Travel Puma

Budget Travel has just posted an open letter to the Walt Disney Corp. in order to try and convince the company to keep running their “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign.

The “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign offered free admission to the Disney California and Florida theme park on your birthday which was perfect for budget traveling, but now the company is doing away with the program.

To the magic-makers at Disney,

Being bargain hunters, we’ve loved 2009’s “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign. After all, free admission on a person’s birthday to your Florida and California theme parks is what budget travel is all about. And getting to act like a little kid certainly takes the sting out of turning another year older!

Which is why we urge you to please extend this program into 2010. You’ve extended campaigns like this before. (The “Year of a Million Dreams” was supposed to end in 2007, and you took it through 2008.)

Sure, we’re cautiously optimistic that the worst of the recession will be over by next year. But we also know that a lot families will continue to struggle. During hardship, every little bit of sunshine helps. Walt knew that better than anyone.

So we hope you’ll extend the free-admission-on-your-birthday promotion to next year. Because there’s a little bit of Peter Pan in all of us!

Sincerely,
Your dearest fans at Budget Travel

We’re hoping this letter works since our next birthdays aren’t until next year!

If you’re looking to visit Florida this summer and want to stay away from the crowds, Navarre Beach is just for you.

With miles of untouched white sands and all the shelling you could dream of, Navarre Beach is located on Santa Rose Island which is considered part of the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area and is just miles from Pensacola Beach and the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Interestingly, many of the scenes from the 1978 movie Jaws 2 were filmed at Navarre Beach, though we guess this isn’t something that is too great advertising about a tourist beach.

There are many condos and townhomes for rent along this portion of the Gulf of Mexico and at much more reasonable rates than you will find in Seaside or Destin, with less of the crowd to boot.

While many of the rental properties along the gulf are pet-friendly, sadly the beaches as well as the National Seashore do not allow pets on the beach, and patrols are more than ready to hand out a $500 fine.

All in all, Navarre is a stunningly maintained beach with everything you could want from your summer vacation.

Ever wondered what the top romantic U.S. travel destinations were?  We think you’ll be surprised by the leaders. 

Here’s a list of the Top 10 U.S. Travel Destinations, in order of the most popular:

1. Hawaii
2. Las Vegas
3. Florida
4. California
5. Texas
6. Georgia
7. Virginia
8. New York
9. North Carolina
10. Colorado

As you can see, it’s quite a veritable variety of locations within the United States, each offering travellers tempting excursions and adventures.

Even with the long flight, Hawaii seems to always get the top slot in U.S. travel with its honeymoon desirability as well as a beach-lovers paradise.  Make sure you check out our earlier post on the Big Island’s Kona Village Resort.

Of course, coming in a close second is Sin City itself.  With 24-hour entertainment and some of the best shows and musical acts ever congregated into one area, it’s no wonder so many flock to Las Vegas to get married or to just enjoy the show.

Coming in third, Florida’s beaches and theme parks will always tempt travelers with stunning Key West and Orlando’s Walt Disney World.  Florida is a perfect state to enjoy the simple pleasures of life hand in hand with your partner.

With each U.S. destination, you can experience the wonder and romance of what the States have to offer.

About to pack up the kids for summer?  Then don’t delay, book your Orlando, Florida vacation now!

When you book a stay of 4 nights or more, you can receive a free Universal Studios Theme Park admission pass.  And did we mention this is already on top of a savings of up to 30% off your room rates?!

Be sure to book your destination vacation by July 31 to take advantage of these savings and start planning that Florida trip you and your family have been dreaming of.