Since there is so much information in this book and since I worry that you might overlook something wonderful, here is a brief and highly opinionated list of lesser-known attractions I think are worth considering.
Dinner shows. Of those listed in Chapter 10, my favorite is Arabian Knights, but don’t overlook Orlando’s expanding theater scene (Chapter 15), in particular the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival, a professional troupe offering first-class fare. For dinner, you can select from Orlando’s growing list of fine restaurants.
Animal encounters. Discovery Cove (Chapter 3) gets all the press, but at Amazing Exotics (Chapter 13) you can play with monkeys and apes and pet a tiger. Also worth singling out is the Serengeti Safari Tour at Busch Gardens Africa (Chapter 8) that lets you hand feed giraffes and other denizens of the Serengeti. During spring, bird watchers will want to flock to the Alligator Breeding Marsh at Gatorland (Chapter 4), where hundreds of cranes and egrets come to build their nests and rear their young, protected from their natural predators by the gators below.
Natural wonders. Historic Bok Sanctuary (Chapter 14) is actually a cunning man-made creation but those who appreciate the art of landscape architecture will find it ravishingly beautiful. For a more down-home experience in the great outdoors, plunge into the natural spring swimming hole at Wekiva Springs State Park (also in Chapter 14).
And all the rest. Fantasy of Flight (Chapter 11), with its evocative dioramas depicting the history of flight and its extensive antique plane collection, is worth a side trip for aviation buffs. Fans of Frank Lloyd Wright won’t want to miss the largest collection of his buildings to be found in one place (Chapter 15). And the ritzy town of Winter Park, with its fabulous art museums and theater (Chapter 15) and the boat tour past the homes of the rich but not so famous (Chapter 16), is worth a day or two all by itself.
In addition to those mentioned above, Chapters 2 through 8 contain my personal choices of the must-see or -do attractions at each of the major parks.
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