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What lures thousands of visitors to the Orlando area each February? The weather! Visit Orlando in February and you can expect mild to warm days and cool but comfortable nights. Depending on where you stay, you may even be able to swim or play in a water park. Plan your Orlando vacation for February if:

• 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.

Titanic: The Experience rolled out 100 new artifacts from the doomed vessel this week, expanding and adding to one of the area’s most historic collections. The addition of extra artifacts and a large chunk of the ship’s hull comes just in time for the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

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.

Universal Orlando announced the closing of one of the park’s original and enduring rides, Jaws. Jaws and the entire Amity area will be closing this week–and news and rumors of a possible replacement have already hit the net.

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.

Disney World has recently shared more details about the new Art of Animation resort, opening in May 2012. The Art of Animation is a huge addition to the popular Value resort category, and is designed to house families of all sizes on  Disney World property.

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.

Christmas (and the entire month of December) is one of the most joyous times of year to visit Disney World in Orlando, Florida. This is not exactly a secret, and leads to huge crowds flooding the parks for most of the month. Even though the parks are crowded, you can still have plenty of fun, if you plan each day with care. Consider these ideas to help you get the most from your holiday Orlando vacation:

• 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.