Local Area Guide
Activities and attractions in Orlando
Lake Eola Park
Discover Lake Eola Park, a super beautiful park in Orlando and open to the public. Lake Eola is full of trees, with a lake in the middle where you can enjoy the park, buy plants and even rent boats. The park is located in Downtown Orlando and is perfect to rest and take a break from the routine of amusement parks.
If you can take an extra day out of your trip to just explore, hike, run or relax at Lake Eola Park, we guarantee it will be worth it. It is beautiful, safe and very peaceful in the heart of Orlando, and close to the wonderful restaurants and cafes found in Downtown.
Disney Parks
In the Disney complex there are 4 theme parks and 2 water parks:
Magic Kingdom
The Magic Kingdom is the symbol of Disney and Orlando. This was the first park in the city, has as its center the castle of Cinderella and brings in every corner of its territory everything we know as the magic created by Disney. It is a mandatory park for everyone who visits the city, without exception. The best-known characters, the most traditional attractions, the most famous foods and the world's must-see parades and fireworks shows are all gathered there.
Epcot
It is a special park for those who like to eat well and try different things, but it does not stop amusing the most radical with some emblematic attractions, such as Soarin' (which simulates a hang gliding flight), Mission Space (a space simulator that takes you to feel zero gravity) and Spaceship Earth (a walk through the history of the world inside the giant ball that is the symbol of the park). Children also have their turn at attractions like Finding Nemo, Imagination and Frozen. Finally, the fireworks show is one of the must-see things in Orlando.
Hollywood Studios
Disney's smallest park attracts adrenaline fans with two of Disney's most radical attractions: the plummeting tower and the Aerosmith roller coaster. But you are wrong if you think only thrill seekers have a turn at Hollywood Studios. As the name suggests, the grace of the park is to speak with a lot of creativity about cinema and theater, with must-see shows such as the traditional Beauty and the Beast musical.
Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom has surprised more and more in recent years. First of all, it has one of Orlando's best roller coasters, Expedition Everest. Plus, it lets you meet real animals on a very cool and well-done safari. It still has must-see shows like the Lion King and Nemo musicals.
Finally, it is in Animal Kingdom that you find Pandora, the area dedicated to the movie Avatar, which today has one of the best attractions in all of Disney.
Blizzard Beach
The smallest of Disney's two water parks, Blizzard Beach is also the coolest and most family-friendly. Like the others, it has attractions for all styles, from the radical ones to the quiet ones to rest. Children enjoy some of the coolest playgrounds in the world where, unfortunately, adults can't get in unless they are taking care of a child.
The park mimics a ski resort, so it's very funny to go there in the summer and see the place full of mountains covered by snow. In fact, Blizzard Beach has one of the largest water slides around. If you're going in a hot month, it's a great option to refresh.
Typhoon Lagoon
Typhoon Lagoon is Disney's big and popular water park, the Magic Kingdom of water parks in Orlando. The wave pool is giant and from time to time releases a very fun tsunami that drags everyone to the beach. In addition, it has several attractions where the whole family can slide down together, and a kind of water roller coaster.
Universal Parks
In the Universal complex there are 2 theme parks and 1 water park:
Universal Studios
Another traditional Orlando park with the theme of cinema. Universal Studios became one of the most popular in the city again after Diagon Alley (from the Harry Potter saga) opened as one of its themed areas. The park, which always had small queues, has been fuller since then, but its traditional attractions go far beyond the famous wizard. There you'll find the classic E.T. attraction, two roller coasters, the fun shooting competition at Men in Black and the Simpsons simulator, among other things.
Children also enjoy the Despicable Me and Shrek attractions. As you can see, it has excellent options for all ages.
Islands of Adventure
The second park of the Universal complex has many attractions for thrill seekers, with roller coasters like the radical Hulk and super cool simulators like the classic Spider-Man. Children also have their turn, with an entire themed area with attractions for them.
Islands of Adventure is also home to the second Harry Potter themed area. There you will find the village of Hogsmeade, Hogwarts Castle and Hagrid's roller coaster.
Volcano Bay
The most recent park in the Universal complex is also its first water park, and it brought to Orlando another option to take a break from the theme park and shopping schedule. In addition to many extreme attractions, this park also brings the ease of a virtual queue for attractions.
The park is neat in every detail, has the Pacific islands as its theme and a large volcano as the central landmark of the place. For those looking for more extreme water attractions than the Disney parks, it's a great choice.
SeaWorld
After being criticized by a large part of tourists because of the treatment of animals, SeaWorld has been reinventing itself. In recent years, they announced that they will no longer breed whales and will gradually change the experience offered with these animals.
SeaWorld has also created attractions that go beyond marine life, like some of the most radical roller coasters in Orlando: Kraken, Manta and Mako. The famous dolphin shows and the exhibits of animals such as turtles and stingrays keep attracting thousands of tourists every year. For children, an entire area dedicated to Sesame Street is usually a hit.
Legoland
Located 40 minutes from Orlando, Legoland is perhaps the only park that doesn't please tourists of all ages. The focus of the park is clearly children from 2 to 10 years old, maybe even 12, but not beyond that. It was created for children, so every bit of it is perfectly made for them. When we went to visit, we kept thinking about how much fun we'd be having if we were seven.
So here's the tip: if you're not going to Orlando with kids, don't worry about visiting Legoland.
Kennedy Space Center
Despite being called a park, the Kennedy Space Center looks much more like an interactive museum than a theme park. Built around one of NASA's research, training and rocket launch centers, it is a park for space lovers. Visitors can watch 3D movies on the subject, see real rockets, walk through the control centers of space missions and even have lunch with an astronaut.
Shopping
Orlando offers some of the best outlets and malls in the world for shopping, plus numerous department stores with excellent prices and quality. It is possible to buy items from designer brands at considerably cheaper prices.
Outlets usually offer larger discounts on public holidays, and also the day before and the day after, because they know these days are busier and want to make the most of their promotions.