In This Issue Welcome Aquatica Opening Jungala Unveiling Book Review - Florida's Museums and Cultural Attractions Hurricane Predictions Free Monthly Desktop Wallpaper May events Weather forecast

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

Firstly, an apology if you've been having problems with your newsletter subscription. We are trying to resolve the issue with our current provider, but we are also looking at alternative email newsletter providers.

Simpsons Ride

Universal have made a "soft" opening of the new Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios in Orlando and have said it will open officially on May 15 or 16. A similar ride will open at Universal Studios Hollywood on May 17.

The new ride is a rebuild of the famous Back to the Future: The Ride and features a cartoon theme park called "Krustyland" after The Simpsons' TV clown.

The new Toy Story Mania! ride is also expected to open at Disney's Hollywood Studios in late May.

To read more about Universal Studios, click here.

Las Vegas Slot Machines

Following a deal between Florida's governor, Charlie Crist and the Seminole Tribe, Las Vegas style slot machines are starting to be installed in the Seminole Tribe's two Florida Casinos; the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa and Hollywood, near Fort Lauderdale.

Eventually it is expected that other Las Vegas card games such as blackjack and baccarat will be introduced.

Florida State Anthem

Florida's politicians are still in disagreement regarding the Florida State Song "Swanee River". After a nation-wide vote for a new state song it now looks like the new song, "Florida (Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky)" will be made Florida's State Anthem and the controversial Swanee River may get some new lyrics but will remain the official State Song.

To read more about Florida's State symbols, click here.

Shuttle Shuttle Discovery

NASA have pushed back the launch date of the next shuttle mission and it is currently slated for May 31.

To read more about NASA launches, click here.

SeaWorld Manta Ray Roller Coaster

During the opening of Aquatica, SeaWorld announced a teaser for a new roller coaster to be built at the next door SeaWorld marine theme park.

Several websites published what were purported to be artist's drawings of the projected roller coaster showing four abreast cars with the riders lying on their stomachs with the track above, as if you were flying. SeaWorld quickly had the pages taken down and are scheduled to make an official announcement some time in May.

The new attraction is expected to be a part roller coaster and part animal attraction and open some time in 2009.

SeaWorld also announced "SeaWorld AfterDark", a nightly summertime rock 'n' roll party, with music throughout the park, a summertime "Shamu Rocks" show and a new water-ski show featuring giant kites, live music and a beach concert.

Alligator Mating Season

Finally a timely reminder that the alligator mating season runs from April through May. Attacks by alligators last year were low with only one known fatality when a man jumped into a lake whilst running from the police but in 2006, three women were killed by alligators in May.

To read more about Florida's alligators, click here.

Florida books published in May

Not many books this month, but they are a mixed bag including:

• Rand McNally Florida Notebook Map
• The Florida Road Guide to Haunted Locations
• Florida Berlitz Pocket Guide
• The Sunshine Economy: An Economic History of Florida since the Civil War
• Springs of Florida
• Walt Disney World Trivia Calendar 2009
• Historic Homes Of Florida

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

After a month long "soft" opening period, SeaWorld's new water park in Orlando, Aquatica was officially opened on April 4.

There have been mixed reviews regarding Orlando's newest park with some visitors complaining of long waits on the rides, a lack of loungers on the beaches and also queues just to get into the park in the first place. Hopefully these are just teething problems associated with the large number of people wanting to see Aquatica as soon as it has opened and staff still getting used to their new jobs.

One of the problems with water parks is that the loading time is slow compared to other theme park rides like boat rides and roller coasters where a lot of people can be loaded in a relatively short time.

With water slides, they typically only load one person at a time and the ride has to be clear before the next person rides to avoid collisions.

SeaWorld promised limited visitor numbers to help keep lines down so it will be interesting to see how they address these issues.

To read more about SeaWorld's water park, Aquatica, click here.

Hot on the heels of the official opening of Aquatica, came the "soft" opening of Jungala at Busch Gardens Africa (Busch Gardens Tampa Bay) on April 5.

Though Jungala is geared towards to 6 to 13 year olds, it has been designed for all the family and is a step up from the young children's Land of the Dragons play area.

Jungala covers 4 acres on the site of the old Python roller coaster and the Claw Island tiger enclosure in the Congo area.

It is billed as "Jungles of the World" and is anchored around a jungle village and features waterfalls, jungle trails, two new rides, two restaurants and new "close encounter" wild animal exhibits.

To read more about Jungala, click here.

Florida's Museums and Cultural Attractions is written by Doris Bardon and Murray D. Laurie.

The first edition was published way back in November 1998 and now, 10 years later, this second edition has been fully revised.

The book covers over 350 museums and cultural attractions throughout the state ranging from African American culture, antique cars and auto racing to the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg and space exploration at the Kennedy Space Center.

If you want a break from all the Florida theme parks, then there is plenty more that Florida has to offer and Florida's Museums and Cultural Attractions provides information on many of the other attractions and activities.

As well as an alphabetic index of attractions there is also an index group by category.

To read the complete review of Florida's Museums and Cultural Attractions, click here.

The Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project has updated their 2008 hurricane predictions and they are expecting this year's season to be well above average.

In an average year, there are 10 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes (category 3 or above) in the Atlantic region.

The Colorado team had originally predicted 13 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes for 2008 but they have revised their forecast up to 15 named storms, eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

In 2007, both NOAA and Colorado State University were close in their estimates of the total number of storms but over estimated the number of hurricanes and major hurricanes.

Remember, the hurricane season officially starts on June 1.

To read more about hurricanes and the 2008 predictions, click here.

May and June 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 May 2008 (Dolphin at SeaWorld) and June 2008 (Planet Hollywood at Downtown Disney) 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 May or June 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...

Memorial Day is on Monday 26 so you can expect the parks to be very busy over the whole Memorial Day weekend. Also don't forget it is Mothers Day on May 11

At the theme parks, there are a number of events continuing this month including the Pirate & Princess parties at Disney's Magic Kingdom, the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival and Viva La Musica at SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Africa.

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

For May, most of Florida will see mostly sunshine and clouds with the chance of the odd thunderstorm in the latter half of the month.

In the north around Pensacola and Jacksonville, on the west coast daytime temperatures will be in the high 70s/low 80s and the nights will be a lot warmer in the mid 60s/low 70s. On the east coast daytime temperatures may reach the mid 80s but at night it could drop to the low to mid 60s.

Across the Central region, it will be slightly warmer with mid to high 80s during the day dropping to high 60s/low 70s over night. Tampa could see low 90s during the day but cooler nights in the high 60s.

Down in Miami and the Keys, it will be in the mid 80s during the day and high 60s/low 70s overnight with Key West being a little warmer during the night.

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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