On Your Summer Vacation: Fun That's Free
"GMA" tells you where admission is free this summer.
June 24, 2009— -- If you're looking for a good time on the cheap this summer, check out your area museums, factories and national parks. You probably won't have to travel too far to take advantage of some of these hot deals.
Free Theme Park Admission on Your Birthday
Visit a Disney theme park in California and Florida for your free day.
(The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News.)
Free Factory Tours
Made in the U.S.A. -- but how? Find out how a candy cane gets its stripes, or how toothpaste actually makes it into the tube. You can even see how a car is created from sheet metal.
Scroll through the list of states here and here to see which factories in your area offer free tours.
Free Museum Days for the Locals
Click here for a list of museums by state. Call the ones in your area to learn if they're free for local residents.
Free Admission for Military Members
At Anheuser-Busch theme parks, any active duty, activated or drilling reservist or national guardsman and up to three of their family members will be admitted for free. Register online or show a photo ID from the Department of Defense to take advantage of this deal.
Parks participating include SeaWorld in its three locations: San Diego; San Antonio, Texas; and Orlando, Fla., as well as Busch Gardens in both Tampa, Fla., and Williamsburg, Va., Watercountry also in Williamsburg, and Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pa.
A couple of the Six Flags theme parks have their own days of free admission for U.S. service members. Six Flags Great Escape in Lake George, N.Y., offers one free ticket per active duty military member during "Heroes" week from Aug. 10-14.
Then, in September at Six Flags Over Georgia, military personnel can get in free on selected days depending on the branch they belong to. The day for Air Force members is Sept. 19, when the park is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For the Navy and Coast Guard, it's Sept. 20, when the park hours are 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Army personnel get their turn on Sept. 26, when the park is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Marine day is Sept. 27, when park hours are 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
At Disney theme parks, each active or retired service member may receive a complimentary five-day "Disney's Armed Forces Salute" ticket with Park Hopper and Water Park Fun & More options. The ticket, which is valid for five days, admits military members to the four Walt Disney World theme parks and also allows a total of five visits to a Disney water park, DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park or certain other attractions.
Active or retired military personnel may also make a one-time purchase of up to five five-day "Disney's Armed Forces Salute Companion" tickets for $99 per ticket, plus tax, for family members or friends. These tickets allow entrance to one theme park per day. Tickets purchased for family members and friends do not include either the Park Hopper or Water Park Fun & More options, but can be upgraded to add either option, or both, for an additional $25, plus tax, per option.
All tickets and options at Disney's theme parks are nontransferable and must be used by Dec. 23, 2009.
National Parks' Free Weekends
Nothing says summer like spending time in the great outdoors.
Receive free admission at 147 U.S. national parks on July 18 and 19 and Aug. 15 and 16 only.