I forgot to mention, in 2004, they added an outdoor kids play area. This is a "wet" area, so bring bathing suits and towels. Nobody tell Marco, but the adults area adjacent to the kids area serves pina coladas.

We are in. Definately 2, MAYBE 2 + 1
Bill

2 adults, 2 children for us.

Jeff,

can you please check with the florida aquarium if they will honor the FREE ADMISSION through their SHARE program's partners?

This would mean FREE Admission for anyone with MOTE memberships, and certain other florida attractions - check with your membership provider to see for benefits.

http://www.mote.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=Reciprocal%20List&category=Membership

http://www.flaquarium.org/cm/templates/membership.aspx?articleid=30&zoneid=26

If you are planning on bringing your family, which is FINE !, you should look into the memberships:

http://www.flaquarium.org/Membership/

They are just a little bit more than all individual admission tickets together, but provide you with benefits & reduced/free admission to over 30 other venues/attractions including MOTE and Zoos.

I Believe the MOTE membership has a larger list of benefit for reduced/free admission .. worth checking out.

OK, #1, Marco, stop making this difficult!!!!!

If you have a SHARE membership or a Florida Aquarium membership, your aquarium entry will be free. You will still have to pay $9 for the behind the scenes portion of the tour.

If you are not a member and plan on becoming one that day, we need to know ASAP. This will require separate payment. Again, you will still need to pay $9 for the behind the scenes portion of the tour.

We will need a head count of non-members, members and SHARE members.

OK, hotel room booked!
2 adults, 1 child
Bill

You're a sweetheart Jeff!

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, don't tell anyone.

me and the family will be there

Family?

2 Adults, 2 Kids?

That is what my family consists of.

Me and my girlfriend will be there.
Cant wait, it will be fun.

One week left until the confirmation deadline. We are at 15 total. To date, I have confirmation from the following (includes family)

Jeff
Bill
Marco
Scott
Alan

I am in. Flyin' solo. The wife and kids are in NY for the summer. Did someone mention pina coladas?

I am a member of Mote. I will be getting in to the aquarium for free and will pay the other $9. Do you need it before the trip or at the door?

That is a question for the Treasurer since we are writing a SWFMAS check. I am assuming the day of the event since some people from ACROS are also coming.

Cristina jump in if I am incorrect.

Sixteen confirmed from SWFMAS. Need to know by Monday if anyone else is going.

Jeff

If we only have 16 is that enough for the behind the scenes tour? The first post said 25 minimum.
Bill

Actually we are at 23 including the ACROS people. I spoke with the aquarium yesterday and we are good.

If anyone else is interested, I told them we had 6 maybes, just in case there were any last minute add ons.

out of the 4 that are coming from my fam, I am prob the only one who will do the behind the scenes...

That's fine. On Friday, I have to give them a call with the exact number of paying adults, the number of adults that are members, same with kids and the number of behind the scenes. They will give me an exact total then for the check.

I might be the only "behind the scenes" for my family too.

PS--Anyone recommend a good Tampa area LFS to check out on the way home?
Bill

Is there an age limit on chidren for the behind the scene tour? I know at the Georgia Aquarium they had to be 10 years old...Just wondering...if not Marco may be the only one doing the behind the scene thing...I found the one at Georgia Aquarium to be very interesting, I learned alot!

boy it sure would be nice to have a meeting somewhere in Naples or Bonita.
@ 4 dollars a gallon i feel these field trips are unrealistic

Raul,

I believe this will be the last out of town event for this year (other than the BBQ in venice).
I understand your point, and the gas prices are hurting EVERYONE.

Shoot Jeff an email & see if we can organize something in the Naples/Bonita area. jeff@swfmas.com

I don't think there is an age limit. I know under 3 was free.

I am working on August and September. One of those two will be a field trip in Lee County with one of the Marine Science teachers at FGCU. The other will be a speaker. Working on two different possiblities there.

I posted up on the Tampa Reef site on RC to ask about any good LFS to see what was around. I don't know if anyone knows, but they said to expect a lot of traffic on Saturday. The 2008 Red Bull Flugtag Tampa is on Saturday the 19th too. It takes place at the convention center, which I think is close to the aquarium.
Bill

I am sure that some of us will be looking for a good LFS in Tampa to stop by after the aquarium tour. I have read good reviews of this store on the Tampa Bay Reef Club site on RC. Check it out. They are open till 6pm Saturday.

www.ichthythings.com

Bill,

FAOIS is a pretty good store to visit.
There is a store right down the road from John's Fish & Other ICTHY Stuff that is talked about as being very nicely setup, no expense spared, lit with all LED ....

I believe Jim, the new owner of Some Thing Fishy has a store not too far from there as well.