Just for the thrill of it!
For theme parks and family fun, there’s no place like Florida where a never-ending array of thrilling rides and major attractions promise fun-packed excitement and adventures for all ages.
SEAWORLD ORLANDO
Introduced in summer 2018, SeaWorld Orlando’s Infinity Falls is a new 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-foot, four-minute adventure features a vertical elevator that lifts rafts in preparation for a 40-foot drop 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.
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 now more interactive and includes larger 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 injured and orphaned wildlife—more than 32,000 animals over the past 50 years.
SeaWorld Orlando’s first digitally enhanced ride transformed its legendary Kraken roller coaster into a virtual reality (VR) roller coaster creating Kraken Unleashed: Virtual Reality Experience. Guests embark on a deep-sea mission alongside sea creatures inspired by extinct and legendary animals of the past, including the mighty Kraken. A custom digital overlay with uniquely designed VR headsets deliver a one-of-akind adventure to this 150-foot tall, 65 mph coaster.
Nearby, Discovery Cove welcomes guests to swim with sharks. The allinclusive day resort that offers the opportunity to swim with dolphins added the awe-inspiring Shark Swim program to its list of interactive animal adventures. Enjoy closer-than-ever encounters with these legendary predators, including Pacific blacktip, reef whitetip, nurse shark, zebra shark and spotted wobbegongs.
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 Waterpark, features high-speed water slides, exhilarating wave pools, and 7,800 square metres of sparkling white, sandy, tranquil beaches to the delight of all ages. This one-of-a-kind waterpark is also home to Ihu’s Breakaway Falls, a multi-drop tower slide.
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, and the new kid on the block, Cobra’s Curse, a family spin coaster, the only one of its kind in the world. For its younger guests, the park offers two mellower rides, Sand Serpent and Air Grover. Falcon’s Fury is a face-first fall from 335 feet in the air.
Visitors at Busch Gardens have much to look forward to in spring 2019 with the opening of Tigris, Florida’s tallest launch coaster, which will catapult riders through an exhilarating array of looping twists with forward and backward motion, breathtaking drops, a 150-foot skyward surge and an inverted heartline roll, all at more than 60 mph. In addition to this new thrill ride, Busch Gardens will be offering 52 weeks of seasonal events for a full year of fun.
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 new Fast & Furious–Supercharged attraction, which debuted at Universal Studios in 2018. Based on the popular film franchise, this incredible ride takes you from an afterrace party to a high-speed escape from a criminal cartel.
Guests can’t get enough of the new 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’kiri 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 fun-filled, 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 no line waiting. 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 celebrate Christmas in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Hogwarts Castle in
Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley will be transformed into wintery Christmas wonderlands to the delight of all. There is also a new holiday parade featuring Macy’s, which includes appearances by the Minions and other favorite characters from Despicable Me, Madagascar and Shrek— and even Santa Claus.
WALT DISNEY WORLD
Don’t be alarmed if you see a Disney bus driving by without a driver. The themepark giant rolled out driverless shuttle buses in 2018 for guests to get around. If you’d rather travel by water, Disney also debuted a gondola transportation system connecting Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and Disney’s Pop Century Resort.
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. The new 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.”
Another jewel at Walt Disney World 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. Over at Epcot, Mission: Space added a new third mission, which includes a tour around Earth.
Be sure to treat your crew to Miss Adventure Falls at Typhoon Lagoon. The new family-style raft attraction takes guests on a splashing journey through the fabled Captain Mary Oceaneer’s past. The two-minute ride is among the longest water rides at Disney.
In summer 2019, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is opening its doors to the new Star Wars-themed land—Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge—where guests will land in the middle of the action as they live their own Star Wars stories in this fully interactive world.
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 60 miles an hour.
Orlando Watersports Complex debuted Central Florida’s first Aquapark, featuring a modular series of inflatable, interlocking climbing obstacles, pathways and slides for hours of watery fun.