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Florida State Symbols

Legoland Florida

Lego have announced the opening of Legoland Florida on the site of Cypress Gardens in Central Florida.

It will be the largest Legoland to date and will create 1,000 jobs. It is expected to open in late 2011.

Universal U Select

Universal Orlando has announced a new ticket pricing structure called "U Select", in time for the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It follows a similar idea introduced by Walt Disney World in 2005, the Disney "Magic Your Way" ticket system and the idea is to encourage guests to visit the Universal parks for more than just a couple of days.

Free Gift Card

Disney have announced a free Disney Gift Card with a value of up to $750 for selected 5-night/6-day non-discounted vacation packages booked by March 27, 2010 and used by June 3, 2010. There are different 'blackout' dates depending upon resort.

Florida State Symbols

Like all US States, Florida has its fair share of State symbols, everything from its own flag and song to orange juice, the alligator and the manatee.

The mosquito is often jokingly referred to as the state bird but it reality it is the Northern Mockingbird

Below you will find a list of official Florida state symbols:

Anthem - Florida (Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky) - not yet official
Beverage - Orange juice
Bird - Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), shared with Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas who all have the same state bird
Capital - Tallahassee
Flag - A red diagonal cross on a white background, with the State Seal of Florida superimposed on the centre
Flower - Orange blossom (Citrus sinensis)
Fossil - Eupatagus, an extinct type of sand dollar (unofficial)
Fruit - Orange

Florida State mammal, the manatee
Gem - Moonstone
Freshwater Fish - Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides floridanus)
Insect - Zebra longwing butterfly (Heliconius charitonius)
Mammal - Florida Panther (Felis concolor coryi)
Marine Mammal - Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
Motto - "In God we trust"
Nickname - "The Sunshine State" or "Peninsula State"
Pie - Key lime pie
Quarter - issued in 2004 with the inscription "Gateway to Discovery". The Florida State Quarter features the Sabal palm, a space shuttle and a 16th-century Spanish galleon commemorating the discovery of Florida by the Spanish explorer, Ponce de Leon
Reptile - American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
Saltwater Fish - Atlantic Sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus)
Saltwater Mammal - Porpoise/Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncates)
Seal - Great Seal of the State of Florida, featuring the state Motto - "In God we trust" plus a Native American Seminole woman scattering flowers, a cabbage palmetto tree, a paddle steamboat and a brilliant sun. This represents the land of sunshine, flowers, palm trees, rivers and lakes
Shell - Horse Conch (Pleuroploca gigantea)
Soil - Myakka Soil
Song - "Suwanee River", also known as "Old Folks at Home"
Stone - Agatized coral
Tree - Sabal palm (Sabal palmetto), features on the Florida quarter
Wild Flower - Coreopsis spp. L. (Tickseed)

Changes afoot

In the near future, a couple of Florida's state symbols could change because of public pressure.

There is a petition before the State Legislature of Florida to name the endangered Florida Scrub Jay as the State Bird of Florida. Like other state symbols such as the manatee and alligator, the Florida Scrub Jay is suffering from a loss of habitat and what is more, the Northern Mockingbird is already the state bird for a number of other states.

A recent competition has also come up with an alternative state song to replace the somewhat out of keeping "Suwanee River", see newsletter stories in February and May for more details.