Feature

Orlando obscura

While attending the 93rd Annual Kiwanis International Convention, embark on a quest to find host Orlando’s hidden treasures

By Pam Brandon

If you already have experienced the headliners of Orlando’s top theme parks—Mickey, Shamu, and Shrek—and are looking for something different, head for one of Central Florida’s offbeat adventures, where the crowds are smaller but the fantasy can be just as big.

Lively International Drive in the heart of “O-town’s” tourist attractions has a trio of favorites. Just steps from the Orange County Convention Center, Pointe Orlando features 20 movie theaters, a dozen restaurants, cool shopping, and the quirky WonderWorks. This upside-down building blew in from the Bermuda Triangle when a science experiment went awry, or so the story goes. You can try your own experiments inside this interactive playground with more than 100 hands-on ways to have fun, from an earthquake measuring a 5.3 on the Richter scale to a virtual glider above the Grand Canyon.

Also on I-Drive, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! appears to be slipping into one of Florida’s infamous sinkholes, but the crooked “odditorium” is merely an illusion. Marvel at the bizarre collection of unbelievable one-of- a-kinds, like a Rolls-Royce made from more than a million matchsticks.

Three unusual experiences are at Downtown Disney West Side. The giant aqua-blue box dominating the skyline is DisneyQuest, an indoor, interactive theme park with five floors of adventure that combines cuttingedge virtual reality and classic Disney fun. You can jump into the 3-D world of Pirates of the Caribbean and paddle down waterfalls on the Jungle Cruise.

Steps away is the captivating Cirque du Soleil La Nouba (pictured above), a dream-like spectacle featuring high wire and flying trapeze and Cirque’s opulent sets. With an international cast of more then 70 artists, the high-energy show is performed twice daily, five days a week.

For music lovers, House of Blues (right) at Downtown Disney is the ticket, with Mississippi Deltainspired cuisine, mystical folk art, and live music every night. A steady list of headliners is scheduled in the intimate concert hall adjacent to the restaurant, the same space where the world-famous Gospel Sunday Brunch draws a crowd for two shows each week.

Enthusiasts of history and theology will enjoy Holy Land Experience theme park, which re-creates Jerusalem and showcases traditions that take you back 2,000 years to the world of the Bible. Live shows, such as David and Goliath for kids and a musical story of Moses, and enlightening talks (“What are the Qumran Caves?”) make this an all-day experience.

Ever see gator wrestlin’ with an eight-foot amphibian? Step back to another era of theme park attractions at Gatorland (left), which opened in 1949 as a roadside attraction. You can stroll the boardwalk above the breeding marsh and see hundreds of gators soaking in the sun, or you can take a train ride around the park. Little ones love the splash park and Allie’s Barnyard where they can meet Dolly Llama and Gracie, a friendly goat.

Get out on the water and close to more gators at Boggy Creek Airboat Rides, a noisy-but-fun Florida experience. The fast boats skim into the swamps at up to 45 miles per hour. Early morning is the best time to see slim white egrets, blue herons, osprey, turtles and gators. For spooky fun, take the nighttime tour (your captain will wear a miner’s hat) to spot the glow of gators’ red eyes—lots of red eyes.

For a gentler ride on the water, head to Winter Park’s Scenic Boat Tour, a local attraction for more than half a century. The seasoned skippers have plenty of stories to tell cruising the 12-mile “Venice of America.” (“Franklin D. Roosevelt slept there,” a guide points out, “and Harry S. Truman received an honorary degree once there.”) Along the way, you’ll spot tropical flowers and plants and subtropical bird species, including egrets, blue herons, and osprey.