Theme parks

New rides, attractions coming to Central Florida

It’s the year of minions at Universal Studios, and most other theme parks are launching new adventures in 2012 as well.

HOLLYWOOD

Margaritaville not open yet, but ready to party

It’s never to early to party in Margaritaville — even if its years from opening.

Theme parks

Universal Orlando adding parade, light-and-water show

A night-time show with fountains and pyrotechnics will project scenes from classic Universal Pictures movies onto waterfall “screens.”

Whales, manatees, white pelicans, sandhill cranes

Florida winters are prime time for wildlife viewing

This is the season I wait all year to enjoy — and not just for the cooler, dryer weather that makes it a joy to hike, bike and kayak.

Gulf fortress

Ruins of a notorious prison in Florida Keys

Our first sight of Fort Jefferson from our excursion boat, the Yankee Freedom, was of a thin dark scratch across the teal surface of the Gulf of Mexico. As we drew nearer, the fort’s massive brick walls seemed to float on the sea, majestic and forbidding, filling almost the entire 10 acres of Garden Key, the largest of the islets known as the Dry Tortugas.

Tarpon Springs, Florida

Greek for a day: an ethnic epiphany

The Greeks started filing into church about 8 a.m., but I’m neither Greek nor churchgoing, so I spent the morning walking.

Restaurants

What are Tampa’s best places to eat during a layover?

I caught Anthony Bourdain’s new series, The Layover, the other night. The concept: Tony spends 24 hours or so between connecting flights in cities around the world that are airline travel hubs: Singapore, Montreal, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco. That sort of thing.

Theme parks

At Florida’s Legoland, the fun stacks up

New Central Florida theme park draws some hard-core Lego fans, both kids and adults.

Southwest Florida

Mucking around on swamp walks

Wet and slimy hikes are the new ‘walk in the park’ for nature-lovers in the western Everglades and southwest Florida.

Central Florida

Legoland to open water park next summer

The former Splash Island Water Park at Cypress Gardens will be renovated and given a Lego theme.

New ferry service will connect Fort Lauderdale, Grand Bahama beginning Dec. 9

Balearia, a Spanish company, will launch an overseas ferry service from Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades to Grand Bahama Island beginning on Dec. 9. The boat, a 225-foot-long catamaran named Pinar del Rio, will make the trip in about 2 1/2 hours w

Central Florida

Holiday celebrations at the theme parks

Parties, shows, parades and decorations mark the holidays at Central Florida’s theme parks.

Central Florida

Quick trips: An ecosystem untouched by Disney or development

Come for a walk along the 100-mile-long Lake Wales Ridge that begins just south of Disney World.

Orlando theme parks

SeaWorld’s new attractions: Sea turtles, penguins

SeaWorld Orlando last week announced the most ambitious expansion in the nearly 40-year history of the theme park, including a sea turtle exhibit with a domed 3-D theater and an immersive penguin experience that promises to drop guests down in the middle of frigid Antarctica.

Quick trips

Big Cypress: land of Seminoles and alligators

Visiting the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in the Everglades entails a few Seminole traditions and a lot of not-so-cuddly animals.

Florida theme parks

SeaWorld Orlando announces new attractions

Manatee and sea turtle habitats, a 3-D domed theater, and an Antarctica-themed ride and retail area are scheduled to open at the park in 2012 and 2013.

Fun-shine state

A dozen not-so-obvious ways to have fun in Florida

Florida

Cigar City brews beer that tastes like Tampa

Florida breweries used to be a joke among craft beer lovers. Look who’s laughing now.

Roughing it

A getaway for the outdoorsy (and the not-so)

A city girl discovers the outdoors on a women-only weekend that focuses on shooting, fishing and camping rather than mani-pedis, sunbathing and wine-tasting.

Gulf Coast

Quick trips: Nature, fun and culture in Naples, Fla.

Naples, the Everglades and Marco Island form the Paradise Coast, which offers plenty to do for children and adults.

Disney World at 40

What seemed like a goofy idea then is a huge success today

Air travel

Peak travel fees apply to fewer days

Although airfares have been on the rise for the last year or so, there is good news for holiday travelers:

United, Continental Merge Frequent Flier Programs

The Washington Post

The Florida Big Week

In a state that’s a major stop on birds’ fall migration route, here’s a guide for spotting some of the 485 species that Florida claims.

Legoland comes to Florida

Can the attraction succeed in the spot where Cypress Gardens failed — in the shadows of the theme park giants?

Sarasota

Quick trips: Ringling arts festival on Sarasota Bay

With contemporary music, dance and theater, festival organizers hope to take people outside their cultural comfort zone.

THEME PARKS

Scares galore at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights 21

Aliens invade, ravens swoop and Lady Luck beckons at this year’s version of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando.

Central Florida

Disney will build ‘Avatar’ land at Animal Kingdom

When James Cameron’s Avatar hit theaters in 2009, many moviegoers were so dazzled by the lush, 3-D world of the alien moon Pandora that they wanted to step right inside. Now the Walt Disney Co. is aiming to offer that kind of experience to its theme park patrons.

Theme parks

Halloween parties: sweet or scary?

Ghoulish terror returns to Universal Studios and Busch Gardens, while Disney and SeaWorld offer family-friendly Halloween celebrations.