A world-renowned destination, Orlando is the place to make all of your
vacation dreams come true. Of course, it is beloved for its theme parks:
Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida, SeaWorld Orlando and many
others. But it also beckons with world-class resorts, shopping
opportunities for every budget, all-season golf courses, and some of the
most enticing dining opportunities on the planet. Less known but
equally inviting are the downtown sections of Orlando itself and many
nearby towns in Central Florida – places that celebrate public art and
take pride in offering a myriad of cultural opportunities. Come to
Orlando – and bring the family – and wish upon a star.
Attractions:
Discovery Cove
Discovery Cove is a beautiful, tropical oasis. The park is well run,
and the entire staff is very friendly. Buy the picture CD that the park
sells if members of your group are doing the dolphin swim. Their close
up pictures are great quality, and you won't be able to get such a good
angle on pictures you take yourself. Also, look for the photographer
throughout the park, and ask to have your picture taken. All pictures of
your group taken during the day will be included in the CD. There is a
photographer in the bird aviary, by the waterfall, and in the sting ray
pool. If you go with another family, you can combine the pictures of
everyone in your group on one CD. You will be allowed to split the cost
of the CD. You can then burn a copy at home to share.
Although the park is expensive, it is a good value considering
everything that is included (including unlimited 14-day admission to
either Sea World or Busch Gardens, all your food and drinks and parking
at Discovery Cove, as well as a free photo of your group when you enter
DC). The park's restaurant is open from 9AM to 3PM, and there are also
snack shacks offering chips, cookies, hot pretzels, ice cream, beer,
soft drinks and coffee free all day. Besides that, the white powdery sand
throughout the park feels wonderful on your feet!
The snorkeling is so easy to do once you get the hang of it, and the
fish are so beautiful. The water in the lazy river is warm and the
tropical landscape surrounding it is so beautiful. There are waterfalls
and a cave in the lazy river, as well as birds pirched in the trees
since the aviary is in the area. If you are an accomplished snorkeller
do not waste too much time going around the lazy river as there is
nothing to see under the water except one or two small glass sections
containing sharks. It is much more entertaining to snorkel in the other
two pools where there are fish!! Then enjoy floating down the lazy
river with floats and vests later in the day when it is not as crowded.
This will save you time as there is so very much to cram into your day.
The tropical bird section was great fun as food for the birds was free and they will fly up and and land on you to eat it.
Disney Animal Kingdom
Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, one of 4 theme parks at Walt Disney
World Resort, is full of attractions, adventures and entertainment that
reflect Walt Disney’s dedication to nature and conservation, and in
doing so, the Park leads the way in animal care, education and research. Home to more than 1,700 animals from 250 species and sprawling across
500 acres of lush landscape, Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park is the
largest animal-themed park in the world!
Within each area, encounter real and fantastic animals. Get close
enough to pet some of them, or ask for their autograph! Exciting
attractions await, along with live and wild entertainment—like
Broadway-style musical shows and parades that invite you to be part of
the excitement.
Attractions at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park include exciting
expeditions and wild adventures with animals. Entertainment at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park includes
elaborate parades, performances that feature nearly 20 species of birds
and big-as-Broadway musical-stage shows and Disney Character meet and
greets. Take a walk on the wild side with Wild Africa Trek—a VIP adventure
where you can enjoy close encounters with crocodiles, hippos and other
exotic animals.
Dining at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park means sampling American,
African and Asian-inspired cuisines for breakfast, lunch and dinner in
restaurants that offer a range of experiences from quick-service to
Character Dining to wildly themed.Shopping at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park means finding
authentic African art and imports—like baskets, masks and jewelry—as
well as staples and souvenirs, such as film, sunscreen, plush toys,
postcards, Disney Character merchandise and family apparel.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park offers several unique
animal-related special experiences, including the Backstage Safari Tour,
the Wild By Design Tour and the new Wild Africa Trek—where you can get
closer to the animals than ever before!
Revenge of the Mummy
When
Universal Studios Florida created Revenge of the Mummy, they wanted to
make a roller coaster that was truly unique and hadn’t been produced
anywhere before. Sure, theme parks across America have created dozens of
coasters in the dark, and even some had incorporated themes and storyline into these high-speed attractions; but never before have
riders experienced anything quite like Revenge of the Mummy, a
“psychological thrill ride” inside an ancient tomb that combines the
theatrics of a thrilling, suspenseful movie with all of the twists,
turns and high speeds one would anticipate with a modern-day thrill ride
that, coupled together, reinvented all conventional thinking about
roller coasters.
Riders
entering the Revenge of the Mummy are first brought into the Museum of
the Antiquities, which they quickly realize is the new set for the
latest fictional sequel in the “Mummy” movie series, “Revenge of the
Mummy.” As guests wind through the queue, they encounter a series of
strange events that are happening on set before winding into a 1940
archeological dig site and ancient tomb, where the loading dock to the
ride is located.
Unlike
most roller coasters, the ride portion of this coaster doesn’t start
immediately, instead taking passengers through an ancient Egyptian tomb
where a slightly mummified Reggie, one of the workers on the set, warns
passengers of a curse and urges them to turn back now! Just before
entering the next room, Imhotep, the main Mummy from the movie series,
appears and quiets Reggie as he too warns passengers that he will rule
for all eternity. The second scene of the ride features a large screen
with the Mummy with treasures flanking each side of the ride’s tracks.
The room soon darkens, ancient warrior mummies appear and fiery flashes
of fire pop out of the walls just before guests escape in a flash!
Revenge
of the Mummy takes riders a full three minutes to endure the entire
attraction. It features two more brief stops, one of which is used to
change the track of the vehicle so the ride can change directions and
zoom in reverse as scarab beetles threaten to take over your ride. While
it may not feature any inversions, this in-the-dark attraction still
induces spine-tingling thrills with its 80 degree banked turns and
speeds of up to 45 mph. This thrill ride for the ages is a one-of-a-kind
experience and is definitely one that should fit into everyone’s list
of best roller coasters in Orlando!
Wet n Wild Orlando
Wet N Wild Orlando is one of the top water parks in Florida and is often
voted as the very best water park in the area. Wet N Wild is more than
just water slides and has a large wave pool, a lazy river, a large lake
with and many interesting and relaxing activities. It is very popular
for its premier thrill slides and kid slides.
Considering the quantity
and quality of the thrills and chills that await visitors inside the park, the award hardly comes as a
surprise. And all these thrills are offered with the utmost attention to the security and safety of visitors.
Certified lifeguards are always around you as you try to push water adventure to the limit, leaving all the
safety concerns with the responsible and trustable lifeguards.
Adventure acquires intensity as
you move further inside the park and witness better and more thrilling rides. There are rental towels and
other necessary equipment available at the entrance, so that you have nothing to inhibit you from
participating in all the activities and rides in the park. Surely, a visit to the Wet N Wild water park is
bound to etch unforgettable memories on your heart. Two of the amazing thrill slides available at Wet N Wild are Der
Stuka and Bomb Bay. These are almost vertical drop water slides that
tower over six stories high. The drop itself is 76ft and the rest of the
slide continues for about 115ft before ending in a cool landing pool.
Bomb Bay uses a capsule that suddenly opens on the bottom dropping
guests into the slide. In Der Stuka guests just have to sit on the edge
and launch themselves. It is fun and interesting to observe the
visitor’s reactions as they drop down the slide via the video camera
located near the landing pool.
Wet N Wild also has many kid friendly slides including milder
versions of the bigger rides. Bubble Up is a popular kid slide featuring
a big inflated bubble that slides into three feet of water. There is
also a giant bucket of water that fills up slowly and surprises guests
by emptying over them.
A number of slides cater to whole families such as Brain Wash, the
Storm, Match five and Bubba Tub. Brian Wash features a two or four
person tube ride accompanied by music, lights and video. After a drop of
53ft the slide moves from side to side before leading into a landing
pool. The Strom is a thrilling slide wherein guests lie flat as they
spin around a giant bowl of rushing water into the bottom of a plunge
pool. Match Five is a flume ride that provides a choice of three
different slides each leading to a different path. It uses a mat and is
one of the gentler flume rides. There are also mufti-person versions of
this ride called Disco H2O and The Black Hole. Bubba Tub is the most
popular family slide using a raft filled with four people that goes on a
long three drop slide.
Universal's Island of Adventure
Universal’s Islands of Adventure or the Islands of Adventure
opened on May 28, 1999 with a tagline of “Live the Adventure” is
situated at Orlando, Florida. It is a theme park where guests visit the
remaining six different themed lands. It is world’s tenth visited theme
park. It is built as a dedication to the popular costumed characters. It
requires a pass known as the “Express Pass” to visit and enjoy its
attractions.
The Islands of Adventure Preview Center was opened during its time of
construction in the Paradise Theatre Building, Florida to give a sneak
view of the park to the guests.
It features seven themed lands built clockwise from the entry itself, they are:
1. Port of Entry: It is the park’s main entrance
which houses numerous shops and services. It includes the park’s iconic
centerpiece namely, Pharos Lighthouse leading the guests to the park.
2. Marvel Super Hero Island: It includes thrilling
rides inspired by Marvel comic books characters like Wolverine, Captain
America, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk with villains like Doctor Doom,
MODOK, Magneto, Green Goblin and Kingpin.
3. Toon Lagoon: It is themed on the cartoon
characters of the 60th series full of water slides. Its major
attractions include Dudley Do-right’s Ripsaw Falls, Popeye & Bluto’s
Bilge-Rat Barges, Me Ship-The Olive and Mat Hoffman’s Crazy Freakin’s
Stunt show etc.
4. Jurassic Park: Based on the movie Jurassic Park,
it has thrilling rides and is themed on the discovered exhibits of
dinosaurs to give it a more real view. It includes Jurassic Park River
Adventure, Jurassic Park Discovery Center, Pteranodon Flyers, Camp
Jurassic and Triceratops Discovery Trail.
5. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: It was
opened on June 18, 2010 for the public. It is a home to many shops,
restaurants and other attractions. It features 5 major attractions which
are Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge, Flight of
the Hippogriff, Ollivanders and Jaws, Universal Studios as a dedication
to Harry Potter.
6. The Lost Continent: It is built with a theme of
ancient myths and legends. It is a two-fold division – first is the
Sinbad’s Bazzaar and the second is the Lost City. It also houses Mythos.
It consists of 3 major attractions particularly, The Eighth Voyage of
Sinbad , The Mystic Fountain and the Posedion’s Fury.
7. Seuss Landing: It is a special construction for
the small children with various Seuss themed attractions. It is entirely
created according to the works of Dr. Seuss. It features The Cat in the
Hat, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train ride, One Fish Two Fish
Red Fish Blue Fish, the famous stage show- Caro-Seuss-el and the play
zone- If I Ran the Zoo.
Titanic The Experience
Where is the only place in Florida where you can feel the chill of cold Atlantic air? At Titanic The Experience
located on International Drive in Orlando. Not only do you get to
relive how the night air felt, but you get to touch (and possibly stick
to) an actual iceberg! For those who have never experienced a Chicago
winter, evidently that is really exciting.
All kidding aside, the exhibit was actually a lot of fun and the
tickets were affordable for a Central Florida attraction. As you enter,
you are made to feel like a passenger boarding the Titanic. There are
newspaper articles and posters from the maiden voyage, as well as
tickets and examples of clothing that would have been worn by the
different classes of people. As you walk on to the ship through the
“passageway,” you travel room-to-room as though you are roaming the
vessel.
Some
of the more memorable areas have been recreated in exquisite detail,
like a First Class stateroom.Titanic
The Experience has even recreated the Grand Staircase for viewing. It
is noticeably missing one thing though; a certain Leonardo DiCaprio
waiting on the landing. After
searching around corners for “Jack,” who clearly said to meet him at
the clock (and is evidently running late), you continue your adventure
and get a glimpse of the boiler rooms, the bridge, and the deck where
the temperature is set to recreate the cold night air you would have
experienced had you been on the actual ship.
After
exiting the space with an iceberg like chunk of ice in it, you are in
the final area of the exhibit with various Titanic artifacts. Titanic The Experience is a nice change from the theme park
attractions in Central Florida. It’s entertaining, educational, and
inexpensive. You can choose a guided tour with actors or a self-tour in
which you may or may not be able to reenact scenes from the movies on
your own.
