Taking the long 18+ hour drive down to FL with the family next week to visit my brother. This is my first time going to FL (other than Disney when I was a kid and we stayed on the resort).

I have my FL CCW and plan to bring at least (1) handgun, anything I should know carry/law wise? I am aware of all the crap states up North I need to drive through to get there and their laws.

Also, any recommendations on what to do/see in Orlando area?

2 kids and a wife should make for an interesting road trip

Here's the basics on what you need to know:

Orlando traffic SUCKS

https://www.handgunlaw.us/states/florida.pdf

Off limits:  (note on 12:  Restaurants are good-to-go, as long as you're not at the bar or bar area.  You can also drink of you want)
(12)(a)A license issued under this section does not authorize any person to openly carry a handgun or carry a concealed weapon or firearm into:1.Any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05;
2.Any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station;
3.Any detention facility, prison, or jail;
4.Any courthouse;
5.Any courtroom, except that nothing in this section would preclude a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom;
6.Any polling place;
7.Any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district;
8.Any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof;
9.Any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms;
10.Any elementary or secondary school facility or administration building;
11.Any career center;
12.Any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose;
13.Any college or university facility unless the licensee is a registered student, employee, or faculty member of such college or university and the weapon is a stun gun or nonlethal electric weapon or device designed solely for defensive purposes and the weapon does not fire a dart or projectile;
14.The inside of the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport, provided that no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft; or
15.Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.
(b)A person licensed under this section shall not be prohibited from carrying or storing a firearm in a vehicle for lawful purposes.
(c)This section does not modify the terms or conditions of s. 790.251(7).
(d)Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any provision of this subsection commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

Thanks, yeah my brother said traffic is a bitch. Carry laws sound similar to my home state, no schools or .gov buildings. The bar thing wont be an issue as we'll have our kids.

This is probably a dumb question but how about carrying at Disney or Universal? I'm assuming that's a no-go?

It's nice to see vehicle storage is acceptable. What is considered acceptable storage in FL? (We're Traveling in a Mini Van)

Metal detectors. Private property.  No-go.

No-go for carrying at the parks.

Stop at a Publix, Walgreens, CVS, or somewhere and get yourself a SunPass if your home state's pass doesn't work here. There's a new Express Lane on i4 that gets you through a lot of the city's rush hour traffic if you need to travel through that part. Most of the other toll roads will do Pay-By-Plate if you don't have a SunPass or other accepted pass. But this one requires a pass.

SunPass is the official transponder of I-4 Express, but drivers have other options. Several interoperable transponders are accepted: E-PASS, E-ZPass, LeeWay, NC Quick Pass, and Peach Pass.

Lots to do in the area. Just depends what your interests are. Drive 60-90 mins East or West and you can get to a lot of nice beaches. The theme parks. Shows. Shopping. Restaurants. Kennedy Space Center.

Have a safe trip and enjoy it.

Thanks

Thanks, we are planning on checking out some of the beaches, way better then NE from what I hear. People keep talking about the Kennedy Space Center so we may have to hit that.

Yes, definitely better than NE (I'm from CT). The water here is actually warm and you can see your feet when you're standing in it. Clearwater Beach, Fort De Soto, Indian Rocks areas are nice if you want to head west. Cocoa Beach area and Volusia beaches (Ormond, Daytona, NSB) if you want to head east. Tampa traffic is worse than Orlando traffic if that helps with your decision. Titusville is a town to check out if you end up going to KSC. Playalinda beach is down that way as well.

I see, Brian860...lol... yeah..I'm from CT as well. My brother moved down there about 5 years ago now. He's always talking about Cocoa beach for some reason.

That water looks awesome! Beautiful beaches

The Gulf beaches are much better for swimming and sand than the Atlanic beaches are.

KSC launch schedule

Visited an old buddy in Sebastian last week. Went to the Valiant Warbird Museum in Titusville. Very cool.

They have the 1 flyable P-82 Twin Mustang there..and it's for sale! Lots of other great aircraft too.

Passed on KSC because they wanted $57 a head for adults. Didn't realize it was such a tourist trap.

But while on the driving range, got to watch the last SpaceX launch that Friday.

They run FL resident package deals every now and then. When I went back in October, it was $159 for 4 passes. They only required that one ticket be used by someone with a FL ID. So we were able to bring our 2 visitors with us as part of the promo. They did still get us for parking as well. I want to say it was $10.

But I would say it's worth the $57 if you are even somewhat interested in it. I thought it would be a quick stop, but we ended up spending almost all day there.

We could see one of those launches from my Brother's back yard tonight

21 hours on the road and 30 hours awake before we got here. Arrived at 9:30a this morning.  Tomorrow should start the fun.

The best thing I ever did was listen to @osprey21 when he told me I needed ti start vacationing at Anna Maria Island!

Thank you so much @osprey21 it was life changing.

Yeah it’s busy from time to time but hands down the best water and beaches in Florida and I’ve been too all of them from Pensacola down to Keys and back up to Jacksonville!

If I want super quiet relaxing but not as good beaches I go to St Augustine to Flagler.

If I want amazing beaches and water I go to Anna Maria Island. Pensacola to 30A is a close second.