The little-known American beach that looks just like the Caribbean
Okaloosa Island, a little-known gem on Florida's Emerald Coast, has all the postcard-worthy beauty of the Caribbean without the long flight or sky-high price tag.
The beach offers clear blue-green water and stark white sand that is made of pure quartz crystals eroded from the Appalachian Mountains, per Business Insider.
This gives the beach that iconic sugar-white look and a soft, cool feel while you're walking around on a scorching hot day.
And Okaloosa Island has more than just its picturesque beaches - as it also offers fun attractions, dining, and shopping all close by.
It's just a stones throw away from other major Florida destinations, such as Fort Walton Beach and Destin.
There is a boardwalk in Destin Harbor that is over 1,200-feet-long and has spots for fishing, watching the sunset, or enjoying watersport activities such as paddle boarding or kayaking.
It even offers snorkeling around the nearby Spectre Island.
The beach offers clear blue-green water and stark white sand that is made of pure quartz crystals eroded from the Appalachian Mountains
And for those who don't want to hit the water, there are tons of other family-friendly attractions.
Families can race go-karts down a three-story wooded course at The Track and then play at the arcade to win prizes, per Destin-Fort Walton Beach Florida.
They can also go to Gator Beach for alligator shows and feeding free of charge.
In addition, animal lovers can enjoy the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park and Care Center, which has been a marine rehabilitation and conservation center since the 1950s.
There, families get the chance to see dolphin shows and other marine life.
There is also a Little Adventures program for younger guests, where kids have the opportunity to learn new skills such as fishing, snorkeling, and sailing.
While enjoying the beach views and warm sun, travelers can try local food spots.
There are many versatile food trucks in downtown Fort Walton Beach for a more laid-back feel.
But there are also hotspot destinations including The Gulf - an open-air restaurant built out of old shipping containers - and LuLu's in Destin, which is owned by singer Jimmy Buffett's sister, per the outlet.
In Destin, there is also a shopping center that has tons of spots to buy clothes and food.
Another perk of Okaloosa Island is how close it is to the airport.
The beach is only a short drive from Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, allowing for an easy getaway.
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For years, Disney World provided a long list of epic perks for those staying at a hotel at the beloved theme park - like free gifts and complimentary transportation. But recently, many of those bonuses have slowly started to disappear... and now, some avid Disney fans feel that the silent removal of the benefits, along with rising prices, is simply ruining the magic. Back in 2010, a one-day adult ticket to Disney World ranged from $79 to $82, and now, 15 years on, single day tickets cost as much as $189 for Magic Kingdom - and it was recently announced that the ticket prices would be going up again in 2026. Staying overnight at the theme park also comes at a steep price - for example, a weekend at Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows in December will cost nearly $2,000 for two nights, while Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa comes to $2,600. 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That's right, guests would be greeted by an official Disney driver upon landing, and would board a comfortable and airconditioned motor coach that would bring them right to the magic. In addition, Disney guests didn't even have to head to baggage claim to pick up their luggage at the airport because Disney would take care of that too. They'd grab your bags, load them into the car, and have them brought directly to your room after your arrival at the hotel. Sounds like a hassle-free and breezy experience. But now, the magical perk has vanished. The luggage service was cut in 2020, while the transportation perk was removed in 2022, which means guests now have to find their own ride to the resorts while dragging their suitcases - and taxis and Ubers are not cheap. Disney has greatly reduced housekeeping services - leaving guests struggling to get clean towels and forced to take out their own trash Daily housekeeping should be a norm at all hotels right? Wrong. At Disney hotels, cleaning services have been greatly reduced in recent years. Disney's website currently states that guests staying at Value or Moderate resorts will only receive housekeeping services 'every other day,' while Deluxe resort guests get it daily. However, many Disney guests have complained that wasn't the case for them, and some have alleged that housekeeping only comes if you specifically request it. One user took to Reddit last year to share their frustration after they claimed they had been at their Disney hotel for five days and a housekeeper hadn't come once. 'Bed never made, dirty towels are left all over I had to ask for towels one day because we had no more,' they scathed. 'I think you have to specifically ask for it! Ever since COVID we've had to explicitly say we wanted it or else they'd assume we didn't,' someone else shared in the comment section. 'Just came back from a three day stay at the Contemporary, and we had the same experience. 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Disney resorts don't offer room service and almost all dining locations close at 11pm - leaving guests 'starving' after a long day at the parks There's nothing like having a mid-day resort nap or taking a day to rest rather than hitting the parks. But what happens if you get hungry and don't want to get out of bed? Most people would assume you could pick up the phone and order some room service... but nope, Disney World doesn't offer room service at almost all of its hotels. During the pandemic, Disney put a stop to their room service food delivery, and after everything opened back up, the theme park quietly left this perk under the rug. Disney reported on its website that out of the 32 hotels on property, only Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa offers room service for guests. That means guests at all the other hotels will need to venture to the resort food court or restaurants to get food. But if you want to get something to eat late at night, you're out of luck again, as almost all of the eateries on Disney property close at 11pm. This is certainly a problem since on some days the parks don't even close until 11pm, which means guests often get back to their resorts after a long day and find their stomachs growling, only to discover there's absolutely nowhere to get food. 'The last few times I have gone to Disney, I end up finding myself leaving the parks and just wanting to eat something,' one frustrated Disney attendee wrote on Reddit recently. 'However by the time we get back to the resort or once the park closes it just seems like there is no place whatsoever to eat food or get something to drink. Everything is closed and we are just left starving. 'I don't know how people feel about this but personally I am annoyed by this. We are spending thousands of dollars for our trip and the least thing is there can be more convenience when it comes to getting food at night. 'Not even the convenience stores are open to just get small items for the room at this point.' Resort guests used to get free MagicBands mailed to them ahead of their stays, but the pre-trip ritual was eliminated... and now the accessory costs $45 Years ago, guests staying at Disney hotels would get a package in the weeks leading up to their trips that contained free MagicBands for everyone on the reservation. MagicBands are wearable, interactive accessories that enhance the Disney experience at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. They act as a digital key to unlock various features, including park entry, hotel room access, payment options, and connections to PhotoPass and other Disney experiences. Starting in 2021, Disney cut out the free perk, which means the tradition of seeing the bands arrive to you in the mail before your vacation is now over, diminishing the pre-trip excitement. While they used to be free for Disney hotel guests, they will now cost you a whopping $35 to $45 per person. Disney did away with its free FastPass+ system, which allowed guests to skip long lines, to instead offer its extremely expensive Lightning Lane services Disney's FastPass+ was a highly praised system that allowed guests to book ride times in advance and skip long standby lines - all for free. Disney chucked that away in August 2021, and instead, began offering a similar service called Lighting Lane - but it comes at a hefty price. It costs between $15-$39 per person per day for the Lightning Lane Multi Pass, which allows you to book up to three ride reservations in advance, and when it's time for your reservation, you can enter a special line that has a much shorter wait time. However, certain attractions are not included, and for those, you have to buy a Lighting Lane Single Pass that can range from $10-$25 each, according to The Park Prodigy. Even worse, The Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which provides access to all available Lightning Lane entrances without needing a reservation, can cost between $129-$449 per person, per day. For a family of four this could cost you well over a thousand dollars just to wait in shorter lines, not including the price of the park ticket. 'Having to pay for skip-the-line access when it used to be free is a hard pill to swallow,' AJ said. 'This is probably the most jarring and impactful change that Disney fans have had to accommodate. 'Spending potentially hundreds of dollars on something that used to be complimentary is a massive budgetary strain for plenty of guests.' Early access to the parks got cut from one hour to 30 minutes and Extended Evening Hours went from being available to all hotel guests to only Deluxe resorts Before 2020, all guests staying at Disney World hotels had the option to enter the parks an hour early every day, and stay in select parks two hours later on certain days. 'It was a big reason to stay on-site - you got more time in the parks than everyone else,' Inside the Magic reported. But Disney made some major changes to the perk after the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of the parks opening an hour early for hotel guests, it's now been cut down to only 30 minutes. And rather than all hotel guests getting to enjoy the parks after closing, that's been revamped so that only those who are staying at Deluxe resorts can participate. That means guests at a Value or Moderate hotel no longer get to enjoy the Extended Evening Hours benefit. Other services like merchandise delivery to hotel rooms and babysitting have slowly disappeared over the years Another big benefit of staying at a Disney hotel was the free delivery of any merchandise you bought in the parks. That meant you could go shopping and have your shirts, ears, stuffed animals, and bubble wands all delivered right to your hotel room, avoiding the hassle of lugging them around on rides or on lines. But the service was revoked in 2020, and never saw the light of day again. In addition, babysitting services - also known as the Children's Activity Centers - has been removed from all resorts. That's right, for a small fee, hotel guests used to be able to leave their children aged three to 12 in a play area in Deluxe resorts so they could enjoy some adult-only time. But as per a post on Disney's PlanDisney website in 2023, 'They have all closed with no rumors of returning.' Daily Mail has reached out to Disney World for comment. In the end, Shannon said she 'worries' about the future of the parks amidst all the changes. 'The costs have certainly gone up, but people continue to pay which is why Disney keeps doing it,' she said. 'I worry that the addictive nature of the parks (which is why so many of us now go regularly) won't be as much now that so many perks and expenses have changed.'
