Mention the fact if you're a senior when you make your travel reservations. Many hotels, resorts, and restaurants offer discounts to seniors. In Orlando, people older than the age of 60 (sometimes 65) often qualify for reduced admission to theaters, museums, and other attractions (generally the smaller attractions and cultural venues, including the Orlando Science Center, Central Florida Zoo, Orlando Museum of Art, and others -- but not on tickets to the biggies such as Disney and Universal), as well as discounted fares on public transportation including the Lynx bus system and the I-Ride Trolley. Keep in mind that once you've arrived, area restaurants often offer discounts to seniors (though sometimes only at special hours or on special days) as well.
You can order a copy of the Mature Traveler Guide, which contains local discounts mainly on rooms but also on attractions and activities, from the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 8723 International Dr., Suite 101, Orlando, FL 32819 (tel. 800/643-9492 or 800/551-0181; www.orlandoinfo.com). You can also find it online at the CVB's website (click the "Mature Travelers Discounts" link under "Discounts & Promos" on the right side of the home page).
The U.S. National Park Service offers an America the Beautiful -- National Park and Federal Recreational Lands Pass -- Senior Pass (formerly the Golden Age Passport), which gives seniors 62 years or older lifetime entrance to all properties administered by the National Park Service -- national parks, monuments, historic sites, recreation areas, and national wildlife refuges -- for a one-time processing fee of $10. If you're going to the Cape Canaveral National Seashore on an excursion out of Orlando, it's a good bet. The pass must be purchased in person at any NPS facility that charges an entrance fee. Besides free entry, the American the Beautiful Senior Pass also offers a 50% discount on some federal-use fees charged for such facilities as camping, swimming, parking, boat launching, and tours. For more information, go to www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm or call the United States Geological Survey (USGS), who issues the passes, at tel. 888/275-8747.
For more information and resources on travel for seniors, see www.frommers.com/planning.
