Orlando Area Attractions

There are — surprise! — a number of cool things in Orlando that don't revolve around Mickey, the Hulk, or Shamu. We're going to explore some of central Florida's best smaller attractions

ChampionsGate Golf Resort
1400 Masters Blvd. • Orlando, FL 33896 • 407.787.4653
Located a short distance from Disneyworld, this golf facility offers two 18-hole championship courses, The International and The National, both designed by Greg Norman. Within one year of its opening in Orlando, Florida in 2000, ChampionsGate was regarded as one of the top courses, not only in Florida, but in the United States. Its impressive clubhouse, restaurant and banquet facility is matched only by its attentive and professional staff.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium
8201 International Dr • Orlando, FL 32819 • 407.363.4418
The Orlando Odditorium appears to be sinking into one of Florida's infamous sinkholes. For over 40 years, Robert Ripley-- the modern Marco Polo and the real-life Indiana Jones-- traveled the world collecting the unbelievable, the inexplicable, the one-of-a-kind. All of it amazing and much of it extremely amusing. Among the hundreds of exhibits: a two-headed kitten, a five-legged cow, a three-quarter-scale model of a 1907 Rolls-Royce made of 1 million matchsticks, a mosaic of the Mona Lisa created from toast, torture devices from the Spanish Inquisition, and a Tibetan flute made of human bones.

Orlando Science Center
777 East Princeton Street • Orlando, FL 32803 • 407.514.2000
The 4-story center, the largest of its kind in the Southeast, provides 10 exhibit halls that allow visitors to explore everything from Florida swamps to the arid plains of Mars to the human body.

Gatorland
14501 South Orange Blossom Trail • Orlando, FL 32837 • 407.855.5496
Gatorland features 3,000 gators and 89 crocodiles, as well as a number of bird and snake exhibits. Some species of crocodiles can reach a length of over 20'. Gatorland's largest reptile is Alf, an American Crocodile measuring 14' 4" in length and weighing almost 1,000 lbs.

Pleasure Island
Buena Vista Drive • Lake Buena Vista, FL • 407-934-7781
It's New Year's Eve every night at Pleasure Island with fireworks, confetti cannons, live dancers and giant video screens. Pleasure Island is a 6 acre night time theme park comprising 8 night clubs, restaurants and shops situated on an island linked by a bridge to the Downtown Disney complex. Your admission tickets get you onto the 'island' then you're free to enjoy the various clubs and entertainment venues with no additional cover charges. Check listings to find out which band is being featured on the West End Stage - typically big names from the past who have still got what it takes! Enjoy the highly amusing Comedy Warehouse which takes an irreverent dig at the whole Disney experience.

Fantasy of Flight
1400 Broadway Blvd. S.E. • Polk City, FL. 33868 • 863.984.3500
Fantasy of Flight is an aviation-themed attraction that takes visitors back to Early Flight, World War I (aviation's Golden Era during the 1920's-1930's), World War II and beyond - including some of the very airplanes that made aviation history. Featured is the world's largest private collection of vintage aircraft, personally assembled by lifelong aviation historian and enthusiast Kermit Weeks.

Warbird Adventures
233 N. Hoagland Blvd • Kissimmee, FL 34741 • 407.870.7366 • 800.386.1593
If you want to taste the real deal, Warbird Adventures will take you skyward in a World War II fighter-trainer for sightseeing or aerobatic flights. Whether you called it the Texan, Harvard, Yale, I-Bird, Mosquito, or simply the T-6 or SNJ, the North American T-6 trainer was one of the most important aircraft designs of the Second World War era. You can also fly the original MASH helicopter, the OH-13, which is credited with saving 20,000 lives during the Korean conflict as the first practical Medevac helicopter. Reservations are not required but highly recommended.

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