In This Issue Welcome Parking Rises Disney Dining Plan Book Review - Frommer's 2008 Florida Florida Tourism Free Monthly Desktop Wallpaper October events Weather forecast

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

Whilst Florida's top theme parks are basking in their recent Golden Ticket Awards (see main article below), some of Florida's oldest attractions are struggling to stay afloat.

Cypress Gardens Adventure Park

Cypress Gardens originally opened in 1936 but closed in 2003 after falling attendances finally put it out of business.

It was rescued by Adventure Parks Group LLC in 2004 but they have struggled ever since especially after disputes with their insurers regarding $25m in payouts to cover the cost of the damage caused by three hurricanes shortly before it was due to re-open.

On September 25, a Florida company, Land South Holdings LLC, bought the park for $16.8m as part of a bankruptcy hearing and intend to continue the refurbishment. The other park owned by Adventure Parks Group LLC, Wild Adventures Park in Valdosta, Georgia, was sold to Herschend Family Entertainment of Missouri for $34.5 million. Herschend have a stake in Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede dinner shows.

Weeki Wachee Springs

Weeki Wachee Springs which opened in 1947 on the Gulf Coast with its kitsch mermaid show is also struggling to stay open. Visitor numbers have dropped from 1 million a year in its heyday to 200,000 per year today.

Nowadays, the attraction, is owned by the city of Weeki Wachee (population nine !!) but it leases the land from the Southwest Florida Water Management District and they are in an ongoing court dispute which could result in the lease being cancelled.

One possible solution is to turn Weeki Wachee Springs into a state park but discussions are only in the very early stages.

Florida Manatee De-Listing

Following a request by the Florida Governor, Charlie Crist, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have postponed the decision on downgrading the manatee at the state level from "endangered" to "threatened" status.

This follows the record number of deaths of 416 in 2006 and an estimated population of only 3,300.

Next Shuttle Launch

The launch date for the Space Shuttle Discovery on October 23, was in jeopardy after NASA announced that leaky hydraulic seals in the right main landing gear strut must be replaced but Discovery rolled out to the launch pad on September 29.

Florida books published in October

Not as many new books this month, but a varied selection, none the less:

• Fodor's 2008 Walt Disney World : With Universal Orlando and Seaworld
• Open Road's Best of the Florida Keys & Everglades : Your Passport to the Perfect Trip!
• Florida by Les Beletsky, Fiona Sunquist, Mel Sunquist
• South Beach Perspectives
• Moon Walt Disney World and Orlando : Including Daytona Beach and the Space Coast
• National Geographic Traveler Miami Y Los Cayos

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

No sooner had Disney and Universal increased their theme park admission prices, than they increased the price of parking at the theme parks as well.

It will now cost you $11 to park at one of the four Disney theme parks or at Universal Studios for the day. Parking at the two Disney water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon as well as Downtown Disney remains free.

Remember to hang on to your parking ticket if you intend leaving one of the Disney parks and either returning or going to another Disney park the same day as the parking ticket is good for the whole day.

Similarly if you have purchased a four park Orlando Flex ticket which gives you access to both Universal parks, SeaWorld and Wet 'n Wild then again, a parking ticket is good for the whole day if you visit more than one eligible park.

Walt Disney World Resort guests do not have to pay to park at the Disney theme parks which is one of the perks of staying at a Disney resort.

Read more...

As well as free parking, one of the other benefits of staying at one of the Walt Disney World resort hotels, is the Disney Dining Plan.

At certain times of year, you might even be offered the standard dining plan for free but at other times you can purchase a range of different dining plans depending upon your budget, your tastes and especially your waistline !!

If you intend to spend most of your vacation time within Walt Disney World itself then you could save money and make it easier to budget by buying a dining plan. With a typical Disney theme park or resort table service meal costing $35 or more per person, you can typically save around 30% on your food budget with a standard dining plan.

For 2008, Disney have introduced a new Deluxe Dining Plan which is nearly twice the price of the standard plan but gives you two snacks and three table or counter services meals each day as opposed to one snack, one counter service and one table service meal per day with the standard plan.

They have also dropped the price of the standard plan by $1 per day but have reduced the benefits by dropping the table service appetiser and gratuities so in real terms they are not actually as good value as they were.

For further details of all the dining plans, prices, at a glance comparisons, plus exclusions and restrictions, click here.

Frommer's Florida 2008 is written by Lesley Abravanel and is updated each year. It offers candid views on the best sightseeing, restaurants, clubs, beaches, outdoor activities, hotels and more throughout the whole of Florida.

The accommodation reviews cater for all budgets, everything from lavish golf resorts to spas, stunning B&B, beachfront motels and family-friendly condos.

Like the Fodor's guide, Frommer's Florida is a great touring guide if you plan to venture a bit further afield and are looking for off-the-beaten-path experiences and some of the undiscovered gems that Florida has to offer.

One very good feature of Frommer's Florida is their 'The best of Florida' section covering a whole range of topics including the best beaches, snorkelling and diving, small towns, golf courses, romantic hideaways, family attractions, fishing, spas, luxury resorts, moderately priced accommodations, seafood restaurants, local dining experiences and best bars and nightspots.

As well as a region by region coverage, there are also sections on suggested itineraries, Baseball Spring training, South Beach club scene, dive sites in the Keys, airfare bargains and package deals, shopping, sightseeing cruises, nature preserves, parks and gardens and all the major theme parks.

Read more...

Visit Florida (the official Florida State tourism marketing corporation) have announced that Florida's tourism increased by 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2007.

The number of visitors between April and June was 23.5 million plus a further 3.7 million Floridians vacationed in the state. This is after a 1.2 percent increase to 84.6 million for the whole of 2006.

Passenger numbers at Florida's 14 major airports were also up 4 percent for the second quarter of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006.

Some of Florida's theme parks also won awards at the 10th annual Golden Ticket Awards presented by Amusement Today but they missed out on the top two awards which went to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio for Best Amusement Park and Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort in New Braunfels, Texas for Best Waterpark.

SeaWorld Orlando won the best Best Marine Life Park award. Universal's Islands of Adventure won the Best Water Ride award for Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls and Best Dark Ride award for Amazing Adventures of Spiderman.

Not to be out done, the Walt Disney World Resort won best Best Indoor Roller Coaster for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Disney-MGM Studios. They also took the Best Outdoor Night Show Production award for IllumiNations: Reflections of the Earth at Walt Disney World's Epcot.

To read more about Florida's main theme parks, click here.

October and November 2007 desktop wallpaper calendars

Free desktop calendars for October 2007 (Cypress Gardens from the Island in the Sky) and November 2007 (Iconic Entrance to Gatorland) 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 October or November 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...

Throughout the month of October, the parks start to kick off their Halloween celebrations and you will even find a few Christmas events starting towards the end of the month.

As Florida moves into the fall season, up and down the state, there are local county fairs celebrating everything from peanuts to rattlesnakes and snapping turtles (known locally as cooters) where you can get the chance to sample real Florida life.

Another big event is the annual Epcot International Food and Wine Festival which runs from September 28 to November 11. Admission is included in with the regular Epcot park ticket and every evening there is a concert.

For a small fee you can sample cuisine from around the world, including South Africa, Italy, Australia, Russia, Spain and Ireland.

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

The Atlantic hurricane season continues unabated and already the number of named storms has exceeded the average for previous years.

In the north and central regions, the rainfall this month should ease up considerably but still expect rain showers and thunderstorms.

Rainfall is expected to be above average for October with temperatures pretty much average across the State, though generally lower than in September.

In the north around Pensacola and Jacksonville, the month will be a mixture sunshine and clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Temperatures will be in the high 70s/mid 80s during the day with night-time temperatures in the low 60s/low 70s.

Across the Central region, the weather outlook is similar but temperatures will be a little warmer in the low/high 80s during the day, dropping to mid 60s/low 70s over night.

Once you get down to Miami and the Keys, then whilst the daytime temperatures are much the same as the central region, over night lows will be mid/high 70s.

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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