Orlando travel guide

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• History & Culture: rated for 50%
• Night Life & Entertainment: rated for 60%
• Family & Fun: rated for 100%
• Outdoors Activities: rated for 40%
• Food: rated for 80%
• Sightseeing: rated for 100%
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• Public Transportation: rated for 35%
• Must visit this place: rated for 80%
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Orlando owns its fame to the themed attractions. Who would have thought that the quiet farming town from the 1970s will have now more than 25 million visitors a year? They don’t come for the city proper they come for Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Escape Sea World and other similar attractions.

As all of these are expanded on such a large area you definitely need a car, but if you are not so lucky you can chose between some of the local transport facilities. The local Lynx buses can take you to Walt Disney World, but expect to get there in an hour or so. A faster but more expensive service is the Mears Transportation Service that can also take you Sea World and Universal Studios. The I-Ride trolley operates between Sea World Orlando and Universal Studios. For the ones with a thicker wallet, taxis are the best option.

Blizzard Beach is one of the most creative water parks you can choose from. You will be tempted to try every slide there is, starting with the small and quiet River Country, than continue with the gentler ones like toboggan-style slalom courses and covered raft rides and going on to geysers and a rainforest, a huge surfing pool and a shark reef, where you can snorkel among tropical fish, just to finish with the toughest- the Summit Plummet- (if you have a strong heart) where you can head fifty miles per hour down a 120ft vertical drop.

A good competition to Blizzard Beach is the International Drive, with the challenging seven-story Bomb Bay and the almost vertical Der Stuka. Among the attractions along International Drive is the immense convention center.

The queen of Florida's marine parks is Sea World, a definite must see. Here is the place where you can see killer whales perform tricks in the Shamu Adventure show. Beluga whales, polar bears and walruses are on display at the Wild Arctic complex that creates the arctic atmosphere with artificial snow and ice. The complex offers some exquisite activities like a simulated helicopter flight through an Arctic blizzard, a thrill ride with a combination of fantasy, roller coaster, waterslide and a sixty-foot drop called Journey to Atlantis. There are even learning opportunities as there is plenty of information offered on the undersea world and the recreation of Antarctica with birds running playfully over an iceberg. You will get the chance to be soaked by dolphins as you pass by the Dolphin Pool and get the chills when you go through a glass-sided tunnel and see a shark face to face. What a thrill!

It is astonishing how a place can be transformed to such an extent from being a no interest, low key to becoming a world known, lucrative top attraction. This is what the Walt Disney World empire did in Orlando and it did a great job turning Florida into the perfect setting for tourism. There’s no other theme park like Walt Disney World as it offers the most technologically advanced fantasy. The vast territory it is settles on comprises four main theme parks each of them quite independent. The one you can explore in a fast pace is Disney's Animal Kingdom that features all kinds of African and Asian wildlife. The park especially aimed for kids is the The Magic Kingdom where you are invited to set free your imagination and have a conversation with Mickey who wonders around the crowds. Teenagers and adults will definitely enjoy EPCOT Center where science and technology are celebrated. The atmosphere of an abandoned island is created at Pleasure Island, but the place everyone will enjoy are the MGM Studios.

Universal Studios is a worthy competition for Disney and it succeeded to draw attention with Islands of Adventure and City Walk full of hi-tech, special effects and it also offers accommodation.

If you are planning to visit all the theme parks you will need quite a few days and a thick wallet and if you feel like you don’t lack the energy for visiting the city head towards the themed nightspots.