March 2011 Newsletter

Hi Subscriber, welcome to the March 2011 newsletter of the Florida Review & Travel Guide.

This month there is further news on progress at Legoland plus all the latest from around Florida including the new zip line ride at Gatorland, changes to the SeaWorld killer whale show and a new home for Mickey at Walt Disney World.

New Home for Mickey Mouse

With the closure of Mickey's Toontown Fair to make way for the Fantasyland expansion, Mickey Mouse has had to look for a new home.

In the short term you can meet up with Mickey in Tomorrowland, to the right of Space Mountain and the Disney princesses in Adventureland at the Verandah.

Later this spring, Mickey will have a new home at the Town Square Theater. Disney are currently remodelling part of the Exposition Hall just inside the park gates on Main Street to represent a backstage area of a Victorian theatre with posters and props.

For the first time with a character greet, you will be able to get a FastPass giving you a one hour window to meet up with Mickey Mouse. During the Fantasyland expansion you will also be able to meet the Disney princesses at the Theater.

Click here to read more about Disney's Magic Kingdom.

Cheetah Hunt Opening Date

Busch Gardens have confirmed that the new Cheetah Hunt roller coaster will officially open in time for the Memorial Day weekend on Friday, May 27. Cheetah Hunt features over 4,000 feet of track with three 0-60 mph launches. Minimum ride height is 48 inches.

The Cheetah Hunt roller coaster forms part of a new attraction including the Cheetah Run where you can witness around a dozen cheetahs, the fastest mammals on earth, actually running in a daily workout session.

Click here to read more about Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

Latest Hotel Deals

Amongst the travel deals in March, we have found a 3 star hotel deal in Daytona Beach for $51, a 3.5 star hotel deal in Key West for $136 deal and a 3 star hotel deal in Panama City for $59. Other deals include:

• $109* - $109 & up 4-star hotels in Miami Beach
• $190: 4-star Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter + 25% off each night, Book by 06/15/2011
• $66* - $66 & up 3-Star Hotel in Saint Augustine
• $61* - $61 & up 3-star hotels in Fort Myers
• $73* - $73 & up 4.5-star hotels in Orlando

There are many more good deals this month as tour operators continue to offer discounts, so if you are planning a vacation to Florida during 2011, then let the Florida Review & Travel Guide help you on your way.

This is just a small sample. To see the rest of the great deals and more, click to our late Florida deals page.

Gasoline Prices

Gas (petrol) prices continue to rise with crude oil prices hitting $100 per barrel. The average pump prices in Florida has crept up another 2 cents in the last month, from $3.19 a gallon to $3.21 a gallon for regular.

Prices are expected to rise even further, to anything between $3.25 and $3.75 a gallon by March/April time bringing prices back to the October 2008 highs.

You can always find the latest pump prices at GasPriceWatch.com.

Legoland Florida will be divided into ten separate themed areas or "lands" when it opens this October. Many of the 50 or so attractions and rides are similar to those found at other Legoland theme parks.

Each land will have its own theme and appeal to different age groups with LEGO or DUPLO inspiration. The intended age group is very much in the 3 to 12 year old range so will compete directly with Disney's Magic Kingdom in many ways. Unlike the rest of Florida's theme parks, child ticket prices go all the way up to 12 years old instead of 10.

Legoland is all about families so you will not find any "white knuckle" rides but what Legoland describe as "pink knuckle" rides. Most rides including the roller coasters are suitable for ages 6 and upwards.

Where possible Legoland have incorporated existing building and attractions including three of the original roller coasters (see Fate of Cypress Gardens Roller Coasters below) and the Island in the Sky observation tower.

Legoland is also keeping the original Cypress Gardens botanical gardens and are planning on including a water stunt show based on a pirate theme though it is not clear yet whether it will include the famous water skiers.

Legoland's signature Miniland USA features famous Florida landmarks including Mallory Square in Key West, Bok Tower, the Kennedy Space Center and Daytona International Speedway but there is no sign of Walt Disney World!

Read more about Legoland Florida including details of all the Legoland Florida rides and attractions and latest ticket deals.

Gatorland has announced the opening date for their new attraction at their Orlando based alligator park, the first true ride if you ignore the railway that skirts the park. It is called the Screamin’ Gator Zip Line and is due to open before June of this year.

Guests will get the experience of riding a zip line over several enclosures containing live alligators and crocodiles, surely a first for Florida! The zip line towers are around 50 to 75 feet tall and resemble the existing breeding marsh observation tower.

Starting next to the Gatorland train station the first section of the zip line will take you over the crocodile exhibit followed by the "jumping" Cuban crocodiles. Luckily crocodiles cannot jump 40 feet in the air. Then you zip over the giant Nile crocodiles and close by the saltwater crocodiles.

The fourth section, the longest, is over 500 feet in length and takes you through pine trees ending up near the gator wresting arena. Having crossed a swinging bridge there is the opportunity to race against a friend on the final dual zip line. This final section will be clearly visible from the Orange Blossom Trail.

The whole ride is around 1,200 feet in length and you can expect to reach speeds of up to 30 mph. Including a briefing session and nature walk through the swamp, the whole experience lasts around 45 minutes.

Read more about Gatorland including pricing for the new attraction.

This is the first edition and is written by Cheryl Pendry who lives in the UK. It was published by PassPorter Travel Press on February 22, 2011 and runs to 262 pages. Cheryl Pendry has also written the PassPorter's Disney Vacation Club Guide for Members and Members-To-Be.

As its name suggests this book is geared towards holidaymakers from the United Kingdom visiting Walt Disney World, particularly for the first time taking you all the way from the planning stage to your time in Florida.

As well as Walt Disney World it also covers the other main Orlando attractions including Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, Universal CityWalk, SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, Aquatica and Wet 'n Wild as well as two slightly further afield destinations, Busch Gardens in Tampa and Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

PassPorter's Walt Disney World for British Holidaymakers is divided into seven chapters starting with a general planning section, followed by chapters on budgeting for American prices and travelling to the States. The rest of the book then covers accommodation, touring the parks, eating and finally how to get the best out of the holiday for children, special celebrations, shopping, the Disney Cruise Line and understanding the American language.

This is very much a companion book to the main PassPorter's Walt Disney World 2011 Deluxe and Spiral bound editions and should not be regarded as your sole Disney guide book. For example each of Disney's parks only gets around 6 pages of description and PassPorter recommend that you use this book in conjunction with their main guide book.

Read the full review of PassPorter's Walt Disney World for British Holidaymakers.

The Space Shuttle Discovery is now docked at the International Space Station on its last ever mission having blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center on February 24. It is due to return to earth on March 7 and it will then be permanently grounded.

Traffic was backed up over 40 miles on State Route 528 from Orlando to Cape Canaveral with an estimated 200,000 cars heading to watch the last ever launch of Discovery.

Two further missions are planned for later this year, Endeavour in April and Atlantis in June. Both these missions have been pushed back following the technical problems with the external fuel tank on Discovery.

At this time it, NASA has still not made any final decisions about which museums will receive two of the three remaining space shuttles when they have each flown their final mission. One shuttle (Enterprise) has already been retired and the other two (Challenger and Columbia) were both tragically lost in accidents.

Discovery has already been promised to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington. This will join the first space shuttle, Enterprise which never actually went into space and is now the centrepiece at the nearby James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the National Air and Space Museum near Washington Dulles International Airport. Enterprise will most likely be loaned out to other museums once Discovery arrives in Washington.

Amongst the museums vying for the remaining shuttles are the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York, the Space Center in Houston, the Museum of Flight in Seattle, the Tulsa Air and Space Museum in Oklahoma and of course, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

The Space Shuttle named Explorer currently at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is actually a mock-up as is the one named Shuttle to Tomorrow at the nearby Astronauts Hall of Fame.

Read more about the final shuttle launches and other rocket launches from Cape Canaveral.

SeaWorld has unveiled their plans for a new killer whale show to replace the five year old show "Believe", called "One Ocean". The plan is to have it up and running in late April (around Easter time). At the time of the announcement, it was clear that there would still not be any trainer interaction in the water (but see below). The Dine with Shamu restaurant will also re-open around this time.

The new show will feature multi Orcas performing in unison whilst the trainers remain on the stage. The stadium will be remodelled with water fountains and a new colour scheme. The large tail fin has been already been repainted.

There is also a stronger conservation and educational element to the show to teach the general public more about killer whales with guests able to interact with the whales through the glass .

Following the tragic death of trainer Dawn Brancheau nearly a year ago, SeaWorld stopped all interaction with the whales in the water. SeaWorld has now announced that they will recommence limited water work with the whales, but only in the backstage pools. The pools are being modified with false lifting floors that can be quickly raised.

Eventually all the pools including the performance pools will be fitted with false floors. SeaWorld is also investing in remote-controlled underwater vehicles that could be deployed to distract a whale and providing the trainers with emergency breathing apparatus and other equipment to help in the event of being trapped under water.

Read more about SeaWorld.

On Florida's toll roads you either have a transponder fitted to your vehicle or you pay for your toll in cash at each toll plaza. At present there are three electronic systems in operation, SunPass, EPASS & LeeWay where you buy a pass and fit a transponder into your vehicle. These transponders then allow you to drive straight through the express lanes without the need to stop.

Florida's toll roads are gradually converting to all-electronic collection at the toll plazas. The first turnpikes to undergo this are in Miami-Dade County. Other projects will start in 2012 until all 650 miles of toll roads are covered.

Over time all the cash collecting toll booths will be removed and instead cameras will scan vehicles for transponders or read licence plates. The registered owner of the vehicle will then be billed for the toll plus a $2.50 monthly administrative charge. Florida's rental companies are registering their vehicles with toll plate companies to handle the administration of these toll fees.

If you are driving a rental car during this transition period and anticipate using Florida's turnpike toll roads then you need to check how the rental company deals with toll fees, in particular whether you need to opt-in to using the system.

Be aware that you could face a toll violation fine of $100 or more if you drive through an express lane where there are still cash lanes and your vehicles is not registered with one of the toll plate companies. It is imperative that you check with your rental company how toll fees are handled before driving on a toll road.

Read more about Florida's toll roads and the way the different rental car companies handle electronic toll collection.

When Cypress Gardens closed for the last time in 2009, it had amassed a collection of six roller coasters. None of them could be regarded as "white knuckle" rides, but amongst them were a couple of classics. As it stands, five of the coasters will remain in Florida.

Legoland Florida decided to keep three of them and re-theme them for the new park and dispose of the other three. The Okeechobee Rampage, Swamp Thing and wooden Triple Hurricane are all being incorporated into the new Legoland Florida theme park as the Dragon, Flight School and Coastersaurus respectively.

Of the remaining three, only one has an uncertain future. The Fiesta Express has already moved to Gillian’s Funland at Sea Isle City in New Jersey and the Galaxy Spin wild mouse style coaster is moving a few miles East to Fun Spot USA in Kissimmee to become the Screamin' Eagle. It should be up and running this year.

The largest and oldest of the Cypress Gardens roller coasters was the wooden classic Starliner that had been originally rescued from the Miracle Strip Amusement Park in Panama City Beach. It is now lying as a heap of wooden trestles and though there are hopes that it will return to the revamped Miracle Amusement Park, its future is far from certain.

Read more about the fate of the Cypress Gardens roller coasters.

March and April 2011 desktop wallpaper calendars

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

Free desktop calendars for March (Dolphins at SeaWorld) and April 2011 (Homosassa Springs) are ready to download now.

Note that some of the larger files can be up to 700k in size so if you are on a modem dialup line it will take a few minutes to download.

Click to view and then download the Florida free desktop wallpaper for March or April now.

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 Florida brochures where you will find information on many activities including golfing vacations, eco-tours, scuba diving and Caribbean cruises.

March is a great month for anyone of Irish descent in Florida when St. Patrick's Day is celebrated at a number of venues around the State.

Both Disney's Epcot, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Africa are running a series of concerts this month.
Spring Training also gets into full swing as major baseball teams take part in the Grapefruit League and there are a host of County Fairs and rodeos taking place throughout Florida.

Noticeable artists on tour in Florida this month include Julio Iglesias, John Mellencamp, The Oak Ridge Boys, Diana Ross, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Foreigner, Yes, Natalie Cole, Kiss, Rod Stewart & Stevie Nicks and Engelbert Humperdinck.

Click here for full coverage of the latest events throughout the State of Florida or for a comprehensive list of upcoming Florida concerts.

After the last couple of cold months, temperatures will continue to rise in March. Like last month, temperatures will be around seasonal averages with rainfall below average, particularly in Central and Southern Florida.

In the North around Pensacola and Jacksonville, the month will start with a few thunderstorms with daytime temperatures in the mid 60s to low 70s. Overnight temperatures could drop to the low 40s but will mainly be in the low 60s. Again, it will be warmer on the East coast.

Across the Central region, the weather outlook is similar but warmer and slightly fewer showers. Temperatures will be in the low 60s to mid 80s during the day, dropping to mid 50s to mid 60s over night.

Down in Miami and the Keys, there will be more sunshine with fewer rain showers. Temperatures will be in the high 70s to mid 80s during the day and mid 60s to low 70s overnight. Like last month, it will be slightly warmer in the Miami area than the Keys.

Click here 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.

A few more Florida books this month including the latest deluxe edition of the Passporter Walt Disney World guide (the spiral bound edition was released last month) and a special companion edition called the PassPorter's Walt Disney World for British Holidaymakers which we have reviewed this month.

March Book list

• Plant City by Shelby Jean Roberson Bender, Roberta Donaldson Jordan
• Moon Spotlight Walt Disney World & Orlando by Jason Ferguson
• Fifteen Florida Cemeteries: Strange Tales Unearthed by Lola Haskins
• Visiting Small-Town Florida by Bruce Hunt
• PassPorter's Walt Disney World 2011 Deluxe: The Unique Travel Guide, Planner, Organizer, Journal, and Keepsake! by Jennifer Marx, Dave Marx, Allison Cerel Marx
• PassPorter's Walt Disney World for British Holidaymakers by Cheryl Pendry
• Florida Crime in Perspective 2011 by Scott Morgan, Kathleen O'Leary Morgan
• Florida Health Care in Perspective 2011 by Scott Morgan, Kathleen O'Leary Morgan
• Florida by Tamra B. Orr
• Sunshine Paradise: A History of Florida Tourism by Tracy J. Revels
• Frommer's Florida With Your Family by Lesley Anne Rose
• Largo by James Anthony Schnur

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 © 2011, 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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