touch, if not a bit over the top. The spams get some stick on Pprune, but they could teach the brits a bit on how to treat the 'heros'. Shades of green for disney tickets, it is worth checking the discounts against uk prepay discounts available on the internet. When I was in the RAF the uk tickets were slightly cheaper.
Roger the cabin boy
1st Apr 2007, 19:14
Thanks for that folks, most useful. All good info and much appreciated.
Roger
PPRuNeUser0211
1st Apr 2007, 19:25
"Always try for a discount ANYWHERE" except for in a somewhat militant irish bar in NY, as some of my esteemed colleagues tried to whilst visiting.... didn't go down too well!!
Wycombe
1st Apr 2007, 20:52
I got a discount at the aforementioned "Fantasy of Flight" last year just for saying I was a UK ex-Reservist :)
Great place for a visit if you fancy a day away from Disney.
Take the I-4 out of the Orlando towards Tampa, about 45 mins, can't miss it.
As mentioned, most of the other deals require production of ID, so were no longer an option for me.
Just a note on US tipping....
Dont know if you are aware but most American service sector pay rates are about 2 dollars an hour because the remainder of the income comes from tips.
It's not like UK where the tips are on top of a minimum wage.
Figures are approx.
HEDP
raytofclimb
1st Apr 2007, 21:00
I got into Busch gardens for free with F1250, they would only give the wife and folks half price since they didn't have mil ID! Still a cheap day out.
I didn't have the balls to stand up at the start of the show like other vets/firemen/cops/soldiers did to recieve my round of applause for fighting the war on terror though. Stiff upper lip you know.
But yeah....... joe puplic here could learn a lot.
Ray