Orlando has perfected the art of recreating distant lands – and engineering imagined ones. Still, museums, performing arts and intriguing neighbourhoods – even an Everglades-like swampland – evidence the area’s authenticity. Of course, that merely amplifies the attraction.
Parks and Fairs for All Ages
Walt Disney World® Resort holds far-off places and fantasy worlds that fascinate visitors of all ages. Inside the Magic Kingdom, skip through Cinderella’s Castle, scream on Space Mountain and laugh with the cast of Monsters, Inc. in a comedy show. Parades and fireworks enliven Main Street, and costumed character encounters are frequent. Disney’s 
 With your 3-D glasses, watch Spiderman fight villains and swing beside you at Universal Orlando Resort
Photo courtesy of Universal Studios
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other parks promise additional rides and entertainment with intriguing distinctions: 1,500 animals and an open-air safari at Animal Kingdom; the World Showcase and rides like Mission: SPACE that transport visitors to distant locales inside EPCOT; and a Star Wars ride as action-packed as the film series at Hollywood Studios.
Universal Studios Florida at Universal Orlando® Resort takes visitors inside the films with vignettes of New York City and San Francisco, where a boat ride turns ominous as Jaws, the great white shark and cinema villain, surfaces. Kid-pleasers include the Shrek 4-D motion simulator and KidZone, with gentle rides like the E.T. Adventure. Universal’s Islands of Adventure ramps up the fun with high-velocity coasters, while attractions like The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and a Toon Lagoon excite younger visitors.
Marine life 
Snorkel through Shark Reef at Typhoon Lagoon water park at Walt Disney World Resort
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is the star at SeaWorld® Orlando, where aquariums and touch pools feature species from sharks to stingrays, and orcas and dolphins put on shows. Adventure-seekers can brave Kraken, a floorless steel roller coaster, while the kids frolic in Shamu’s Happy Harbor.
Seasonally, water parks keep visitors cool. Try Disney’s Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, Universal Studios’ Wet ’n Wild and SeaWorld’s Aquatica.
After Dark
The theme parks have an answer for nightlife, too. Disney’s BoardWalk presents restaurants, bars, a dance club and shops in a vintage waterfront village.
Downtown Disney attracts top-name entertainment with its Cirque du Soleil show and concerts at the House of Blues. You can also shop and dine, and play at Disney Quest, an interactive indoor theme park.
Inside Universal Orlando Resort, CityWalk 
The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art has a collection of famed designer Louis Comfort Tiffany.
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hosts the Blue Man Group and clubs that beckon karaoke singers and dancers. Party like a rock star at the Hard Rock Hotel’s Velvet Bar; then hear a headliner at Hard Rock Live.
For a quieter evening, enjoy dinner at one of CityWalk’s themed restaurants and browse its shops.
Venture into Orlando’s trendy neighbourhoods like South Eola and Thornton Park for original dining and nightclubs.
Museums and More
Off the theme park circuit, Orlando is vibrant with culture. Ballet, orchestra and theatrical performances complement the visual arts displayed inside the Mennello Museum of American Art and the Orlando Museum of Art. Even the landscape is artful inside the rose- and camellia-rich Harry P. Leu Gardens.
Neighbouring Winter Park, marked by manicured green spaces, sparkling lakes 
Nosh on gourmet cuisine at Emeril's Orlando at Universal CityWalk
Photo copyright Universal Orlando Resort
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and sophisticated shops and eateries, is a fitting home for The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art.
Harlem Renaissance author Zora Neale Hurston is honoured in nearby Eatonville, where her namesake museum and the annual ZORA! Festival celebrate African-American culture.
Active Outdoors
Area golf is leisurely and luxurious at venues like ChampionsGate Golf Resort, with 36 holes and an elegant clubhouse, and Reunion Resort, where you can improve your game at the academy
of golf’s prodigious ANNIKA Academy.
For a glimpse of untouched Orlando, airboat tours speedily skim lakes and swamps past alligators and magnificent birds.
This article is brought to you by the Orlando Convention & Visitors Bureau. For information on planning your trip to the Orlando area, go to www.orlandoinfo.com/uk.
VISIT FLORIDA® is a registered trademark of the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation.
