Skim across weed-clogged lakes aboard a flat-bottomed boat pushed by an aircraft-type propeller, sitting on an elevated bench providing a good view of the water and any animals in it or on the shoreline. Unfortunately, these craft are noisy, usually scaring birds into flight but alligators seem impervious to their presence. Orlando area airboat operators include: Black Hammock Airboat Rides...

Aquatica Water Park,  owned by SeaWorld Orlando, features a South Pacific theme with mascots based on Australian and New Zealand animals. Although it’s located across the street from the SeaWorld theme park, Aquatica does not use any of SeaWorld’s more famous animal symbols. Aquatica is doing its own thing. To see Aquatica’s numerous options, check the park map here. A good...

Daytona’s 23 miles of beach, which stretch from Ormond Beach to Ponce Inlet, is exceptional in many ways. In addition to its considerable length, the width of the beach may be as much as 500 feet at low tide, unusually wide in Florida. No wonder Daytona Beach attracts as many as 8 million visitors annually from the U.S., Canada and Europe....

SeaWorld does not offer dining with imaginary characters, only a real one.  Dine With Shamu offers the chance to lunch at the Shamu Stadium in the killer whale’s behind-the-scenes habitat. Lunch features items that are sustainable, organic and locally sourced. You will hear how SeaWorld uses sustainable seafood sources in its restaurants. Most of all, you will watch the fascinating interaction that occurs between trainers...

Ever wanted to touch or swim with a dolphin? You can at SeaWorld Orlando’s Discovery Cove, a theme park very different from the main SeaWorld attraction. The 30-acre Discovery Cove Water Park is an all-inclusive, all-day experience. Admission includes free parking, use of lockers, wetsuit and mask, towels, shower facilities, souvenir snorkel, complimentary entry photo and breakfast and lunch as well as all drinks...

The 66-acre themed Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park is based on the theme that a  snow ski resort couldn’t find a suitable climate in Florida. Yet the “snow” still manages to stay throughout the year, never melting. Not the greatest idea but a terrific setting for all the activities and that’s what counts. The 90-foot high, snow capped Mt. Gushmore...

The place: the 61-acre Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park. The setting: a mythical island showing the after effects of a tropical cyclone that demolished buildings and hurled a capsized boat onto Mount Mayday, an active volcano that still erupts every half-hour. When 95-foot Mount Mayday was first built, it held the title for the tallest man-made mountain ever constructed. The mountain peak is...

The Winter Park Scenic Boat is a narrated, 1-hour cruise through the chain-of-lakes and canals of one of Orlando’s oldest and most scenic areas. The boat tour itself is an old attraction, beginning in 1938 The 18-passenger pontoon boats provide a smooth ride even when when a light wave chop is present. Boats leave from the dock on Lake Osceola and...

Playalinda Beach, located at the southern end of Canaveral National Seashore, is usually more visited than Apollo Beach because of its convenient location 12 miles east of the city of Titusville. Playalinda Beach is located adjacent to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Operations. As a result, it can be closed at any time due to shuttle activity...

CoCo Key Water Resort on International Drive brings a new wrinkle to vacations and water parks. The 391 guest rooms are clustered around a large, 62,000-square-foot canopy and outdoor playground with water cannons, heated swimming pools and water slides with names like Boomerango, Surfer Splash and Over the Falls. This family resort to is designed attract younger children, ages 5...

Holiday Inn Resort Orlando Suites-Waterpark features one-, two- and three- bedroom non-smoking suites.  All 777 suites include kitchenettes or full kitchen, living room area with queen size sleeper sofa and flat screen TVs. Most rooms surround the hotel’s two water parks, the Lagoon Pool and the Oasis Pool. Together, they feature 7 slides and flumes, climbing nets, water jets, kid’s...

Wekiwa Springs State Park is a convenient place to see what Florida was like before all the tourists and theme parks. And why do locals love this land despite its heat, humidity and mosquitoes? Wekiwa Springs State Park is a 7,800-acre scenic wonder little changed from the days when the Timucuan Indians speared fish in the spring-fed creeks and stalked...