Orlando vacations are notoriously hectic especially with all the attractions the kids want to visit, but there is so much more to enjoy in this busy city. In fact, Orlando has such a diversity of attractions that many travel books have been written just about this one location alone. Everything a visitor could possibly want is here and the reason why people return year after year.
It is a great place to visit even if you only have shopping on your mind as Orlando area is full of beautiful shopping malls, restaurants and shops of every type. This article highlights some of the other visitor attractions that you could see on an Orlando vacation which are not as well publicized as the theme parks but are equal in their ability to please.
To start, there is the Central Florida Zoo which draws huge crowds all year round and has over four hundred animals there although it is was only granted this status in 1975. It is actually a privately owned charitable group dedicated to the protection of exotic animals plus species that are native to Florida but also offers informative and child-friendly classes and events.
For anyone that appreciates the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany then a large collection of his works is exhibited the Museum of American Art, where it has been housed since the early 1940’s. The famous chapel interior commissioned for the World’s Columbian Exhibition back in 1893 is also here along with many items of Tiffany jewelry, leaded glass, ornaments and clayware.
Orlando is certainly a city for all age groups and not solely designed for the amusement of children as family and adult attractions are in equal numbers. For tourists that like to burn the candle at both ends there is a range of nightly entertainment on an Orlando vacation from themed family evenings like Pirates Adventure to clubs, bars and restaurants.
If you are more technology and science minded then a trip to the Orlando Science Center will be a must as is a huge complex incorporating 10 halls with exhibitions everything from the Florida Everglades to the plains of Mars. An alternative to this would be the International Trolley and Train Museum which can be found along International Drive and has one of the country’s largest operating indoor G gauge layouts in a space of over four thousand square feet.
The Mercado Center on International Drive is the home to the Titanic Exhibition where you are treated like a tourist traveling onboard the Titanic Ocean Liner; this is a really moving and eerie experience which includes many original objects from the Titanic. A quieter more relaxing time can be found within the grounds of Lake Eola Park where you can enjoy over forty three acres of wonderful parkland which includes a boating lake for the more energetic.
No trip to Orlando would be complete without a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort which comprises of four main theme parks plus water parks; or Universal Studios resort complex which is equally as popular. The good weather in Orlando means vacations are normally enjoyable throughout the year; it can be very busy during some of the major holidays.
