Typically a 6am start is required with this one, but this is definitely worth hauling yourself out of bed! You get to help with all the pre-flight preparations and will watch amazed as these giant clouds of brightly colored fabric come to life. After a final 'top up' of hot air from the gas burners, it's time to hop into the basket and up you go! It's gradual; it's graceful and very smooth. If you're celebrating a birthday, an anniversary or even want to take your vows in the basket, something special can be arranged. You'll float over the attractions area for an hour and the views are truly tremendous on this very peaceful prelude to another busy Orlando day. You return to earth with a gentle bump and after packing away the canopy it's time for a champagne toast and a full breakfast. The whole experience is around 3 hours so you still have the whole day ahead of you.
Here's something really different! Sky Venture offers the fun, exhilaration, and excitement of skydiving without having to jump out of a perfectly good airplane! No plane, no parachute either, just the amazing feeling of flying with no strings attached. After receiving a flight briefing and safety instructions, flyers are equipped with a jump suit, goggles, and helmet. The action takes place in a vertical wind tunnel, with 5 fans on the top that draw the air upward and essentially hold you suspended. Subtle body movements can be used to fly up and down and round and round. It's very exhilarating, and if nothing else, will get rid of a few cobwebs! The initial session lasts about an hour depending on numbers in the class and each pupil gets two flights of approximately one minute duration.
Cypress Gardens
Telephone: (863) 324-2111, option 5
Website:www.cypressgardens.com
Rediscover Florida’s first theme park. Cypress Gardens Adventure Park blends its storied past with thrilling new adventures for a unique family experience. Encounter nature at its most glorious, thrill to 39 rides and Splash Island water park, explore a quaint village, visit with the Southern Belles, or enjoy the lineup of daily shows.
Cypress Gardens offers exhilarating rides for kids of all sizes, including five roller coasters and the world’s tallest spinning rapids ride. Set along a classic amusement park boardwalk, the park offers a great selection of family favorites and heart-pounding thrill rides. Weather a Triple Hurricane, the park’s signature wooden coaster, or rocket to fun on Thunderbolt, the 120-foot shot tower. Citrus Line Railroad carries passengers on a trek around the park and Cypress Cove Ferry Line offers a scenic water ride between the north and south ends of the park.
This museum bills itself as the museum "where science has gone crazy." While not as cerebral as some other area attractions, such as the Orlando Science Center, this attraction will amuse both children and adults and they can pick up some quirky scientific information along the way. This bright place offers more than 100 hands-on exhibits, including: the Bridge of Fire walk-through, simulating the power of 250,000 watts of electricity; a Mystery Lab, in which water flows up, against the force of that pesky gravity; and the Earthquake Experience simulation room.
Ripley's operates 27 oddity museums worldwide, and the experience of visiting one is a bit like devouring a pint of ice cream; you know it's not really good for you, but boy is it fun. The Orlando collection is housed in a Bavarian-style building, deliberately disproportioned to look like part of it has disappeared into one of Florida's infamous sinkholes. Inside, you'll find such oddities as a statue of a 1,069-pound man, torture devices from the Spanish Inquisition and a replica of a 1907 Rolls Royce built from more than a million matchsticks.
Race fans enjoying a day at Daytona Beach need to make a pit stop at the world famous Daytona International Speedway, home of Daytona USA the official attraction of NASCAR. Even if you miss the big race there's lots to do. Take part in the excellent 16 second Pit Stop challenge (hey it looks easy on TV) and take time to wander through the many informative and interactive exhibits. The giant screen presentation of the Daytona 500 is loud and much larger than life as is NASCAR 3D – The Imax experience. Daytona Dream Laps is an exciting motion simulator ride based on NASCAR's premier race, while the Technology of Speed takes you under the sheet metal for a look at the inner workings of a real race car. If you have the time before hitting the beach take the 1/2-hour tour of the track - the angle of the high-banked curves is amazing!
Fantasy of Flight
Location: 1400 Broadway Blvd East, Polk City, FL 33868 (Exit 44 I-4)
Telephone: (863) 984-3500
Driving towards Tampa on I-4 travelers suddenly come across a DC3 aircraft upended at the side of the highway. Welcome to Fantasy Of Flight (or not in that particular instance). This deliberately eye-catching display is just a taste of what you'll see at this very popular aviation museum. There's much to learn about those magnificent men and their flying machines and the history of flight, amongst the worlds largest privately owned collection of vintage planes. The World War II display is especially good and includes a rare example of a Mark XVI Spitfire and one of the last operational flying boats. Guests in need of a bit of combat can climb into flight simulators and after a preflight 'briefing' go head to head with the Japanese airforce over the pacific! After admiring the 30 or so vintage aircraft on display you might want to try a tethered hot air balloon ride which affords visitors a birds-eye view of their surroundings.
Buena Vista Watersports
Location:On Lake Bryan On State Road 535 1/4 mile south of I-4 Exit 68
Call Us At: 1.407.239.6939 E-mail Us At:BVwatersports
Buena Vista Watersports is a privately owned recreational watersports facility located on Lake Bryan, in the Lake Buena Vista area of Orlando. This tropical playground offers glistening waters on a secluded, natural spring fed lake, with white sandy beaches, lush tropical foliage, surrounded by cypress trees.
The Rivership Romance carries hundreds of passengers daily on the historic St. Johns River and immerses you in an adventure of dining and dancing while you enjoy Florida's natural splendor
Green Meadows Petting Farm
Location:1368 South Poinciana Blvd. Kissimmee, FL 34746
Green Meadows Petting Farm offers an ideal country setting that you and your family can enjoy. Our petting farm is perfect for folks who live in Florida, or for those of you who are vacationing in the Kissimmee area. The whole family will have a chance to enjoy the quiet country setting with more than 300 farm animals to touch and see. Visit us for a truly educational and fun experience.
Tours begin continuously between: 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Farm open until 5:30 p.m.
The Great Florida Bird Trail
Mark Kiser Great Florida Birding Trail Manager 620 S. Meridian Street, 5B4 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
The Great Florida Birding Trail (GFBT) is a collection of 445 sites throughout Florida selected for their excellent birdwatching or bird education opportunities. This 2000-mile, self-guided highway trail is designed to conserve and enhance Florida's bird habitat by promoting birdwatching activities, conservation education and economic opportunity
he Great Florida Birding Trail is a program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. This 2000-mile, self-guided highway trail unifies a total of 445 birding sites throughout Florida. Modeled after the successful Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, this ambitious project features detailed guide booklets and special highway signs identifying Birding Trail sites. Free guide booklets contain site descriptions, directions, and maps showcasing the wonderful birding opportunities in Florida. Each Birding Trail section consists of a series of clusters, with each cluster containing 1-15 sites highlighting communities and special ecosystems like the Lake Wales Ridge
Scenic/Eco & Nature Tours
Phone lines are open from 8am to 8pm daily for information or to make a reservation for fishing charters or scenic/eco nature tours call 800-244-9105.
The boat in Kissimmee is located at: Big Toho Marina 101 Lakeshore Blvd. Kissimmee, Fl 34741
Take a tour with us, let us show you the real Florida the one that our captains know about and few others seldom see. You will get lost in an earlier time, where wildlife, tropical plants and trees, and the water's edge remain pristine and inviting just as they were when Chief Osceola of the Seminole Indians hunted and fished here long ago.
Bring your camera and perhaps catch a picture of a Bald Eagle or an Osprey as it swoops down to pick up a fish on the surface of the water. Watch the Gators as they bow up on the surface of the water as if to say, "stay away, this is my territory". But not to worry! Gators don't eat boats - or captains.
The Revolution Experience package will give you the adrenalin rush of a lifetime, with high quality, exhilarating drives, over a whole range of different terrains in controlled conditions and all at the most competitive prices.
Kissimmee Dive Center 406 East Vine Street (Highway 192) Kissimmee, Florida 34744
Kissimmee Dive Center has been servicing the Central Florida area for over 20 years. We specialize in bringing you the ultimate scuba diving experience. Whether you're a beginner who needs scuba lessons or you're an advanced diver in need of new dive equipment. Kissimmee Dive Center has the scuba and snorkel solution you're searching for
Wallaby Ranch Malcolm Jones 1805 Deen Still Road Davenport, FL 33897 1-800-WALLABY +1 (863) 424-0070 fly@wallaby.com
The First Fulltime Aerotow Hang Gliding Flight Park in the World! Open Seven Days a Week since 1991. Wallaby Ranch offers year-round discovery tandem hang gliding flights and hang gliding instruction outside Orlando in sunny Central Florida. We use the latest tandem aerotowing techniques to provide the safest, most enjoyable hang gliding experience possible. Wallaby Ranch offers a truly unique atmosphere for visitors, students, pilots and their families and friends from around the world.
Established as a Spiritualist community in 1894, the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association™ consists of approximately 57 acres with 55 residences. Those who reside here have chosen to share in a community of like-minded people where they can live, worship and work in harmony with their beliefs. About 25 of the Camp’s residents are mediums who offer counseling from their homes.Although residents may own their homes within the Camp grounds, the church retains ownership of the land. And, though the word "Camp" appears in it's name, there are actually no camping facilities available. "Camp meeting" is an antiquated term for annual gatherings of religious groups.
Train Land International
Address: 8990 International Drive, Orlando Phone: 407-354-1400
Hours: Daily, 10:00 am-dusk
See the world recreated in miniature at Train Land International, just what the conductor ordered for train enthusiasts young and old. The museum has one of the nation’s largest indoor G-gauge layouts (with tiny tracks only 1.75 inches wide), and you can see scale-model Aristocraft, LGB, USA, and Bachman locomotives pulling fourteen continuously operating trains through a vast wonderland of forests, farmland, cities, and mountainous wilderness. It’s quite a sight to watch the trains barely miss one another as they emerge from one of the thirty-two underground tunnels, cross one of the twenty-four bridges, or round a curve and switch onto a new track. Don’t leave without hopping on the trolley that takes you for a ride through the outdoor gardens
Whether you're a first-time visitor or a seasoned Orlando vacationer, this list will surely provide a few unique ideas for what to do in Orlando during 2008 and beyond.
For more information on any of the following activities, contact the Official Visitor Center at 407-363-5872 and speak to an Official Travel Counselor. Or, stop by in person. The Official Visitor Center is conveniently located at 8723 International Drive on the southeast corner of International Drive and Austrian Row.
1. Slip into the water with a beluga whale at SeaWorld Orlando. 2. Learn to surf without going to the beach at Ron Jon’s Surfpark, opening soon. 3. Paddle a swan boat on Lake Eola. 4. Smell the roses at Harry P. Leu Gardens. 5. Cast a line for bass fishing with a guide. 6. Marvel at Tiffany glass at The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art 7. Find Chief Osceola in the mural at Celebration Hotel. 8. Touch a stingray at SeaWorld Orlando. 9. Experience the thrill of stampeding buffalo at Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede Dinner & Show. 10. Count the manatees at Blue Springs State Park. 11. Race your friends on go-karts at Fun Spot Action Park. 12. Explore the headwaters of the Florida Everglades on an Orlando airboat adventure. 13. Drive a stock car at 125 mph (201 km/h) at Richard Petty Driving Experience. 14. Tour the world in under a mile at Epcot. 15. Go whale watching at Port Canaveral. 16. Dine at the world’s largest Hard Rock Cafe. 17. View the stars from the largest refractor telescope in Florida at the Orlando Science Center. 18. Get a taste of Hawaiian fusion at Roy’s Restaurant. 19. Float over the area in a hot air balloon. 20. Treat yourself to "a little something" at Tiffany & Co., Cartier, Jimmy Choo or Coach at The Mall at Millenia. 21. Feel the G-forces on a roller coaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure (left). 22. Swim with the dolphins at Discovery Cove. 23. Play golf on the same courses as Tiger Woods. 24. Design and ride your own roller coaster at WonderWorks and DisneyQuest. 25. Build your own teddy bear at The Florida Mall. 26. Rock out to the sounds of hot new bands at the Florida Music Festival. 27. See the weird and wild at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Orlando Odditorium. 28. Play glow-in-the-dark mini golf at Putting Edge in the Festival Bay Mall. 29. Learn to water-ski at the Orlando Watersports Complex or Buena Vista Watersports. 30. Go antiquing on Orange Avenue and in Mount Dora. 31. Body surf at Wet ‘n Wild Orlando or Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park. 32. Hold a gator or snake at Gatorland. 33. See the Bible come to life at WordSpring Discovery Center and The Holy Land Experience. 34. Uncover bargains at flea markets. 35. Gamble in international waters on Sterling Casino and SunCruz Casino cruise lines. 36. Jam at Bob Marley’s open-air house at Universal CityWalk. 37. Capture the grace of dance at an Orlando Ballet production. 38. Be a pirate for a day aboard a giant, indoor galleon at Pirate's Dinner Adventure. 39. Take an art class at Crealdé School of Art or Maitland Art Center. 40. Sample some of the nearly 150 wines sold by the ounce through high-tech Enomatic dispensing marchines at The Wine Room in Winter Park. 41. Recapture the history of the Seminole Indian War at Fort Christmas. 42. Play in snow during Christmastime at Celebration. 43. Be rescued by Arnold Schwarzenegger at Terminator 2: 3D. 44. Visit Key West, St. Augustine, and the Everglades under one roof at Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center. 45. Watch golf greats at a PGA TOUR or LPGA Tour event. 46. Pedal down the Atlantic boardwalk at Disney’s BoardWalk. 47. Pick an orange from a tree. 48. Glide gently back to solid ground after your first hang gliding experience at Wallaby Ranch Hang Gliding Flight Park. 49. Battle comic villains with Spider-Man at Universal Orlando Resort. 50. Sip a specialty martini at Blue Martini. 51. Taste local wines at Lakeridge Winery. 52. Test new toys at Disney's Once Upon a Toy. 53. Escape the Yeti on Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park (left). 54. Cause a margarita volcano to erupt at Universal CityWalk. 55. Be a clown during Cirque du Soleil. 56. Dine with characters at your favorite theme park. 57. Swim in 72 F (22 C) water year-round at Wekiwa Springs. 58. Eat fries at the McDonalds with the world's largest PlayPlace. 59. Learn country line dancing at Cowboys Orlando. 60. Visit the oldest African-American municipality – Eatonville. 61. Catch Atlanta Braves' spring baseball training or Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s football training camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex. 62. Savor Italian ice cream at the Portofino Bay Hotel. 63. Shake hands with the most famous mouse in the world - Mickey! 64. Survive a psychological thrill on The Mummy at Universal Orlando. 65. Pose for a photo with a four-story Big Wheel bike at Disney’s Pop Century Resort. 66. Learn to Salsa and Merengue at Latin Quarter. 67. Shop for surf gear 24 hours a day at Ron Jon's Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach. 68. Learn the delicate art of glass-blowing at CityArts Factory in downtown Orlando. 69. Enjoy a carillon concert at Historic Bok Sanctuary. 70. Find your birthday in the tile floor at The Mall at Millenia. 71. Tour International Drive on an I-Ride Trolley. 72. Meet the residents of Pine Valley, Port Charles and Llanview at ABC’s Super Soap Weekend at Disney-MGM Studios. 3. See the movies come to life at Universal Studios. 74. Train like an astronaut at the Astronaut Hall of Fame. 75. Buy top goods at great prices at the area’s outlet centers
76. Savor the real key lime pie – it’s yellow! 77. Dine outside year-round. 78. Learn to skydive indoors at SkyVenture Orlando. 79. Trade pins at Epcot. 80. Select a stogie from the 1.5 million cigars at Corona Cigar Company. 81. Watch Magic Kingdom fireworks from California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. 82. Touch an iceberg at Titanic ~ The Exhibition. 83. Test your BMX skills at Vans Skatepark. 84. View American folk art at House of Blues. 85. Learn to hula dance at a luau. 86. Shoot hoops at NBA City. 87. Milk a cow at Green Meadows Petting Farm. 88. Feel the force of an earthquake at WonderWorks. 89. Come face-to-face with Jaws. 90. Enjoy breakfast in bed – in public – at The Beacon, a trendy restaurant and nightclub in Thornton Park. 91. Ride the famous glass-bottom boats at Silver Springs. 92. Build an animal, car or anything else at LEGO Imagination Center. 93. Find animals in the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. 94. Feel the "conga beat" at Gloria Estefan’s restaurant, Bongos Cuban Café. 95. Parasail above Central Florida’s chain of lakes. 96. Head under the sea in a clamobile with Nemo and his friends at Epcot. 97. Marvel at mansions as you boat through lakes and canals in Winter Park. 98. Grill your own pancakes in an old sugar mill at DeLeon Springs. 99. Relax at one of 16 destination spas. 100. "Praise the Lord and pass the biscuits" at the gospel brunch at House of Blues. 101. Enjoy a steak cooked to perfection at Hawk's Landing Steak House while overlooking the 18th green at the Orlando World Center Marriott. 102. Get married with Mickey as your best man or Minnie as your maid of honor. 103. Drop 13 stories on Tower of Terror at Disney-MGM Studios. 104. Perform as a duck master during the Duck March at The Peabody Orlando. 105. Putt-putt through wild animals and pirates. 106. Cheer on a cowboy at Silver Spurs Rodeo. 107. Be surrounded in your own in-hotel room theatre. 108. Be a marine life trainer for a day at SeaWorld Orlando. 109. Eat space food at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (left). 110. Wrap up in seaweed at one of the area spas. 111. Be serenaded by a singing waiter at Bergamo's Italian Restaurant. 112. Get shrunk at Disney-MGM Studios. 113. Take in a moo-ving play at the Mad Cow Theatre. 114. Rev your engines at a NASCAR race. 115. Become a part of the skyline at Manuel’s on the 28th. 116. Taste gator bites and gator ribs at Gatorland. 117. Purchase discount attraction tickets at Orlando’s Official Visitor Center. 118. Shop at one of nine regional shopping malls. 119. Buy fresh produce at farmer’s markets. 120. Discover the lost city of Atlantis at SeaWorld Orlando. 121. Go hog wild and rent a Harley-Davidson. 122. Work on your swing with Annika Sorenstam's coach at the Annika Academy at Ginn Reunion Resort. 123. Watch Walter Farley's Black Stallion at Arabian Nights. 124. Get chased by a chain saw gang during Halloween Horror Nights. 125. Discover a bird’s eye view from a helicopter. 126. Solve a mystery at Sleuths Mystery Dinner Shows. 127. Try to find a straight line at Seuss Landing. 128. Plummet 120 feet (37 meters) on a water slide at Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park. 129. Team up to protect your home base during laser tag. 130. Share the spotlight at SAK Comedy Lab. 131. Rock out to an impromptu concert by The Blues Brothers at Universal Studios Florida. 132. Dine in Cinderella’s castle at Disney's Magic Kingdom. 133. Cook your own food at The Melting Pot. 134. Walk down New York Avenue at Universal Studios. 135. Launch into space on Mission: SPACE at Disney's Epcot. 136. Sharpen your golf skills at one of 23 academies. 137. Improve your game with tennis lessons. 138. Enjoy fireworks every night. 139. See otters and manatees on a kayaking adventure. 140. Be part of the pit crew at Daytona USA. 141. Bask in the sun. 142. Enjoy the opera or the philharmonic. 143. See the newest independent films at the Enzian Theater, home of the Florida Film Festival. 144. View jewelry created by local artists at the Grand Bohemian Gallery. 145. Buy your last-minute gifts at one of the airport’s many shops. 146. Dance on a spinning dance floor at Mannequins. 147. Drink a pint and eat fish and chips at Cricketers Arms Pub and Eatery or Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant. 148. Observe downtown Orlando at night from its rooftop bars – Latitudes & Sky60. 149. Become a Shamu "splash victim." 150. Feed and bark back at sea lions. 151. Become a crash-test dummy at Test Track at Epcot. 152. Watch top recording artists perform at House of Blues or Hard Rock Live. 153. Play Frisbee golf at Barnett Park. 154. Go rollerblading at West Orange Trail. 155. Ride the largest, fastest, tallest roller coaster in Orlando at SeaWorld Orlando. 156. Come face-to-face with wild animals at Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa Bay. 157. Come this close to a predator of the deep at Sharks Underwater Grill at SeaWorld (left). 158. Eat sweet corn at the Zellwood Sweet Corn Festival. 159. Hang out with Shrek at Universal Studios. 160. See International Drive upside down from a window at WonderWorks. 161. Dine with an astronaut at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. 162. Relax on a white sand beach. 163. Learn how to draw a cartoon at The Magic of Disney Animation at Disney-MGM Studios. 164. Become a particle of food at the Orlando Science Center. 165. Keep the beat with the incomparable Blue Man Group at Universal Orlando Resort – starting in summer 2007. 166. Gaze out on an African savannah at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. 167. Listen to rock ‘n’ roll music under water at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort. 168. Fly through the air on the sky coaster at Old Town Shopping, Dining & Entertainment Attraction. 169. Cheer on your knight at Medieval Times. 170. Pose for the cover of your favorite magazine. 171. Spot bald eagles and blue herons on Orlando’s lakes. 172. Hear the tales of great African-American musicians at the Wells’ Built Hotel. 173. Bring home a can of moon soup from Chalet Suzanne. 174. Experience Central Florida’s natural beauty on horseback. 175. Sleep in a castle. 176. View the workings of a movie studio’s costume department. 177. Bask in the moonlight during a pedicab ride on International Drive. 178. Place your bet at a Jai-Alai game. 179. Celebrate your heritage, whether Irish, Italian, Greek, Native American or Polish at local festivals. 180. Learn more about the history of Orlando and the definition of a “cracker” at the Orange County Regional History Center. 181. Go on an African safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. 182. Careen through the streets of Hollywood on Rock ‘n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith at Disney-MGM Studios. 183. Eat lunch or dinner at a drive-in theatre at Disney-MGM Studios. 184. Enjoy a luxurious, citrus-themed spa treatment at The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Grande Lakes (left). 185. Laugh along with top names in comedy at the Orlando Improv or Dottie’s Orlando Comedy Theater. 186. Set sail for a lunch or dinner cruise down the St. Johns River on the Rivership Romance. 187. "Ooh and aah" during the famous water-ski show at Cypress Gardens Adventure Park. 188. Sing along with the crowd at a dueling piano bar at Howl at the Moon Orlando. 189. Crash a hilarious Italian-American wedding at Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding – opening on Valentine’s Day 2007. 190. Capture the checkered flag in a NASCAR simulator at Full Speed Race & Golf. 191. Buy art off the walls at Café Tu Tu Tango. 192. Get a make-over from a Fairy Godmother-in-training at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Downtown Disney. 193. Share the “kitchen sink” at Disney’s Beaches & Cream Soda Shop. 194. Defend the world against aliens at MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack at Universal Studios. 195. Dine in a private "snug" at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant. 196. Watch sea turtles hatch on the coast. 197. Eat fresh, local strawberries in the middle of winter. 198. Enjoy tea and a tour of beautiful downtown Celebration. 199. Have a psychic reading at the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp. 200. See the caricatures of celebrities and famous Orlando residents at The Palm Orlando and Jack's Place (left). 201. Eat breakfast with Dora the Explorer or SpongeBob SquarePants at Nickelodeon Family Suites. 202. Picnic on the shores of Lake Eola. 203. Accelerate to 120 mph (201 km/h) in under two seconds at G Force Drag Racing. 204. Get your face painted at one of many area festivals. 205. Hang glide above California's redwood forests at Epcot's Soarin'. 206. Spot sneeches on the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. 207. Make memories of a lifetime . . .
hether you're a first-time visitor or a seasoned Orlando vacationer, this list will surely provide a few unique ideas for what to do in Orlando during 2008 and beyond. 
Tampa Bay.
