Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc. 6700 Forum Drive #100 Orlando, FL 32821 (407) 363-5872 (407) 370-5000 (fax) Population 164693 Time Zone Eastern Latitude/Longitude 28.53° /-81.37° Today's Forecast HIGH: 82 LOW: 66

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Attractions

The theme park that rocketed Orlando to the top of the nation's family vacation destinations, Walt Disney World is a huge and continuously growing complex that aims to provide something for every taste. It includes the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, Disney-MGM Studios, two separate water parks, and the Animal Kingdom zoological park, in addition to multiple resorts, golf courses, and the Fort Wilderness Campground.

With major rides like E.T. Adventure and Jaws: The Ride, Universal Studios Florida uses state-of-the-art special effects to give visitors the feeling of actually being inside a major motion picture. The shows and tours at this combination theme park and movie studio let you go behind the scenes to see how movies are made. More shows and rides are on tap at the fun and educational Sea World Orlando. The popular marine life park features death-defying thrill rides, performances by the killer whale Shamu, and exhibits like Penguin Encounter and Wild Arctic where visitors find polar bears, walruses, beluga whales, and harbor seals. If you'd like to experience a swim with marine mammals, make a beeline for Discovery Cove Orlando located next door. Watery thrill of another kind are available at Wet 'n Wild water park, where the daring can ride the Bubba Tub, the Black Hole, and dozens of slides and rafting rides.

One of Florida's original "roadside attractions," the venerable Gatorland opened more than 20 years before Disney came to town. You'll still find alligator wrestling here, along with train rides and a huge cypress swamp where the mighty reptiles live and breed. For a stroll in less intimidating environs, visit the camellias, roses, orchids and flowering trees featured at Harry P. Leu Gardens. The 50-acre gardens include tours of the Leu House Museum, an early Florida farmhouse dating from the 1880s.

But, not everything in Orlando involves being outdoors. The Orlando Science Center in Loch Haven Park encourages the curious side of young and old alike with its hundreds of hands-on science exhibits. The center's large-screen Cinedome has laser light and planetarium shows. The park is also the site of the Mennello Museum of American Art as well as the Orlando Museum of Art and its a fine collection of American paintings, pre-Columbian artifacts, and ceremonial and utilitarian artifacts from West Africa. Another outstanding art collection is on display at the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in neighboring Winter Haven.

More than a few venues offer dinner and a spectacular stage show: horses, buffalo, music and cowboy tricks accompany your meal at Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, while it's swashbucklers at Pirate's Dinner Adventure, an interactive crime-comedy at Sleuth's Mystery Dinner, and horse-borne jousting and other ancient skills at Medieval Times in Kissimmee. Sports fans will want to check the games scheduled for Amway Arena, home of the Magic of the NBA, the Predators of the Arena Football League, and the Sharks of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Orlando's central location also makes it easy to plan day trips to other Florida attractions, such as Busch Gardens, Cypress Gardens, and the Kennedy Space Center.

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