Since the Wizarding World of Harry Potter made its debut in central Florida a few years ago, we hear that sentence a lot. But there’s a problem…Harry Potter isn’t at Disney World. Wizarding World of Harry Potter can be found at Universal Florida’s Islands of Adventures.

A lot of people just assume that “Disney” is all of central Florida and that all of the theme parks and water parks belong to Disney. Unfortunately for Disney fans, that’s not the case. Central Florida has the Walt Disney World Resort, the Universal Orlando Resort, Sea World Parks & Entertainment, Legoland and more! There’s so much to see and do and there’s no way you can do it all in one trip.

Let’s look at the major entertainment destinations…

*Walt Disney World Resort-

People often mistakenly call Magic Kingdom “Disney” and don’t realize that “Disney” is more than “the park with the castle”.  The Walt Disney World Resort features 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, mini golf, 18 hold professional golf courses, shopping, fine dining, and the EPSN Wide World of Sports. Disney World’s 4 theme parks are Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

*Universal Orlando Resort-

Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure along with Citywalk and 3 fantastic hotels make up the Universal Orlando Resort.  Universal Studios is all about the movies with tributes to many movie greats like E.T., Twister and Terminator. Islands of Adventures allows you to step into Harry Potter’s world when you ride Flight of the Hippogriff or dine at the Three Broomsticks. And coming soon there will be even more Harry Potter themed fun…stay tuned!

*Sea World Parks and Entertainment-

Sea World Orlando is so much more than dolphins and Shamu doing tricks. First, Sea World  has expanded and now includes exciting rides like the Manta along with the many animal attractions like penguins and manatees. Check out the Penguin web cam. There’s also Aquatica, Sea World’s Waterpark Orlando, where you can ride a water slide that takes you underwater to find black and white Commerson’s Dolphins or raft through Loggerhead Lane to see beautiful exotic fish. And you can spend a day at Discovery Cove, an all inclusive park day that allows you to swim with dolphins, snorkel and meet a marmoset. Discovery Cove limits the number of tickets sold each day and when you you purchase your ticket to Discovery Cove, you also get unlimited admission to Sea World and Aquatica for 14 days.

*Legoland Florida-

150 acres full of Lego fun is designed for children ages 2 to 12 and their families. Legoland Florida now also boasts a Legoland water park. Legoland Florida is in Winter Haven, about 45 minutes from the other Orlando area theme parks.

 

In addition to the theme parks, guests in Central Florida can head to Cape Canaveral to

explore the Kennedy Space Center and see the Space Shuttle Atlantis  or eat lunch with an astronaut.  A quick trip to Clearwater, near Tampa, will take you to visit Winter the Dolphin from the hit movie “A Dolphin’s Tale”.

As you can see, a trip to Central Florida  can mean so much more than just Disney or Harry Potter. Trying to sort through all of the options can be a pretty massive project. We would be happy to help you plan your vacation to Central Florida and decide which of these many fun adventures would be best for your family. Our planning services are free when you book through us!