In This Issue Welcome Passport changes Florida State symbols Book Review - Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando With Kids Latest Park news Free Monthly Desktop Wallpaper March events Weather forecast

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

Happy Easter to you all and let us hope the weather improves after the relatively cold Spring this year.

Florida was hit by several tornadoes in February but luckily without loss of life. Some other states were less fortunate and over 50 people died in twisters that ripped through Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama.

2007 Visitor Numbers

Visit Florida have just announced visitor numbers for 2007 and they are down slightly on 2006 by around 2%, down from 83.9 million to 82.4 million. This is the first time there has been a fall since 2001. However, early indications are that 2008 might be better.

Given the generally poor state of world economies, the tightening of US borders (see news item on 10 fingerprint scanners below) and all the hassle that entails plus the dramatic increase in fuel prices, this is not entirely unexpected.

The number of Canadian visitors is up, presumably helped by the weak American dollar whilst more Floridians are chosing to stay "in State" for their holidays.

Fuel Prices

The average price of gasoline rose to $3.23 across the state of Florida in February and analysts reckon it could hit as much as $3.75 by the Summer.

This is still way below prices in Europe but it has deterred some American tourists. Visit Florida estimate that 5.5% fewer people drove to Florida in 2007 than had done in 2006.

Kindle

A new electronic reading device called Kindle was launched on Amazon a few months ago and there are currently over 100,000 books available for download.

The first Florida guide book is now available on Kindle, Walt Disney World & Orlando for Dummies. I wonder how long it will be before you see someone in Walt Disney World with a Kindle?

Busch Entertainment News

Just a few days before the soft opening of the new Aquatica Water Park by SeaWorld, Busch Entertainment Corporation announced that they are planning to build four new theme parks in Dubai, following in the footsteps of Universal Studios.

This will be Busch Entertainment Corporation's first project outside of the USA and they will work with the United Arab Emirates Nakheel property development company to build a SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove and Aquatica water park on a man-made island. The resort will also have hotels, spas, restaurants and shops and the first phase will open in 2012.

The parks will be built on a killer whale-shaped island located on the top of The Palm Jebel Ali, one of three man-made palm-shaped islands being built off the Dubai coastline.

Florida books published in March

Like February, there are not too many books about Florida published in March and some have been delayed from previous months, but they include:

• Florida (From Sea to Shining Sea)
• Seashells in My Pocket: AMC's Family Guide to Exploring the Coast from Maine to Florida
• Tampa Bay's Beaches, Florida (Then & Now Series)
• Mobil Travel Guide Florida, 2008 by Mobil Travel Guide
• Easygoing Guide to Natural Florida Volume 2 Central Florida
• DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides Orlando
• The Captain's Guide to Wrecks and Reefs: Florida's East & West Coast; Florida's Keys; The Bahamas
• Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.
• Tampa Bay & Florida's West Coast (Adventure Guides Series)

All these books and more can be found in our new Florida book directories for US and UK visitors.

In early 2007, the United States Government started to implement the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) as part of a policy to strengthen US borders.

To start with, this only applied to citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda arriving into the USA by air. Other international travellers already needed to show a passport and are also subject to separate visa requirements including the Visa Waiver Program.

Starting on January 31, 2008, new restrictions will start to apply to sea (cruise) passengers and land crossings.

All US and Canadian citizens aged 19 and over must now present proof of identity and citizenship in the form of a government-issued photo ID (such as a driver's license) plus proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate or naturalisation certificate) - an oral declaration will no longer be valid. Children 18 and under will only need to present a birth certificate.

For more information about passport changes and US passports, click here.

New fingerprint scanners

From now on, international travellers arriving at Orlando International Airport (MCO) will have to submit to a digital scan of all ten fingerprints plus facial photograph before being allowed to enter the country as part of the ongoing strengthening of security through the capture of biometric data.

Other Florida airports will continue to operate the two finger scanners until they are also replaced by the end of 2008.

There are fears that the ever increasing security measures placed on overseas visitors will deter more people from visiting Florida in the future and visitor numbers did drop last year.

Amtrak security

Amtrak are also increasing their visible security measures including more random screening of baggage and the use of sniffer dogs. Over the coming months, baggage screening areas will be set up by the boarding gates.

Florida has a number of state symbols and objects, like the state song mentioned in last month's newsletter here. You may already know that the Florida state bird is the Mockingbird, or that the Florida state mammal is the endangered Florida Panther, but how many of you know the Florida state flower or tree or motto?

Why not test yourself and see how many of these you know. All the answers and more can be found here.

• State beverage
• State capital
• State flower
• State insect
• State marine mammal
• State motto
• State pie
• State reptile
• State song
• State tree
  
  

This month we feature another book written by Laura Lea Miller. The previous edition was published in April 2006.

As its name suggests, Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando With Kids also covers the other main theme parks in the Orlando and Central Florida area including Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, Cypress Gardens, Busch Gardens and the Kennedy Space Center but with kids in mind.

As you might expect from the same author and publisher, Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando With Kids is very similar in layout to Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando 2008 but the book is aimed at parents, grand parents and carers who are vacationing in Central Florida with children from toddlers to teenagers.

Throughout the book you will find specific children related references, for example hotels that offer cribs, restaurants that have high chairs and children's menus and ride restrictions and warnings.

The book has no photographs but it does have a number of maps, both theme park maps and maps of some of the main tourist areas in the Central region.

To read the complete review of Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando With Kids, click here.

Aquatica

Today sees the soft opening of the new water park by SeaWorld, Aquatica. Aquatica does not officially open until early April but it will actually be open from March 1.

All the latest Aquatica news can be found here.

Universal Studios

Universal have posted a website page with a teaser of the new Simpsons ride due to open this Spring. You can also sign up for updates.

The Kwik-E-Mart is already open where you can purchase Simpson themed drinks, souvenirs and collectibles.

For the very latest information, visit the special page on the Universal Studios web site here.

Pirate & Princess Party dates

Walt Disney have announced a further group of dates for the after-hours event at the Magic Kingdom theme park.

The new dates for 2008 are April 1, 4, 6, 11, 16 and 23; May 2, 9, 16, 21, 26 and 31 plus June 4.

Holyland Experience expansion

Trinity Broadcasting Network, the new owners of the Holyland Experience on International Drive plan to build a working studio across the street from the park and will be offering tours of the studios.

The studio will be ornately decorated to represent "New Jerusalem" as described in Revelation, Chapter 21 in the Bible. There will also be some other minor changes within the park itself.

March and April 2008 desktop wallpaper calendars

The free Florida desktop wallpaper calendars are now available in widescreen format as well as standard format so if you have a widescreen monitor you can now download a new widescreen calendar.

Free desktop calendars for March 2008 (Mission SPACE at Disney's Epcot) and April 2008 (Heron at Homosassa Springs State Park) 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 March or April now, click here.

Also don't forget if you are looking for inspiration on what to do on your Florida vacation, why not take advantage of our collection of free brochures where you will find information on many activities including golfing vacations, eco-tours, scuba diving and Caribbean cruises.

Read more...

March means St. Patrick's Day and there will be a number of celebrations and parades around the 17th of the month.

Easter Sunday is on March 23 and there will be a few theme park events with an "egg" theme.

Following the successful launch of the delayed Discovery mission, NASA are hoping to make their second space shuttle launch this month when Endeavour makes the 25th mission to the International Space Station.

County fairs and strawberry festivals continue this month throughout the state.

Don't forget that March 17 is St. Patrick's Day, Good Friday is on March 21 and Easter Sunday on March 23.

For full coverage of March events throughout the State of Florida, click here.

February also saw some very cold weather but things should look up in March with above average temperatures and slightly below average rainfall.

In the north around Pensacola and Jacksonville, there could be some more cold snaps overnight but with plenty of sunshine in the west and more cloud in the east. On the west coast, daytime temperatures will be in the high 50s/high 70s but warmer on the east coast with high 60s/high 70s. Overnight, temperatures will drop to low 40s/high 50s.

Across the Central region, the weather outlook is for the odd shower but a little warmer in the mid 60s/high 70s during the day, dropping to mid 40s/low 60s over night.

Down in Miami and the Keys, there will be some rain and thunderstorms with daytime temperatures in the mid 70s/low 80s and mid 50s/high 60s overnight.

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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