In This Issue Welcome Hurricane Predictions Florida Wildlife Book Review - Travellers Orlando Theme Park Attendance Free Monthly Desktop Wallpaper Theme Park News May events Weather forecast

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

Hurricane Season

Hurricane season officially starts on May 1 and you will find the latest predictions below.

Space Shuttle Atlantis

The delays in repairing the external fuel tank of the Space Shuttle Atlantis following the hail storm damage whilst on the pad back in February has had a knock on effect for the remaining shuttle flights planned for 2007.

The Atlantis launch has now been put back until June which was when the next shuttle mission was due to launch. NASA have moved all the launches in 2007 back by one and have reshuffled some of the shuttles themselves so some missions will now be flown by different shuttles to the original plan.    Read more...

Constellation Program

NASA have also announced some delays in the Orion capsule which means the first manned Orion mission will not be until 2015, five years after the last shuttle mission and they have deferred plans to build a cargo carrying capsule.

The first low orbit test has been pushed back from 2012 to 2014. NASA will have to rely on possible commercial rockets and the Russian space program to reach the International Space Station during the intervening years.    Read more...

Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex

Disney have announced the construction of a new 70,000-plus square-foot arena to be called the Jostens Center at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex to open in the Fall of 2008.

The Jostens Center will have more than 44,800 square feet of competition space and will include six basketball courts, 12 volleyball courts, two roller hockey rinks and two conference areas.

Latest Books

Florida books published in May

Books about Florida published in May include:

• Avant-Guide Miami: Insiders Guide to Progressive Culture
• Save the Florida Manatee
• Florida's Hurricane History
• Florida on Film: The Essential Guide to Sunshine State Cinema and Locations
• Florida Keys Paddling Atlas
• Weeki Wachee, City of Mermaids: A History of One of Florida's Oldest Roadside Attractions
• Hungry Thirsty Miami: The Lowdown on Where the Real People Eat and Drink!
• Zagat Walt Disney World Insider's Guide
• Hidden Mickeys, 3rd Edition: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best-Kept Secrets
• Atlantic Coast Beaches: A Guide to Ripples, Dunes, and Other Natural Features of the Seashore

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

In early April, the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University issued their second revised forecast prediction for the 2007 hurricane season.

They are now predicting 17 named storms of which nine will develop into hurricanes and of those nine, five will become major hurricanes. These numbers are slightly up from their earlier predictions for 2007 and are about double the actual number of storms for 2006.

Last year's predictions turned out higher than what actually happened and it is believed to have been due to a late El Nino that favourably altered oceanic conditions.

They have also announced predictions for the probabilities of a major hurricane making landfall as follows - 74% chance on the entire US coastline, 50% for the east coast of Florida, 49% chance for the Gulf Coast of Florida and above average chances for the Caribbean region.

The official Government National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will put out their 2007 hurricane predictions in late May and we will report them next month.    Read more...

Manatee

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are rumoured to be considering downgrading the Manatee from endangered to threatened as well. Last year the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission downgraded them to threatened.

This follows the latest census which counted around 2,812 animals split roughly equally between the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

When the survey was first conducted in 1991, there were only 1,267 manatees recorded and last year that count has gone up to 3,116.    Read more...

American Crocodile

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have also downgraded the American Crocodile from endangered to threatened but it is still protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act.

When the American Crocodile was put on the endangered list in 1975 there were thought to be only 300 specimens left in the wild in Florida and today that number is thought to be around 2,000.

Florida Alligator

Also one time endangered, the alligator has bounced back with a vengeance and today there are estimated to be anything between 1 and 2 million alligators in Florida.

Florida officials are considering the alligator's status to possibly allow more hunting to take place.

It is a timely reminder that April/May is alligator breeding season which is all the more reason to give them a wide berth.    Read more...

Florida Panther

One of Florida's rarest animals, the Florida Panther is rarely seen in the wild but one was found dead on Interstate 4, close to Walt Disney World, presumably hit by a car.

There are believed to only be about 80 to 100 panthers in the wild.

The 2nd edition of Travellers Orlando was published on April 1, 2006 by Thomas Cook Publishing.

The Thomas Cook Travellers series are compact full colour guides to specific regions and cities and offer a broad range of information in a small book.

Like a lot of Florida guides there is a chapter on the background and history of Florida and then a few pages on best times to go, how to get there and how to get around, currency, language and tipping etc.

The main part of Travellers Orlando is split into two chapters - What to see in Orlando and Beyond Orlando.

The Orlando chapter covers all the major theme parks including SeaWorld, Universal Studios and Walt Disney World plus the smaller attractions like Wet n' Wild and Wonderworks giving maps and brief details of each attractions.

Because of its size, it cannot hope to cover everything in the same details as say the Unofficial Guides but in its favour, it is small and light enough to slip in your pocket or bag and it is cheaper.   Read more...

The 2006 theme park attendance figures have just been published by TEA/ERA in their Theme Park Attendance Report 2006.

Disney continue to dominate the North American theme park attendance figures with 6 out of the top 7 theme parks in North America and Florida claims 8 out of the top 12 spots.

With the exception of Universal Studios, all the other major theme parks show an increase on visitor numbers compared to 2006 and the two Disney water parks continue to dominate the water park rankings.

Figures for Walt Disney World as a whole come close to 50 million per year which is not far short of 1 million park visits per week on average, a truly staggering number.    Read more...

May and June 2007 desktop wallpaper calendars

Free desktop calendars for May 2007 (Sunset over the lake) and June 2007 (Pinewood Estate at Bok Sanctuary) 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 May 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 brochures about many activities including golfing vacations, eco-tours, scuba diving and Caribbean cruises.    Read more...

Disney's EPCOT

The post-show area of the iconic Spaceship Earth attraction is being updated in conjunction with Siemens AG to present a new "Project Tomorrow: Inventing the World of Tomorrow" exhibit. The ride itself will close later this year for some updates.

In the Mexico pavilion in the World Showcase, the ride has been updated to include an adventure with Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and Panchito, the heroes of the 1944 Disney film The Three Caballeros.

Gatorland

Gatorland have delayed the opening of their new water play area, Gator Gully Splash Park, following some technical problems. It will most likely open in early May.

Universal Studios

Hot on the heels of last months announcement about the closing of Back to the Future: The Ride, comes news of a new Simpsons ride opening in Spring 2008 in both Orlando and Hollywood in the former Back to the Future buildings.

It looks likely that the new ride will use the existing full motion simulators and 80-foot tall movie screens to give guests a trip around a cartoon theme park "Krusty Land" named after Krusty the Clown in The Simpsons TV show.

Rumours continue about a possible J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter attraction. Universal Studios have committed to spend $120 million in Orlando and it will not take anything like that much to revamp The Simpsons ride. After falling attendance figures, they really need a major new attraction to bring the visitors back.

Kennedy Space Center

On May 25, the long awaiting $60 million "Shuttle Launch Experience" which simulates a space shuttle ride, opens at the Kennedy Space Center.

The ride lets you experience the sights, sounds and excitement of a vertical launch of a Space Shuttle in a simulator a bit like the Star Tours simulator at Disney's MGM Studios.    Read more...

Memorial Day falls on May 28 so you can expect large crowds at the theme parks around the last weekend in May.

The Florida State Parks are celebrating State Parks month across all 159 Florida State Parks.

There are also plenty of festivals, particularly if you like seafood such as shrimps.

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

Overall, you can expect a mixture of thunderstorms and sunny periods throughout May especially at the start and end of the month. Rainfall will be below normal for the time of year with average temperatures in the South and slightly above average temperatures in the North.

The Central region around Orlando and Tampa should experience the best temperatures this month in the mid to high 80s with overnight lows in the high 60s/low 70s.

Expect slightly cooler temperatures of high 70s/low 80s in the North around Pensacola and Jacksonville and low to mid 80s in the South from Miami to Key West. Overnight lows in the North will be in the high 50s to mid 60s and high 60s to low 70s in the South

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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