• You want to escape the chilly days experienced by most of the US (and many places overseas as well).
• You want to visit the theme parks when they are not crowded.
• You want a laid back, relaxing vacation.
• You want to save some money on your trip.

Weather:

Expect temperatures in the low to mid 70s during the day, and pack a jacket or sweatshirt for chilly mornings and evenings. While the weather will vary, most days will be warm enough to wear shorts — and you should bring your bathing suit, as many resort pools and water park rides are heated to a comfy 80 degrees.

Crowds:

You’ll find low crowd levels and short wait times if you visit the theme parks in early February. Attendance will grow in the parks and resorts as the month progresses, peaking during the popular President’s Day weekend. US schools and many employers have a long weekend at this time, so more people will visit the parks.

Tips:

Due to lower attendance, park hours may be reduced at Universal, Disney and Sea World. While most parks are open into the evening, don’t expect a lot of super late nights.

This is a popular time for ride refurbishment. Expect some rides to be closed and to see some construction during February.

Look for deals on your resort, theme park tickets, or both when you travel in February. Your Orlando Hotel Vacation specialist can help you find the best deals when you travel this (or any) month.

Whether you are a history buff, want to add an educational activity to your Orlando vacation or are simply curious about the famous ship and her passengers, you will find plenty to see and do at Titanic: The Experience. With the second largest piece ever recovered and 30 artifacts that have never been seen before, there has never been a better time to explore the Titanic.

Visitors to the exhibition will see pieces of  the doomed ship, passenger possessions, recovered artifacts and other interesting objects on display. Titanic: The Experience offers intriguing displays, room recreations, and footage and details of various recovery missions (the exhibition group has made several recovery attempts in recent years, yielding new finds and discoveries).

Titanic: The Experience offers a dinner event as well as general admission. Conveniently located on International Drive in Orlando, the exhibition is a great place to spend a hot summer day–or while away a rainy afternoon any time of year. Admission to Titanic: The Experience is $12.95 for kids and $21.95 for adults as of 2012. Kids under 3 visit for free.

The exhibit is open from 9am to 9pm every day of the week, with tickets available for advance purchase. You can’t bring outside food and drinks to Titanic: The Experience, and strollers are prohibited. Plan on spending a few hours touring the exhibit, and allow extra time for crowds, particularly in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the ship.

Make reservations. Booking a great hotel room or home in advance and finding the best deal possible on your theme park tickets will save you the largest amount of money on your Orlando vacation. If you just show up at a hotel, you will likely end up paying rack rate–or the highest price for your room. Simply booking in advance allows you to personalize your vacation, and to shop around a bit as well.

Buy tickets early: Purchasing theme park tickets in advance will save you money on each ticket you buy; the larger your family, the more tickets you’ll need, so saving in this category is a big budget helper. Buy your tickets online, over the phone or as part of a package. No matter how you buy, purchasing up front will help you save.

Cut food costs: Rent a house, condo or villa with a kitchen to save–even if you just dine in for lunch and stock drinks and snacks you’ll save a bundle on food.

Skip the rental car: If you are heading to Disney World, consider bypassing the rental car; you can take the Magical Express bus for free, and rental cars are more expensive in Orlando than almost anywhere else in the country. Use onsite transportation instead of renting a car and save hundreds on your trip.

Limit souvenirs: Choose one nice souvenir per family member, or you risk spending a fortune–Disney and Universal items items really add up quickly! Not only are souvenirs costly, but hauling them home can get expensive as well, if you end up taking extra luggage on the plane. Streamline your souvenirs by setting a budget per person and sticking to it.

Crowds: January is one of the least busy times of year for Disney World, Universal Orlando and Sea World so you won’t have to spend much time waiting in line for your favorite attractions. You may also luck into an upgrade at your resort, as hotels may not fill all the way up this month.

Weather: Expect mild temperatures in the day time and chilly mornings and evenings. Save wet, watery rides like the Kali River Rapids at the Animal Kingdom for the warmest part of the day to avoid getting overly chilled. If you stay in a hotel, the pool may be heated (all Disney resort pools are heated to a comfy 80 degrees), but the air may make it too cold to swim. Pack your swimsuit, but you may or may not actually use it.

Tips:

• You won’t need to pay extra for Universal’s Front of the Line pass this month, lines should be manageable for most attractions.
• This is a great time to visit the normally crowded Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando, or ride popular attractions like Toy Story Mania or Star Tours (both at Hollywood Studios).
• Pack a lightweight jacket or sweater for mornings and evenings — you may find you need it!
• You may still need to make dining reservations to secure a table at popular restaurants, if you want to be sure you can dine at your favorite spots.

Jaws still offered plenty of thrills, but the ride had been showing signs of age in recent years, with outdated technology and effects. You may have missed your chance to ride Jaws before the closure, but details are emerging about an exciting new replacement for this area.

The Orlando Sentinel and the Theme Park Insider are reporting news of a new Harry Potter-themed ride and expanded attraction area in this location. The detailed report includes news of a Gringott’s bank-themed ride, which would replace Jaws, and an expansion of the popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

While Universal Orlando has not yet confirmed the report of the new Harry Potter themed rides and attraction area, the Orlando Sentinel and Theme Park Insider have both provided sound information in the past. The closure of Jaws clears up a large enough area within the park to hold something as large as a Gringotts-themed indoor ride, and the Wizarding World has been a huge hit. Expanding it with another thrill ride seems like a good plan, particularly since the Dueling Dragons lost a bit of their bite earlier this year.

Since Universal Orlando offers some of the most thrilling rides in town, they are an essential part of any Orlando vacation. We’ll be following the story closely, and post details about the park’s plans for this area as they emerge.

1. For music lovers: Head to Universal Orlando’s City Walk area for an evening of live music, food and drink. This event is restricted to adult guests over the age of 21, since the alcohol will flow freely during the party. You’ll need a separate ticket to attend this event, but you can be sure of a fun, grown up way to ring in the new year.
2. For families with small kids: Both Sea World and Epcot offer festivities that are ideal for families traveling with small kids. Sea World has a variety of music and dance parties, and a fireworks show; Sea World is also home to Elmo and pals, so your toddler can party with some familiar friends. Epcot is ideal for a New Year’s Eve celebration with kids–the park presents Illuminations twice on the big night; you can attend the early showing, then head back to your hotel and tuck the kids into bed. They’ll still feel like part of the party, but you won’t be dragging everyone around at 1am.
3. For couples: Book a Magic Kingdom view room at the Contemporary or Bay Lake Towers in Disney World. You’ll be able to enjoy the fireworks show without the crowds and noise. Not staying at the resort? The Contemporary has an observation deck that is open to all, so show up and enjoy the fireworks from afar.

The new resort will be a welcome addition to the Disney World hotel line up; with only four value resorts, it was sometimes difficult to grab a room at a decent price during the busy season. The Art of Animation will add 1500 rooms to the property, a huge increase that will help ensure room availability.

The resort, set to open in May 2012, will offer rooms with four different themes. Each section is based on a different Disney or Pixar film, including the Lion King, the Little Mermaid, Cars and Finding Nemo. The rooms, furnishings, pools and playgrounds are designed with the films in mind, so guests staying in the “Cars” wing will be treated to Cozy-Cone inspired interiors and automotive themed furnishings.

The opening of the Art of Animation is particularly helpful to families with more than two children. Up until now, rooms that were large enough to accommodate a big family were hard to come by. Over 1000 of the rooms at the new resort will be family suites, large enough to handle families traveling with multiple children. The addition of affordable, family friendly suites makes the Art of Animation a don’t miss for large groups wishing to stay onsite.

While the Art of Animation doesn’t open until May, you can book a room now–if you are planning an Orlando vacation for spring, you won’t want to miss the newest Disney resort.

The new resort joins 11 other on-site Disney Vacation Club properties, including the luxurious Bay Lake Towers at the Contemporary and the wild and wonderful Kidani Village at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Like all DVC properties, the new location will be offered to guests in both time share and traditional nightly rental formats.

The new property will be adjacent to the Grand Floridian, and share its Victorian themeing. If you are staying at the Grand Floridian in 2012, or just visiting for a meal or a spa treatment, be aware that there will be ongoing construction throughout the year. The new resort will be located near the wedding pavilion, tennis courts and the on-site Grand Floridian Spa, so these areas of the resort are most likely to be affected by the construction.

The new resort will share monorail access with the Grand Floridian, and will likely share some amenities as well. If the nearby Bay Lake Tower is any indication, then the resort may have its own pool and recreation zones, but share restaurants and the monorail with the home resort.

While Disney has not announced pricing for the new resort yet, expect rates to be in line with or slightly above those commanded by the Bay Lake Towers at the Contemporary Resort.

• Arrive early, stay late: If you want to experience as many rides as possible, set you alarm clock for early in the morning (or get an early wakeup call). You’ll have some time to play before the parks fill with festive crowds. This is particularly important if you plan on visiting the Magic Kingdom, which is small in area, and wildly popular this time of year.
• Stay on site: If possible, choose a resort that is part of the Disney family and is on site. You will be close by, so you will have less trouble with traffic–and you’ll get to take advantage of Disney’s Extra Magic Hour program as well.
• Use Fastpass: Take advantage of Disney’s free Fastpass program, and you will spend less time waiting in line, and more time actually having fun. Fastpass allows you to save your place in a ride queue, without actually standing in the line–just show up at the designated time and you’ll be sent to the front of the line.
• Avoid peak times: The theme parks will be at their busiest during the afternoon, and you won’t miss much by leaving for a few hours. Either plan on having a late lunch or early dinner around 3pm, or leave the park entirely and explore your (or another) resort for a few hours. The Disney resorts have plenty to see and do at Christmas time, so you’ll find plenty of ways to stay occupied. Head back to the park after dinner, for fewer crowds and less waiting.

Star Wars weekends include plenty of characters, celebrity appearances, extra shows and fun events, and lots of great merchandise. The newly opened Star Tours is a “must do” ride for this event, as is the Jedi training show offered each day. While the 2012 celebrity lineup has not been announced, past attendees included Anthony Daniels (C3PO), Ray Park (Darth Maul), and George Lucas himself, who appeared in 2011 to open the new Star Tours ride. This year’s guests have yet to be announced, but look for news a little closer to the event.

Star Wars Weekends for 2012:

• May 18-20
• May 25-27
• June 1-3
• June 8-10

What does this mean for your trip? If you are a Star Wars fan, and want to attend the event on one of the listed weeks, book your vacation soon. These will be busy weekends, thanks to the popularity of this event, so booking early will ensure you get the room or resort you want.

When you arrive, plan on heading to Disney’s Hollywood Studios first thing in the morning, particularly if you want to get an autograph from a celebrity guest.Don’t be surprised to see rabid Star Wars fans lining up hours or even days before the event begins! You should also expect to wait a little longer than usual to ride Star Tours–make use of Disney’s Fastpass program to ease the wait.

If you are not a Star Wars fan, but planning an Orlando vacation for this time period, consider avoiding the Hollywood Studios resort area, and making sure that you visit the Studios on a weekday, not during the weekend to avoid dense crowds.