Orlando is already renowned for its family-friendly attractions, but Universal Orlando is giving kids--and quite a few adults!--a new reason to book a flight to Florida: a Harry Potter amusement park.

Pity the poor Florida traveler right now. Maybe this is their one beach vacation for the year, the one they’ve been saving up for, and instead of frolicking in the warm waves and pulling up fish from the sea, they’re shivering on the beach in a scarf and wishing for mittens. The current cold wave gripping much of the country is treating Florida especially hard, threatening staple crops like the state’s ubiquitous oranges, and keeping the fishing charters tied up in harbor due to lack of interest.

But all is not lost if you’re a tourist on a Florida vacation right now. Yes, if you were planning on beaches and suntans, you may have to call an audible, but there is much you can still do in the Sunshine State that doesn’t require warm temps and, well, sun.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a native of Panama City, Florida. Very few of us have left the Redneck Riviera--and that is probably because the Emerald Coast is one of our nation's best kept secrets. It's gorgeous there. Hand on my heart, the beaches blow away anything I've ever seen in Hawaii or California and are on par with the best shores of the Caribbean. But my quiet--and okay, a bit backwater--town may soon be thrust into the tourism spotlight.

Remember this moment? (Skip to 1:50) Well, I'm having one of my own. Just picture me standing at a podium with helmet hair like The Gipper, a stern look glinting in my eyes, saying, "Atlanta airport, get some recycling bins!"

If you're anything like me, here's how you feel about plastic bottles of water.

Cons:

Takes 1,000 years to break down in a landfill

Has a hefty carbon footprint and is made with petroleum

Leaches harmful chemicals into your water over time

Pros:

Convenient

Convenient

Convenient

Recently, the Roaming Gnome and I had the opportunity to visit Universal Orlando. Oh the fun we had -- I faced my fear and rode The Incredible Hulk Coaster and R.Gnome got down and sang "All the Small Things" at the Rising Star karaoke bar.

But it was not all fun and games! There was work to be done as well. At the top of the list was spreading the word about Universal Orlando's sweet summer offer. There were lots of interviews on that deal and others, but just in case you missed it, you can watch this video for details on the deal, our Traveler Confidence Report and Universal Orlando's soon-to-open Rip Ride Rockit!

Here in New York, Memorial Day brings outdoor cafés, white wardrobes, and the March of the Visitors—the season when friends from out of town begin arriving to enjoy the city just as it's warming up. So I spent the last two weekends as a tourist in my city, hosting friends and hitting the streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Broadway (that’s right, even Times Square). As you might imagine, it's not difficult to convince anyone to visit you when you live in Manhattan, a luxury I've never had before. It was a lot harder to fill the sofa bed when I lived in other cities. Come to think of it, I didn't even need a sofa bed.

Don't get me wrong -- discounted room rates are great. Like a moth to a flame, I'm drawn in by percent-off promotions when I shop for a hotel deal. And these enticing deals are everywhere -- 25% off! No, no wait, there's another one -- 40% off! Wait - 60% off!

And then I stop to think -- 60% off what, exactly? If you don't know the starting price of a hotel room, the discount may not mean much to you.

Personally, I like my discounts in dollars. Resort credits offer a specific dollar amount for you to spend while you're at your hotel on cocktails, food, spa treatments -- you name it. It is one of the most popular hotel trends in a down economy and, depending on the amount, can add a great deal of value to your vacation. Here are three  resort credit offers available right now:

When forecasters initially mapped out the path of Hurricane Ike, it looked like the Florida Keys were going to take a direct hit. Authorities ordered tourists and then residents to evacuate and the dozens of bridges leading back to Miami filled with cars stuffed to the gills with people, pets, and their prize possessions. Then, a few days later, the weather forecasters scratched their heads, looked at the maps, and declared Ike was on a path to Texas, and would miss The Keys altogether. Evacuation lifted--you can come back now!

But very few people did come back—to the tune of millions of dollars in lost tourist revenue, according to an article in USA Today. This was the backdrop to which I arrived in The Keys last week: shuttered condo complexes, plentiful “closed” signs, abundant parking, zero traffic, empty swimming pools, and spectacular weather.