Planning a Florida travel vacation? You are in for a big treat! That Wizarding World of Harry Potter is always full of surprises and he is now coming to Florida’s Island of Adventures. Scheduled to open in the spring, this will be the biggest attraction at Universal Studios. The excitement begins as you go through the towering Hogwarts castle gates. Here you will be able to explore familiar passageways, corridors, classrooms and explore the shops of Hogsmeade™, where you will find all sorts of wares from the Wizarding best establishments including the ‘Three Broomsticks’ ™, ‘Zonko’s’™, Honeydukes’™, ‘Ollivanders’™ and much more. (photo courtesy: Universal Studios)

Ready for a surprising treat? Then head on over to Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer or get a pumpkin juice at the Hog’s Head pub. While there, be sure to visit Honeydukes ™ for unique sweets that include chocolate frogs ™, Bertie Bott’s every flavor beans™, cauldron cakes and treacle fudge. And don’t forget to visit Zonko’s ™ Joke shop where you will find a huge selection of jokes and tricks like extendable ears and sneakoscopes. If you want to impress family members and friends, head on over to the Owl Post and send them a postcard or letter with a Hogsmeaded postmark. From here you can then visit Ollivanders ™ wand shop where a wand chooses you for an incredible interactive experience.

There is so much to do at this new theme park and the plan is to bring a collection of rides and attractions designed around the magic and adventures of Harry Potter. It is believed that the main attraction will be ‘Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.’ Other rides include Dragon Challenge™, which is a twin high speed roller coaster and Flight of the Hippogriff ™ a smaller family coaster that takes you through the sky over Hogwarts castle grounds. The Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ™ said to be the main attraction uses new state of the art technology to bring the magic, stories and characters of Harry Potter to life. (photo courtesy: Universal Studios)

Everyone is saying that this is the biggest attraction opening this spring at Universal Studio’s Island of Adventure. The Harry Potter fever is growing in leaps and bounds in popularity and the Brits are thrilled. Already British tourists are flocking in thousands for the event and according to Trevor Davis of tour giant Co-operative Travel, family bookings are up seven percent compared to last year. Imagine 20 acres of the magic of Harry Potter! It is time to start planning your Florida travel vacation and be sure to spend some time at this incredible new theme park in Orlando. This will be definitely an unforgettable experience for the whole family.

If you are planning a Florida travel vacation to Disney World in Florida, there are some ways that you can save some money. A family vacation to Disney World can be expensive and it starts with airfare and lodging for the whole family. You then have to set some money aside for admission tickets, meals and snacks, strollers for young children and souvenirs. If you do some planning prior to your vacation, you can save some money without having to sacrifice that dream vacation to Disney World. To help you with your vacation planning, here are some money saving tips. (photo courtesy: Walt Disney World)

Airfare
Like everything else, you have to shop around for the cheapest airfares available especially if you have a large family. Check out Orbitz online as they charge no booking fees and offer price assurance on your purchase. Also check out cheapoair for guaranteed low prices. Although both of these companies offer reasonably priced lodging and family travel deals, also check the hotels combined website for some great lodging packages.

Food and Snacks
Food and snacks expenses can add up quickly. But, did you know that are allowed to bring coolers to the theme parks at Disney? Yes, you can and this can save you a ton of money. Alcohol and glass containers are not allowed but you can bring water, sodas and juice boxes for the children. If you bring a couple of coolers to the theme park, you can also bring lunch for the whole family. Keep in mind that there is a baggage check at the theme parks so just be patient. Imagine saving all that money and not having to wait in long lines to buy some food. If you drink a lot of water, don’t throw away the empty bottles. You can refill water bottles at various fountains and most restaurants will give you some free ice.

Children Strollers
If you have young children that need strollers, try and bring your own to the theme parks. You can rent strollers at the theme parks, but you can same money by bringing your own. Try and keep the children in the stroller while walking around but if you don’t want to walk around with the stroller all day, there are central locations where you can park it. The main thing to keep in mind is that you can save money by bringing your own strollers for young children.

Buying Souvenirs
This is a tough one to deal with because most people want to bring home souvenirs from that dream vacation they just had but it can be expensive. Let’s face it, every little girl loves the Disney princesses and want those outfits. But when will they wear them and how long will these last before they outgrow them? An idea here is to buy your daughters a princess outfit before the trip and let them wear them while at Disney. You will save lots of money by not buying these outfits on the property.

The same goes for little boys who love to wear a Mickey Mouse hat and shirt. And when will they wear these? My advice here is to buy these prior to your trip and have the boys wear them while at Disney too. You can shop online at the Disney store for children’s outfits and find some real bargains, or look around your local stores that carry Disney merchandise. Your children really don’t care where the merchandise is purchased so save some money and buy it ahead of time.

If you feel that your children should have something from Disney World, then consider looking for books about the various characters. This is definitely much cheaper than buying expensive outfits or shirts. The neat thing about books is that your children can have them autograph by the characters in the book. Don’t forget to take pictures while the children are having the books autographed. The photos will always be a keepsake of your unforgettable Disney World vacation.

Planning to travel to Florida soon? If so, here is a must see event that the whole family can enjoy. There is a yearly flower and garden festival that takes place at Epcot Center to celebrate the coming of spring. This event is scheduled for March 3 to May 16, 2010 and it is filled with magnificent colorful flowers, huge gardens, live music and even educational events. It has been said that you don’t have to be a gardener to enjoy this yearly event as it is perfect for anyone including children of all ages. (photo courtesy: Epcot)

At the Epcot International flower and garden festival you will see millions of blooming flowers and a huge collection of Disney themed topiaries. Take your children to Minnie’s Magnificent Butterfly Garden and have them get close to hundreds of very colorful butterflies. During weekends, you will have a chance to meet well known horticulturists made possible by one of the many Garden Town Programs available and you can learn valuable gardening tips that you can take home with you and put to use. (photo courtesy: Epcot)

The Flower and Garden Festival is been held two weeks earlier this year in order to feature more brilliant color than ever. The event this year will include gorgeous petunias, snapdragons, violas and many more beautiful flowers. At this event, you will also find public demonstrations of advanced gardening techniques from all over the world so be sure to attend these too. During the festival, from Friday to Sunday there will be a Flower Power Concert Series where you can enjoy music from the 60’s and 70’s. (photo courtesy: Epcot)

This will be an unforgettable event for the whole family. Here are a few new features announced by Disney for this event.

•    The topiary in the front entrance will include a live waterfall and pond, Goofy fly-fishing, Daisy Duck roasting marshmallows and Pluto in his pup tent.

•    A new topiary will be an American gothic Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse based on the Grant Wood painting.

•    The size of the butterfly house will double to 3.500 square feet.

•    There will be more characters in the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden and it will be larger in size.

•    The Great American Gardeners series and Flower Power concerts will return this year.