If he'll be working at McDill and you want a walkable neighborhood I'd look in South Tampa. That's where I'd live if I didn't need good schools (I'm in northeast Tampa, referred to as "New Tampa"). There are tons of condos/townhomes/apartments in South Tampa, most within walking distance of parks, shops, restaurants, etc. That's also where most of the good/interesting restaurants in Tampa are. Much of South Tampa is old and established, with beautiful old neighborhoods and gorgeous homes. Look up "Bayshore Tampa," sometimes called "Bayshore Beautiful." I love to drive around that area. Where I live is very nice but everything is relatively new construction and--to me--boring. Even the new construction in South Tampa is very tastefully done to blend in with or complement the old neighborhoods. And it's near the river/bay (river runs through downtown to the bay.)
Traffic is crazy in Tampa during rush hours so it's imperative that you either live near your husband's job or that he keep irregular hours if he doesn't want a long commute. I used to go in early or late or work from home to avoid traffic, but now I drive my daughter to school downtown every day and can't avoid the morning madness. I've gotten used to it and it really doesn't bother me anymore--I know it'll take a while and I just accept it. So your husband will have to decide how much this matters to him if you'd like to live far from his work, but really you're lucky that there are plenty of nice neighborhoods not far from McDill.
It takes me about an hour and a half to get to Disney but I go at "good" times, such as early Saturday or Sunday mornings, or if I go on a weekday I leave after 9:00am. If you leave after work on a Friday evening (bad idea) it could take as long as two and a half hours (but that's rare). Coming from Tampa, you approach Orlando from the southwest so you get to Disney before you hit all the Orlando traffic; it's one of the first "Orlando" exits you get to. It sometimes takes a little longer coming home unless you leave sometime mid-day--traffic just always seems to be bad at night on I-4 anywhere around Orlando--it thins out the farther away you get.
Lowry Park Zoo is nice and so is the aquarium. MOSI is in a state of transition (supposed to be moving downtown, problems with the board of directors, etc.) and what they have left open currently is incredibly, ridiculously not worth the money. There are of course tons of beaches to explore. Busch Gardens is an awesome, closer, cheaper alternative to Disney. It's incredibly affordable to get a pass to Busch Gardens and Adventure Islands (the water park) and while it's no where near in the same league as Disney, it's really quite nice and a lot of fun. They have an entire Sesame Street themed area that your 1-year-old would probably love. When my kids were younger I used to take them there and I'd sit with a book and read while they played there for hours (although yours would obviously require more supervision, haha). It's also fun for little kids to watch the cruise ships leave port, or take a cruise yourself!
I didn't grow up in Tampa but I've been here for around 8 years now so let me know if you have any questions.
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