Orlando
When Walt Disney World was first birthed, you could see all or most of it in a day. Now you need at least a weekend, and that's if you're moving at a rapid pace. With four major theme parks sprawling across the Walt Disney World's vast acreage, planning a visit here requires the tactical planning of a top sergeant. Not only are there the parks, the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney, MGM and the Animal Kingdom, but WDW also has golf courses, nightclubs, restaurants, water parks, a zillion shops, game rooms, the continuously running Cirque du Soleil, and much, much more. You can even get married there and head off into the sunset in Cinderella's pumpkin coach!Right down the road, Universal Studios Florida, with its two parks, can keep you amused for a couple of days, at least. And more than 70 other attractions in Central Florida including SeaWorld Orlando, Cypress Gardens, Wet 'n Wild, and themed dinner shows are just as entertaining.
Visiting all of the parks requires a planning session, and when you're "parked" out, many other amusing diversions are available.
Beyond the Theme Parks:
There is more to Central Florida than Orlando. Here's a look at some other intriguing places to visit.
Lake Wales
As you travel south on U.S. 27, the terrain changes from the flatlands of Orlando to rolling hills. Set among them is this quaint town nestled in vast acres of citrus fields about 50 miles from Orlando. A glittering lake provides a backdrop for this village, which has retained its most charming characteristics by preserving and upgrading historic structures. Bok Tower, nestled amid lovely Bok Tower Gardens, towers over Lake Wales, and its carillon rings across the hills every half hour with a 45-minute recital each afternoon. Lake Wales also plays host each winter to the Black Hills Passion Play, an outdoor depiction of the final weeks in the life of Christ.
Winter Park
So sprawling is Orlando now, that this lovely little town about nine miles away almost qualifies as a suburb. No one here would much like that definition, and indeed, Winter Park is light years from the neon and plastic of the theme park sector of Orlando. Tree-lined Park Avenue, the town's main street, is one of the state's poshest shopping boulevards, ranking in charm, elegance, dining and entertainment with Palm Beach's Worth Avenue and Fort Lauderdale's Las Olas Boulevard. Rollins College's pretty campus is here, and so is an eye-boggling collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany's spectacular stained glass creations, displayed in its own museum. To add to the allure, Winter Park's restaurants are renowned in the region, both for beauty and cuisine.
Winter Haven
Stretched out all around here are stubby green trees, but nestled in their green leaves are the orange and gold orbs of Florida's most important crops; oranges, grapefruit and other citrus are harvested at the rate of more than ten million boxes a year. Winter Haven is also the home of lovely Cypress Gardens, where champion waterskiers whizz around a cypress-rimmed lake and damsels in ante-bellum hoop skirts stroll the acres of manicured grounds awash in rainbow-hued blossoms. One of the most photogenic spots in Florida, Cypress Gardens and Winter Haven are about 47 miles from Orlando.
Sanford
Many charter flights from the UK and Europe arrive at the airport in this small rural town 23 miles from Orlando. From here, begins a popular boat journey aboard the Rivership Romance that sails on the St. Johns River, long the mercantile backbone of north Florida and a river unusual in its own right as it flows north! Here, too, you can hop into a canoe and paddle down the scenic Wekiva River.
Cassadega
A favorite stop at Halloween, this tiny village 30 miles from Orlando is tucked among cypress trees dripping Spanish moss. Since 1875, this area has been a center for psychics. Today, you'll see small signs outside many homes announcing the presence therein of a medium, many of them quite serious about their calling, and most registered by the National Spiritualist Association of Churches. Whether or not you're interested in contacting souls from the great beyond, a ride through this tiny town offers you an opportunity to revel in a little bit of old Florida at its somnolent, scenic best.
Deland
This village is home to the handsome, pillared and porticoed architecture of Stetson University. Deland, about 35 miles from Orlando, is worth the drive, if just to roam through the grounds of this shady, old-world campus. De Leon Springs State Recreation Area sports an old Spanish sugar mill and a popular swimming hole.
Micanopy
Antiques lovers should head straight to Micanopy (pronounced Mick-ah-NO-pea), where the town's single street is lined with antiques shops. Sprouting from an 1821 trading post, Micanopy, its boosters say, can trace its history back to Seminole Chief Micanopy, who is said to have dispensed his wisdom from a spot under the moss-draped oaks. A number of artisans have settled here in recent years; Colokka Boulevard boasts a cluster of handsome brick buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Micanopy lies 95 miles northwest of Orlando and just south of Gainesville.
Mount Dora
This quaint village is renowned for its resemblance to cozy New England enclaves. Several times a year, Renninger's, a local antiques dealer, sponsors a memorable show and sale, with the largest taking place in November. Mount Dora is about 25 miles southwest of Deland and about 25 miles north of Orlando.
Zellwood
Winter vegetables shipped to points all along the Eastern Seaboard get their start in this village 27 miles from Orlando. An annual Sweet Corn Festival in May celebrates the spring vegetable harvest, which also includes carrots, lettuce, cauliflower and radishes.
Sebring
Sebring is the place to be in March, when some of the world's greatest racecar drivers tear around the track at the annual 12-hour Sebring International Grand Prix of Endurance. Sebring is 86 miles south of Orlando, and its rolling hills and sparkling lakes make it a wonderful backroads detour.
Altamonte Springs/Longwood
Altamonte Springs, about nine miles north of Orlando, is popular for a huge Altamonte Mall that bears the name of the town. You will also find some good restaurants, and the tiny, neighboring town of Longwood, which has a number of attractive old homes.
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