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WALT DISNEY
WORLD
MAGIC KINGDOM
 The
Walt Disney World theme parks offer something for everyone, beginning with the
ultimate park that enchants all ages…the Magic Kingdom!
Pre-schoolers
will have a ball at Mickey’s Toontown Fair where they can get autographs of all
their favorite characters. Along with a play area children 35 inches in height
can ride a small roller coaster. It’s a Small World is ever popular as well as
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Mad Tea
Party, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Peter Pan’s Flight.
The classic
Disney attractions such as the Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the
Caribbean and the Enchanted Tiki Room provide lots of fun for older
children.
Grade schoolers will also like the louder more interactive
attractions. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is a fabulous interactive ride
with laser guns in which you score points. The Indy Speedway is also a thrill
for kids taller than 52 inches.
If scarier more exhilarating thrills are
what you seek, visit Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and
Alien Encounter. To add educational aspects to your visit, don’t miss the Hall
of Presidents.
PARK TIPS
Disney World does provide
specialty theme and VIP tours, which vary in length and price.
EPCOT
 This
educational focused park is always popular among teens and adults, however,
there are many attractions your pre- and grade-schoolers will
enjoy.
Little ones will be delighted with a Donald Duck character
breakfast at The Land exhibit. At The Living Seas you can gaze at your favorite
creatures in the aquarium. For 3-D fun try “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience”, a fun
show with startling effects. In the World Showcase you will find a toy train
village in Germany. There are also 11 Kidcot stations with hands-on activities
for youngsters.
 Grade-schoolers will enjoy a number of attractions that are
also educational. Spaceship Earth takes you through past, present and future. At
Body Wars you will learn about anatomy on a wild trip through the body. (height
requirement 40 inches) The Living with the Land boat ride teaches about
environment friendly farming. For dinosaur enthusiasts visit the Universe of
Energy and check out the interactive activities at Innoventions. For a faster
pace ride head to General Motors’ Test Track.
For adults the most popular
aspects of Epcot is the food and shopping. Dine on dishes from all over the
globe in the World Showcase. Each country also has a shop with imported goods
from the represented country.
Epcot also has a wonderful nighttime
Illuminations laser and fireworks show you won’t want to miss!
DISNEY
MGM STUDIOS
 Experience the best of show biz at this park with something
for all ages! Children will love meeting favorite cartoon characters and be
thrilled with the action rides and shows while adults enjoy the actual movie
studio.
Little ones will love music and dancing in shows such as “Voyage
of the Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage”.
For
more active fun don’t miss the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” Movie Set Adventure
which features and oversized play area kids of all ages will enjoy! “Bear in the
Big House” is ever popular also featuring the Winnie the Pooh gang.
Kids
40 inches or taller will enjoy the “Star Tours” ride as well as “The Great Movie
Ride”.
“Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Staring Aerosmith” provides thrill
seekers with plenty of excitement as well as “Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” for
the truly brave!
For the older ones, the “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt
Spectacular” show provides lots of thrills. The night time excitement of
“Fantasmic” is also a must see! Using water animation, fireworks and lasers this
show will dazzle you.
The actual movie studio is an attraction in itself.
Tours such as the “Magic of Disney Animation” and “Disney – MGM Studios Backlot
Tour” are entertaining as well as informative.
ANIMAL
KINGDOM
 This is
a fabulous park with a variety of ways to experience animals. You will find
everything from petting zoos to dinosaur adventures among environmentally
educational exhibits.
A favorite among pre-schoolers is Camp
Minnie-Mickey. Here they will find their favorite cartoon characters and see a
short show with live animals, “Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends.”
“Land
Before Time” fans will love DinoLand U.S.A. but are still too young for the
scares of “Dinosaur”. Dino-Rama features games, a spin ride and a toddler
friendly roller coaster. Kids will also have a ball in the dinosaur dig area.
Little ones will also enjoy a train ride to the petting zoo and the Kilmanjaro
Safari is always popular.
“It’s Tough to Be a Bug” is one of the parks
top attractions for school aged children. “Dinosaur” is dark and frightening and
has a height requirement of 40 inches tall.
When you are ready to cool
off try Kali River Rapids and enjoy some of the truly extravagant shows like
“Tarzan Rocks” and “Festival of the Lion King”.
The Pangani Forest
Exploration Trail, Maharajah Jungle Trek and Conservation Station are a
wonderful experience for older children and adults.
PARK
TIPS
Animal Kingdom offers special tours varying in price.
UNIVERSAL’S ISLANDS OF
ADVENTURE
Popular with tweens, teens and adults, this next
generation theme park will take you on a journey through five uniquely themed
islands beginning at the exotic Port of Entry where traders, merchants,
explorers and entertainers from all over the globe have gathered to create a
bustling community of shops, restaurants, outdoor markets and boutiques. You
will experience the world’s most cutting edge rides, thrills and
adventures!
Islands of Adventure also provides fun for all ages with
rides, blockbuster shows and comic book motifs.
Small children will
absolutely love Seuss Landing, where kids can ride on “couches” through the
pages of Cat in the Hat. They can also get wet in an interactive playground,
ride a merry-go-round and even meet the Cat himself while purchasing their
favorite stories at the All the Books You Can Read Bookstore.
For more
active fun, there is a Popeye-themed play yard. Also pre-schoolers fascinated by
dinosaurs, can ride on Pterandon Flyers, pet a robotic triceratops, check out
Camp Jurassic and learn hands-on at the Discovery Center in Jurassic
Park.
For rides with more action, the Spider Man Adventure Ride (40 inch
height requirement) will amaze you! On this 3-D thrill ride not only will you
hear and see but you will feel the action of the web-slinger’s most amazing
adventure ever!
Marvel Comics come to life in Storm Force Accelatron
where you’ll be whirling, twirling and spinning while helping the X-Men’s super
hero Storm battle the evil Magneto. Also, Doctor Doom’s Fearfall takes you 200
feet high and hurls you back down faster than gravity!
When you are ready
to cool off, the Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls wet log flume ride is just the
ticket. (height requirement: 44 inches or taller) For more water fun try Popeye
& Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges where you will brave white-water rapids. You will
get wet! (height requirement 42 inches) The most unforgettable river raft ride,
Jurassic Park River Adventure, sends you plunging 85 feet! ( 42 inch height
requirement)
For true thrill-seeker’s try the heart pounding roller
coasters! The Incredible Hulk coaster launches from zero to 40 mph in two
seconds flat and you are suddenly catapulted through space on a high-speed
roller coaster storm. (height requirement 54 inches)
Dueling Dragons is
the world’s first inverted near-miss dueling roller coasters! After choosing
your dragon – Fire or Ice – you soar 125 feet high and will experience a
different ride on each coaster.
The park also offers stimulating shows
such as: The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad and Poseidon’s Fury, as well as a night
time pyrotechnic presentation during summer and major holiday
seasons.
For information and tickets call us at 407-396-4441 or toll free
in the US at 1-866-357-7474.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
The
number one movie studio and theme park in the world turns your favorite thrill
movies into your favorite thrill rides! Suitable for all ages, Universal Studios
offers an incredible array of rides, shows, attractions and movie sets in a real
working studio.
For Pre-Schoolers, Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone is the
place to be. Little kids will have fun with favorite characters such as Curious
George and Fievel on interactive playgrounds where you can get moderately wet or
really wet! They will also enjoy the “A Day in the Park with Barney” show. The
KidZone even offers a small coaster for kids at least 36 inches tall.
New
in summer of 2003, your grade-schooler’s favorite Nickelodeon characters star in
the Jimmy Neutron Nicktoon Blast, a fun simulator ride including SpongeBob
SquarePants, the Rugrats and the Wild Thornberrys. Also new is the Shrek 4-D
attraction which may be frightening to small children. For a calmer ride, the
E.T. Adventure is a popular favorite.
Other rides your kids will love
are: Jaws, Back to the Future, Earthquake – The Big One and Men in Black Alien
Attack where the can “laser shoot” extraterrestrial villains.
Older
children, teens and adults may enjoy the more intense rides like Twister and
Terminator 2: 3D.
The park also offers wonderful shows. The Wild Wild
West Stunt Show, Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue and Animal Planet Live are just a
few.
PARK TIPS
Children under 48 inches tall must be
accompanied by a parent on all rides. Children under 3 are free. The park does
offer reserved VIP tours at an additional cost
SEAWORLD
Truly an attraction for all ages
this educational theme park appeals to pre-schoolers, grade-school children,
tweens, teens and upwards. The park presents sea creatures in many ways making
your experience as removed or close-up as you wish.
Your pre-schooler
will enjoy touch tanks and aquariums displaying their sea favorites. In Wild
Arctic you will learn about Beluga whales and polar bears in an impressive
recreated habitat. This attraction gives you a choice of a thrill ride or a
milder film version. The Penguin Encounter and Manatees: The Last Generation is
a popular favorite getting kids up close to these gentle creatures. For a bit of
drama the Terrors of the Deep shark exhibit is fascinating.
Kids of all
ages love the “Pets Ahoy” and “Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island” shows which
are very funny!
For more active fun, visit Shamu’s Happy Harbor. This is
a cool interactive playground that entertains for hours.
Older children
will like the motion-simulator Wild Arctic ride. (height requirement 42 inches)
A few things incurring extra charges but worth experiencing is the Shamu Splash
Attack water balloon station, the Tower and the pink flamingo paddle boats.
For dolphin enthusiasts visit Key West Dolphin Fest featuring
educational presentations at Dolphin Cove. For an up close dolphin experience
make reservations at Discovery Cove. This is an exclusive snorkeling experience
across the street from SeaWorld. A truly unforgettable adventure!
Enjoy
entertaining shows such as the “Intensity Games Water Ski Show” and of course
the Shamu Show. Shamu, being the star of the park, will douse guests with very
chilly water. If you are feeling adventurous sit in the Splash Zone!
For
heart-pounding excitement ride Kraken, one of Orlando’s best roller coasters.
(height requirement 54 inches) You can also embark on a get-wet Journey to
Atlantis. (42 inch height requirement)
Exclusively for adults over 21 The
Hospitality Center provides a complimentary Anheuser-Busch beverage and you can
even attend beer-making school.
PARK
TIPS
SeaWorld offers one-hour tours as well as more elaborate
tours including “Trainer for a Day, Shark Deep Dive, Animal Care Experience,
Adventure Express Tour, and the False Killer Whale Experience.” (costs
vary)
Other adult shows worth seeing are Cirque de la Mer and the
Polynesian Luau dinner show. (costs vary)
For information or tickets call
us at 407-396-4441 or toll free in the US at 1-866-357-7474.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
 Touring this
educationally stimulating Space Center you will experience the past, present and
future of space exploration. At this family-friendly space complex you will also
enjoy the sprawling wildlife preserve and have an opportunity to meet favorite
astronauts and tour full-size replicas of shuttles and space
stations.
Kids will delight at touching an actual moonrock and seeing a
363 foot moon rocket at the Apollo/Saturn V Center. They will also learn of
robot explorers in the Robot Scouts exhibit led by your robot guide,
“Starquester 2000,” an unusual relative of the Mars Pathfinder robot. They can
enjoy interactive fun watching “Mad Mission to Mars: 2025,” a live-action show
with theatrical and 3-D computer effects just for young space enthusiasts as
well as experiencing a shuttle launch re-creation in the Firing Room
Theater.
The whole family will enjoy walking through a full-scale mock-up
of the International Space Station to experience how these multinational
astronauts work and live in space. A 30 minute movie, “Space Station,” is
narrated by Tom Cruise and shown in the 5 – ½ story IMAX Theater.
You can
experience a launch first hand by timing your visit around NASA’s next scheduled
liftoff. Just keep in mind weather and technical problems often delay launches
so have a back up activity planned.
By the way, this is the only place
in the country where you can find the same food that astronauts eat.
For
information and tickets call
GATORLAND
A visit to Florida is not
complete without seeing some natives … GATORS! A favorite theme park among young
boys, Gatorland has enough alligators, snakes and other reptiles to fascinate
any reptilian enthusiast. Here you will find alligators at all stages of
development. The park has a 10 acre marsh homing some 125 adult
alligators.
Young children will enjoy Alligator Alley where kids can
touch and feed an array of animals including tortoises, llamas, goats, deer and
birds. There is a wooden jungle gym for energetic tykes and even a Gatorland
Choo-Choo train.
When the kids are ready to cool off, Lilly’s Pad
Miniature Water Park will spray them down with water jets!
Older children
will be wide-eyed through shows such as the “Up Close Encounters” snake show,
“Jungle Crocs of the World” and the “Gator Wrestling” show!
Adults will
enjoy the nature walk and the many environmental aspects of the park. The
observation tower provides quite a spectacular view of this alligator
farm.
The Great Florida Birding Trail has listed Gatorland as an
important sight for rare and protected species of birds.
One of the parks
most popular shows is the “Gator Jumparoo” show. Some might find this show a bit
grisly. Dressed whole chickens hang from a wire over an alligator pond where 10
to 13 foot gators try to out jump one another for a meal.
For a truly
unique experience stop by Pearl’s Smokehouse for a taste of deep-fried alligator
nuggets or smoked alligator ribs!
Don’t miss the gift shop where you will
find an array of gifts from toys to genuine gator hides!
PARK
TIPS
Gatorland offers a variety of on and off site tours and
programs. Be a Trainer for a day, track sea turtles or even go on an overnight
campout!
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