it is essentially 6 months of sitting on the beach, mix in a few hours a week of a stash job. florabama one night, seville the next, flounders, capt fun, etc .... fun for about a month then it gets old. i'd much rather be in training during the week and just have fun on the weekend. and lets be honest, primary really isn't that hard. its the least you'll ever work in the Marine Corps, but prob the most youll ever study (words of wisdom from my onwing) ... i thought tbs was tougher solely for the sleep factor. you definitely have to study but when you're getting 8-9 hours a night its not a prob.
to answer the ifs question ... i did ifs at pcola. our main working area is also a primary working area (3), but i've only been there once during primary and i'll never go again. i did three xc during ifs, all 3 times traveled through primary working areas so got to kind of scope them out, but at the time didn't even know they were primary working areas. don't worry about it at all, when the time comes you'll learn the areas.
i understand why the older guys say enjoy the 6 month paid vaca, because they can't do it anymore. but when you're motivated to learn how to fly, its hard not to want to get in that cockpit asap. plus when u work hard, the play hard is that much more enjoyable.