Travel information about the theme parks of Florida
Take a taste of the world famous theme parks of Central Florida like Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens, or discover some new ideas in unexpected places, like the indoor Wannado City in Sunrise where children explore career fantasies, or Sam’s Fun City for younger children in Pensacola.
THEME PARKS OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Sam’s Fun City
Pensacola
A small amusement park, mostly geared to younger children. Includes a waterpark, miniature golf, bumper boats and go-kart tracks and a 45-foot Ferris Wheel.
THEME PARKS OF CENTRAL WEST FLORIDA
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is the ultimate family adventure park featuring an unparalleled combination of world-class animal habitats, thrill rides, and live entertainment. Busch Gardens is on the cutting edge of technological thrills, providing guests with four legendary steel coasters, including three of the world’s top-rated coasters, Kumba, Montu and Gwazi. The adventure park is recognized among the top zoos in North America providing more diverse ways to get up-close to animals than any other place outside of Africa. There’s plenty that’s new at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay: R.L. Stine’s Haunted Lighthouse, a spooky, 4-D family adventure film that combines state-of-the-art visual effects with multi- sensory surprise; Cheetah Chase, a “cat and mouse” style roller coaster that tops out at 22 mph; and KaTonga, a 35-minute Broadway caliber musical that takes guests to the heart of the jungle. The 335-acre family adventure park is open daily.
Dinosaur World
Plant City
Dinosaur World is an outdoor dinosaur museum with over 150 life-size dinosaurs. Each of the dinosaurs are set in the beautiful outdoor landscape with plaques describing each. There is also an Indoor Dinosaur Museum, a Fossil Dig where children can sift through sand in search of authentic fossils to take home, a Boneyard where visitors can uncover a life-size skeleton, a Caves exhibit showing educational dinosaur movies in a unique setting and a subterranean picnic area, as well as Picnic areas, Playgrounds and much more.
THEME PARKS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
Cypress Gardens Adventure Park
Winterhaven
Cypress Gardens Adventure Park blends its storied past with sensational new thrills, creating a unique family experience. Revisit the historic botanical gardens, graceful southern belles and famed butterfly arboretum. Gasp in wonder at the gravity-defying water ski shows. Discover 39 exciting rides, all-star concerts, spectacular daily shows, dazzling seasonal events and a shopping and dining village. It is adventure for all ages.
Discovery Cove
Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando’s sister attraction lets guests get up close and personal with dolphins and other animals for a unique boutique theme park experience.
Old Town
Kissimmee
A strip mall filled with gift shops that grew into a mini-amusement park and which now inclludes 75 Specialty Shops, 8 Delicious restaurants and 18 Thrilling Rides – fun for everyone in the family.
Sea World Orlando
Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is the world’s premier marine adventure park with 200 acres of world-class shows, thrilling rides and unforgettable animal encounters. Millions of visitors have explored the mysteries of the sea with up-close animal interactions and exhilarating experiences. State-of-the-art rides such as “Kraken” and “Journey to Atlantis” twist, turn, and drench guests with unprecedented thrills, while amazing animal encounters include killer whales, dolphins, sea lions, sharks and more.
Silver Springs
Silver Springs
This 350 acre nature theme park that surrounds the headwaters of the beautiful Silver River, the largest artesian spring formation in the world is famous for Its Glass Bottom Boats that have been showing guests the underwater wonders of the Silver River since 1878..Other attractions at the nature park include a Jeep Safari and an alligator show. There is a separate admission waterpark nearby.
Universal Orlando Resort
Orlando
Universal Orlando Resort includes two dramatically distinct and adjacent theme parks, as well as CityWalk, a 30-acre dining, shopping, club and live-entertainment venue.
State-of-the-art technology is uniquely combined with storytelling and adventure at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park, home to some of the most thrilling and technologically advanced rides and attractions ever made. Universal Studios, with its cutting-edge attractions – based on pop-culture icons, Hollywood blockbuster films and hit television shows – transport visitors into a highly imaginative world where they can become heroes of their own adventures.
Walt Disney World® Resort
Orlando / Lake Buena Vista
Covering 121 square kilometres (47 sq miles), Walt Disney World Resort has four Theme Parks, two Water Parks, 20 themed Resort Hotels, two nighttime entertainment districts, a state-of-the-art sports complex, dining shopping and recreation galore.
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, not quite a zoo, not quite a theme park, Walt Disney World takes a dash of both, mixes it with pixie dust, and creates a unique and engaging hybrid experience. The smallest of the four Walt Disney World parks, Disney-MGM Studios is a bustling paean to the Hollywood of your dreams. With the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, it is the home to Walt Disney World’s most thrill-packed rides. Epcot®, Walt Disney World’s world’s fair-like park includes Future World, which focuses on emerging technologies, and World Showcase, which features pavilions devoted to a rainbow of nations. The focal point and, by far the most popular, if not the most charming, of Walt Disney World’s four parks, the Magic Kingdom is the east coast version of Walt Disney’s prototype, Disneyland.
THEME PARKS OF CENTRAL EAST FLORIDA
Daytona USA
Daytona Beach
A 60,000-square-foot interactive motorsports center with hands-on, interactive shows and attractions including “You Call the Race,” where guests play TV announcer and “call” a major Daytona race finish, “NASCAR Thunder” in which participants use computer technology to drive a stock car on the high banks of Daytona, and “Heroes of the Track” where visitors can question their favorite NASCAR drivers using DVD technology. Also, the Pepsi IMAX Theatre features “NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience” and the award-winning “DAYTONA 500 Movie” on a four story high screen.
THEME PARKS OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
King Richard’s
Naples
A family fun park featuring a popular go cart track and video games along with exciting new attractions and features like Laser Tag, Dance Machine, and interactive video games.
THEME PARKS OF SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Adventure Island
Key West
Thirty acres of water-drenched fun in the sun features the ultimate combination of high-speed thrills and tropical, tranquil surroundings. The Key West atmosphere of the park is accented with an unrivaled blend of slides corkscrews, water falls, outdoor cafes, picnic and sunbathing areas, a wave pool , children’s play area and championship sand volleyball complex. Open daily late-March through early-September and weekends only mid-February through mid-March and mid-September through late-October.
Boomers!
Dania
Huge family entertainment center features the Dania Beach Hurricane wooden roller coaster.
Wannado City
Sunrise
America’s first indoor role-playing theme park, makes their wishes come true in a realistic and imaginative way. Aimed at the 3-13 year-old set, Wannado City™ recreates all the sites of a major city from the point of view of its kidizens™, with many real-play™ venues and hundreds of career possibilities. All venues are designed to allow kids to live out their dreams – from learning to be a firefighter to piloting an aircraft to working at a television studio. Real-play™ empowers kids to become decision-makers and learn responsibility.