Although Orlando, Florida is probably the theme park capital of the world, there are plenty of other attractions to keep visitors occupied if they are not that keen on non-stop roller coaster rides. There are many churches, museums, parks, markets and unusual tourist attractions to keep the most determined visitor happy. Everything a visitor could possibly want is in Orlando and that is why people return year after year.
There isn’t a friendlier city in the world and one where almost anything is possible with plenty of shopping malls, great food of every type and specialist shops like Outdoor World at the top of International Drive with a 17,000 gallon super aquarium, this store is so large you could spend all day there. With so many places to visit and things to see, the information provided here cannot even brush the surface but will give an insight into some of the not so well publicized attractions.
The Central Florida Zoo for instance only opened back in 1975 and was owned by the Sanford Fire Department prior to that but is the home to over four hundred animals and is well worth a visit. Even though it is privately owned, it is run by a charitable group with the intention of providing classes for children and protecting species that are only found in Florida and other world wide exotic animals.
Then there are the works of Louis Tiffany whose famous collection is housed here in the Morse Museum of American Art. Tiffany glass, clayware and ornaments are all on display here including a specially designed chapel interior shown at the Columbian Exposition back in 1893.
If you are looking for a variety of night life then it is in abundance in Orlando with two popular places being Universal’s Citywalk and Disney’s Pleasure Island, both of which are open until very late and cater mainly for adults with a range of street entertainment, bars, restaurants and clubs. Whilst it may on the surface appear to be a town designed for the entertainment of children that could not be farther from the truth with adults equally well looked after.
Another great place to visit about twenty minutes drive from Orlando Airport is The Orlando Science Center, originating in 1955, it is a huge complex with over two hundred thousand square feet of exhibition space spanning ten halls. An alternative to this would be the International Trolley and Train Museum which can be found along International Drive and has one of the nation’s largest operating indoor G gauge layouts in a space of over four thousand square feet.
The Mercado Center on International Drive, is the home to the Titanic Exhibition where you are treated as if you are a tourist traveling onboard the Titanic Ocean Liner; this is a really moving and eerie experience which includes many original objects from the Titanic. Away from all the hustle that Orlando has in abundance is the wonderful Lake Eola Park in the heart of downtown has beautiful sidewalks in over forty acres and it is possible to spend a peaceful few hours here.
Of course how could you possibly visit Orlando and not go to at least one theme park and for those of you who are unsure; Disney has four main theme parks, not including the water parks, and Universal has it’s own versions but the beautiful Seaworld should also not be forgotten either. If you have never visited Orlando before, you must try it at least once and it doesn’t really matter when you go if you want fairly good weather but holiday seasons do get busy, especially Christmas; well, who wouldn’t want to spend Christmas with Mickey.










