Family, travel, mom blog | Theme Park Mom (Leigh Caldwell)

Adventure Island opens for the season later this week, and the Tampa water park is offering two new ticket deals this year:

The Adventure Island Weekday Pass allows you to pay for a day at the park and come back on weekdays for the rest of the season. You can buy this pass online for $41.95 for both children and adults.

The weekday pass is obviously a great deal for local residents who want to visit several times during the season. But it’s also a good deal if you are vacationing in Tampa and think you will want to go to Adventure Island more than once.

If you live in Florida, the water park is also offering an Online Exclusive Florida Resident Offer, which gives you a free ticket to Adventure Island if you buy a ticket to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. This ticket costs $74.95, and you must buy it online before you get to the park. Choose this deal if you are a Florida resident and you just plan to visit each of these Tampa parks once this year.

Adventure Island opens March 13-14 for a preview weekend and will be open for the season from March 22 through Sept. 6.

One of my favorite preschoolers and I attended a preview event at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay this morning, where they promised us a big announcement.

And it was big – for Florida parents of kids ages 5 and under: FREE admission.

To celebrate the opening of the Sesame Street Safari of Fun at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay this spring, the Tampa theme park is offering free admission for kids ages 5 and under for the rest of 2010!

Here’s how you can get in on the deal:

• Your child must be a Florida resident.
• The child must be 5 years old or younger when you register for the pass. If the child turns 6 during the year, he or she is still eligible for admission, as long as the registration was completed before his or her sixth birthday
• You must register online in advance; these free passes will not be issued at the park gate.
• Go to SesameStreetSafariofFun.com to register your child and print the e-Ticket.
• Bring the e-Ticket and a birth certificate or passport to Busch Gardens, and your preschooler gets in free through Dec. 31, 2010!

The Sesame Street Safari of Fun is a new children’s area that opens March 27. It will feature Sesame Street-themed rides, splash play areas and a brand-new junior roller coaster, Air Grover. Kids can see their favorite Sesame Street characters in a stage show at the Sunny Day Theater, get their picture made in a new character greeting area and dine with Elmo and his friends at character breakfasts and lunches.

I’ll have a sneak peek at the character dining options coming up tomorrow here on ThemeParkMom.com.

Walt Disney World is offering 30% to 45% discounts on hotel rooms for Florida residents most nights this spring. These are some amazing deals, with prices under $60 per night for value resorts, under $100 per night for moderates and around $175 per night for some of the deluxe resorts.

Here are some examples:

• $53.30 per night for a room at All-Star Music Resort the last weekend of January
• $93.87 per night for a room at the Carribbean Beach Resort the third week of February.
• $174.00 per night for a room at Animal Kingdom Lodge the third week of April.

All of the details are available on Walt Disney World’s Web site. This is an especially great deal with the Disney Dream Pass, which offers Florida residents 4 days at the parks for just $99.

And if your family typically stays in values or moderates, here’s a chance to step up a category for about the same price (or less than) you are used to paying!

My family (which is 2 adults and 1 child) could do four nights at a value resort and the Disney Dream Pass for less than $500 (plus taxes). That is why I say these deals are truly amazing!

There are black-out dates for this discount, mainly centered around spring break. You have to book by June 10, 2010, but you will have the most availability if you book as early as possible, of  course.

Photo by Photos8.com

Central Florida theme parks are offering big savings to Florida residents this spring. Here’s a look at some of the deals:

Disney Dream Pass

Walt Disney World is offering 4 days for $99 if Florida residents visit between now and May 25, 2010. The price for kids ages 3-9 is $84. This ticket, called the Disney Dream Pass, allows entry to one park per day for four days. (You can upgrade to park hoppers for an additional $26.) The four days do not have to be consecutive, they just have to be used by May 25. The pass is not valid during the busiest spring break weeks – March 27 through April 9, and parking is not included. You can buy the Disney Dream Pass online before your visit.

Universal Orlando 2-Park Annual Power Pass

Universal Orlando is offering Florida residents a $25 discount off annual passes through April 18. To get the discount, you must enter the UPC code from a Coca-Cola product when buying online. There are three different levels of annual passes for Universal Orlando. The discount makes the “power pass” (which does not include parking and comes with blackout dates during the year’s busiest weeks) $114.99. This discount is also available to Georgia residents.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and SeaWorld Orlando Fun Cards

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and SeaWorld Orlando are once again offering Florida residents fun cards, an annual pass with no black-out dates that does not include parking. A card for one park is $69.95, $9 less than the cost of a one-day admission. A combo card that gets you into both parks all year costs $139.90. These cards expire on Dec. 31, 2010, regardless of when you buy them during the year. You can buy the fun cards online at SeaWorld Orlando or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

The best part of these Florida resident specials is that they come at one of the best times of year to visit the parks. Between now and late March when spring break travel begins, you will find lower crowds, as well as lower temperatures and lower humidity.

One thing to consider when looking at the bargain annual passes that don’t include parking: If you visit frequently, it may be worth it for one member of your family to upgrade to a pass that includes the parking fees and/or offers a discount on food and drink in the parks.