The Central Florida vacation scene is the number one vacation destination in the world. Florida has the location, weather, and capacity to host millions of people from all over the world on a year round basis.
When Walt Disney set his sights on the area in the early 1960's he chose it for those reasons and more. Florida was relatively underdeveloped at the time. Real estate was inexpensive, and being a pioneer, he understood he could lay the groundwork for an industry that would outgrow even his imagination. Sadly, Walt Disney died in 1966 but his dreams were already in motion. When the WDW Preview Center opened in 1968, my family and I visited it and were exhilarated by the image of castles and creatures that were presented to us. At the time it was the only structure on Lake Buena Vista Blvd and it's still there. It's a plain, unremarkable building that now hosts the Amateur Athletic Union but if you drive by it you'll see the first building the Disney Team occupied in Florida.
As years went by, Sea World, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and a myriad other smaller venues followed all of which have been very successful. Busch Gardens in Tampa was here first, but it was a small park that has done a great job of expanding over the years and remaining a powerhouse attraction along with the newer ones. They blended in well with the Disney culture by adding their own uniqueness and giving visitors so many choices that they could either try to do it all or vow to return and experience everything else.
For families wanting to make the journey, whether from the United States, Europe, or South America, I suggest first reading blogs like this one. In them you'll get the "unpolished" opinions of people like yourself - families on budgets who want to give other families good ideas on the "do's and don'ts" of visiting a large metropolitan area. Once you read a few articles and get a feel for the area then go to the reputable websites where you can book your entire vacation before leaving home. Expedia, Kayak, Priceline, and Orbitz, are just a few but they compete heavily for your business. You can book, airlines, car rental, theme park tickets, and even your meal budget all in one. My experience is that when you book everything on the same site you usually get a better deal. One thing folks tend to not do is shop around. Open an account on each site and create a travel itinerary without booking it. Then print it out and compare that with at least four other sites. This way you could save significant money rather than booking a la carte through different sites. Of course, if you can find something that way then do it but it's far more time consuming.
I'm going to end this one on that note. I'll do a follow up article taking up where I leave off so check back. Thanks.
When Walt Disney set his sights on the area in the early 1960's he chose it for those reasons and more. Florida was relatively underdeveloped at the time. Real estate was inexpensive, and being a pioneer, he understood he could lay the groundwork for an industry that would outgrow even his imagination. Sadly, Walt Disney died in 1966 but his dreams were already in motion. When the WDW Preview Center opened in 1968, my family and I visited it and were exhilarated by the image of castles and creatures that were presented to us. At the time it was the only structure on Lake Buena Vista Blvd and it's still there. It's a plain, unremarkable building that now hosts the Amateur Athletic Union but if you drive by it you'll see the first building the Disney Team occupied in Florida.
As years went by, Sea World, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and a myriad other smaller venues followed all of which have been very successful. Busch Gardens in Tampa was here first, but it was a small park that has done a great job of expanding over the years and remaining a powerhouse attraction along with the newer ones. They blended in well with the Disney culture by adding their own uniqueness and giving visitors so many choices that they could either try to do it all or vow to return and experience everything else.
For families wanting to make the journey, whether from the United States, Europe, or South America, I suggest first reading blogs like this one. In them you'll get the "unpolished" opinions of people like yourself - families on budgets who want to give other families good ideas on the "do's and don'ts" of visiting a large metropolitan area. Once you read a few articles and get a feel for the area then go to the reputable websites where you can book your entire vacation before leaving home. Expedia, Kayak, Priceline, and Orbitz, are just a few but they compete heavily for your business. You can book, airlines, car rental, theme park tickets, and even your meal budget all in one. My experience is that when you book everything on the same site you usually get a better deal. One thing folks tend to not do is shop around. Open an account on each site and create a travel itinerary without booking it. Then print it out and compare that with at least four other sites. This way you could save significant money rather than booking a la carte through different sites. Of course, if you can find something that way then do it but it's far more time consuming.
I'm going to end this one on that note. I'll do a follow up article taking up where I leave off so check back. Thanks.
