Skip Clearwater Beach?

[Knitty Kitty]

I am hoping someone can give me some perspective on this issue! Thank you in advance for reading - this got a bit long!

My family is going to be coming down to visit Universal Orlando in mid-August. We'll have three days at Universal and a very short Disney stay to use our GAD voucher tickets. That end of our plans is all set and ready to go. (Thanks Wendy at MJ!)

Originally, we had planned to spend four days in the Clearwater Beach area at the end of our trip. Given the oil spill disaster in the Gulf Coast, I am having major doubts about whether we should continue with our plans or consider Plan B, C or D! To date, I have found no reports of oil or tar balls washing up in the Clearwater area. That said, I really and truly thought that the oil leak would be capped by now too! I realize my concerns are somewhat frivolous considering the environmental and economic impact this is having on the area but...well...I have scrimped and saved for this vacation and I'm just not thrilled at the prospect of swimming in an oil slick.

Plan B would be paying the change fees on SW and coming home early. Really not my favorite idea.

Plan C would be going to the east side of Florida to either Daytona or Cocoa Beach or perhaps St. Augustine. I feel better about this one but I was really looking forward to seeing the Gulf Coast beaches.

Plan D (no pun intended!)would be extending our Disney trip to take advantage of the Free Dining offer. This feels like really nice timing since it starts on the day we're using our GAD tickets but it absolutely would not save us any money, no matter how I crunch the numbers. DH isn't thrilled with this idea but is willing to consider it.

Am I being silly to worry about the oil spill this far in advance or should we start making other arrangements?

[ThanxForNoticin]

Everything I've been reading indicates they are not expecting the oil slick to extend northeast to the Clearwater Beach or Tampa areas. It's farther south and west in the Gulf - at least for now. We love Clearwater Beach and are not changing our plans for September. All that being said, we are really hoping and praying they find a way to stop the leak soon so they can clean up the spill and avoid questions like this in the future.

[stephntampa]

I live in the Tampa area and pray that our beautiful beaches are spared. There is no sign that the oil is headed our way, however if a tropical storm/hurricane heads our way, it may mean oil on our beaches. It is impossible to predict what the situation is going to be. Sorry, don't mean to be a downer...this situation is wreaking havoc with our tourism!!

[BellesRose]

How soon do you have to make your decision? I live here and I can keep you updated. I don't believe we'll have anything but you never know. We're not expecting anything, I can tell you that much, and there's a lot to do here.

[DVC2004]

You have probably went and returned on your trip so this may not help you- but maybe someone else. We just returned last week and visited Clearwater Beach. It was beautiful-the water was warm and clean. DIdn't appear to be affected whatsoever by the spill. We had a great time and it was by far one of the nicest beaches we've visited. They put out chairs and umbrellas for use (no charge) and there were clean bathrooms as well. It's a great place for families.

[BellesRose]

All of our beaches around our clean! No oil whatsoever