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Disney World has announced a new addition to their resort lineup; the new hotel will be a Vacation Club location, adjacent to the flagship Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. You can add a visit to the new resort to your Orlando vacation plans as early as 2013 — and Disney expects to begin accepting reservations as early as next month.

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.

If you are a Star Wars fan — or traveling with someone who is, mark your calendar for your 2012 Orlando vacation. This week, Disney World announced the dates for the 2012 Star Wars Weekend event at Hollywood Studios.

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.

While you may not expect to see much holiday spirit from a theme park that focuses on marine life, Sea World puts on a surprising Christmas display that rivals any holiday event in the area. If you will be heading to Florida for an Orlando vacation this holiday season, be sure to stop by Sea World and take in some Christmas fun. Holiday events at Sea World are included with your theme park admission, so you won’t have to pay for a separate ticket to enjoy the fun.

Christmas at Sea World Highlights:

The Christmas experience at Sea World begins with a ride on the Polar Express. Guests board the train, modeled after the classic storybook and holiday film. After a brief trip, riders are deposited in the North Pole. The Polar Express experience is sure to please riders of all ages, and you can expect a ride that features sights, sounds and effects right out of the movie.

The park’s most popular resident, Shamu, hosts a Christmas event as well. The Shamu Christmas…Miracles show features popular carols, extravagant lighting and a special holiday performance by the popular killer whale himself. Shamu Christmas…Miracles is performed on select evenings in November and December in Shamu Stadium.

Families traveling with little ones won’t want to miss the Sesame Street themed Christmas event in Sea World, A Sesame Street Christmas. This show, geared towards the preschool set, is performed daily and features a post show meet and greet session any toddler will love. If you are heading to Sea World early in the day, make a reservation for a Christmas Breakfast with Elmo, a character dining experience designed to delight the parks smallest guests.

Clyde and Seymour’s Countdown to Christmas features the parks fun-loving sea lions, along with a host of other animal friends, and will entertain park goers of all ages. This special Christmas show is performed on select evenings in November and December, and is a fun way to start off your evening in the park.

The weather and calendar may still say “fall”, but the minute Halloween ends, Christmas arrives in Orlando. From the first hint of decor at the theme parks and resorts to lavish holiday events and shows, Christmas is truly a months-long event in Orlando.

What does this mean to you? If you are planning an Orlando vacation for November or December (or even early January), you’ll have plenty of Christmas-themed events to choose from. You’ll also be able to pick up some special holiday-only merchandise and get some great decorating ideas when you visit the Orlando area this fall.

Christmas Highlights for 2011 include:

• Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (Disney’s Magic Kingdom)
• Osbourne Family Spectacle of Lights (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
• Candlelight Processional (Epcot)
• Grinchmas (Universal’s Island of Adventure)
• Macy’s Christmas Parade (Universal)
• Sea World’s Christmas Celebration
• ICE! and

Ride refurbishments and closures happen throughout the year at the Orlando theme parks. Disney World has seen more temporary closures than usual in 2011, thanks to the Fantasyland makeover scheduled to be completed in 2012.

What refurbishments mean to you:

Knowing about ride closures in advance can help you plan your Orlando vacation. If you have your heart set on a Typhoon Lagoon day, the time to find out about the park’s 3 month refurbishment is before you leave home, not on the day you want to visit. You can also plan your trip to substitute rides and experiences for closed attractions–the upcoming closure of Dumbo, a Fantasyland staple, will be easier to handle if you know about it in advance, particularly if you are visiting with small kids, the ride’s target fan base. (Tip: If you are visiting Disney World when Dumbo is closed, head to the Magic Carpets of Aladdin in Adventureland for the same toddler-friendly ride experience).

As of mid-October, the following rides and attractions are closed for maintenance or repair. Depending on the extent of the work needed, a few of the attractions will not be open again during the fall season. A few guest favorites  have been temporarily relocated in the parks — Mickey, the Disney Princesses and the Tinkerbell fairies have all been moved to new homes during construction.

Closed for Refurbishment:

• Blizzard Beach water park, closed for seasonal refurbishment, 10/30/2011-12/3/2011
• Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, Magic Kingdom, reopening 11/17/2011
• Yakatori House, Epcot’s Japan Pavilion, reopening 11/15/2011

Moved:

• Mickey Mouse and the Disney Princesses Greeting Areas: Moved from Toontown to the Town Square Theater.
• Tinkerbell and friends, moved to Adventureland Terrace in the Magic Kingdom

Upcoming closures:

• Typhoon Lagoon: Closing for seasonal refurbishment 12/4/2011-3/17/2012
  
• Dumbo: Closing 1/9/2012-2/17/2012, as part of the Fantasyland Reboot
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Closing for an extended 4 month period beginning 1/9/2012