Orlando’s Amway Center is one of the most technologically advanced arenas in the nation, costing more than $480 million. The home to three pro sports teams and the host to everything from elite concerts to bull riding, the Amway Center has more than 1,100 digital monitors and one of the tallest, high-def video boards in any arena. Amway Center includes...
Resort Size: Covering almost 40 square miles, it is the size of San Francisco or 2 Manhattan islands. A third of its 25,000 acres, is designated as conservation land. Employees: With more than 70,000 cast members, Walt Disney World Resort is the largest single-site employer in the United States. Celebrating Christmas: Disney World contains 1,500 Christmas trees and resort hotels glow with more than...
Orlando is home to the first in the Americas’ Escape Game chain, another locked room attraction. Using a team of scenic designers, writers and artists, the game house offers a variety of theme rooms with clues, puzzles and mind teasers players must solve in order to unlock the room and escape. As proof of the game’s various challenges, owners say...
The incredibly popular Blue Man Group has a permanent home at Universal CityWalk located between the Hard Rock Cafe and the main entrance to Universal Studios Florida. Numerous signs show the way. No park admission is required to see the show but you must pay the parking fee. The trio of Blue Man musicians use various percussion instruments to generate their...
Cirque du Soleil may perform in many places around the U.S. but La Nouba is exclusive to Orlando and Disney Springs Westside. It is a “resident show,” performed in a specially built theater resembling a enormous ivory circus tent. The Cirque theater seats about 1,600 people. With its unusual sets, remarkable lighting and numerous high-energy acts, this may be...
The Crayola Experience at the Florida Mall is a good family attraction for children 10 and under. With 25 hands-on coloring attractions and more than 70,000 square feet in the 2-story attraction, Crayola is worth as much as a full day where children can use colors, chemistry and digital technology to create many colorful memories. Family groups or children who like...
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....
Disney’s Fort Wilderness campground resort has been a hit since 1971, going back to the earliest days of Disney World. Covering 700 acres and still retaining quite a bit of wooded area, Fort Wilderness is the most natural section of the entire resort. Located on Bay Lake, it is only a short distance from the Magic Kingdom. Guests can choose...
The 2014 opening of the $514 million Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts allowed Orlando’s theater and entertainment offerings to make a large leap forward. Scheduled productions at the Dr. Phillips Center vary considerably. They include traveling Broadway shows (“Wicked”), dance performances (primarily local productions), internationally-known comedic performers (John Cleese), celebrity chef cooking shows (Emeril Lagasse), symphonies (“Legend of Zelda”), musicals (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood) and...
The annual Florida Film Festival is recognized as one of the most respected regional film events in the country. The Florida Film Festival, now more than a quarter century old, is accredited as a qualifying festival for the Oscars in the category of live action short films. Which means the winner of the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short is...
Orlando’s largest mall, The Florida Mall has more than more than 250 retail, dining and entertainment options. Its leading stores include Macy’s, Zara, Michael Kors, Coach, Dillard’s, JC Penney and Dick’s Sporting Goods. The Florida Mall claims brands not available at any other area mall: American Girl, Crayola Experience attraction, M&M’s World store and Carlo’s Bakery. As one of the area’s...
Most gay and lesbian bars and lounges catering to gays and lesbians are located in Downtown Orlando, not near the theme parks. They cater mostly to locals. Straights also visit a few clubs on special show and entertainment nights. Among the best-known hangouts are: The Parliament House claims to be the world’s largest all gay resort and entertainment complex. It...
Yet another locked room attraction, this one in downtown Orlando and designed for corporate team building as much as individual players. These include: The Library (Sherlock’s Study) Sherlock Holmes has collected items from around the world and in his library game players must deduce the purpose of all the random items. The Gameroom Find the hidden object created a series...
iFly Orlando, the first operation of its type that has expanded to scores of locations in the U.S. and overseas, can turn almost anyone into a successful sky diver without the need for an airplane or any special athletic skill. How? By having you float in a 12-foot wide clear wind tunnel on I-Drive where speeds up to 175 mph...
The Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament’s castle’s towering white walls — set off by a moat and drawbridge — have a commanding presence over the flat Central Florida landscape. The castle, built in 1983, is the first Medieval Times built in North America. Medieval Times now has 8 other locations in the U.S. and Canada. Medieval Times is still going strong...
The Orlando City Soccer Club MLS team, also known as the Orlando City Lions, immediately was embraced by locals as soon as it took to the field in 2015. A total of 62,510 fans filled the Orlando Citrus Bowl for the first game, the second largest opening weekend for a MLS franchise. Orlandoans proudly wear the team’s vivid purple colors on game...
The 400-foot high round white observation wheel known as ICON Orlando (formerly the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye) has changed the Orlando skyline dramatically. Located on I-Drive at the ICON Orlando 360 entertainment center, the great round white wheel is a deluxe version of the traditional Ferris wheel. This being Florida, ICON Orlando’s gondolas are enclosed and fully air-conditioned to make the ride...
This shopping/restaurant/entertainment complex on I-Drive is located next to the Orange County Convention Center, which hosts many of the country’s largest business shows. Pointe Orlando is virtually across the street from it. Pointe Orlando draws conventioneers and visitors staying on I-Drive as well as a devoted Orlando following. Dining is varied with names sometimes interesting and obscure. Such as...
Wallaby Ranch Hang Gliding Park is the world’s first and largest aerotow hang gliding park. Aerotowing eliminates the months of practice training for a hang glider to graduate from a hill to a mountain for their flights. Wallaby Ranch pioneered the method in 1991, The aerotowing process is simple. You board a tandem hang glider–with wheels and an instructor–and towed...
International Drive, or I-Drive, has a good number of Orlando’s best clubs and bars. One need not go any farther than Pointe Orlando near the Orange County Convention Center. This bar, dining and shopping complex has a little bit of everything. Start off the night at the Improv Comedy Club & Dinner Theatre which features comedians acts nightly and nationally known...