Great Summer Travel Discount Deals as of 07-10-14...

Just received the following deals from in my in-box:


Save up to 50% Off + Disney Park Hopper Ticket Deals & Free Days at Universal.  Book now through 7/31/14 and travel through 9/15/14.

50% OFF the all inclusive Dream Sands Cancun Resort and Spa. Book now through 7/11/14 and travel 9/1/14 - 10/31/14.

Save up to 50% off+ Instant flight credits up to $150 in Oahu, Hawaii! Book now through 7/31/14 and travel through 9/30/14.

Save up to 70% Off + $200 Instant Credit & $300 in Extras when traveling to the U.S Virgin Islands.  Book now through 7/31/14 and travel through 9/30/14.

45% OFF Daytona Beach Oceanside Inn. Book now through 7/13/14 and stay through 12/30/14.

Save up to 55% OFF Luxurious Atlantis Resorts in the Bahamas. Book now through 7/31/14.

Up to 60% OFF Oceanfront Hotels in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Available only at BookIt.com: Book now through 7/31/14 and travel through 9/15/14.

Save $15 - $50 Instantly When you Sign Up for Free Newsletter Membership at BookIt.com!

The Vision of Diagon Alley - Universal Orlando Resort

Universal's Hogwarts Express to be limited to ONE ride per day during peak times?

The Orlando Informer is reporting that Universal Orlando is preparing for an onslaught of visitors to the new Diagon Alley and Hogwarts Express linking Universal Studios to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Islands of Adventure.


When The Wizarding World of Harry Potter first opened at Islands of Adventure, the crowds stretched from the back of the park, through the front gate and all the way over to Universal Studios. Traffic was blocked along the nearby interstate for six hours that day.





Apparently with those memories in mind, Universal is prepping for the grand opening with plans of limiting patrons to one ride per day between the parks aboard the Hogwarts Express during peak time. Which will be every day this summer I suspect.


HERE are the discussions on this at the Orlando Informer Forum.

Orlando Theme Parks: 2014 Gate Prices & Saving Money

Secrets and History Behind Disney's Haunted Mansion

Have you ever wondered how Disney projected ghosts in the great room on the Haunted Mansion ride? This question and many more are answered in Fresh Baked Disney's Secrets & History of the Haunted Mansion:





h/t: Fresh Baked Disney

How to do BIG Vacations DEBT FREE

Here's our latest video on how to take big vacations debt free:




I'm still waiting on Katie to let me out of the bag. It's a good thing we've got Wi-Fi in the house ;-) -Jerry

Orlando Vacation Planning: Air & Hotel

Are you a first time traveler or a young couple with kids looking to save money on a trip to Orlando Florida?

Wondering how to find deals on airfare and hotels?  We've been several times and offer tips from our experiences. 

Details on Universal's new Harry Potter & The Escape from Gringotts Bank Released!

Universal Orlando has released new details on the newest ride to hit Universal Studios:
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott's bank:




This is going to be amazing. I had heard rumors that the ride itself would be mounted to a fully mobile 360 degree travel robotic arm.

We just posted our YouTube "Trailer" for the new channel!

We just posted our new  trailer for The Getaway show on YouTube.  We're really excited to share our passion for all things travel:





-Jerry & Katie

Watch Time Lapse video: Disney's 7 dwarfs mine train built in 30 seconds!

This is neat. Disney's new Seven Dwarfs Mine train rises from nothing in 30 seconds via time lapes photography:





-Katie

Renting a scooter for Orlando theme parks

There are miles and miles of theme parks to walk through in Orlando.  Our first year, we tried to do as many parks as possible in 8 days.  Halfway through, we thought our feet were going to fall off. ;-)


If you're traveling with grandparents or those with disabilities it can be quite expensive to rent scooters at the theme parks (think $50 a day plus deposit).
There is a cheaper way though. Sun Mobility will deliver a scooter right to your hotel and pick it up when you're done. They fold up for travel in the trunk of most vehicles and best of all, they start at $65.00 for THREE days! It's a real savings over in park rental.  You can even add a canopy to protect them from the elements (think Florida sun).


-Katie

Hogwarts Express - Behind the Scenes | Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando has also released a behind the scenes segment on the Hogwarts Express.  I think it's going to be amazing (and a bit crowded?) this summer.


-Jerry





-Jerry

Ihu's Breakaway Falls Now Open at Aquatica Orlando

Newe video is in of the newest water slide in the theme park capital of the world!
Orlando's tallest, steepest and only multi-drop tower slide of its kind is now open at Aquatica, SeaWorld's Waterpark.

You can get huge savings on Aquatica via discount site Best of Orlando. In fact, you can not only get Aquatica, but unlimited visits for 14 days to Aquatica, Universal Studios Orlando, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld, AND Wet n Wild with the Olando Flex Ticket.



For just a few dollars more, you can add Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay and receive free roundtrip transportation from Orlando!

It's a great deal: Save over $60 with Orlando Flex Ticket and get 14 days of unlimited admission to Orlando's best theme parks!

Check out our past Florida vacation photo albums on our new Getaway Facebook page.

We've posted many of our past pictures from Florida on our new Facebook page: YouTube's Getaway.

The one good thing about Facebook is that they make it very easy to upload lots of photos (unlike here on blogger). We've got albums on Olrando (multiple years) and our week in Pensacola when we rented a beach house right on the Gulf of Mexico.

Gosh we love Florida ;-)

Here's a video collection of some of our photos I put on a separate YouTube channel of ours a few years ago:

-Jerry

319 days to Orlando!

The countdown is on.  T minus 319 days until we get on an airplane and head for sunny Florida.


I'm chomping at the bit to go ahead and book our flight, but I'm restraining myself.

Most travel agents will tell you that the BEST deals on airfare happen 6-8 weeks prior to the scheduled departure.

So the big question now is, can I hold out that long??  ;-)


-Jerry

Starting a New YouTube Travel Channel and Blog: The Getaway



Well we're in the process of starting a new YouTube travel channel and all of the associated things that go with that.  

We used to watch The Travel Channel on TV all the time, but it's gone downhill fast.  Now it's mainly populated by food shows and ghost hunters.  They ought to change their name to The Paranormal Food Network ;)

Katie and I LOVE going to Florida and travel in general.  We've been to Orlando and Pensacola four years in a row and we wanted to share our passion with you.

This blog will be a home for the many links, discounts, steals & deals, that we find along the way and can share with you.  Once we get the channel up and running it's going to be great, it's going to be fun, and my hope is, it's going to SAVE YOU money on your trips.  In fact, we'll show you how you can take HUGE trips and come home without a mountain of debt hanging over your head.  Don't let anyone tell you it can't be done, that you have to put it on a credit card because that's just flat not true.

We're planning a BIG trip to Orlando Florida (about 320 days from now) and that will be our early focus with the channel.  We'll cover ways to save on airfare, hotel, parks, dining and much, much more. 

So I hope you'll follow us on here, join us on YouTube when we get it up and running within the next week or two (We'll post a link when it's firing on most of it's cylinders) and join us on our facebook page too:  https://www.facebook.com/YouTubeGetaway

Thanks and happy travels,
Jerry & Katie