VISIT ORLANDO
Atrip to Florida is not complete without experiencing the thrills and fascination found in the state’s iconic theme parks. Lucky for you, the most revered of those attractions are within driving distance to one another. From Tampa to Orlando, Central Florida is the undisputed king of theme parks. So put on your fun hat and be prepared to be thrilled.
SEAWORLD ORLANDO
Introduced in 2018, SeaWorld Orlando’s Infinity Falls is a twisting and turning river rapid ride that showcases a lush South American jungle environment and native animals that call this habitat home. Wind your way around soaking fountains and waterfalls as you pass the remains of an ancient civilization. The 1,520-linear-foot, four-minute adventure features a vertical elevator that lifts rafts in preparation for a 40-foot drop—the tallest drop of its kind— into churning and exhilarating waters. The
Infinity Falls adventure ends at Harmony Village where you’ll find interactive experiences educating and inspiring guests about conserving freshwater ecosystems.
After braving Infinity Falls, enjoy other SeaWorld Orlando adventures, shows and animal encounters.
Located next to Shamu Stadium, Sesame Street opened within the SeaWorld Orlando complex. Walk around this new six-acre neighborhood and visit Big Bird’s Nest, Hooper’s Store and all the famous characters. Rides include Big Bird’s Twirl ‘n’ Whirl and Super Grover’s Box Car Derby, among others.
The Killer Whale Up-Close Tour gives guests the opportunity to learn about the park’s majestic killer whales in brand new ways. And the popular Dolphin Nursery is interactive and includes large windows, giving guests the chance to see mothers and young dolphins up close. Throughout the animal-themed exhibits at SeaWorld Orlando, you’ll learn about the park’s ongoing work in
the rescue and rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife—more than 35,000 animals over the past 50 years.
Nearby, Discovery Cove, an all-inclusive day resort with a list of interactive animal adventures, welcomes guests to swim with both dolphins and sharks. The dolphin swim experience offers the opportunity to interact with a dolphin including an unforgettable swim and a dorsal fin tow. The awe-inspiring shark swim allows guests to enjoy closer-than-ever encounters with several species of these legendary predators.
The shark program teaches kids how shark finning and overfishing threaten many shark species. SeaWorld Orlando donates five percent of the proceeds from this attraction to the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF) in support of shark conservation and research. The Shark Swim experience is available to Discovery Cove guests 10 years and older.
Discovery Cove also features a Ray Feeding experience, which gives guests the chance to feed cownose and southern stingrays as well as thousands of tropical fish before embarking on a private, guided swim of the Grand Reef.
Aquatica, SeaWorld Orlando’s Water Park, features high-speed water slides, exhilarating wave pools, and 80,000 feet of sparkling white, sandy, artificial beaches to the delight of all ages. This one-of-a-kind water park is also home to Ihu’s Breakaway Falls, a multi-drop tower slide.
As well, a new adventure, KareKare Curl, opened last year. It seats two passengers in each circular raft and features a 35-foot drop down an enclosed tube slide, providing a high-adrenaline, weightless water park thrill.
BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA BAY
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is the undisputed king of coasters in West Central Florida with world-class coasters: Kumba, Montu, Sheikra, Cheetah Hunt, Scorpion, Cobra’s
Curse and the new kid on the block, Tigris— Florida’s tallest launch coaster. Tigris is aweinspiring with its exhilarating array of looping twists with forward and backward motion, breathtaking drops, a 150-foot skyward surge, and an inverted heartline roll, all at speeds greater than 60 miles per hour. Falcon’s Fury is a face-first fall from 335 feet in the air. For younger guests, the park offers two mellower rides, Sand Serpent and Air Grover.
Of course, Busch Gardens Tampa is much more than roller coasters. It’s also one of the country’s premiere zoos.
At the park’s Animal Care Center, guests can observe animal care first-hand and even take part in animal-care experiences ranging from nutrition and treatments to X-rays and surgeries. This state-of-the-art facility is also home to the hit Emmy-nominated TV series, The Wildlife Docs, which takes viewers inside the work of zoological professionals, including Busch Gardens’ own veterinarians and trainers.
UNIVERSAL ORLANDO
Step right into the middle of the action with the Fast & Furious–Supercharged attraction, which debuted at Universal Studios in 2018. Based on the popular film franchise, this incredible ride takes you from an after-race party to a high-speed escape from a criminal cartel.
Guests can’t get enough of Volcano Bay, Universal Orlando’s third theme park. Unlike Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida, Volcano Bay, featuring Krakatau, the 200-foot volcano overlooking a Pacific-island, is all about getting wet. The volcano is home to the park’s Krakatau Aqua Coaster, an exciting, first-of-its-kind aqua coaster that propels you upward and downward through the volcano’s interior peaks and valleys. Volcano Bay offers more than 30 experiences including a multi-directional wave pool with sandy beaches and twisting
multi-rider raft rides. Take the Ko’okiri Body Plunge, a 70-degree, 125-foot fall through a trap door, or relax on the Kopiko Wai Winding River.
Join Jimmy Fallon and his guests on a funfilled, 3D motion-simulated race through, under and above New York City. Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon at Universal Studios Florida is also the testing ground for Universal’s Virtual Line program. Guests simply make reservations on the Universal Orlando Resort Mobile app or nearby kiosk. The attraction also features a Tonight Show memorabilia museum and live shows starring the Hashtag Panda and the Ragtime Gals barbershop quartet.
Harry Potter fans will be happy to see the addition of Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Board magical motorbikes to fly far into the dark forest past Hogwarts castle, towering trees and magical creatures, dodging fierce beasts. At 50 mph
it will rocket you forward, sling you backward and drop you. It is the first free fall on a rollercoaster in the U.S.
WALT DISNEY WORLD
Discover a new way to get around Walt Disney World. The Disney Skyliner, aerial gondolas, opened last fall at the resort offering convenient connections from some Disney Resort hotels and Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot.
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you may find yourself shrunk to the size of a toy to explore the world of Andy’s backyard with your favorite Toy Story characters, including Woody and Buzz. Toy Story Land also showcases Slinky Dog Dash—a family roller coaster and Alien Swirling Saucers—a ride in which aliens cruise around in toy flying saucers attempting to capture your rocket toy vehicle with “The Claw.”
There are two new attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The first, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, opened late last year featuring two ride options: Being part of a six-person crew on “Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run” where you walk through a full-sized replica of the Millennium Falcon and then climb into the cockpit where Hondo Ohnaka leads a secret mission. A cast member hands each person their role assignment—a pilot, gunner or engineer. “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance” is a massive, multi-platform attraction, unlike anything else at Disney World. Guests are in an epic battle between the First Order and the Resistance, boarding an Imperial Star Destroyer with 50 animatronic stormtroopers waiting in formation. Both rides are expected to incur long lineups. The second new attraction, opening this spring, is Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. With conductor Goofy, be prepared for unexpected twists, slapstick gags and incredible transformations as Mickey and Minnie try to save the day.
Another jewel is Pandora - The World of AVATAR, at Animal Kingdom. Experience the Na’vi River Journey as it transports you through a bioluminescent rainforest, while AVATAR: Flight of Passage invites you to take an exhilarating flight on the back of a mountain banshee. At Mission: Space, over at Epcot, Journey to Mars with the more extreme Orange Mission, or orbit the Earth with the less intense, Green Mission.
LEGOLAND FLORIDA RESORT
Take the young ones aged 2 to 12 to LEGOLAND theme park, in Winter Haven. It boast more than 50 rides, attractions and shows as well as life-sized LEGO displays. THE LEGO MOVIE area of Bricksburg is a new addition to the park with three rides and character meet-and-greets. LEGO fanatics love MINILAND USA with its LEGO re-creations of famous cities and key scenes from Star Wars movies. On-site, there is also a water park and, opening in April, the Pirate Island Hotel with fullythemed pirate rooms.
MORE ENJOYMENT AWAITS
Enjoy open-air views of Orlando on board the 450-foot-tall Orlando StarFlyer, which swings up to 24 guests through the air at up to 45 miles an hour.
Orlando Watersports Complex features a modular series of inflatable, interlocking climbing obstacles, pathways and slides for hours of watery fun.