Need DSLR Suggestions

Hi,
I am fairly new to photography but have a well enough understanding that I have outgrown my current camera. I am looking to upgrade pretty soon and need some suggestions on which route to go. I am looking at a budget of about $1200. I have been researching a lot of the Nikon DSLRs and cannot come to a conclusion on which would be better to suit my needs as each one has unique qualities. I shoot primarily HDR Landscapes and seascapes. I was looking at the d7000 because of all the features it has but then came across the newer d5200 which offers much higher resolution with the 24.1 MP but doesnt have quite as many features. Being a newbie I'm not real sure that I really need all the extra features anyway. Supposedly, the d5200 has slightly better picture quality. Not sure about the AEB vs the d7000 though as the specs say 3 frames at 1/3 or 1/2 ev but doesnt give a +/- value. Being that I shoot primarily HDR this will be the feature I use the most and can't find much info on the AEB capabilities of the d5200. But I'm just trying to get some feedback from more advanced photographers or people that have had this dilema in the past. Should I go with the more advanced model or no? Any suggestions as to what I should do here would be greatly appreciated.

Here is an interesting comparison of the two
Nikon D5200 vs D7000 - Our Analysis

I would go for D7000, unless you are willing the wait until about summer when shipping should start of the yet to be announced D7100 (rumored and likely). The 7000 line is intended as the next level above the 5000 and will be present throughout the camera. The extra pixels are not sufficient to be worth the loss. Most people agree that anything above 10mg is not going to be visible in today's environment. JD

Would you consider going to full frame, save a bit more and get the D600?

Personally, absolutely! If you are likely to get into photography yes. Much better with low light, high dynamic. I switched with the D700 and now have a D800 as well. Have given away 2,000$ of DX lenses. Switch now and you will not waste any money. JD

Well, for what it is worth, I bought the D3200 and then ended up looking at the D5200 and the D7000. The sensor is the same in the D5200 as is in the D7000. I didn't feel that I needed all the options and opted to trade in the D3200 for the D5200. I can't believe the image quality that I have gotten so far. I do alot of cropping and the 24.1 megapixels come in very handy so I can keep a good image quality. The combination of the pixels and sensor are wonderful. I'm not a pro by any means, but I do shoot for money now and then and would highly recommend the D5200. If you are leaning on going more professional, then I would suggest the D7000.

Thank you for all the suggestions guys! I have been leaning toward the d7000 from the get go however,suvlady makes a very good point. Being newer I haven't quite mastered composition yet. I am getting a lot better but still have to crop a few images here and there. Then there are times when I look at a photo and think that just a small portion would make a nice image but then when I crop, it looks horrible with the 16mp gx1 I'm using now. So this is where the 24mp would really come in handy. As for saving and going for the d600, this would be the ideal way to go however I have been saving for quite some time now for this one as I am on a pretty tight budget at the moment and I will be taking a trip here shortly and would hate to loose image quality by shooting with what I have now... So I guess I just need to weigh my options here I guess and see what I feel I can afford to loose. Thanks for all the help guys! I appreciate it!