Orlando Florida

The Top Ten Orlando Holiday Attractions

By Mark Scriven

Orlando is world-famous for its huge theme parks and water
parks, but they can get very crowded, so it's best to get there
before 8.30am, or go after 4.00pm in the afternoon. You'll still
have plenty of time if you go late afternoon, since most are
open until 10pm or later, depending on the season. Be sure to
plan your day at the park ahead of time, and take plenty of
water and sunscreen.

Sea World
At this popular theme park you can feed dolphins, seals and sea
lions; visit a man-made `Arctic' ocean, with seals, polar bears,
beluga whales and walruses, and take a moving walkway through a
naturalistic snowy Antarctic habitat, with more than 200
penguins. You can also get close to sharks, eels, and barracuda;
and visit new dolphin mothers and their calves in the popular
Dolphin Nursery.

Wet `N' Wild
Wet `N' Wild's new water ride, `Brain Wash', has a 53-foot
vertical drop into a 65-foot domed funnel, where you are
bombarded with light, sound and video, as you swirl around the
funnel before you finally make your escape. And an exciting new
raft adventure joins the popular Surge, Bubba Tub, Black Hole
and The Blast. Children love the Kid's Park, featuring smaller
versions of the adult rides.

Discovery Cove
Here the focus is on interacting with dolphins, birds, and
marine life, and the big attraction is a swim with a bottlenose
dolphin. You will have to make a reservation to visit this
popular park, since attendance is limited to 1,000 guests per
day. Go for a snorkel among thousands of rays and tropical fish,
then visit the huge, free-flight aviaries, where you can feed
and touch hundreds of tropical birds.

Islands of Adventure – Universal Studios
Innovative rides and attractions are scattered throughout this
Universal theme park: Marvel Super Hero Island where Super
Heroes battle diabolical Super Villains; Suess Landing with its
Dr Suess characters; Lost Continent, a land of heart-stopping
adventure; Jurassic Park where dinosaurs co-exist with humans;
and Toon Lagoon where everyone gets soaked on wild water rides.

Magic Kingdom – Disney World
There are seven `lands' here, surrounding the Cinderella
Castle, where you and the kids can visit imaginary lands of
adventure – take ride on a magic carpet, plunge down waterfalls,
hurtle through space – or visit the all-time classics `It's a
Small World', `The Haunted Mansion', and the `Pirates of the
Caribbean'.

Universal Studios
This huge entertainment park has over 40 computer animated
rides, and the world's largest movie studio outside of
Hollywood. Don't miss the popular Nickelodeon studios and the
movie sets. At the CityWalk there's lots of entertainment, top
restaurants, nightclubs and shops, in fact something for
everyone.

Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach
Both of these water parks have big water slides, a pool at the
centre, a huge play area, and a `lazy' river, where you can take
a relaxing tube ride around the park. Typhoon Lagoon is the
world's largest wave pool, where waves can reach six feet tall
and you can surf here after hours. At Shark Reef you can snorkel
with sharks, rays and tropical fishes.

Kennedy Space Centre Visitor Complex
A visit to Florida wouldn't be complete without taking a
daytrip to NASA's launch headquarters, just 45 minutes from
Orlando. Here you can tour launch and landing facilities, take a
close-up look at huge rockets, train in interactive simulators,
and even meet an astronaut. Try to time your visit to coincide
with a launch or landing.

Busch Gardens Africa
This theme park, about an hour from Orlando, has more than
2,700 animals and is one of American's largest zoos. There are
also many exciting rides and attractions: SheiKra, the world's
highest vertical dive coaster; Gwazi, the southeast's fastest
double wooden roller coaster; Rhino Rally, Scorpion, and Edge of
Africa.

Hot air balloon ride
The perfect ending to your exciting Orlando holiday would be an
unforgettable early morning hot air balloon ride, with one of
Orlando's many ballooning companies. These fantastic tours
usually finish with a delicious champagne breakfast and
certificates and photos for all.

About the Author:  Rod Ritchie, a travel writer and editor,
writes for many publishers including AA Publishing and Fodors.
Go America provide great value hotels and car hire all across
North America. Visit their website at http://www.goamerica.co.uk
to book hotels in Orlando and car car hire all across North
America.

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