In This Issue Welcome Walt Disney World Resort Disney Cruise Lines Book Review - Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando 2007 Theme Park Tickets Free Monthly Desktop Wallpaper February events Weather forecast

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

February will see lots of sports fans in Florida with the Super Bowl XLI taking place in Miami on February 4 and then the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series - Daytona 500 on February 18 at the Daytona International Speedway.

This will be followed by the annual influx of Spring Training teams and their fans to take part in the Grapefruit League.

Non sports fans don't need to miss out with Valentines Day on February 14, Presidents Day on February 19 and then all the Mardi Gras celebrations around February 20 (see Events below for more details).

There is lots of Disney news this month but even if you are not a Disney fan, there is still plenty to enjoy in this bumper issue.

NASA missions in 2007

Last month we reported that there were likely to be five shuttle launches in 2007. NASA were planning launches in March, June, September, October and December but NASA now believe that the logistics of getting each shuttle ready for its next flight might mean that the two shuttle missions planned for late 2007 may slip and December's launch could well move into early 2008.

The three earlier missions should not be affected. NASA are also planning five rocket launches in 2007 including the delayed THEMIS and Dawn missions so there will still be plenty of activity over at the NASA Kennedy Space Center. Read more...

Manatee deaths in 2006

Figures just published by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission show that a record number of manatees died in 2006, at least 416 recorded deaths. 86 of these deaths were attributed to boat strikes, the second highest on record (record is 95 deaths in 2002).

It is not known if this represents an increase in mortality rate, there are simply more manatees or because more people are finding and reporting dead manatees.

Florida's manatee population is estimated to be around 3,300 and despite widespread protest, in June 2006, the Florida commission lowered manatees protected status from 'endangered' to 'threatened', though federally they are still listed as 'endangered'. Read more...

Parrot Jungle Island renamed

The Parrot Jungle Island zoo attraction in Miami is changing its name to Jungle Island to try and boost visitor numbers and to reflect on some of its other inhabitants including orangutans, snakes, komodo dragons and big cats.

Parrot Jungle Island is one of Miami's oldest attractions. It originally opened in 1936 and featured shows including bicycle riding and roller skating parrots. In 2003 it moved to a new location on Watson Island in Biscayne Bay, a short distance from Downtown Miami and South Beach.

Latest Books

Florida books published in February

Books about Florida published in February include:

• Caribbean By Cruise Ship : The Complete Guide To Cruising The Caribbean
• Hiking Florida
• Blackbook List Miami

All these books can be found in our new Florida book directory. Read more...

Transformations continue at Disney's Pleasure Island as the construction barriers come down.

Disney have increased the minimum age at some of the Pleasure Island clubs that previously admitted 18 year olds. You now have to be 21 or over to enter 8TRAX, BET SoundStage Club, Mannequins Dance Palace, Motion and Rock 'n' Roll Beach Club.

You can still enter the Adventurers Club and the Comedy Warehouse if you are under 21 but you must be accompanied by an adult if you are under 18.

There are no age restrictions on the Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant.

If you are a Florida resident then if you buy a regular one-night all-access pass ($21.95) before the end of March, you can then use it as many times as you like up to June 30, 2007. This is all part of Disney's 'Year of a Million Dreams' celebrations.

Disney's latest annual report shows a potential new ride called "Toy Story Mania" and there is speculation that this will replace the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" game show which closed at Disney-MGM Studios in June, 2006.

The ride appears to feature pairs of riders sitting back-to-back in cars, possibly with some sort of controls and guns and wearing 3-D glasses, perhaps a bit like the "Men in Black" ride at Universal Studios. Read more...

Disney have announced that the Disney Magic will be sailing from the Californian West Coast again during the summer of 2008. On May 10, 2008, the Disney Magic will leave its home port of Port Canaveral and transit on a fifteen night positioning cruise via Castaway Cay, the Panama Canal, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas before arriving in Los Angeles.

On May 25, 2008, she will then embark on 12 consecutive seven night cruises to the Mexican Riviera ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.

Finally on August 17, 2008, the Disney Magic will retrace her steps back to Port Canaveral on a second re-positioning cruise.

The positioning cruises can be combined with visit to Disneyland Resort and a two-night pre- or post-stay at one of Disney's three Anaheim resort hotels.

Disney have already decided to operate ten and eleven night Mediterranean cruises including Barcelona, Palermo, Naples, Olbia, Rome, Florence and Marseilles using the Disney Magic during the summer of 2007.

All of this means that the number of available Caribbean cruises with the Disney Cruise Line will continue to be reduced during the summer months leading to speculation that Disney Cruise Line are considering introducing a third cruise ship. Read more...

Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando is one of several Florida books written by Laura Lea Miller.

She has also worked on Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando with Kids, Frommer's Florida from $70 a Day, Frommer's Florida 2007 and Walt Disney World & Orlando For Dummies as well as running a web site for families visiting Central Florida.

Like all Frommer books it is backed up by a website which gives you updates since the book was published.

As its name suggests, Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando covers the other main theme parks in the Orlando and Central Florida area including Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, Cypress Gardens and Busch Gardens

Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando 2007 offers a good overall guide to Walt Disney World and the other Orlando attractions and when the author doesn't like something, she lets you know.

A good alternative guide book is A Brit's Guide to Orlando 2007. Read more...

Most of the theme parks increased their prices at least once and in some cases twice during 2006. To spend a day at one of the Walt Disney World parks, SeaWorld or Universal Studios can cost around $70 each including taxes if you buy your ticket at the gate.

For a family of four, you are looking at around $260 and if the kids are over 9 years old then you are going to spend around $280 for a single day as everyone has to pay adult prices. With the current US$ exchange rate, these prices are actually a lot better for UK visitors when you compare with typical prices at UK amusement parks.

It is certainly worth shopping around and buying your theme park tickets in advance. If you are planning on visiting more than one park, you can save money if you purchase multi-day tickets such as the Disney's 'Magic Your Way' tickets, the 4 or 5 park Orlandoflex tickets (which include SeaWorld and Universal Studios) or the Go Cards for Orlando and Miami which include dozens of the smaller attractions.

Universal Studios Ticket Offers

Universal Studios have introduced two special deals for UK visitors.

With the 2-day/2-park ticket to Universal Studios Florida® and Universal's Islands of Adventure®, you receive a third day free and you get a free kid's ticket for each adult ticket you purchase, saving you over 45% on normal prices. So you get three days admission to both parks plus 14 days consecutive access to selected live entertainment venues at Universal CityWalk®.

There is also a 3-park ticket with Wet 'n Wild® which gives you 5 separate days access to Universal Studios Florida®, Universal's Islands of Adventure® and Wet 'n Wild® plus 14 days consecutive access to selected live entertainment venues at Universal CityWalk®. Like the 2-park ticket, you get one free child ticket for each adult ticket purchased.

All tickets must be purchased online before April 30, 2007 and used by December 31, 2007. Both tickets expire 14 days after first use and you must show photo ID at the front gate turnstiles. Note you must be 21 or over to enter some Universal CityWalk® venues. Read more...

Desktop calendars for February 2007 (Lakeside villa view) and March 2007 (Epcot monorail and Spaceship Earth) 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 February now, click here.

As our coverage of Florida events continues to grow, we've decided to change the way we report events in the monthly newsletter.

Starting this month, some of the major events will continue to be highlighted in the newsletter backed up by a comprehensive month by month event calendar on the website.

Just follow the link below to read about the many events planned each month throughout Florida; everything from public holidays and special celebrations to theme park events, county fairs and shows, parades and festivals, art and film exhibitions, major sporting events, airshows and rocket launches and much more besides.

At Disney's Pleasure Island on February 9, 10 and 14 you can celebrate the romance of Valentine's Day when Pleasure Island becomes Sweetheart Island.

One of the highlights of the sporting year is the Super Bowl and this year, Super Bowl XLI takes place in Miami at the Dolphin Stadium on February 4 where the Chicago Bears will face the Indianapolis Colts.

If you are car racing fan, then on February 18, there is the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series; the Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway.

This year Mardi Gras is on February 20 and there are special Mardi Gras celebrations throughout the State including Mardi Gras at Universal Studios every Saturday night from February 3 to April 14.

February is also a great month in Florida for county fairs with entertainment for the whole family including livestock shows, beauty pageants, bull riding, clay shoots, carnival rides and country music concerts.

Read more...

Whilst Florida escaped the worst of the cold snap in mid January, over 50 people died as snow, freezing rain and ice storms swept across the Central States from Texas up to Maine. Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina were all affected.

On the West Coast, it is estimated that around three quarters of California's citrus crop could have been destroyed.

February, like January is expected to be about average in terms of temperature, slightly cooler in the north and slightly warmer in the south than normal with the likelihood of above average rainfall for the time of year, especially in Central and Southern regions. Expect some rain and the odd shower with the possibilities of overnight frosts in the North.

In the north, Pensacola will remain cool with the possibility of overnight frosts and highs in the high 50s. Jacksonville will be a little warmer in the mid 60s but still with the chance of frost. Orlando and Tampa will again see mid to high 70s but with a fair amount of cloud. Further south, in Miami and Key West, the temperatures will be in the high 70s and low 80s with some thunderstorms but much more pleasant evenings.

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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