Attractions
Walt Disney World
Since 1971, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World has made dreams come true for children around the world. The famous theme park is located in Orlando at Lake Buena Vista and now includes four Disney parks stretched out across 28,000 acres of land. Epcot portrays cultures and traditions from around the world, MGM Studios celebrates the entertainment world and Animal Kingdom houses a huge variety of animals in themed surroundings. The surrounding area is filled with resorts, shopping, hotels and water parks.
Telephone: (407) 939 7675 to book tickets.
Website:www.disneyworld.com
Hours of operation: Daily, hours vary.
Admission: Adults - $85, Children (ages 3-9) - $79 for one entry to one park. Park hopper and combination tickets available.
Sea World
Sea World’s marine attraction park gives visitors a chance to explore the sea through themed animal habitats, tidal pools and iceberg lakes. The kids will love petting dolphins or seeing the famous Sea World stars, like Shamu, perform in shows. The park also has fun rides like roller coaster Journey to Atlantis. You’ll find Sea World between Lake Buena Vista’s Disney parks and downtown Orlando. Right next door you can visit Discovery Cove, which is also part of the Sea World group, and swim with dolphins, tan on the beautiful beaches or snorkel through coral.
Telephone: (888) 800 5447.
Website:www.seaworld.com, www.discoverycove.com
Hours of operation: Daily, opens at 9am. Closing hours vary with the seasons.
Admission: Adults - $79.99, Children (ages 3-9) - $71.99. Packages and ticket combinations available and tickets are cheaper online.
Universal Studios
You may want to take two days to experience Universal Orlando’s entertainment complex, which has two theme parks: the Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. Universal has thrilling rides as well as production studios and film sets. Islands of Adventures has rides and shows from five different islands.
Telephone: (407) 363 8000.
Website:www.universalorlando.com
Hours of operation: Opens daily at 9am. Closing hours vary monthly.
Admission: Adults - $85, Children (ages 3 to 9) - $79 for one park. Multi-day and park hopper tickets are available.
Wet ‘n Wild
Orlando has several water parks, but Wet ‘n Wild is the most popular and the world’s first water amusement park. George Millay, who created Sea World, designed the park, open since 1977. Rides like The Storm, The Surge and The Bubba Tub offer cooling ways to spend a day of fun.
Address: 6200 International Drive.
Telephone: (407) 351 1800 or (800) 992 9453.
Website:www.wetnwildorlando.com
Hours of operation: Open daily, hours vary by season.
Admission: Adults - $47.95, Children (ages 3 to 9) - $41.95. Discounts and other passes available.
Orlando Odditorium
If you see a strange building that is tipped on its side and sinking into the ground, don’t be alarmed. It’s just the Orlando Odditorium, a collection of the weird and wonderful like shrunken heads and a Rolls Royce made of matchsticks. The collection was gathered over a 40-year period by explorer Robert Ripley, whose “Believe it or Not” collection was made famous by television and best-selling books.
Address: 8201 International Drive.
Website:www.ripleysorlando.com.
Hours of operation: Daily, 9am – midnight.
Admission: Adults - $19.99, Children (ages 4 to 12) - $11.99. Tickets are cheaper online.
Orlando Museum of Art
The Orlando Museum of Art has themed exhibitions displaying collections of American Art, Art of the Ancient Americas and African Art. Temporary exhibits also rotate through the museum.
Address: 2416 North Mills Ave.
Telephone: (407) 896 4231.
Email:info@omart.org
Website:www.omart.org
Hours of operation: Closed Mondays. Open Tuesday to Friday 10am–4pm, Weekends 12pm–4pm.
Admission: Adults - $8, Students - $7.
Kennedy Space Centre
Visit the John F Kennedy Space Centre 46 miles southeast of Orlando in Cape Canaveral and learn about NASA’s space exploration. The space centre has interactive exhibits, movies and tours and you can tour a full-size replica of the space shuttle Explorer. There are films about NASA’s visit to Mars, authentic rockets and artifacts from the moon landing. You’ll need at least several hours to see everything, especially if you plan on visiting the nearby Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which has more endangered species in its 220-square-mile site than any other wildlife refuge in the country.
Telephone: (866) 737 5235.
Website:www.omart.org.
Hours of operation: Daily, 9am–8pm. Shuttle-bus tours depart regularly between 10am and 4:45pm.
Admission: Adults - $43, Children (ages 3 to 11) - $33.
Fantasy of Flight
Just 20 minutes away from Walt Disney World is one of the world’s greatest collections of aircraft. Aviation enthusiast and historian Kermit Weeks founded the Fantasy of Flight to pay tribute to pioneers of flight. Now you can visit rare and vintage aircrafts, as well as watch the Aircraft of the Day fly past. You can even take to the skies yourself in a flight simulator.
Address: 1400 Broadway Blvd. SE., Polk City.
Telephone: (863) 984 3500.
Website:www.fantasyofflight.com
Hours of operation: Daily, 10am–5pm. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Admission: Adults - $28.95, Children (ages 5 to 12) - $14.95. Discounts available.
