It might pay to stay in Florida this year. Orlando is the theme park capital of the world and each park is offering some great deals. Add to that some cool new attractions and you've got a great vacation.

Orlando Sea World-
New attraction: The Manta

Sea World has a few 'thrill' rides...but they won't claim to be the tallest, fastest or scariest. They don't really 'do' rides like that. The new roller coaster - The Manta - actually combines a new roller coaster with some sea life. If you are not a fan of falling at 65 mph, you can skip the coaster and visit the exhibits in the Manta building. If you are a 'Coaster' fan...the Manta will give you a thrill. It's a steel roller-coaster which means a smooth ride. The seating is a bit different. Once strapped in, all the riders are pivoted so that you are parallel to the ground....kind of like 'Superman'. You can't see the track...so all the loops and drops take you by surprise.

Universal Studios Orlando-
New attraction: Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit

This is one thought out roller-coaster. The cool idea is that each rider can choose their own 'soundtrack' for the ride. You can pick a song from a list of 30 from five genres (hip/hop, county, electronic/club, pop/disco, classic rock/metal). That means that you could get a different experience each time you ride it. The track itself is supposed to have some new and exciting elements. One example is a 90-degree ascension to it's tallest point 167 feet straight up...and that is just the start. The coaster reaches 65 mph and take you though six 'maneuvers'...three of which are 'brand new' to the coaster community. The track can be seen from all over the park and has some 'flyovers' that will get the spectators involved. Lighting will add to the effect and should look pretty cool too.

Walt Disney World Orlando - Disney Hollywood Studios park
New attraction: The American Idol Experience

This attraction will be a huge draw for Disney. The strange thing is that FOX and Disney are actually rivals on the TV circuit. The attraction allows guests to either try out to sing on stage...or be a voting audience member. The theater seats 1,000 people...and it is set up to look almost exactly like the TV show....even down to the theme music. Up to 400 people can audition to be a singer on the show per day. 40 will make it past the first cut...then 21 are cast to compete in seven shows (three in each show). The eight and final show will put all the winners of the day up against each other. The final winner of the day...will receive a 'front of the line pass' to any of the American Idol tryouts for next year. That's pretty huge for some of the people wanting to be in American Idol. I can imagine they will get some repeat visitors too.