December 2007 Newsletter

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

Firstly, can we take the 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.

Space Shuttle Atlantis

After last month's successful mission by Discovery, the Space Shuttle Atlantis is now sat on the launch pad in readiness for the last mission of 2007 to the International Space Station.

Atlantis is due to blast off from the Kennedy Space Center on December 6 at 4:31 pm.

SeaWorld News

SeaWorld have reprogrammed the Wild Arctic helicopter simulator ride for the Holiday season as the Polar Express which will take visitors to Santa Town. The ride will follow the journey up snow-cloaked mountains, across frozen lakes and along perilous, icy passes.

After January 1, the ride will revert back to Wild Arctic.

The Busch Entertainment Corp. have announced that their theme parks, previously branded under the name, "Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks", will now be known as "Worlds of Discovery".

They have also increased ticket prices in line with rises by Disney and Universal Studios earlier in the year. A one day adult ticket to SeaWorld is up by $3 from $64.95 to $67.95 and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay also went up $3, to $64.95.

Interestingly SeaWorld have also give the first indications of pricing for their new Aquatica water park which is due to open in March 2008. A one day adult admission to Aquatica will be $38.95 with discounts for buying multi-park tickets. This is similar pricing to the rival Disney and Universal water parks, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon and Wet 'n Wild.

Pump Prices

As oil prices continue to rise inexorably towards $100 a barrel, pump prices in Florida have reached record levels again with prices around $3.18 per gallon, nearly one dollar a gallon higher than a year ago.

If you are taking a rental car back to the airport and it needs to be returned full of fuel then watch out for unscrupulous gas stations near Orlando Airport. One station, which was not advertising its prices on a street sign was selling fuel for $4.39 per gallon.

Flamingo Crossings

Disney have given further details of Flamingo Crossings, a new 450-acre development on the western edge of Walt Disney World which will be a mix of hotels, motels, restaurants and shopping facilities.

The development will be centred around the State Road 429 interchange with Western Way and will ultimately offer between 4,000 and 5,000 additional rooms. The development is expected to take 8 to 10 years to complete.

New Ron Jon Surf Shop

After last month's news about the halting of the Ron Jon Water park development, Ron Jon have announced the construction of a new Ron Jon Surf Shop in Panama City Beach. The new store will bring the total number of Ron Jon shops to nine, with six of them in Florida; one in Cocoa Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Key West, Orlando and Panama City Beach.

Florida books published in December

After the flurry of new books last month, there are only a few books published in December:

• Blackbook 2008-09 Miami
• Insiders' Guide to the Florida Keys and Key West
• Sarasota, Sanibel Island & Naples Book Great Destinations : A Complete Guide
• Florida for Families
• Sailing Away from Winter: A Cruise from Nova Scotia to Florida and Beyond

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

If you get the opportunity to visit Florida during the Christmas (Holiday) season, then you are in for a treat. Most of the theme parks kick off their Christmas festivities immediately after Thanksgiving (late November) and most continue until the first week in January.

A lot of the celebrations are included in the normal theme park ticket price so you can enjoy the extra entertainment at no extra charge. The only exception is the night time Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom which is by separate ticket admission.

Even if you are not visiting the theme parks, there is still plenty to enjoy with Christmas tree lighting ceremonies, float parades, carollers, music concerts and lighted boat parades in many towns throughout Florida.

Though it is rare for much snow to fall in Florida, there is plenty of opportunity to see snow at a number of special events including Disney's town Celebration, Naples and Lake City. There is also the amazing ICE! at Gaylord Palms attraction in Orlando where nearly two million pounds of ice are carved into spectacular scenes.

Of course if you are able to stay until January, then you also have all the exciting New Year's Eve parties and celebrations to look forward to as well.

For further details of all the theme park Christmas celebrations, click here.

If you are looking for ways to extend the magic of a previous trip to Florida or one that is being planned, why not think about buying a Florida related gift this Christmas.

One idea is a calendar to hang on the wall or sit on your desk. All the major Florida sports teams like the Florida Panthers, Miami Dolphins and Florida State Seminoles produce annual wall calendars, desk calendars and planners. You will also find calendars on Florida scenes and wildlife like dolphins or the loveable Manatee.

If you have young children, then a Christmas story book is a great idea and there are a number of Christmas books for children, particularly in the 4 to 8 age group with a Florida twist. There is even one about a manatee.

For grown ups, there are literally hundreds of Florida related books and if you are planning a trip, what better way than to get a good guide book that you can carry around with you when you visit Florida.

Another great idea for children is a DVD, particularly if they are a Disney fan. This year is the 40th anniversary of the original release of The Jungle Book and Disney have just re-released it in a specially re-mastered Platinum 2 disc DVD Edition with lost characters and songs dropped from the first cinema release.

Lastly, returning to the theme of manatees, why not think about adopting of a manatee for a loved one. It makes a perfect Christmas present and it will help the struggle to look after injured manatees.

For more information on all these Florida Christmas gift ideas, click here.

Passporter produce a range of guide books about Walt Disney World, Disneyland in California and the Disney Cruise line and they have just published the second edition of their PassPorter's Open Mouse for Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line.

This book was originally called Passporter's Walt Disney World for your Special Needs and is co-written by Deb Wills and Debra Martin Koma and features over 100 photographs.

Though there are many books about Walt Disney World there are very few to help people with extra challenges. Coincidentally, a second book, Walt Disney World with Disabilities by Stephen Ashley was also published in 2007 and we will review it in due course.

Unlike the other Passporter guides which come as either spiral bound or loose-leaf to fit into the deluxe binders, Passporter's Open Mouse is only available as a normal paperback because of its size (it is over 400 pages).

Passporter also publish 'regular' guides to both the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disney Cruise Line but Passporter's Open Mouse has a special emphasis on helping people with all manner of dietary or religious needs, health issues, allergies and physical, mental or emotional disablilities.

The book addresses 24 different special challenge categories, everything from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) to hearing, mobility, motion sensitivity, pregnancy, size and vision issues.

Each of the 24 challenge categories is given a letter/symbol which is then used throughout the book to draw your attention to information specific to the special challenge; for example where specific rides or shows may be a problem.

The main chapters cover each of the Walt Disney World Resort hotels and the state rooms on the Disney Cruise Line ships, the four main theme parks, plus both water parks, Downtown Disney, DisneyQuest and Pleasure Island.

To read the complete review of PassPorter's Open Mouse for Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line, click here.

Whilst doing some research the other day I was amazed to discover that there are over 75 roundabouts on Florida's roads. Many have been introduced to help with traffic calming.

In the past, some states had what were called rotaries or circles but they were generally much larger than the more European style roundabout.

Anyone travelling to Florida from Europe may not give it a second thought but to many drivers in Florida, roundabouts are truly alien and a lot of people do not understand how to navigate around them yet.

If you do come across a roundabout, approach it with extreme caution as they have been the scene of numerous accidents. At time goes by, more and more people will become familiar with the negotiation of roundabouts but at the moment some local TV stations even show daily public service broadcasts on how to negotiate a roundabout.

To read more about roundabouts, intersections and driving in Florida, click here.

December 2007 and January 2008 desktop wallpaper calendars

Starting this month, the free Florida desktop wallpaper calendars are 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 December 2007 (Kali River Rapids at Disney's Animal Kingdom) and January 2008 (Shamu Believe Show, SeaWorld) 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 or January 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...

When it comes to December, most Florida events have something to do with Christmas. As mentioned earlier, as well as the special events taking place in all the theme parks, a lot of towns hold their own parades and decorate the town with festive Christmas decorations.

The theme parks will be quiet in the first couple of weeks of December but then they will get very busy around Christmas and New Year.

If you have yet to see a space shuttle launch, then there is one more chance in 2007. The Space Shuttle Atlantis is due to life off on December 6 but remember you will need a ticket if you wish to watch it from the Kennedy Space Center itself though there are a number of vantage points outside if you are unable to get a ticket.

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

With the advent of December, the Atlantic hurricane season is officially over. Like 2006, thankfully the 2007 season has been quieter than predicted but there has still been considerable loss of life in the Caribbean islands, Mexico and Central America.

Overall in December temperatures are expected to be a few degrees colder than normal with rainfall slightly below normal. Again Florida could experience a bit of a cold snap towards the middle of the month with overnight temperatures dropping close to freezing in the North.

In the north around Pensacola and Jacksonville, the month will start out with a mixture of sunshine and clouds. Temperatures will be in the low 50s/high 70s during the day with night-time temperatures in the low 30s/high 50s.

Across the Central region, the weather outlook is similar but a little warmer in the low 60s/low 80s during the day, dropping to low 40s/low 60s over night.

Down in Miami and the Keys, there will be fewer clouds and temperatures are much more consistent with daytime temperatures a little warmer with mid 70s/low 80s during the day and high 50s/low 70s 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.

Copyright © 2007, Stephen Downs, Florida Review & Travel Guide. All rights reserved. Please do NOT reprint or host on your website without explicit permission from http://www.floridareview.co.uk.

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