In This Issue Welcome Disney's Magical Express Armadillo Game Rough Guide to Florida book review New Years Eve in Florida Free Monthly Desktop Wallpaper December events Weather forecast

Hi subscriber, welcome to the December newsletter of the Florida Review & Travel Guide.

December 1 heralds the official end of the hurricane season which thankfully has been a lot quieter than forecast, especially after the terrible season last year. It will be interesting to see what the early predictions for 2007 bring; read our weather pages for the latest hurricane predictions.

However November still sprung a few surprises with tornadoes, unseasonably low temperatures (in the 40s) and snow flurries (mixed with rain) across Central Florida. Whilst many people in the USA and Europe are used to snow at this time of year, it was quite a shock for Floridians.

Gatorland fire

The famous Gatorland alligator farm and park on Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando was in the news last month.

An early morning fire on November 6 completely destroyed the entrance area, gift shop and some of the administration buildings, leaving the well known landmark alligator jaws entrance smoke blackened but still standing. Luckily, casualties were light with only a couple of exhibits which were actually kept in the entrance area being killed.

The staff worked tirelessly and managed to erect a temporary entrance which allowed them to re-open on November 24, the day after Thanksgiving. The total rebuilding of the entrance area is expected to take a year to complete but the park will remain open during this period.

Other news

A man was attacked by an 11 foot alligator during the early hours of the morning at a lake in Polk County. Police do not know why the man, who was found naked and appeared to have taken drugs was in the lake. For more information about living alongside Florida's alligators, click here.

The run up to Christmas and First Night, New Year's Eve, is one of the busiest periods of the year in Florida. The holiday season starts in earnest immediately after Thanksgiving and in the theme parks, you can expect large crowds in the week leading up to Christmas, though it can be pretty quiet in the preceding weeks.

The Walt Disney Company have announced customised maps that you can create for each of the theme parks, but you do need to register with them first (see www.disney.com). Once you have logged in, follow the links for 'My Disney Vacation'.

NASA hope to launch their third shuttle mission this year with the planned lift off of the Space Shuttle Discovery on December 7. However, a routine adjustment to correct the orbit of the International Space Station failed on November 30 and it could jeopardise the shuttle mission; read our launch schedule pages for the latest news.

I'd like to take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt Christmas greetings to everyone who reads the Florida Review & Travel Guide newsletter and wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.

Florida books published in December

December sees a couple of new releases, namely Mobil Travel Guide : Florida 2007, Walt Disney World & Orlando for Dummies 2007 and Florida Curiosities.

These new editions will be reviewed over the coming weeks but in the meantime, you can see a list of some the recently published books and those expected in the next couple of months here.

Do you realised how many books have been written about Florida. Look out next month for some exciting news about our new Florida book directory with over 700 books about Florida.

If you are flying into Orlando International Airport and are staying at one of 22 selected Walt Disney World Resort hotels then you will be able to take advantage of Disney's Magical Express service which offers a complimentary round trip shuttle service and baggage delivery service.

Note that a few of hotels are excluded from the Magical Express service. It is reckoned that Disney's Magical Express handled nearly 2 million passengers in its first year and its popularity has had an effect on other shuttle bus operators and rental car companies as people make use of the service.

If you staying in Orlando and do not want to rent a car in Florida then it is another good reason to stay at a Walt Disney World Resort.

You must make a reservation to use Disney's Magical Express at least 30 days prior to arrival either through your travel agent or through Disney themselves; you cannot simply turn up when you land in Orlando. You will then be sent a Magical Express Service information packet containing your vouchers and luggage tags.

To read more about the Magical Express service including details of arrivals and departures and which hotels are included, click here.

When you are driving around Florida, do the children get bored easily? The last time we were in Florida with our daughter and her friend, we came up with an idea for a game which kept us all amused for the whole of our vacation. As a bit of Christmas fun, let us introduce you to the Armadillo Game.

The game is very simple, you get 25 points every time someone spots an armadillo whilst you are out in the car. The problem is, armadillos are nocturnal so you only tend to see them in the early evening, so we extended the game to include all sorts of wildlife with different numbers of points depending on how rare or common they were.

For example, a Turkey Vulture was worth 5 points, a Sandhill Crane 10 points, a Dolphin 50 points and an Alligator 100 points. Dead animals (roadkill) only scored half points !!

We never did get to see a Bear or the elusive Florida Puma (apart from in a zoo) but who knows, next time.

At the end of the holiday, we divided up all our loose change depending on the number of points scored, and went off to Walmart for last minute treats.

The latest edition of the Rough Guide to Florida is written and researched by Mark Ellwood, Todd Obolsky and Ross Velton and offers a balanced, no-nonsense guide to the State of Florida. If the authors do not like something, they say so.

The introductory colour section sets the scene with where and when to go along with the authors own personal 'things not to miss' in terms of sights, events, food, activities and the natural world.

There is then a comprehensive 50 page Basics chapter giving you details on everything from pre-departure planning to getting around, travelling on your own or with children, food and accommodation plus company contact information.

The main guide splits Florida into nine regions from Miami and the Keys all the way up to the Panhandle and the Northeast.

Each chapter starts with the highlights of the region and a regional map and then goes on with specific details of how to get there and then how to get around each of the major areas or cities within the region. To read the rest of this review and details of where you can buy this book, click here.

Florida is a great place to celebrate the New Year, there are so many places to go. According to priceline.com in 2005, Florida took six of the top 20 spots when it comes to Americans celebrating New Year's Eve and 2006 should be no different.

Thousands flock to the major theme parks like Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens and coastal resorts like Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Key West. Most local communities and hotels hold First Night New Year's Eve parties.

The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year in Florida so it is important to make sure you arrive at the parks early as often they will close when they reach capacity and it also makes sense to make dinner reservations well in advance.

If planning on going to Walt Disney World, do not think about park hopping, you need to plan on staying in the park all day.

Click here for further details about celebrations in Walt Disney World including Pleasure Island and the Boardwalk, Universal CityWalk, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and many other locations.

Desktop calendars for December 2006 (Anclote River Park) and January 2007 (SeaWorld - Journey to Atlantis) are ready to download now.

Note that some of the larger files can be 200-300k in size so if you are on a modem dialup line it will take a few minutes to download.

To view and then download the Florida free desktop wallpaper for December now, click here.

Throughout Florida, the special holiday season celebrations continue at all the major theme parks and then of course there is also New Year's Eve (for full details including special calendars and details of which parks charge extra, click here).

At Disney's Magic Kingdom, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party including a special parade, fireworks and stage shows runs on selected evenings until December 22.

At Epcot the Holidays around the World celebrations run each day until December 30.

The spectacular Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights at Disney-MGM Studios lights up the backlot every night until January 07, 2007.

At Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, the daytime parade becomes the festive Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade until January 06, 2007.

Over in the Downtown Disney Area until December 24, the Festival of Seasons takes place amongst the various shops (see disneyworld.disney.go.com for more details of all the Disney events).

Disney are also celebrating New Year's Eve at the Atlantic Ballroom on the Boardwalk, at Cirque du Soleil® and Pleasure Island.

SeaWorld's Holiday Celebration continues right up to December 25, Christmas Day with the "Christmastide" Holiday Fountain Show every night at The Waterfront. Then from December 26 to 30, there is the Baywave...Seaside Jazzfest (see www.seaworld.com for more details).

The Universal Orlando® Resort celebrate their Shake Up Your Holidays at Universal Orlando® Resort! between December 8 until January 1, 2007 (selected dates). At Universal Studios you can join in the fun of Macy's Holiday Parade™ and over at Islands of Adventure you can get the chance to meet Meet The Grinch™.

On December 31, ring in the New Year with live performances by Cyndi Lauper and Tower of Power at Universal CityWalk® (see www.universalorlando.com for more details).

This year, Holidays at Busch Gardens runs until the New Year with a musical extravaganza at the Desert Grill and then from December 27 to 30 enjoy special nightly entertainment and fireworks culminating in a New Year's Eve Celebration on December 31, featuring a live concert on Gwazi Field and a dazzling fireworks finale at midnight (see www.buschgardens.com for more details).

At Silver Springs, until December 30, the 14th Annual Festival of Lights runs on selected nights. There are also special concerts featuring Diamond Rio on December 2, Roy Clark on December 9 and Ronnie Milsap on December 16 (see www.silversprings.com for more details).

An Old-Fashioned Christmas at Cypress Gardens runs until December 30 and then celebrate New Year's Eve with Charlie Daniels, one of the countries favourite Southern country music performers (see cypressgardens.com for more details).

The Holy Land Experience are staging Come to the Manger: A Bethlehem Christmas between November 24 and January 6, 2007 with festive musicals and presentations (see www.holylandexperience.com for more details).

In Orlando, the Gaylord Palms Resort presents ICE! which runs until January 2. Here you can explore an icy winter wonderland where the temperature stays at a very cool 9 degrees Fahrenheit.

The entire exhibit is made from nearly 2 million pounds of ice and includes massive ice sculptures including a Victorian holiday scene, Santa's Toyland, a majestic Church in the Woods, an illuminated ICE! bridge that you can walk over, a life size nativity and three ice slides.

Best to wear closed toe shoes and long trousers/pants but hooded parkas are provided. Admission and parking charges apply (see www.gaylordhotels.com for more details).

In Las Olas, the Holiday Happenings are on Tuesday December 5, 12 and 19 (see www.lasolasboulevard.com for more details).

Enjoy a Victorian Christmas Stroll at the Henry B. Plant Museum, Tampa Bay Hotel in Tampa. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, 25 trees will be decorated in the Victorian holiday tradition. The whole museum is decorated with Christmas trees, beautifully wrapped presents and seasonal greenery in every room to capture the spirit of a Victorian Christmas. Open daily from December 1 to December 23 (see www.plantmuseum.com for more details).

At Bok Sanctuary, the 1930s Mediterranean revival Pinewood mansion is decked out for the holidays. The Christmas at Pinewood Holiday Home Tour runs from November 24 to January 1, 2007 (see www.boksanctuary.org for more details).

The drive-through 14th Annual Holiday Fantasy of Lights runs from November 17 to January 1, 2007 at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek where you can see millions of twinkling lights along with illuminated and animated displays.

In Mount Dora on December 2 there is a Christmas Parade through the Downtown streets and a Lighted Boat Parade in the evening on the Lake Dora Waterfront (see www.mountdora.com for more details).

Winterpark have their Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 1 and then a Pancake Breakfast followed by the 54th Annual "Ye Olde Hometown" Christmas Parade takes place on December 2 on Park Avenue (see www.winterpark.org for more details).

On the Gulf Coast around Crystal River their are a number of Christmas Parades including the Crystal River Christmas Parade on December 2, Inverness Christmas Parade on December 9, Citrus Springs Holiday Parade on December 10, Holiday Decorated Boat Parade at Lake Henderson, Wallace Brooks Park on December 16 and the Christmas Celebration of Lights celebrations at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park from December 16 to 24 (see www.visitcitrus.com for more details).

In St. Augustine, the 13th Nights of Lights runs from November 18 to January 31, 2007 and features over two million lights that illuminate the colonial buildings, downtown parks, and historic bayfront area (see www.getaway4florida.com for more details).

Apart from all the holiday season celebrations, there are a number of other events taking place in December.

You can enjoy a New Year's Eve Mardi Gras party hosted by Sterling Casino Lines in a special cruise from Port Canaveral where you are encouraged to wear costumes and sample food from the Cajun inspired menu (see www.sterlingcasinolines.com for more details).

NASA are on track to launch the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-116) at 9:30 pm EST on December 7, launch window extends through December 26. This will be the first night time launch since the Columbia tragedy (see launch schedule for more details).

A Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket is also scheduled to launch on the same date but this will almost certainly be delayed to avoid any conflicts with the shuttle launch.

From December 11 to 14, US Sport Aviation Expo 2007 takes place at Sebring Airport featuring many exhibitors of light sports aircraft (see www.sport-aviation-expo.com for more details).

In Fort Lauderdale, the 35th anniversary Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade is a unique event. This year it takes place on December 16 and this years theme is "Broadway on the Waterway" Celebrating 35 Years of Holiday Magic (see www.winterfestparade.com for more details).

Disney's Blizzard Beach re-opens after its annual refurbishment on January 7, 2007 and then Typhoon Lagoon closes until March 17.

December is expected to be about average in terms of temperature and rainfall. Expect periods of sunshine, scattered showers and thunderstorms.

In the north, around Pensacola expect a drop in temperature to the high 50s/low 60s with mid 60s in Jacksonville at the start of the month and then a gradual rise. In the central region around Orlando and Tampa, temperatures will start in the mid 80s but quickly drop to high 60s as the month progresses and then make their way back to the mid 70s. Further south, in Miami and Key West, the temperatures will drop from mid 80s to the mid to high 70s.

To check out the rest of the weather for all of Florida including a live weather map, monthly temperature and rainfall charts across the State and the latest hurricane news, click here.

We plan to bring you a newsletter on the first day of each month with details of upcoming events and news from across Florida.

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