2009 Florida Highlights

It looks likely that visitor numbers to Florida will stagnate in 2009 in light of the current economic crisis but at least gas (petrol) prices have fallen.

Either way, Florida has a lot to offer and on this page you will find some of the new happenings planned for Florida in 2009.

For Florida highlights last year in 2008, click here.

New rides and attractions

There is the possibility of a new park within a park opening in late 2009 with the arrival of "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" due to open inside Universal's Islands of Adventure. Other theme park rides, shows and attractions that are due to open during 2009, include:

NASA missions

NASA are still struggling to complete their list of shuttle missions to the International Space Station before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.

NASA hope to launch six shuttles in 2009 including the delayed final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. The first launch is of the Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-119 (ISS-15A), no earlier than February 12, 2009. The 27th mission to the International Space Station will deliver the fourth starboard truss segment (ITS S6) and fourth set of solar arrays and batteries.

Hurricanes and the Florida weather

The team from the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University led by Professor William Gray have already released their first predictions for the 2009 hurricane season and again they are predicting above average activity though slightly down on 2008.

They are forecasting 14 named storms for 2009. Out of the 14 storms, they expect seven to become hurricanes of which three will become major hurricanes (category 3 or higher) with wind speeds in excess of 111 mph.

To read about Florida highlights for other years, just follow the links to 2008, 2007 or 2006.