I love being a Floridian! There, I said it! I’m very proud of where I am from and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. A lot of people think that we are very spoiled, and you know what? They’re right! I am extremely spoiled! I think I live in the best state in America. Okay, I’ll simmer down now. I apologize if I offended any of the snowbirds who like to talk crap about Florida and the people who live here, but yet always vacation here…
I was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. For those who don’t know, Tampa is a large metropolitan city right on the Gulf of Mexico. It is known for having a slight hispanic culture with Ybor City right in its heart, and being the home of the original Cuban Sandwich.
My parents on the other hand, are not Floridians. They moved to Tampa, Florida from Buffalo, New York back in the 80s. For those who have never been to Buffalo, it is probably the most Canadian city in America. (Literally, Buffalo is full of snow, Tim Hortons, and French people). It is very far upstate, it is FREEZING and the snow that they get will sometimes go higher than your waist. A majority of my immediate family lived (or still currently live) there. My father, however, was the one who took the big risk of getting out of that cold depressing city after he married my mother, and they both found themselves a nice home in the Tampa area in the 1987. I was born in 1995 and I have lived here since then. I am the only true blooded Floridian in my family of New Yorkers and I love it. Growing up as a Floridian has been amazing for numerous reasons.
The Weather
Florida gets warm weather for 10 out of the 12 months of the year. And even when it does get cold, it is (according to my Buffalonian parents) “not that cold”. I mean, once it hits 65 degrees here, I have to wear some type of hoodie meanwhile my parents laugh at me as they continue to wear shorts. Although because Tampa is so close to the Gulf, sometimes we get more of a cool breeze from the water and the wind sends little cold prickles on my face making the hair on my neck stand up when I get the shivers. On rare occasions in December and January, it can reach into the 40s or 30s, but that is the coldest that it can really get before frost can be seen in the grass. Other than that, the weather is normally really warm all year around.
The only downside to Florida’s weather is the humidity. Due to Florida being in a sub tropical climate, the humidity can often get very bad and sometimes it’s hard to breathe. It is usually at its worst during the summer time (May-August). Temperatures have reached up to the mid to high 90s and often Florida’s weather is extremely unpredictable during the summer as well. During the summer, Florida can experience 20 minutes of rain and thunderstorms and the rain can escalate from a little drizzle to a full blown monsoon within the span of two minutes. It is also possible in Florida to pour rain in certain areas but then be completely cloudless within a five mile radius.
For example, I once drove to my local mall, the Tampa Premium Outlet Mall, because I wanted to go shopping. The mall is outdoors, and it began to pour rain which resulted in me waiting in the indoor food court until the rain slowed up. I texted my mother (who was only about 4.5 miles and an 11 minute drive away) that it was pouring, and she texted me back a photo of the sun with no clouds to be seen. Talk about weird.
Sun showers are also very common in the state, but I don’t mind these as much. As a matter of fact, I like them. When sun showers occur, you can literally smell the humidity in the air and the Petrichor.
I probably should mention Hurricanes as a downside as well, however, those really don’t pose as much of a threat to us, as most people tend to believe. Hurricane season here starts in June and lasts until about November, and most of the time we get tropical storms. A tropical storm is a calmer and less terrifying version of a hurricane. Strong hurricanes will often come once every other year. And when there is a strong hurricane coming to visit, I know exactly how to prepare for it. But because very strong hurricanes don’t happen that often, Floridians normally laugh them off.
The last hurricane that was actually a real threat to Florida was Hurricane Irma in 2017, but even Floridians took her as a joke in the beginning. The moment they took her seriously was when she became a Cat 5 hurricane, and that’s when everyone began to slightly panic. I was still in college at the time, and my school had all students evacuate campus as soon as possible. I won’t lie, I was slightly scared at this point, and my family and I even considered evacuating the state and flying up to Buffalo to stay with our family. A lot of my cousins, Aunts and Uncles reached out to us and offered us a place to stay during the time. Unfortunately, flight companies throughout the state airports increased their flight prices due to the hurricane (a pretty shitty thing to do if you ask me…) and we couldn’t afford to fly out. We couldn’t get there by car either because all the gas stations were completely out of gas, and there was no way that we would even make it out of the state before we would run out of gas, especially with all of the backed up traffic. We were stuck. So we had to go through with typical hurricane preparation protocol. We filled sandbags, boarded our windows, purchased a lot of food and water, bought a lot of AAA batteries for flashlights and moved our furniture to limit safety hazards.
Irma was probably the worst hurricane that we’ve had in years. She completely destroyed Key West, Miami, and Naples and half of the state was out of power for a considerable amount of time. I was fortunate because by the time she hit Tampa she was a little weaker at a Cat 2 and didn’t do as much damage. Although my entire neighborhood flooded so bad, it was pretty much a river and a few small palm trees were knocked down, my family and I surprisingly didn’t lose power. We were fortunate.
Since I’ve grown up here all my life, I pretty much know how hurricanes work. They are often the strongest when they go over water (especially in a tropical humid climate) and they will often weaken after they go over land. Preparing for them can be a pain in the ass, but what is most important is that you follow the directions of the governor and all safety guidelines.
But after living here for all of my life, Florida’s weird weather patterns don’t get to me. I’m incredibly used to them. And in my opinion, I’d rather have to live in unpredictable sub tropical climate with warm weather for most of the year in comparison to only seeing the sun for three months out of the year and being trapped inside the house because it’s way too cold to go outside. At least I have the freedom to go outside, and if worse comes to worse, I can always just jump in the pool to cool off if it’s too hot. Sorry Snowbirds.
The Food
I know what all of you are thinking!
“Florida doesn’t have it’s own food culture cuisine! Florida is a melting pot of many different people!”
As Donald Trump would say… WRONG!
Florida indeed has its own culturally diverse cuisine and the food that you eat all depends on which area of the state that you’re in. Florida is known for it’s seafood (especially Stone Crabs, Grouper Fish and Gator Tails), its hispanic culture, and its southern hospitality.
Let me first start with the seafood. Florida proudly serves some of the best and freshest seafood in the United States. No matter which Florida beach that you visit, there will always be a restaurant adjacent to it that serves the finest and freshest seafood around. The most known cities that serve the best is Clearwater, Daytona, and Key West. One of the most famous restaurants is Frenchy’s Restaurant with its original location opening in Clearwater Beach. As ironic as it is, the owner of Frenchy’s is French Canadian having grown up in Quebec until moving to Florida and opening his own seafood restaurant right on the Gulf Coast. His restaurant has been famous for serving Florida’s best Grouper Sandwich for many years and has since opened four other locations in the state. I personally like my Grouper Fish blackened or cajun, but that’s just me.
Besides the Groupers, Florida is also known for its Stone Crabs and Gator Tails. Stone Crabs are a delicacy in Florida and even though they are served all year long, they taste the best when they are in season. The Florida Stone Crab only lives within the oceans of the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Oceans and some parts of the Bahamas and Cuba, so therefore you really can’t have them anywhere else unless they are shipped throughout the USA. And even if they are shipped out to other states, they definitely won’t be as fresh.
Gator Tails… yep, you read that correctly! Fried Gator Tails are another Florida delicacy that is only served in Florida. Why? Well, Florida is best known for harboring the reptile beast and so of course it’s pretty typical of us Floridians to serve a gator on the menu. And before any of you snowbirds look at us weird… the French literally eat snails… so don’t judge it until you try it. I can proudly say that I’ve had alligator meat and it actually has a very mild taste with a very firm texture. It is often best deep fried and dipped in ranch dressing or cajun tartar sauce. The first time I tried it, I didn’t even know it was an alligator and when I asked my dad what I was eating, he stated “gator tails” and I’m pretty sure I spat out my drink in shock, mainly because I didn’t know alligator hunting was legal, but apparently it is in some states, Florida included. I kept eating it because… well it tasted good! What can I say?
Aside from all the delicious seafood that Florida has to offer, the state also has a huge hispanic culture. Big cities such as Tampa and Miami are known for having the state’s largest hispanic populations. Spanish is so huge in the state that it became a requirement in the Florida education system for students to take at least two years of Spanish before graduating to a college that is in-state (although my high school made me take the language for three years). For students who are already fluent in the language, they are required to either take a special class for Spanish Speakers or another language such as French, German or Latin. Anyways, I think you get it. Spanish is a huge thing here. I suppose it makes sense though, Florida was founded by a hispanic man. So because of its huge hispanic culture, Florida is known for having the most authentic Spanish Cuisine.
My hometown Tampa is known for being the home of the authentic Cuban Sandwich. I know that will shock some people, because most believe the Cuban Sandwich was invented in Cuba. Well here is a quick history lesson. Ybor City is a quaint town in the heart of Tampa with a lot of historical background. Ybor was founded in 1885 by a group of cigar manufacturers led by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and was annexed by Tampa in 1887. The original population was mostly composed of Cuban and Spanish immigrants who worked in the cigar factories. Italian and Eastern-European Jewish immigrants followed shortly thereafter and established many retail shops, farms and grocery stores, box factories, print shops, and other enterprises which catered to the cigar industry and its workers. The city thrived with its cigar making (which is why Tampa is known as “Cigar City”) Due to the strong Cuban immigration, small Cuban style bakeries and restaurants were built and it was there that they made the original Cuban Sandwich. Restaurants such as La Segunda Bakery and The Columbia (which opened in 1905 and are still thriving in business today) are best known for making the sandwich that people know and love today. La Segunda Bakery is best known for making the city’s best and freshest Cuban bread and they even ship it down to Miami so that they can serve it in their Spanish based restaurants. Miami is also known for serving amazing Cuban Sandwiches, however there is one major difference between their sandwiches and Tampa’s. Tampa’s version includes salami because of the huge Italian influence from the Italian immigrants. Miami’s version does not include salami. With all the Spanish influence, it is no wonder why popular hispanic celebrities such as Shakira and Pitbull choose to live in Florida rather than California. It’s the closest thing to their home away from home.
Lastly, Southern Style Cuisine is a huge staple in Florida. While Florida really isn’t considered a southern state, certain areas in the state are known for serving some really good southern style food. This includes fried chicken, fried okra, grits, biscuits and gravy, chicken n dumplings, etc. A lot of the Southern Style food can pretty much be found all over the state, but it’s probably the best in cities such as Jacksonville or Tallahassee since they are closest to the Georgia border.
Big chain restaurants and supermarkets are also really popular here. One being Publix Supermarket. If you haven’t tried a Pub Sub, the moment you do, you will never eat Subway again, bet on it. Unfortunately, Publix Subs are equivalent to that of an In-N-Out burger to us Floridians. Publix stores are only based in the South Eastern United States and the corporate office is based in Lakeland, Florida. Therefore, Floridians are often the ones to be spoiled with Pub Subs and no one outside of the South East really knows what a real fresh sub tastes like. Also, Publix cookies are bomb… let me just add that in.
Chick-Fil-A is one of Florida’s biggest fast food restaurants. Even though this chain is heavily based in Georgia, it has a whole lot of love from us Floridians. Frankly, I think America in general just loves Chick-Fil-A, but I had to mention it as a popular chain among us too. There are several Chick-Fil-A restaurants in Florida. Every time I pass by my Chick-Fil-A on my way to work, the drive-thru line (which has TWO lanes by the way) always extends all around the restaurant. But people are still willing to wait just to get their hands on that amazing chicken sandwich or biscuit. No one can beat that amazing chicken sandwich with melted butter on a toasted bun. And to make it even better, all of the different types of sauces! My personal favorite is the Chick-Fil-A sauce and the Polynesian sauce.
And finally, I can’t forget about Florida’s signature dessert… no explanation is needed.
The Beaches
Okay we’re finally getting to some of the most obvious reasons on why I think I’m a spoiled Floridian. Growing up in Tampa, my family and I took trips to the beach pretty often and I always loved swimming in the Gulf. The waves were great and during the summer, the water temperature is comparable to bath water, it is so warm.
Before we moved out of Carrollwood, we used to have a neighbor who owned a yacht in St. Petersburg, Florida. Every 4th of July, he always invited us onto his boat while he took it out into the Gulf. Me, being the adventurous little 12 year old girl that I was, loved diving from the second story of the boat straight into the warm Gulf waters. I had no fears. Later that night, we would watch fireworks go off over the water.
As I got older into my teen years, my friends and I often took weekend beach trips. In 2012, my parents rented out a Hotel Beach Suite for the weekend at the Sirata Beach Resort, and I was allowed to invite a couple of my best friends. That weekend was so much fun because I recall that we got henna tattoos from across the street, swung in hammocks, swam in both the pool and the beach, and had dinner at Krabby Bills while watching Florida’s sunset. Indeed, I have a lot of the best memories on Florida’s beaches.
Florida is also home to the №1 beach in America, and this beach is only about a 45 minute drive from where I live. St. Pete Beach was ranked as America’s №1 beach, beating out all Hawaiian and California beaches. With its white sand, crystal blue water, and warm temperature, it is no wonder why it was ranked as the best in America. Both St. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach have also been areas used for film sets. The movie Spring Breakers which starred Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens was filmed right on St. Pete Beach in Tampa. And the movie Dolphin Tale was filmed in Clearwater Beach. The famous dolphin named Winter who starred in the movie is held at the Clearwater Aquarium for anyone who wants to go meet her.
Tampa isn’t the only city with beaches. The state of Florida is a peninsula so there are beaches all over the place! Florida is full of private and public beaches, and most of the time the private beaches are located near wealthy neighborhoods. If I were to sit here and list all of Florida’s beaches, this article wouldn’t end… so I will only list the most popular beaches within the state.
Miami Beach
South Beach
Key West Beaches
There are about five different beaches in the Keys since they are multiple different small islands combined. You will, however see the famous Coral Reefs while down here. When I was in 7th grade, my class and I took a field trip to the Florida Keys and snorkeled in the Reefs. It was amazing!
Fort Lauderdale Beach
This beach is located on the East Coast of Florida, therefore we are now in the Atlantic Ocean.
Fort Lauderdale is also home to Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and students there often like to study while on the beach.
Daytona Beach
Also located on the East Coast, Daytona Beach is known worldwide as the beach that attracts the most Spring Breakers in the nation. Why? Well, Daytona Beach is the one beach in Florida that is extremely comparable to Santa Monica Beach in California. It is its own beach town with multiple hotels, shops, nightlife and miniature amusement park. The only difference is that people can actually swim in Daytona’s beach all year around in comparison to Santa Monica’s cold waters. For those who don’t know, the city of Daytona is also known throughout the nation for the popular Daytona 500. So if you’re a NASCAR fan, and you’re tired of the beach, you know what to do.
St. Augustine Beach
St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest city in America. There is a lot of history that is tied to that city and even an old Fort called the “Castillo De San Marcos” that was used during multiple bloody wars and battles. While on top of the Fort, tourists can see a beautiful view of St. Augustine Beach. This beach is also located on the East Coast of Florida.
Other areas that contain smaller beaches include Palm Harbor (an area for retirees and wealthier people), Sanibel Island (a private beach known for its abundance of seashells), Cocoa Beach, Fort Meyers Beach and Honeymoon Island.
Now, let me just break a typical stereotype that many people believe from Floridians. Even though a lot of us are extremely close to the beach, that doesn’t mean that is what we do all the time. I only ever went to the beach about four or five times out of the year maximum. Because while I loved going to the beach, I also had a life to live. I had school, I had my sports, I eventually had a job and my time to go to the beach was limited. Not to mention, spending too much time at the beach can be unhealthy. My father developed skin cancer because of it. Those sun rays can do a lot of long term damage if you don’t protect yourself with lotion. So to all of you snowbirds who think that all we do is go to the beach all the time, that is far from the truth. However, I do have a perk of living only 45 minutes away from the beach, and I can choose to visit it whenever I please.
No doubt about it, I was one lucky child growing up with all this paradise around me. Don’t get me wrong, I have visited other beaches outside of Florida, but none of them even held a candle to the beaches down here. When I took a trip to California with my cousin, we went to some of the beaches out there, and…sure they were very pretty. The mountains were nice to look at. But I couldn’t go swimming and I couldn’t go lay out on the beach to get a tan because it was too windy and cold. Not to mention the sand was brown…gross. While the Cali beaches are awesome for a great view, you can’t actually enjoy it. I like salt water. I like to swim in the ocean, and if I’m at a beach just to enjoy the view, that’s just a tease to me. Sorry Cali.
The Sports Scene
Florida has teams in all of the major league sports — National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer. In the early 1980s, Florida had major league teams in only the NFL. Florida has since added two NBA teams in the late 1980s. Florida added two NHL teams in the 1990s as part of the NHL’s expansion into the south, and two MLB teams in the 1990s.
Along with professional sports teams, Florida has a HUGE college football scene. When I attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, (one of Florida’s top 5 Universities), going to college football games were an even bigger deal than going to an NFL game. Whether, it is the Florida Gators, the Florida State Seminoles, the South Florida Bulls, the Miami Hurricanes or the Central Florida Knights, you will for sure find someone who is a fan of at least one of these college teams in the state. But of course, the biggest and most historic rivalry is between the Florida Gators (University of Florida in Gainesville) and the Florida State Seminoles (Florida State University in Tallahassee).
The rivalry between the UF and FSU dates all the way back to 1958. Both schools completely despise each other and always try to battle each other out to see which one is the top school in the state. UF students automatically trash talk FSU students and vice versa. At UF home games against FSU, it is a tradition for students to introduce the Gators by doing a hand motion called “The Chomp” which is done in sync with UF’s band playing the Jaws Theme. On the other hand, at FSU home games, it is a tradition to introduce the Seminoles by doing a hand motion called “The Tomahawk Chop” while in sync with the band playing “The War Chant”. FSU also has a Seminole Indian riding a horse with a bow on fire as he sticks it into the field before the start of the game. Jack (my boyfriend of 8 years) attended FSU and joined a fraternity, meanwhile I stayed in Tampa and went to USF. Even though he really wanted me to join him in Tallahassee, I chose USF over FSU because I liked their Mass Communications and Public Relations Programs that they offered. I also considered applying to UF because I really liked their gymnastics team, but I knew that I wouldn’t have gotten a scholarship to be on that it. However, UF still remains to be the only university in Florida with a top collegiate gymnastics program, and I have been to few of their competitions on their campus. That is one of the reasons why I always kind of liked that Gators. (I never admitted that to Jack though…)
- Note: Jack and I were best friends since elementary school. He was an actor and I was a gymnast but we lived in the same neighborhood and we basically grew up together. One of my neighborhood best friends who also knew both of us since elementary school actually hooked us up. She apparently had a crush on him when we were younger, but she knew that he had developed a crush on me while we were in middle school. Since Jack is a year older than us, he started high school before Tabitha and I. Interestingly enough, Jack attended Jesuit High School (and all boys Catholic school) and after I graduated 8th grade, I attended Tampa Catholic, Jesuit’s rival. We were still friends, however he often teased me about TC. I still didn’t know he had feelings for me until Tabitha encouraged him to ask me out. He eventually asked me out to his homecoming during my sophomore year (his junior year) and since then we have been dating. I was 16 (and he was 17) when we started dating, and today I am 24 (while he is 25). When he graduated from high school in 2013 (during my junior year), he chose to attend FSU and we were hesitant about having a long distance relationship, but we somehow made it work through a lot of FaceTime. It was the first time that I wasn’t able to see him every day, and living in my neighborhood was strange without him. I occasionally went up to Tallahassee to spend the nights with him and vice versa, and I met some of his fraternity brothers.
While I knew a lot of people at FSU, I also had a ton of friends at UF and therefore I didn’t know who to cheer for. Though Jack wanted me to cheer for FSU, sometimes I wanted the Gators to win. (Sorry babe!)
The second biggest rivalry in the state is called “The War on I4” between the Central Florida Knights (University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida) and the South Florida Bulls (University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida). This rivalry is called “War on I-4” because both Tampa and Orlando are connected by Interstate 4. Both USF students and UCF students will constantly trash talk each other, however the rivalry is still relatively new and they don’t truly despise each other as much as UF and FSU does.
Like UF and FSU, USF has their own chant and hand motion. Their fight song is called “The Stampede” and it is often played before the Bulls take the field. To do the hand motion, students put their right hand in the air with only their index and pinky finger raised to look like bull horns. They then wave that hand in the air clockwise. After that, they chant “S-O-U-T-H-F-L-O-R-I-D-A South Florida, South Florida, Go Bulls!”
As for UCF… they don’t do anything because they’re lame… The only thing they do is shout the word “Knight” during the National Anthem.
The University of Miami Hurricanes are also rivaled with the Gators and the Noles, however the Gator and Nole rivalry is the most intense in the state and one of the biggest in-state rivalries in the nation.
Getting away from college football, Florida also has a few NFL teams. Two out of the three of them have won a Super Bowl title. The Miami Dolphins won back-to-back consecutive Super Bowls in the 1970s and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their first Super Bowl title in 2003. The Jacksonville Jaguars are the only remaining Florida NFL team who have yet to win a Super Bowl.
I remember when Tampa won the Super Bowl. I was in 1st grade during the time, but I remember the entire city went completely nuts! And the year after that, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup. The City of Tampa made a road sign that says “Welcome to Tampa: The City of Champions”. People can see this sign as they drive into Tampa.
Florida has two MLB teams: The Tampa Bay Rays and The Miami Marlins. Miami has won two World Series Championships. Tampa Bay has made appearances in the playoffs and made their World Series debut in 2008 but lost to Philadelphia. While there are only two Major League Baseball teams that represent Florida cities, Florida offers Spring Training to multiple other MLB teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs (train in Dunedin, FL), the Baltimore Orioles (train in Sarasota, FL), the Pittsburgh Pirates (train in Bradenton, FL), the New York Yankees (train in Tampa, FL), Atlanta Braves (train in Orlando, FL), the Philadephia Phillies (train in Clearwater, FL) and the Detroit Tigers (train in Lakeland, FL).
Florida also has two NHL teams: The Tampa Bay Lightning and The Florida Panthers. The Lightning represent the city of Tampa Bay and the Panthers represent Fort Lauderdale/Miami area.
I know what everyone is thinking… “Hockey in Florida?” Yes. We have hockey teams, and the hockey markets down here are actually very successful. Out of all the professional teams in Florida, I’ve always favored hockey. I’ve been a fan of the Tampa Bay Lightning since I was six years old. My father, who is a Buffalo Sabres fan that also likes the Lightning, took me to games all the time when I was a kid. I don’t know what it was about hockey, but I always found it more exciting to watch over football. The brawls, the fights, and how fast paced the game is always kept me on edge the whole time. Meanwhile football can either be really energetic or really boring depending on the teams playing.
Being a Lightning fan, I got the pleasure of going to hockey watch parties that were held right on the beach during a sunset. Any other hockey fan in the U.S or in Canada cannot say the same thing.
The Tampa Bay Lightning is the only Florida based hockey team that won the Stanley Cup. They defeated the Calgary Flames in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2004 and Dave Andreychuk raised the cup in the middle of the Tampa Bay Times Forum (which is now Amalie Arena).
What’s even more interesting is that Tampa’s hockey market was still relatively brand new when they won in 2004, only being in the National Hockey League for about 12 years after becoming an expansion team in 1992. There are still some older teams such as the Vancouver Canucks and the Buffalo Sabres (sorry dad…) that still haven’t won the Stanley Cup yet.
In 2015, Tampa came very close to winning the Cup again, but were defeated in Game 6 against the Chicago Blackhawks. People are often surprised at the huge hockey scene down here, but the Tampa Bay Lightning are probably the most popular professional sports team in the state due to their huge success and great ownership.
The Florida Panthers is an in-state rival to the Lightning, but have also had some success as a franchise in the past. The Panthers made it to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals but lost to the Colorado Avalanche.
Fun Fact: Ariana Grande is a huge Florida Panthers Fan, and even sang the National Anthem at one of their games before she became famous.
Lastly, Florida also has some well known basketball teams that play in the NBA. These two teams are the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic. I am not much of a basketball fan, probably because there isn’t a basketball team based in Tampa. However, I do know a little bit about these teams. I know that the Miami Heat won the NBA Championships in 2012 when they had Lebron James as a team member. The Magic made 15 playoff appearances within the span of 30 years and has been the second most successful of the four expansion teams brought into the league in 1988 and 1989 in terms of winning percentage, only after the Miami Heat.
While there are sports teams that represent almost all of the U.S.A’s big cities, I’m proud to say that Florida is very well represented in all sports categories. Each team has shown to be competitive along with the support of their fanbases.
The Schools
Speaking of colleges, sports isn’t the only thing that Florida universities are good at. The Sunshine State is home to, not one, not two, but three of the top 50 nationally ranked Universities in the United States. The University of Florida (ranked at №8 in the country), Florida State University (ranked at №18 in the country) and The University of South Florida (ranked at №44 in the country).
University of Florida
The University of Florida (home of the Gators) is the №1 University in the state of Florida. Their school colors are blue and orange and their mascot are two gators named Albert and Alberta. It was founded in the late 1800s and is located in the heart of Gainsville, Florida. Despite what my boyfriend thinks about this school, it is nationally ranked in both its athletic programs and its academic programs. Many young children dream of attending this university, however it is not an easy school to get accepted in nor is it easy to receive scholarships here, unless you apply for them yourself. The acceptance rate is about 45.9%, so they accept less than half of the students who apply there.
Many of the University of Florida’s graduate schools have received top-50 rankings from U.S. News & World Report with the school of education 25th, Florida’s Hough School of Business tied for 25th nationally, Florida’s Medical School (research) 43rd, the Engineering School 45th, the Levin College of Law 31st, and the Nursing School 35th in the 2019 rankings.
The University of Florida offers the best Veterinarian School and Dental School in the state.
In order to be qualified for admissions to the University of Florida, students must achieve the following: they must have an average 4.45 or higher GPA, score a 1388 out of 1600 on their SAT, and the an average of 31 out of 36 on their ACT. In addition, students who achieve high honors or pass their advanced placement (AP) or dual enrollment (DE) courses will be eligible for college credits ahead of time and a Bright Futures Scholarship. If the student succeeded in the IB program (International Baccalaureate) in high school, the student is almost 100% guaranteed a place at any college they desire to attend. (In 2019, a total of 41,407 students submitted an application to the school, and only 14,136 were accepted.
Florida State University
Florida State University (home of the Seminoles) is ranked №3 in the state of Florida based on its academic programs. Their school colors are garnet and gold and their mascot is a Seminole Indian. They are located right in the heart of Tallahassee, Florida, the state’s capital. The university comprises 16 separate colleges and more than 110 centers, facilities, labs and institutes that offer more than 360 programs of study, including professional school programs. Florida State is home to Florida’s only national laboratory, the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, and is the birthplace of the commercially viable anti-cancer drug Taxol.
The FSU College of Medicine has been ranked among the nation’s top 10 for Hispanic and Latino American students. In 2014, Hispanic Business ranked the med school eighth, the same as last year. The college was ranked seventh in 2012, seventh in 2009 and ninth in 2007. The magazine annually ranks colleges of business, engineering, law and medicine. (The Florida State University College of Law was ranked №2 by U.S.News in 2018.) FSU is notable for its criminology program which is ranked №5 in the United States.
Much like its rival (UF), FSU is also a very difficult school to get accepted into, however FSU is also slightly easier to get into than UF since they have a much larger student body. (This is often why UF students often claim FSU students are nothing but UF rejects.) The acceptance rate at Florida State University is 58%, which is a lot more than its rival in Gainesville.
Fun fact about FSU, is that they offer special scholarships to individuals who are part Native American, and the scholarship is even bigger if the student’s roots stem from the Seminole tribe. Unfortunately, you have to be able to prove this to the school faculty, and that can be a process.
In order to be qualified for admissions at Florida State University, the student must achieve the following: a GPA range of 4.1–4.5, an SAT total range from 1290 to 1400 and an ACT range from 28–32. In addition, students who achieve high honors or pass their advanced placement (AP), IB or dual enrollment (DE) courses will be eligible for college credits ahead of time and a Bright Futures Scholarship.
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida (home of the Bulls and my alma mater) is ranked №2 in the state of Florida according to Niche and is nationally ranked №44 in the United States. The school colors are green and gold and their mascot is a Bull. The school has also been nationally ranked in its athletic programs, with its football program being ranked №2 in the NCAA college football, which was the highest in the programs history that it has been ranked. USF is located in the heart of Tampa, Florida.
USF is most notable for being a major Research Institute and has the №1 Medical School in the state of Florida. Students looking to becoming any type of Doctor or Medical researcher, USF is the top school in Florida for those individuals. USF is also notable for their Poynter Institute Journalism Program (which is the reason this school was my top pick). Aspiring journalist and media broadcasters can find a valuable degree within USF’s Media Studies Program, which I can vouch is amazing! Although you do have to pass an extensive exam in order to be accepted into the program, which is what I had to do.
USF also has two other satellite campuses based in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. USF in St. Pete is the best school for students interested in studying Marine Biology due to the large Fish and Wildlife Conservation Laboratory located adjacent to the campus and the large bodies of water that surround the campus. Marine Biology students can attain multiple great internships at the lab.
*I’ve had some classes here and even had to live in St. Pete for a period of time to attend classes at the St. Pete campus.
USF became the first university in the nation to offer a Ph.D. in applied anthropology and the first in the State University System of Florida to offer a degree program in women’s studies.
Inititally, USF used to be an easier school to get accepted into compared to UF and FSU, however due to its large growth and outstanding graduate and undergraduate programs, it has started to become a more difficult University to be accepted into. Today, USF’s acceptance rate is 46.6% and is almost as hard to get accepted at USF as it is into UF. It is also a harder school to get accepted into USF compared to FSU due to its prestigious medical programs.
In order to be considered for admission into USF, the student must achieve the following requirements: a GPA of 3.97 or higher. You’ll need nearly straight A’s in all your classes to compete with other applicants. Furthermore, you should be taking hard classes — AP or IB courses — to show that college-level academics is a breeze. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 3.97, you’ll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate. The average SAT score composite at USF is a 1260 on the 1600 and the average ACT score composite at USF is 29 and higher.
During my admission, I took both the SAT and ACT twice so that USF can average out my scores. (You can do that, as a matter of fact, most universities in the U.S encourage students to take the standardized tests more than once to increase chances of acceptance.) My GPA in high school was a 3.8 and I achieved high honors while simultaneously doing gymnastics for five times a week 3 hours a day and cheerleading for three times a week and three hours a day. I have no idea, how I accomplished that because I was pretty much tired all the time. However, USF did take that into consideration for me, and they liked the fact that my GPA was still impressive despite the fact I dedicated a lot of my time to extracurricular activities. I scored pretty well on both my SATs and ACTs, and I also took the writing section which is optional for some universities. USF was my top choice school, so when I got my acceptance letter, I was ecstatic.
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida (home of the Knights) is a state university in Orlando, Florida. Their school colors are black and gold and their mascot is a Knight and a Pegasus. It has more students enrolled on campus than any other U.S. university. The school is ranked №5 in the state of Florida and is located just east of Downtown Orlando.
Many of the University of Central Florida’s graduate programs have received top-100 rankings from U.S. News & World Report. In 2013, U.S. News & World Report ranked UCF’s engineering, education, speech language pathology, public administration, criminology, healthcare, nursing, physics, physical therapy, space science, social work, speech-language pathology, and computer science programs all within the top 100 in their respective fields. Although, UCF is probably most notable for their Psychology program as it has been nationally ranked for back-to-back years. So if you’re an aspiring child psychiatrist or regular psychologist, this school should be at the top of your list.
UCF has also been ranked nationally for their football program and won multiple Conference Championships.
UCF’s acceptance rate is 50%. It’s education standards are pretty high standard but they are still a little easier to get into as compared to UF and USF. They are right at the pace of FSU.
In order to be qualified for admittance into UCF, the student must achieve the following: A GPA of 3.75 or higher, SAT scores of 1250–1850 and ACT scores of 28.3 and higher.
The Driving Laws
Whatever snowbirds like to think of our driving laws down here, they’re pretty awesome considering most people who are 16 years old already have acquired a license. In most states up north, the legal driving age is 17, however in Florida the legal driving age with a license is 16 years old. The moment I turned 15, I got to take my learners permit test. Once I received my permit, I was on the road with my mom or dad in the car. They made me drive everywhere from school to the beach to Orlando all at just the young age of 15. Northerners believe that is too young of an age to learn how to drive, but I turned out alright, and frankly so did most of my peers. Almost all of the people I went to high school with had their own cars and were driving to school by the time they were in their junior year of high school, and bus services were no longer offered to them.
The Beautiful Cities
Most people think Florida is just a state where people go to retire. Well, technically it is… I can’t deny that, however it is much more than that. Florida is way more than just a place for old people, tourists and swamps. Florida has numerous beautiful cities that have grown over the years. Since I am a city girl, I will like to show you what the city life and nightlife is like throughout the state.
Tampa
Let me start by showing you my home city of Tampa, Florida (area code 813). As I said before, Tampa is located on the Gulf of Mexico. It is currently Florida’s third largest city with a population of nearly 3.1 million residents as of 2018. It is also Florida’s №1 fastest growing city making it the second largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the state, and the fourth largest in the Southeastern United States, behind Washington, D.C., Miami, and Atlanta. The Greater Tampa Bay area, has over 4 million residents and generally includes the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas. The city had a population of 335,709 in 2010, which shows just how many people and businesses have moved here within a 10 year span.
Tampa is known to be the biggest city in Florida for business owners and entrepreneurs. If you’re a brand new business owner, Tampa has been ranked as the best city for those individuals to live. A majority of people have brought their businesses to Tampa for a number of reasons: 1. The weather is perfect and 2. It is a continuous growing community. Within the last five years, various apartment complexes and residential areas have been constructed in the city of Tampa (which made the traffic a lot heavier) because so many people are moving here. In the 1980s, Tampa wasn’t as well known as a city and would’ve probably been seen as one of Florida’s smaller towns. The traffic wasn’t too heavy, and there weren’t too many neighborhoods. Today, it is completely different. The population has grown tremendously and the city is still expanding. With still more buildings and businesses planned in Tampa’s downtown and Westshore areas, many future predictions have said that Tampa may be just as big as Boston or Chicago within the next 10 years. Tampa is also ranked №2 in the United States as the best city for college kids.
- Note: As a native who grew up here, I can attest that the city has gotten a lot bigger compared to how I remember it as a young child. I was born on October 26, 1995, and being born in that era, I almost feel like the city grew up with me. I grew up in the Carrollwood area of Tampa. It seems as I grew into my teen years, the city got more and more congested with people. More and more businesses were being introduced around my neighborhood. And soon, the places that I remember as a kid changed into something different. Dale Mabry, the street that I lived off of, is full of businesses that weren’t even there when I was in elementary school. And my parents, who moved to Tampa in the late 80s, even said that Tampa wasn’t that big when they first bought their house.
- The news of Tampa being as big as Chicago or Boston made me happy and sad at the same time. I like how much my hometown has grown, but at the same time, traffic is only going to get worse and rent and living wages will only increase. I live with my boyfriend in his apartment and try to help him as much as I can. On a positive note, this is really good for Tampa’s job markets.
Tampa contains three different counties: Hillsborough County, Pasco County and Pinellas County. The city also contains multiple different areas depending on how close or far you are away from Tampa’s downtown area.
Downtown Tampa has an abundance of everything, from dining, museums, beautiful waterfront views. The one thing that I would say is not in Downtown Tampa is nightlife. You won’t see a whole lot of clubs down here because it is a business area. (I will talk about the places to go for nightlife in a second). However, even if there isn’t a whole lot of nightlife, downtown Tampa still has a lot of events happening every single day.
Want to see a concert or watch a Lightning hockey game? Come down to Amalie Arena. It’s right in the heart of downtown Tampa! And even if you don’t have tickets to go inside and watch the game live, NHL holds a broadcast right outside so that people can watch it on the big screen TV. Fans dressed in Lightning Blue pack the stadium all the time, and even on the outside people sit outside and watch it.
Amalie Arena has three levels of seating. The best places to sit are normally the floor seats closest to the ice or the Suite seats (which my father normally gets tickets for because he gets them from his work.) On the very top level there is a restaurant where people can dine on the upper deck. They also offer various choices of food for Lightning fans (and fans of opposing teams). Restaurants such as Holy Hog BBQ (where you can get the best brisket sandwich in Tampa), Outback Steakhouse, PDQ, Winghouse Bar & Grill, Mr. Empanada, Ford’s Garage (if you’re in the mood for a really good burger), Firestick Grill, and Smokes Poutinerie (if you want some Canadian Poutine).
- Note: I tried the Poutine but I wasn’t sure if it was how Poutine was supposed to taste. My friend Anya who lives in Toronto with her mom for a couple months out of the year said it was pretty close to real poutine, so I have no other choice but to trust her judgment since she would know a little more than me in that area.
Multiple famous music artists have performed at Amalie Arena such as Ariana Grande (Sweetener World Tour), Lady Gaga (Joanne World Tour), The Jonas Brothers (Happiness Begins Tour), Justin Bieber (My World Tour), Britney Spears (The Circus Starring Britney Spears World Tour) and many more.
University of Tampa (UT) is a private nonreligious university located in the heart of downtown Tampa. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 14 master’s degrees and a broad variety of majors, minors, pre-professional programs, and certificates.
Plant Hall, UT’s central building, once housed the Tampa Bay Hotel, a resort built by Henry B. Plant in 1891, and the Moorish minarets atop the distinctive structure have long been seen as an “iconic symbol” of Tampa.
The Straz Center is located downtown on a 9-acre (36,000 m2) site along the east bank of the Hillsborough River. As the second largest performing arts complex in the Southeastern United States (behind the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts), the 335,000-square-foot (31,100 m2) venue provides an environment for a variety of events. It has a leading Broadway series and produces grand opera, as well as presenting a variety of concerts, performances, graduations and events.
Many Broadway shows have been performed at the Straz such as The Lion King, Chicago, and Hamilton.
- Note: I’ve been to the Straz on multiple occasions. For one, I graduated here and I’ve had many of my old dance recitals take place here. I also came here to support my boyfriend Jack since he was a talented actor for many years. In elementary school he portrayed Mr. Warbucks in Annie, in middle school he portrayed Scrooge during a production of A Christmas Carol, and during his senior year of high school he played Kenicke from the musical Grease. (I was dating him at that point) I supported him through all of it, because we were best friends, and all of those memories took place at this exact theater, The Straz.
The Tampa Theatre is a historic U.S. theater and city landmark in the Uptown District of Tampa, Florida.
The theatre features a wide range of independent, foreign, and documentary films on a daily basis. It is Tampa’s only non-profit movie palace, and operating costs are supported by its members, donors and corporate sponsors, as well as by ticket and concessions sales. It has often been used as a backdrop for movies, music videos and local programming.
The architecture of the Tampa Theater is very beautiful. It has a very 1940s vibe to it. Strangely enough, there has been some paranormal activity caught at the Tampa Theater as well. I’m not sure how many people actually believe in ghosts, but an old projectionist who worked here in the 1940s died of a heart attack in the projection room.
Since then, there have been sightings of a few spirits in the theater.
- Note: I know some people question paranormal activity, but I have had my own paranormal experience at this very theater. I was 8 years old and was with one of my friends for her acting camp. I went to the little girls room alone because I had to go to the bathroom. I was the only one in there, at least I thought I was. Eventually, I heard a male voice mumbling. I told my parents this, and they thought I heard a man outside the ladies room, but the man’s voice sounded like it was in the stall next to mine. I thought it was so weird that a man was in the woman’s room, and he sounded like he was an adult… maybe in his 40s. At first, I ignored it, and thought maybe I was just sleep deprived since I hadn’t slept a whole lot the night before. When I got out of the stall, I felt this random cold spot. But that’s not even the worst part. When I went to wash my hands, I felt someone’s finger on my neck. It was like a tingly electric feeling. I ran out of there so quick and I haven’t returned to the Tampa Theater since that day…
The Tampa Convention Center is a mid-sized convention center located in downtown Tampa, Florida at the mouth of the Hillsborough River. It has both waterfront views of Tampa Bay and views of the city’s skyline. Harbour Island is across the eponymous bridge on the other side of the Garrison Channel. The center is connected to the neighboring Channelside District and Ybor City via the TECO Streetcar Line, which has a station across the street. It has a 200,000 square feet exhibit hall, a ballroom capable of accommodating over 2,000 guests, and 36 meeting rooms that can be adjusted to various sizes. The facility hosts over 300 events per year including The Tampa Bay Comic Con, Metrocon, Art Shows, weddings and other events happen here.
When I competed in gymnastics, a lot of my State Competitions took place at the Tampa Convention Center.
Armature Works is a fully restored mixed-use building that breathes new life into the historic Tampa Heights neighborhood. With its unobstructed view of the Hillsborough River, the historic structure has been reinvented as a premier community destination with innovative eateries, Heights Public Market, reimagined event spaces and an exclusive co working space.
Armature Works offers multiple dining options such as Sushi, BBQ, Roman Noodles, Ice Cream, Cuban Sandwiches, Empanadas, A Coffee Shop, NY Style Pizza and Spicy Fried Chicken. There is also a patio where people can soak up the sun and eat. If you have dogs, it is a very pet friendly place. During the nights, Armature Works normally hosts Tampa Bay Lightning watch parties. During Christmas Time, Tampa hosts a Christmas Boat Parade right outside of Armature Works.
I love Armature Works. Jack and I have gone on some of our dates here, and it never disappoints us.
The Oxford Exchange is Tampa’s classic brunch spot. Many UT students come here to do their homework and study, however a lot others come here for Mimosas and the delicious pancakes. The restaurant is entirely European inspired with the original building built in the 1800s.
My friends and I have been here for brunch and we always went here to study while we were in college.
Tampa Riverwalk is a 2.6-mile-long (4.2 km) open space and pedestrian trail development along the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida. The downtown Tampa portion runs alongside the Tampa Arts District and allows access to Curtis Hixon Park, MacDill Park, Tampa Museum of Art, Glazer Children’s Museum, Rivergate Tower, and adjacent atrium containing the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. The Riverwalk extends along most of the downtown Tampa waterfront from near the Channelside District west to the Tampa Convention Center and north up the east bank of the Hillsborough River to Water Works Park in Tampa Heights, forming a continuous path connecting multiple parks, attractions, public spaces, and hotels. According to the city, the purpose of the Riverwalk is to “enhance the image of Tampa as a beautiful and unique destination” and highlight Tampa’s waterfront.
Riverwalk is one of my favorite places to explore in downtown!
Situated along Garrison Channel in downtown Tampa, Sparkman Wharf celebrates the best of Tampa with waterfront views, craft beer, live music and exceptional dining. People can lay out on the lawn, have a drink at The Biergarten, which provides over 30 beers on tap, and listen to the live bands that play. Sparkman Wharf also offers shady areas and fresh food and gelato.
I remember this place as Channelside District, and I’ve been here for many Tampa Bay Lightning Watch Parties, especially when they were in the playoffs.
The Florida Aquarium is a 501 not-for-profit organization, publicly operated institution located in downtown Tampa. They are a leader in conservation and education, supporting programs for wildlife and having a strong educational component in the forms of summer camps, school trips, etc. The facility is home to more than 7,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida and all over the world.
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park is an 8 acres public park located along the Hillsborough river in downtown Tampa. The park is adjacent to the Tampa Riverwalk. The water fountains often turn different colors depending on the various events that happen in the Tampa Bay area. The park overlooks the University of Tampa’s Plant Hall, which is directly across the river.
Bayshore Boulevard is a waterfront road on Hillsborough Bay located south of downtown Tampa. It is the longest continuous sidewalk in the United States at 4.5 miles long, is 10 feet wide and is widely used for recreation and exercise. The sidewalk’s conveniences include benches, a water fountain, bicycle parking, a city marina, and workout stations. Many large and historic homes line the road, as well as businesses. The Gasparilla Children’s parade is held on a section of the road.
Davis Island is one of the most sought-after places to live in the greater Tampa Bay area. It is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city and is located in close proximity to some major highlights of South Tampa including Hyde Park, Harbor Island, Downtown Tampa, the Tampa Riverwalk,Sparkman’s Wharf and Channelside. Many wealthy people live in Davis Island. Some of its residents include Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov who both play for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Davis Islands is a very active community as you will notice regular cyclist, paddle boarders, joggers, and more. People also love living on Davis Islands because of the walkability and the small community feel inside of a sizeable city. Families love Davis Islands because of the top-rated public schools in this part of Tampa.
Located in South Tampa, Hyde Park Village is an outdoor lifestyle center offering a unique shopping, dining and entertainment experience. With a mix of national, regional and local retailers, the Village features a variety of shops and restaurants including an upscale cinema, full service salon, Sprinkles Tampa, Timpano Chophouse & Martini Bar, Goody Goody Burgers, The Wine Exchange, Irish 31 and more.
MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida.
MacDill Air Force Base, located in south Tampa, was constructed as MacDill Field, a U.S. Army Air Corps, later U.S. Army Air Forces, installation just prior to World War II. MacDill AFB is also home to the headquarters for two of the U.S. military’s unified combatant commands: Headquarters, United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), and Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Both commands are independent from one another and each is commanded by a respective 4-star general or admiral.
Many United States Presidents have visited the MacDill Air Force Base such as President Trump and President Obama.
Ybor City is a historic neighborhood in Tampa, Florida, located just northeast of downtown. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and was populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from Cuba, Spain, and Italy. For the next 50 years, workers in Ybor City’s cigar factories rolled hundreds of millions of cigars annually, making Tampa known worldwide as “Cigar City”. In the 1990s and early 2000s, a portion of the original neighborhood around 7th Avenue developed into a night club and entertainment district, and many old buildings were renovated for new uses. Since then, the area’s economy has diversified with more offices and residences, and the population has shown notable growth for the first time in over half a century.
Ybor City has been designated as a National Historic Landmark District, and several structures in the area are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 2008, 7th Avenue, the main commercial thoroughfare in Ybor City, was recognized as one of the “10 Great Streets in America” by the American Planning Association.
Ybor is home to many great night clubs such as the Coyote Ugly Saloon (much like the bar from the 2001 film of the same name), The Castle, The Honey Pot (Tampa’s iconic gay bar), and Gaspar’s Grotto. In the heart of the city was an AMC Centro Ybor 10, however that officially closed in 2019.
And if you’re into the paranormal, Ybor City is known to be the most haunted area in Tampa since it has so much history behind it. One haunted place is the Don Vicente Hotel, which is considered one of the most haunted places in the U.S.A. The city offers haunted tours during the day and at night.
International Plaza and Bay Street is the dominant shopping mall and dining destination on the west coast of Florida, located adjacent to the Tampa International Airport.
International Plaza is a traditional enclosed shopping mall anchored by Dillard’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and LifeTime Athletic.
Bay Street, a more modern open-air shopping center, is anchored by Restoration Hardware, and primarily features restaurants including The Capital Grille, The Cheesecake Factory, and Bar Louie among others. A Renaissance Hotel, with 293 rooms and 12,500 square feet of meeting space, connects directly to Bay Street.
The International Mall is known as Tampa’s largest mall.
Westshore Plaza is a neighboring mall to International. It was the very first shopping mall built in the Tampa area. The mall’s anchors are JCPenney, flagship Macy’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, and an AMC movie theater, with one vacant anchor last occupied by Sears. Restaurants include P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, Irish 31, the Bay Area’s only Maggiano’s Little Italy, Seasons 52, and Mitchell’s Fish Market Restaurant and there is also a kids play area near JCPenney. Major developments are in being planned for the future of this mall with an image of the final project will look like within the next couple of years.
Tampa International Airport (TIA) is an international airport six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Tampa. It was the very first airport in the world to introduce Landside Terminals, which is an elevated automated people mover (APM) system to help people get to their gates faster. It is like a subway train that transports people to their correct gates and airlines.
Today, there are four active airsides (A, C, E, and F) with 59 gates. Tampa International Airport ranks as the №3 Best Large Airport according to Forbes.
Raymond James Stadium, also known as “Ray Jay”, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Tampa, Florida. It is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) as well as the NCAA’s South Florida Bulls football team. The stadium seats 65,618. With the addition of temporary seating, it can be expanded to 75,000 for special events.
Raymond James Stadium hosted Super Bowls XXXV and XLIII, as well as the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship which featured the Clemson Tigers vs the Alabama Crimson Tide. It is also set to host WrestleMania 36 on April 5, 2020 and Super Bowl LV on February 7, 2021.
Ray Jay also hosted numerous famous artists for concerts such as Taylor Swift (1989 & Reputation World Tours) and One Direction (Where We Are Tour).
I personally have been to Ray Jay on multiple occasions, mainly for USF Football Games! Go Bulls!
The Shops at Wiregrass is an open-air lifestyle center in Wesley Chapel, Pasco County, Florida in Tampa. In addition to free parking lots, valet parking, and a parking structure, there are streetside parking spaces at meters along its central street, Paseo Drive. The total size of the property is 850,000 square feet of both retail and restaurant space. The center currently features over 100 different shops including many popular restaurants and eateries such as Pinchers, Red Robin, Yamatos Japanese Restaurant, Panera Bread, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and Grillsmith. They also offer a wide selection of clothing, shoe and health and beauty stores for the entire family. The mall is anchored by Dillard’s, Macy’s, Barnes and Nobles, and J. C. Penney. In addition the center is home to a growing number of nightlife venues. Regularly scheduled events are held at the development’s Center Court, which also contains a children’s play space and an outdoor moving train attraction.
I live pretty close to Wiregrass Mall, so I shop here almost all the time. The fact its outdoors makes it really nice and during the Christmas season they feature a Christmas Light show called Symphony in Lights.
I live very close to this mall and it is one of the better malls in the Tampa area. It is also very beautiful during Christmas time.
The Tampa Premium Outlet Mall is a neighboring mall to Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel in Tampa, Florida. It is another outdoor mall that features numerous designer stores and multiple options of dining with a beautiful fountain scenery.
This mall is also very close to me, and I come here almost all the time and order either Chick-Fil-A or Starbucks while I shop.
And finally… the last thing I love about living in Tampa…THE GASPARILLA PARADE!
The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is a large parade and a host of related community events held in Tampa, Florida almost every year since 1904. The theme of the festivities is the legend of José Gaspar (also known as Gasparilla), a mythical Spanish pirate who supposedly operated in Southwest Florida from the late 1700s until the early 1800s. The main event of the festival is the Parade of Pirates. The tradition of the parade begins by recreating a “pirate invasion” led by Jose Gaspar’s ship. members of YMKG, accompanied by a flotilla of hundreds of smaller private boats, sail across Tampa Bay to downtown Tampa on the Jose Gasparilla, a 147' long flat-bottomed “pirate” ship which was specially built for this purpose in 1954. The ship moors beside the Tampa Convention Center around noon accompanied by much cannon fire, after which the “pirate captain” and his crew disembark and demand that the mayor hand over the key to the city in a playful ceremony which has had different outcomes in different years. Whether or not the mayor actually “surrenders”, the pirates hold their “victory parade” through the streets of Tampa, with most of the route running along Bayshore Boulevard into downtown. Since 2011, the parade route has ended near Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, where musical performances and other activities continue into the evening hours. Gaspar’s ship is normally followed by other Tampa natives who own yachts and boats and they set sail early in the morning on the Hillsborough River.
The Gasparilla Parade always happens during the last week of January and the first week of February. Before the invasion, Tampa celebrates the Gasparilla Childrens Parade which happens a weekend prior to the event. The Childrens Parade is more family friendly compared to the big invasion and no alcohol is permitted. The Children’s event takes place on Bayshore Blvd.
Alcohol is permitted at the adult parade, and people normally begin drinking around 9am and drink all the way until the parade ends, which is about 5–6pm. There are a lot more cops at the adult parade due to almost everyone being drunk. The Sant’Yago Illuminated Knight Parade (sometimes referred to as the “Gasparilla Night Parade”) has been organized since 1972 by the Krewe of the Knights of Sant’Yago. It is held in the historical neighborhood of Ybor City on a Saturday night, usually two weeks after the Parade of Pirates in mid-February. The Knight Parade features a similar mix of participants as the Parade of Pirates, though most of the floats are brightly illuminated since the event begins after dark. Though it once had a reputation of being the most “adult-oriented” parade of Tampa’s Gasparilla season, organizers have tried to reduce drunkenness and unruly behavior in recent years and have promoted it as a family-friendly event, with some success.
Other large-scale events held during the Gasparilla season include the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts (established 1970), the Gasparilla Distance Classic (established 1978), the Gasparilla Film Festival (established 2006), and the Gasparilla Music Festival (established 2013).[24] A changing lineup of smaller events held in Tampa during the first months of the year also use the Gasparilla name.
I’ve been to Gasparilla many times with my friends and I almost always have a blast. I got to dress like a pirate, collect beads and drink! Although, if you’re under 21, be very careful. Cops are very strict on those who are underage at Gasparilla. If they even see an underage person just holding a beer can, but not drinking it, they will arrest them.
St. Petersburg
Known as “Tampa’s Sister City”, St. Petersburg (area code 727) is a classic business and beach area all in one. As of the 2018 census estimate, it is the fifth most populated city in Florida with a total of 2.8 million residents. The city directly neighbors Tampa and the cities are connected by the Howard Franklin Bridge.
Due to its good weather and low cost of living, the city has long been a popular retirement destination, although in recent years the population has moved in a much more youthful direction. American Style magazine ranked St. Petersburg its top mid-size city in 2011, citing its “vibrant” arts scene.
St. Pete is home to numerous tourist destinations and has a lively nightlife scene.
The Don Cesar (nicknamed “The Pink Castle” or “The Pink Palace”) is a historic and iconic hotel in the heart of St. Petersburg and located right on St. Pete Beach. Developed by Thomas Rowe and opened in 1928, it gained renown as the Gulf playground for America’s pampered rich at the height of the Jazz Age and it still serves as a popular retreat for the rich and famous of today. The Don CeSar is a member of Historic Hotels of America.
The hotel quickly became a favorite romping ground for the rich and famous of the Jazz Age including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Clarence Darrow, Al Capone, Lou Gehrig, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Pink Palace continued to attract the rich and famous throughout the Great Depression, thanks in part to a deal made with New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert to house his team during spring training for three years. More modern-day visitors to the hotel include Presidents’ Jimmy Carter, George Bush, and Bill Clinton. Ann-Margret, Sophia Loren, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Tom Petty also have stayed at the Don.
This hotel is known for its fine dining, elegant rooms, spectacular views, swimming pools, and personal trainers but it is also known for its paranormal activity. Some feel the odd sensations they experience and the eerie noises they hear during their visit can be attributed to the fact that the resort in the 1940s, was converted to a VA hospital. It is said that some spirits of the dead from this time still linger at the hotel.
But the most famous ghost at the hotel is its original owner, Thomas Rowe.
In the 1890s Rowe was a student in London. He attended an opera where a beautiful lady by the name of Lucinda sang one of the lead roles. It is said he immediately fell in in love with Lucinda and the two met regularly.
Unfortunately for the young couple, Lucinda’s parents did not approve of the match due to the fact Thomas did not attend the same church. Lucinda’s parents quickly escorted their daughter back to Spain, and the two lovers never saw each other again.
Thomas tried to write to Lucinda but his letters were always returned unopened. It is said that Lucinda died of a broken heart.
Thomas did receive one letter she wrote to him just before she died. Devastated, he read in her letter that she professed she still loved him, but she wondered why he had not written to her as he had promised.
When he moved to America, vowing to never love another, Thomas set out to build his resort. He had a fountain made that was an exact replica of one he and Lucinda had often met outside the Royal Opera House. He created this fountain as a symbol of their undying love.
Thomas Rowe died in 1940, but it is said he has never left the magnificent hotel he put so much of his love, time and dreams into.
Employees and guests for years have reported seeing Rowe’s ghost at the Don CeSar. It is said he still likes to “oversee” the daily operations of the hotel.
I have never actually stayed at this hotel, however I have been there many times with my friends. Whenever we go to the beach, we like to walk along the beach to the Don Cesar and get ice cream from their ice cream shop. We walk through the hotel and there is normally little shops and the lobby is very beautiful, it makes you feel like you walked into the elegant life of 1920s. When I get married one day, I have always wanted my wedding to happen at this hotel, although I also know that it will be very *insert f bomb here* expensive…
Central Avenue is probably the most lively street in St. Petersburg, especially on First Fridays. Down this street is the city’s most lively clubs, restaurants, art studios and shopping areas. There are also a ton of business buildings down this street. When I was in college, I worked in one of the buildings on this street. I was an intern at an advertising agency. It was great because I just rode my bike to work from my apartment and I didn’t even need my car half the time I lived in St. Pete because everything was so close to each other.
First Fridays is a once a month event that takes place in St. Petersburg on Central Avenue. On the first Friday of the month, Central Avenue turns into the biggest block party. It is a showcase for the great bands, great drinks, and great food.
Vinoy Park is an 11.6-acre park located on the downtown waterfront of St. Petersburg, Florida. The downtown waterfront park hosts yearly events including St. Petersburg’s Ribfest, Tampa Bay’s Blues Festival, Christmas displays, and various other events such as art festivals, concerts, and triathlons.
Whenever Jack would come visit me from Tallahassee, he would take me here after our date. It is very beautiful at night because you can see a view of the whole city. We would normally sit on the bench in the park, talk, listen to the city, and make out for most of the time.
Like Central Avenue, Beach Drive is another lively street in downtown St. Petersburg. What makes it different in comparison to Central is that Beach Drive has a lot more upscale shopping areas and restaurants rather than clubs and bars. During Christmas time, the entire street is decorated in lights and during the Fourth of July and New Years Eve, firework displays are usually blown in a very close proximity to Beach Dr. When Jack took me out, he would usually take me to The Birchwood, which is one of the restaurants located on Beach Dr. An AMC Theater is within a few blocks of this street as well. You’ll find a lot of Sushi Bars, Ice Cream Shops and British Cuisine restaurants along this street.
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge or simply the Skyway, is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Lower Tampa Bay connecting St. Petersburg, Florida to Terra Ceia and Sarasota. It represents a huge landmark of both Tampa and St. Petersburg. It is the highest and largest bridge in the state of Florida.
Unfortunately, the Skyway is also known to be a huge location for suicides. According to compilations from various media reports as of 2009, at least 207 people have committed suicide by jumping from the center span into the waters of Tampa Bay since the opening of the current bridge in 1987 and an estimated 34 others have tried but survived. Another 51 people ended their lives from the old Sunshine Skyway from 1954 to 1987. Several other missing persons are suspected of having jumped from the bridge but their deaths could not be confirmed as no bodies were recovered. Because of this, the Skyway has been listed as another haunted location with the Tampa/St. Pete area and within the state of Florida. Some boaters and sailors who often sail underneath the bridge have reported seeing apparitions of people in the water.
The Salvador Dalí Museum is an art museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, dedicated to the works of Salvador Dalí. It houses the largest collection of Dalí’s works outside Europe. The museum’s collection includes 96 oil paintings, over 100 watercolors and drawings, 1,300 graphics, photographs, sculptures and objets d’art, and an extensive archival library.
My apartment complex had a nice view of the Dali Museum and the Gulf of Mexico, I absolutely loved living there.
The St. Petersburg Pier, known locally as The Pier, was a landmark pleasure pier extending into Tampa Bay from downtown St. Petersburg. It featured a five-story inverted pyramid-shaped building. It was a huge tourist destination that included multiple shops and dining while being surrounded by the Gulf waters. In 2013, the old Pier was torn down and is currently in the middle of a rebuild. The new Pier will look exactly like the second image above.
When I was a child I used to come here with my family all the time. There was a mini aquarium inside on the second floor, and we would usually eat dinner at Cha Cha Coconuts on the top floor. The restaurant was an outdoor and indoor eatery that served a lot of delicious seafood, including Coconut Shrimp.
Pier 60 is another popular beach that neighbors St. Pete Beach. It features a 1,080-foot fishing pier and recreational park, with a bait house, telescopes and six covered pavilions. The Pier 60 bait house offers a complete line of fishing tackle, T-shirts, souvenirs, drinks and snacks, as well as rental equipment, a full line of bait and a staff that is knowledgeable and eager to assist.
This is a huge spring break beach for high school and college aged kids. This is where my gymnastics teammates and I used to come after a successful season. The water was always warm and refreshing!
Tropicana Field, also commonly known as The Trop, is a domed stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, that has been the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) since the team’s inaugural season in 1998. In 2008, the Trop hosted a few of the games during the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
I’ve been to the Trop countless of times. For one, I always had a gymnastics competition there, and secondly, I went to many Rays Baseball games. During my Sports Journalism Class in college, our professor hooked us up with Press Box passes for the Rays. We got to interview some of the players and watch the game in the Press Box. Of course, we had to write a 500 word sports story with quotes and all and turn it in within 2 days, but it was so worth it.
The Saturday Morning Market is the largest weekly fresh market in the Southeast U.S. serving around 10,000 customers a week with its 130 vendors offering everything from fresh produce to homemade soaps to ready to eat food from 15 different nationalities. The market, which is free to enter, runs from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. every Saturday at Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Pete.
My roommate and I have shopped here multiple times when we lived in our apartment out here in St. Pete. It was always a nice walk and we would get some of our groceries for the week.
Orlando
Besides Disney World, there are many amazing things about Orlando, Florida. Downtown Orlando has so many things to offer such as dining areas, shopping areas and an amazing nightlife scene.
Lake Eola Park is a public park located in Downtown Orlando, Florida. Lake Eola is the main feature of the park. Also located in the park (on the west side) is the Walt Disney Amphitheater, which hosts many community events and various performances year round. On the east side of the park is a Chinese pagoda, and a playground. The park is surrounded by four streets: East Robinson Street (State Road 526), Rosalind Avenue (SR 527), East Central Boulevard, and North Eola Drive.
Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (commonly known as Dr. Phillips Center) is a performing arts center in Downtown Orlando, Florida, United States. Much like the Straz in Tampa, Dr. Phillips hosts many musical shows, graduations and concerts. The bid difference between the two is the Straz is much bigger in size. Some notable people who have performed here is famous YouTuber Markiplier while he was on tour.
The Amway Center is a major sports arena and entertainment venue in Orlando, Florida, located in the Downtown area of the city. The arena is home to the Orlando Magic of the NBA.
Many famous musicians and artists have performed at the Amway Center including Ariana Grande, The Jonas Brothers, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and many more.
Orlando International Premium Outlets (formerly Prime Outlets-Orlando) is an outdoor outlet mall in Orlando, Florida, along the northern end of International Drive.
The sprawling complex has two components, the main center and its separate Outlet Marketplace Center with 20 stores. There are over 180 stores at Orlando Premium Outlets-International Drive including Neiman Marcus Last Call, Nike Factory Store, Reebok, Saks Fifth Avenue Off Fifth, and Victoria’s Secret Factory Store.
Wall Street Plaza is a big nightlife area in downtown Orlando. It features seven bars all within the same vicinity. Locals and visitors alike flock to Wall Street each day to enjoy the food and comfortable atmosphere of Cantina, Waitiki, and Sauced, while thousands of people plan their weekends around the world famous Wall Street Plaza Block Parties that happen every Friday and Saturday night.
Unfortunately, the Orlando Nightclub Shooting in 2016 will leave a permanent stain to the city’s history and the entire state of Florida. It was marked as the most deadliest shooting on U.S soil since the 9/11 attacks in 2001. I still wanted to list the Pulse Nightclub on the list because it is now a memorial for all those who died on the night of June 12, 2016 in Orlando’s iconic gay bar.
I was not in Florida when this horrible incident occurred since I traveled to Buffalo, NY to visit my family. However, I saw it on the news late at night when I was staying with my Aunt, Uncle and my older cousin Mike. I was completely devastated to hear what was going on back at home. And to make matters worse, the shooting happened only an hour and a half away from Tampa, my home city, and was also worried because my best friend lived in Orlando and went out often. I texted her immediately asking if she was okay, since I had no idea if she had decided to go bar hopping that night. Thankfully, she stayed in that night.
St. Augustine
My fourth favorite city is the oldest city in America, St. Augustine. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement within the borders of the continental United States. The city is full of multiple historic sites where Spanish-American Wars were fought and a lot of blood was shed. Even today, the city has kept all of its historic landmarks and tourists from all over the world travel here to see the beautiful city. Not to mention, St. Augustine is known as the most haunted city in the state of Florida, so if you’re into ghosts, this is a city you need to check out. Almost every paranormal investigator in the country has made a trip to this very city to dig into the city’s dark past.
The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for “St. Mark’s Castle”) is the oldest and largest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. The Castillo was designed by the Spanish engineer Ignacio Daza, with construction beginning in 1672, 107 years after the city’s founding by Spanish Admiral and conquistador Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, when Florida was part of the Spanish Empire. The fort’s construction was ordered by Governor Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega after a raid by the English privateer Robert Searles in 1668 that destroyed much of St. Augustine and damaged the existing wooden fort. Work proceeded under the administration of Guerra’s successor, Manuel de Cendoya in 1671, and the first coquina stones were laid in 1672. The construction of the core of the current fortress was completed in 1695, though it would undergo many alterations and renovations over the centuries.
Castillo de San Marcos was attacked several times and twice besieged: first by English colonial forces led by Carolina Colony Governor James Moore in 1702, and then by English Georgia colonial Governor James Oglethorpe in 1740, but was never taken by force. Today, you can still see the damage from the missiles and bombs marked on the Castillo.
Under United States control the fort was used as a military prison to incarcerate members of Native American tribes starting with the Seminole — including the famous war chief, Osceola, in the Second Seminole War — and members of western tribes, including Geronimo’s band of Chiricahua Apache.
There’s plenty of things to do at the Castillo, from the numerous rooms that once housed soldiers and prisoners, to the large interior courtyard and gun deck which offers a great view of the city. Regular daily programs and ranger-led tours are free with admission, as are cannon firings and weaponry demonstrations, which are offered (weather and staffing permitting) on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
I visited the Castillo from July 4–7, 2019 for a wedding. It was fascinating exploring all of the rooms inside. I also got to do a paranormal investigation there and it was awesome!
The Castillo was featured in an episode of Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel.
The St. Augustine Light Station is a private-aid to navigation and an active, working lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. The current lighthouse stands at the north end of Anastasia Island and was built between 1871 and 1874. The tower is the second lighthouse tower in St. Augustine, the first being lit officially by the American territorial government in May 1824 as Florida’s first lighthouse.
The Lighthouse is also used as a museum. It aims to preserve local maritime history, keep alive the story of the nation’s oldest port, and connect young people to marine sciences. The museum board and staff also work to help save other lighthouses in Florida and across the nation, coordinating efforts with several federal agencies and volunteer groups such as the Florida Lighthouse Association.
Like the Castillo, the Lighthouse has also been a huge hotspot for paranormal activity. It was featured on the show called Ghost Hunters which premieres on A&E.
Aviles Street is the oldest street in the USA and rich in history and culture. On this ancient picturesque cobblestone street you can also discover Aviles Street’s several historical museums, a historic well, shops and galleries with antique prints, local art and custom jewelry, Several Bed and Breakfasts’, a cocktail bar and several restaurants serving Cuban, Greek, Polish , Italian and American cuisine, and peace pies. What used to be old houses and hospitals in the 1500s on this street turned into Bed & Breakfasts and Museums.
Located in the heart of Old Town,(2 blocks west from the city marina) head southeast from St. George Street across the plaza. Look for the archway and the authentic cobblestone street.
Aviles Street in St. Augustine is the oldest street in the nation — we know because archaeologists digging several layers under the brick paving, recently found pottery shards from the early 1600s. This historic street is also St. Augustine’s original artist district, dating back to the 1930s when the Hamblin Hardware warehouse at 11 Aviles Street was transformed into studio and gallery spaces for artists.
When I took a ghost tour in St. Augustine, my group and I got to investigate this entire street. According to our guide, many people died on that street due to sickness, especially with the hospital being located on that street as well.
The Spanish Military Hospital Museum is located at 3 Aviles Street, St. Augustine, Florida. The museum covers the Second Spanish Period (1784–1821) medical practices. The hospital was a three part facility consisting of Hospital West (constructed in the First Spanish Period), Hospital East (constructed during the British Period) and the Apothecary in the William Watson House (constructed in the British Period). These three parts plus their outbuildings and gardens functioned as a hospital complex during the Second Spanish Period. Aviles Street (which runs between the two wings of the hospital) was called Hospital Street until it was renamed in 1924.
The hospital was strictly a military facility; only military were treated there and only military personnel worked on the staff.
Hospital West burned in 1818 and the remaining parts of the hospital stayed in operation until two years into the American Territorial Period and officially closed down in 1823. Hospital East was destroyed in the fire of 1895. The Watson House still stands today.
While on the ghost tour, the tour guide informed us that a malevolent female spirit inhabits the museum. She evidently committed suicide after her husband, who was in the military, died in the hospital of his wounds. All of the people who have encountered her during their tours have been women specifically. It is not determined why, however, the tour guide explained that after the death of her husband, she was infuriated with the nursing staff (all of whom were female) who failed to cure him and nurse him back to health She blamed all of the women for his death and told them that his blood was on their hands. A few years later, she killed herself in a very gruesome manner. By beheading herself on Aviles Street. For decades, many reports of women have fallen mysteriously ill after visiting the museum. The guide also told us, especially the ladies, to not look into the upstairs window on the side of the building, since her spirit is always watching people outside that window. He warned the girls that many women who have had done ghost tours with him, including his own girlfriend, have either been scratched, pushed, or have felt sick from either looking into the window or being inside the building.
The Lightner Museum is a museum of antiquities, mostly American Gilded Age pieces, housed within the historic Hotel Alcazar building in downtown St. Augustine. This 1887 Spanish Renaissance Revival style building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel was commissioned by Henry Flagler, to appeal to wealthy tourists who traveled south for the winter on his railroad, the Florida East Coast Railway. It was designed by New York City architects Carrère and Hastings, in the Spanish Renaissance Revival style. The firm also designed the Ponce de León Hotel across the street, now part of the campus of Flagler College. Both structures are notable for being among the earliest examples of poured concrete buildings in the world. The hotel had a steam room, massage parlor, sulfur baths, gymnasium, a three-story ballroom, and the world’s largest indoor swimming pool; however, after years as an elegant winter resort for wealthy patrons, the hotel closed in 1932.
On August 20, 1947 Chicago publisher Otto C. Lightner purchased the building to convert the old hotel into a hobbies museum. He used the space to house several collections, including his own extensive collection of victorian era art. He then turned it over to the city of St. Augustine and the museum opened to the public in 1948. The museum occupies three floors of the former Hotel Alcazar and is housed in the former health facilities of the hotel, including the spa and the Turkish bath, in addition to its three-story ballroom.
The first floor of the museum houses a Victorian village, with shop fronts representing emporia selling period wares; a Victorian Science and Industry Room displays shells, rocks, minerals, and Native American artifacts in beautiful Gilded Age cases, as well as stuffed birds, a small Egyptian mummy, a model steam engine, elaborate examples of Victorian glassblowing, a golden elephant bearing the world on its back, and a shrunken head. Moreover, the first floor contains a music room, filled with mechanized musical instruments — including player pianos, reproducing pianos, orchestrions, and others — dating from the 1870s through the 1920s. The second floor contains examples of cut glass, Victorian art glass and stained glass work from Louis Comfort Tiffany’s studio. The third floor, in the ballroom’s upper balcony, exhibits paintings, sculptures, and furniture, including a grande escritoire created for Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother and King of Holland between 1806 and 1810.
The Old Jail (also known as Authentic Old Jail) is a historic jail in St. Augustine, Florida. It is located at 167 San Marco Avenue. On August 27, 1987, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Old Jail served as the St Johns County Jail until 1953. After the jail facilities were moved to a new, more modern building, the vacant Old Jail building was sold to entrepreneur Henry “Slim” McDaniel who began operating the remarkably well preserved building as a roadside tourist attraction. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
Originally built to house up to 72 prisoners, the two story northern wing of the Jail consists of a general population and maximum security area, a women’s section and a lower level kitchen. Maximum Security housed the most dangerous prisoners held at the Jail and includes a Death Row cell, for those condemned to die. A total of 8 men were hung from the Gallows on the Jail compound during its history. Overall conditions at the Jail for those serving varying sentences were quite poor by modern standards and prisoners were typically used as free farm laborers during the day. Baths were infrequent, toilet facilities consisted of one bucket per cell and diet was poor and was typically supplemented by any animals that the prisoners might catch while working on the fields. Segregation by race was steadfastly adhered to at the Jail and disease, violence and death were commonplace. The two story southern wing of the Jail consists of an Office for the Sheriff and living quarters for his family.
The Old Jail Museum consists of a restored jail with sheriff’s living quarters. It also contains a display of weaponry and a pictorial history of the hangings carried out at the Old Jail, with emphasis on the time the Sheriff CJ Perry was in residence with his family. The Jail is only accessible by guided tour, with costumed guides “processing” in the new prisoners. Many ghost tours often visit here by night due to its paranormal activity. It is said that many of the prisoners that died there and even the spirit of Sheriff Joe Perry remains at the jail.
St. Augustine Beach is a small city on Anastasia Island known for its wide, Atlantic Ocean-facing beaches. St. Johns County Ocean Pier offers fishing, plus a beachfront park with volleyball courts, a playground, and a children’s splash zone. A sea turtle nesting site, Ocean Hammock Park has a nature trail and picnic areas. A1A Beach Boulevard is scattered with ice cream shops and casual seafood and Mexican eateries.
Flagler College is a private liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. It was founded in 1968 and offers 33 undergraduate majors and 1 master’s program. It was named after the city’s founder, Henry Flagler.
Founded in 1968, the campus comprises 19 acres, the centerpiece of which is the Ponce de León Hotel, built in 1888 as a luxury hotel. The architects were John Carrere and Thomas Hastings, working for Henry Morrison Flagler, the industrialist, oil magnate and railroad pioneer. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
While on our ghost tour, our guide explained that Flagler College has its own paranormal hotspots that involve the spirits Henry Flagler’s spouses.
Henry Flagler was born in 1830 and was a partner and friend of John Rockefeller who both made their fortunes with the Standard Oil Company. In 1853, he married the daughter of his step-uncle, Ms. Mary Harkness. The couple had three children, Jennie Louise, Carrie and Harry Harkness Flagler. Carrie was only three years old when she died on December 7, 1861. In about 1878, Flagler retired from Standard Oil and he visited Florida with his wife Mary who was suffering from tuberculosis. Their visit to Florida was per her physician’s advice who felt that the mild weather would be beneficial to her health. Despite the mild climate, Mary’s health continued to decline and she passed away in on May 18, 1881 at the age of 48. Mary Harkness was initially buried with an extravagant and costly monument placed over her grave. Her monument there was forty feet fall, measured twenty-six feet in diameter and carried a fifty thousand dollar price tag. Tragedy would befall this family again in 1889, when Flagler’s infant grand-daughter Margery died nine hours after her birth February 9, 1889 . She was buried in New York alongside her grandmother Mary. Jennie Louise Flagler Benedict would soon follow her daughter in death on March 25, 1889, dying of complications resulting from childbirth at age 34. The spirit of Mary still lingers around Flagler College today.
However, it is the spirit of Flagler’s second wife that terrifies most. Her name was Ida Alice. Henry lost Ida after she was institutionalized for being mentally insane, however the cause of her death remains a mystery. Her spirit lingers on the fourth floor of the Ponce De Leon Hotel in the Dining Room, where it is said that she hung herself on a chandelier, however this was not officially documented, and whoever committed suicide on the fourth floor, it was proven to NOT be Ida, and was rather one of Henry’s mistresses whom he cheated on Ida with. To hide his mistress from Ida, Henry locked the woman in what is now called “The Suicide Room”, and it is said that it was actually Henry’s mistress who committed suicide, due to Henry refusing to divorce Ida. However, most people have confused it to be Ida when this is not the case.
No one really knows exactly how Ida died nor if she actually attempted to commit suicide, but one thing was true was that she was mentally unstable and even tried to stab her nurse with scissors. History documents that Ida had played with Ouija Boards in the hotel and opened a realm due to her mental instability. Shortly after, in the year 1899 she was legally declared insane and committed to a sanitarium in Central Valley New York. Henry Flagler had set up a fund of one million dollars, to provide for his ex wife’s care. Ida passed away on July 13, 1930 in the sanitarium. I think the saddest part of Ida’s history, is the legal battle over the money that Henry Flagler set aside for her. The one million dollars accrued interest and when Ida passed away, she had over twelve million dollars. She had aunts, Uncles, cousins and grand-nieces all coming forward to claim their share, filing petitions as to why they were deserving of the money.
Despite the fact that she did not meet her end in this building, her spirit had returned and never left. Many witnesses who have seen her apparition were later able to identify her from photographs. That is not at all unusual for spirits to linger at locations to which they have strong emotional connections.
As previously stated, this building is now a Flagler college and the door to this particular suicide room reportedly is the only locked door- off limits to students and faculty, however students have tried to peek into the legendary room. Many students have reported seeing a light on inside the room when nobody was permitted inside, and what is even stranger is that some students have seen the light flicker on and off without anyone inside. The area is now known as Ponce Hall and used as the girl’s dorm. It has been reported that phantom music is heard on the third floor and reportedly is coming from upstairs on the 4th floor. Although the floor is now empty, it once served as the ballroom and does explain the music of a bygone era.
Perhaps the most famous ghost of this building is the Lady In Blue. The Lady In Blue was a guest of the hotel, who has never left. During her earthly stay, she met and had an affair with a married man. The affair resulted in a pregnancy. The woman wanted her lover to divorce his wife and marry her. There was an emotional scene at the hotel where the lady, her lover and his wife met at the hotel and discussed the possibility of their divorce. The Lady In Blue stood up and ran upstairs, heading for her room. On her way up the steps she tripped over her skirt and tumbled down the stairs to her death. Her ghost is one of the most frequently reported. She has been seen and heard crying in the hallways in the middle of the night and sitting in the dining room.
Another ghostly resident is a little boy who fell to his death in the hotel. Many people have reported having a little boy tugging at them, asking them to play with him. Others have reported seeing a ball bouncing or rolling down the hallways.
While I investigated Flagler College during the ghost tour, it is safe to say that I, myself had some strange experiences. Our guide, a professional paranormal investigator, gave me some of his equipment which included a spike meter and two dowsing rods. The rods can be used to communicate with the spirits, if I wanted to. Another girl named Molly, she was about 15 years old, was there doing the investigation with me so I didn’t feel like a crazy lunatic.
Molly and I investigated the bottom floor with the rest of the group and we were just joking around and asking the “spirits” some weird questions. I held the rods firmly in my hands while she asked the ghost questions or statements such as “Cross the rods if you’re a male/female”, “If you’re here with us, please move one of the rods”, “Cross the rods if you need help”, and “Show us a sign that you’re here.”
Of course, the rods moved in response to each of her questions, but I still really wasn’t convinced. I thought maybe they were moving because I wasn’t still enough or the wind blew it or something. But what really made me think otherwise, was after Molly asked the spirit to show a sign that he/she was there. Evidently, we were talking with a female spirit. We asked her specifically to “Cross the rods or show a sign to let us know that you are here.” Immediately, I felt something touch my left side. I wore a halter top that night, and my bare stomach was showing. It felt like someone tickled or poked my belly side (which is where I’m extremely ticklish by the way). That same electricity feeling that I felt when I was 8 years old at the Tampa Theater was exactly what I felt on my left belly side. At that moment I knew, that whoever we were talking to was there, because instead of crossing the rods she decided to show me by poking my bare stomach. I wasn’t sure who we were speaking with though, however I have a strange hunch that we were communicating with Henry’s first wife, Mary.
Miami
The last city I wanted to highlight is the №1 most popular city in the state, Miami, Florida. The city covers an area of about 56 square miles between the Everglades to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east. Miami is the sixth most densely populated major city in the United States with an estimated 2018 population with 6.1 million people he second-most populous in the southeastern United States and the seventh-largest in the nation. The city has the third tallest skyline in the U.S. with over 300 high-rises, 55 of which exceed 490 ft (149 m). Miami is a major center and leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade. Miami is known worldwide for its nightlife, beaches, and hispanic culture.
Miami Beach is a south Florida island city, connected by bridges to mainland Miami. Wide beaches stretch from North Shore Open Space Park, past palm-lined Lummus Park to South Pointe Park. The southern end, South Beach, is known for its international cachet with models and celebrities, and its early-20th-century architecture in the Art Deco Historic district with pastel-colored buildings, especially on Ocean Drive. Although topless sunbathing by women has not been officially legalized, female toplessness is tolerated on South Beach and in a few hotel pools on Miami Beach. Before the TV show Miami Vice helped make the area popular, SoBe was under urban blight, with vacant buildings and a high crime rate. Today, it is considered one of the richest commercial areas on the beach, yet poverty and crime still remain in some places near the area.
Miami Beach, particularly Ocean Drive of what is now the Art Deco District, was also featured prominently in the 1983 feature film Scarface and the 1996 comedy The Birdcage.
The New World Symphony Orchestra is based in Miami Beach, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas.
Lincoln Road, running east-west parallel between 16th and 17th Streets, is a nationally known spot for outdoor dining and shopping and features galleries of well known designers, artists and photographers such as Romero Britto, Peter Lik, and Jonathan Adler. In 2015, the Miami Beach residents passed a law forbidding bicycling, rollerblading, skateboarding and other motorized vehicles on Lincoln Road during busy pedestrian hours between 9:00 am and 2:00 am.
Miami Beach is the best area in Miami for soaking up some rays on a sandy beach and it is something of a legend in the city.
The beach itself technically outside of the Miami municipality as it is located on an island. Aside from the beaches, the area is also known for its Art Deco district and the odd but beautiful buildings within.
Jungle Island, formerly Parrot Jungle, is a relaunched eco-adventure park on Watson Island, Miami, Florida, United States. The park is re-opened following a series of major renovations after the park incurred damage from Hurricane Irma. The park features new pop-up waterslides, an outdoor wind tunnel flight experience, zip lines, escape rooms, a Nerf battle stadium and other attractions.
The Miami Beach Architectural District (also known as Old Miami Beach Historic District, and the more popular term, Miami Art Deco District) is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on May 14, 1979) located in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida. The area was well known as the district where Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace resided, in a mansion on Ocean Drive. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Sixth Street to the south, Alton Road to the west, the Collins Canal and Dade Boulevard to the north. It contains 960 historic buildings.
Bayside Marketplace is a two-story open air shopping center located in the downtown Miami, Florida. The banks of Biscayne Bay wrap around the property with the City of Miami marina at its side. It is recognized by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitor’s Bureau as the number one most visited attraction in Miami. Different from typical shopping malls, Bayside offers an entertainment experience with live music daily, restaurants, bars, open-container policy, family events, and the picturesque settings that come with a waterfront property. Tenancy at the Bayside Marketplace consist of 140 inline spaces, in addition to over 50 carts and kiosks located in and around the center.
Everglades National Park is an American national park that protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida. The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States, and the largest wilderness of any kind east of the Mississippi River. An average of one million people visit the park each year. Everglades is the third-largest national park in the contiguous United States after Death Valley and Yellowstone. Most national parks preserve unique geographic features; Everglades National Park was the first created to protect a fragile ecosystem. The Everglades are a network of wetlands and forests fed by a river flowing 0.25 miles per day out of Lake Okeechobee, southwest into Florida Bay. The park is the most significant breeding ground for tropical wading birds in North America and contains the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere. Thirty-six threatened or protected species inhabit the park, including the Florida panther, the American crocodile, and the West Indian manatee, along with 350 species of birds, 300 species of fresh and saltwater fish, 40 species of mammals, and 50 species of reptiles.The majority of South Florida’s fresh water, which is stored in the Biscayne Aquifer, is recharged in the park.
I’ve visited the Everglades when I was 11 years old, and it is definitely a great experience. It is only a short drive from Miami, so be sure to stop by and see some of Florida’s natural wildlife.
The American Airlines Arena (AAA) is a sports and entertainment arena located in Downtown Miami, Florida, along Biscayne Bay. The Arena is home to the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association.
The American Airlines Arena has 2,105 club seats, 80 luxury suites, and 76 private boxes. The Waterfront Theater is Florida’s largest theater which is housed within the arena, that can seat between 3,000 and 5,800. The theater can be configured for concerts, family events, musical theatre and other stage shows. American Airlines which has a hub at Miami International Airport maintains the American Airlines Arena Travel Center at the venue.
The arena hosted the 2012, 2013 and 2014 NBA Finals along with the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City in 2012, and the AT&T Center in San Antonio in 2013 and 2014. In 2012, the Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games, winning the championship at home. In 2013, the Heat played the San Antonio Spurs. The Heat faced a 3–2 series deficit returning to Miami but won games 6 and 7 to defend their championship. In 2014, the Spurs defeated the Heat in five games in San Antonio and won the championship and the rematch.
The arena also hosted multiple famous artists.
- Mariah Carey performed here as part of her Rainbow World Tour on March 29, 2000.
- On November 7–8, 2002, Cher’s Living Proof: The Farewell Tour performed at American Airlines Arena for an NBC special, which aired in April 2003, winning an Emmy Award.
- On March 28, 2004, Britney Spears performed to a sold-out show as part of The Onyx Hotel Tour. The show was broadcast live all over the world. She returned for The Circus Starring Britney Spears Tour at the arena on March 7, 2009, and set an attendance record with a two back-to-back sold-out crowds of 18,644, beating out Celine Dion who previously gathered a 17,725 crowd. It is noted as the largest concert attendance in the arena’s history as of 2009.
- The 2004 MTV Video Music Awards and 2005 MTV Video Music Awards were held at the arena.
- Shakira performed in the arena as part of her Tour of the Mongoose for the first time on December 2, 2002. 4 years later, she performed in the arena on September 15 and 16, 2006 as part of her Oral Fixation Tour and returned for 3 more shows (December 7, 8 & 9, 2006), where the DVD footage of the concert was filmed. With 5 shows together, this makes the Colombian singer obtaining the most sold-out shows in the arena as a female artist. She brought her The Sun Comes Out World Tour to the arena again on September 27, 2010. 7 years later, she returned to the arena with El Dorado World Tour on August 17 and 18, 2018.
- On December 4–5, 2007, the Argentine rock band Soda Stereo performed at the American Airlines Arena as part of his farewell tour Me Verás Volver, being this tour a sellout in Argentina and the Americas. It was six (6) sold-out shows in the famous Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti.
- The arena was host to For Darfur benefit concert, which was the Miami stop for Kanye West’s Glow in the Dark Tour, on May 6, 2008.
- Tina Turner performed at the arena as a part of her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour on October 30, 2008.
- Celine Dion performed at the arena as a part of her Taking Chances Tour on January 23, 2009, and set an attendance record making it the largest crowd in the arena’s history. Dion will return to the arena on January 17 and 18, 2020 as part of her Courage World Tour.
- The cast of Mexican hit TV series Two Faces of Love beat out Britney Spears selling out a crowd of 18,693 making this the largest concert attendance in the arena’s history, as of 2010.
- Lady Gaga performed at the arena for The Monster Ball Tour to a sold-out crowd of 14,695 on April 13, 2011, and was scheduled return as part of her Born This Way Ball Tour on March 16, 2013, but cancelled, not only this show but the entire rest of the tour, due to a hip injury.
- Jennifer Lopez performed at the arena on August 31 and September 1, 2012, to two sold-out crowds as part of her Dance Again World Tour alongside with the help of Enrique Iglesias.
- Madonna performed at the arena on November 19–20, 2012 as part of her MDNA Tour. The sold-out shows were filmed for a DVD, entitled MDNA World Tour.
- Miley Cyrus performed a total of three sold-out concerts in the arena, as a part of her Best of Both Worlds Tour on January 31, 2008, Wonder World Tour on December 2, 2009, and Bangerz Tour on March 22, 2014.
- Kanye West performed at the arena during his Saint Pablo Tour on September 16–17, 2016.
- Australian worship band Hillsong United recorded a 2-hour long live CD/DVD set, entitled Hillsong United: Live in Miami, which was released in August 2011, which was filmed, recorded and played at the arena in front of a sold-out audience.
- One Direction performed a sold-out show at the arena on June 14, 2013, as part of their Take Me Home Tour.
- Indoor electronic dance music event Sensation took place at the arena on October 11–12, 2013.
- Katy Perry performed a sold-out show at the arena as part of The Prismatic World Tour on July 3, 2014. She returned to the arena as part of her Witness: The Tour on December 20, 2017.
- Demi Lovato performed at the arena as part of her Demi World Tour on September 14, 2014; she returned during her Tell Me You Love Me World Tour on March 30, 2018.
- Ariana Grande performed at the arena as part of The Honeymoon Tour on March 28, 2015. She also performed at the arena for the Dangerous Woman Tour on April 14, 2017.
- Chris Brown performed at the arena during his One Hell Of a Nite Tour on September 3, 2015.
- Janet Jackson performed at the arena as part of Unbreakable World Tour on September 20, 2015. She performed again on August 5, 2018, as part of her State of the World Tour.
- The Weeknd performed a show at the arena as part of The Madness Fall Tour on December 19, 2015.
- Rihanna performed a show at the arena on March 15, 2016, as a part of her Anti World Tour.
- Selena Gomez performed at the arena as part of her Revival Tour on June 11, 2016.
- Maroon 5 performed a show at the arena as part of their Maroon V Tour on September 7, 2016
- Adele performed two sold-out concerts at the arena as part of her Adele Live 2016 tour on October 25–26, 2016.
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a cape in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state’s Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River. It was discovered by the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León in 1513. The city is adjacent to St. Augustine and Jacksonville, Florida.
Ever dreamed of becoming an astronaut? The Kennedy Space Center is the one place in America where individuals come to live their dreams as astronauts. For those who don’t know, the Kennedy Space Center is NASA’s primary launch center. People come from all over the world to watch the rockets launch. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources, and even own facilities on each other’s property.
The Manatee Sanctuary Park in Cape Canaveral is one of the best, most peaceful places near the port to enjoy the outdoors. This park spans more than 10 acres of nature on the Banana River. Plan a day excursion here. Talk the half-mile trail (and even try out the exercise stations, if you want to get in an outdoor workout); walk the riverside boardwalk; pack lunch and eat it under the covered pavilion; challenge your friends to a game of horseshoes; and best of all, watch for manatees, dolphins, osprey, waterfowl, fish and more. This park is not flashy, and despite the name, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will see manatees. But it’s a calm place to enjoy Florida’s great weather and natural habitat.
As you can see, Florida has many beautiful cities, and there are still many that I didn’t name such as Jacksonville and Key West. Florida is definitely more than just a swampy land where old people retire to.
The Hispanic Culture
As I said many times previously, Florida has a major hispanic culture. This is especially very evident in cities such as Tampa and Miami due to the Cuban immigrants that migrated here back in the 1800s. There is also a heavy Spanish influence in St. Augustine since that was the very first city that the Spaniards discovered back in the 1500s. Ponce De Leon is a big name in the state and if you grew up as a Floridian, you will know that this hispanic man was always mentioned at some point in history class.
I wanted to go more in depth about the Spanish influences down here. If you ever visit Miami, make sure that you brush up on your Spanish speaking skills, because a majority of the city’s population is Cuban… and Spanish might as well be Miami’s primary language. The same can be said with Tampa, however you will most likely hear a lot more English being spoken as compared to Spanish. Still, there are many hispanic people in the Tampa area, especially in Ybor, and it wouldn’t hurt to know the language if you’re taking a trip here.
Even though English is my first language, I was taught how to speak Spanish since the young age of 8, and no… I’m not talking about watching Dora The Explorer episodes on Nick Jr… My 2nd grade teacher gave our class Spanish lessons every single day in class. The funny part was she wasn’t even hispanic… she was from Boston, but she still taught us the basics.
For my New York parents it was a culture shock for them, because they never were required to learn another language when they were kids. For them, Spanish was just an optional class to take in high school. However in Florida, kids begin learning the language in Elementary School and continue to learn it throughout Middle School and High School. Once students get to high school, they are required to take two years of Spanish for their college transcripts. After the student has finished their Spanish credits, they may continue with any other language that they are interested in such as French, Latin, German or Italian. My school required me to take three years of Spanish Honors classes to make sure that I got the credits for college. And then at USF, I had to take Spanish for two more years because of the program that I was in, which was Mass Communications. Apparently, being in a bilingual in the media field increases my chances of career opportunities in Florida.
After taking Spanish for so long, I’m still not precisely fluent in it. Frankly, in my opinion, it doesn’t matter how many years someone takes Spanish classes, people will never actually become fluent in the Spanish language unless they live in a Spanish country, and the same thing can be said for any other language. However, I can read signs that are written in the language and understand them. I’ve also been able to somewhat converse with hispanic people. They especially get excited after I speak to them in their language and tell them I can somewhat speak Spanish. Whenever my mom sees a sign that is written in Spanish, she always wants me to translate it, especially if we’re spending a day in Ybor. So I guess, the classes didn’t completely go to waste. However let me just say that those classes were no walk in the park… Spanish, like any other language, started to increase in difficulty the more in depth that I went into it. All the conjugations can get really confusing. And in college, the Spanish professors wouldn’t speak one word of English. My professor was from Peru and she taught the entire lesson in Spanish, and if I didn’t know what she was saying, well… I was screwed for the homework and the exams to follow. I had to ask all of my questions to her in Spanish and when I made presentations, they were all in Spanish. I never spoke English in my Spanish college classes.
In high school, my Spanish teacher took us to Costa Rica for a week and that was a great experience. However, my teachers in high school were also very precise… I would often get frustrated with one of them because she always would mark my entire sentence incorrect if I misplaced an accent in one of the words, even though everything else would be correct. Whenever I would talk to her after class about my complaint, she said to me “The accents in Spanish are important because they can completely change the meaning of the sentence. For example, papá in Spanish means ‘father’, however papa in Spanish means ‘potato’.” After she said that, I couldn’t help but laugh but then I also understood why she always so tough on the accents.
In Florida, we also have something called “Spanish Competitions”, where every high school in Florida gets a group of English speaking students to perform a skit entirely in Spanish. The best performance obviously wins the competition. Judges often pick a winner based off of how well the students pronounce the words and sound natural while speaking.
The reality is, Spanish has always been apart of Florida and it most likely always will. Florida’s founder, Ponce De Leon was a hispanic from Spain. The State also neighbors other Spanish speaking countries like Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba. But if you’re a snowbird planning on moving down to Florida, but you don’t know Spanish, don’t fret. English is still the State’s primary language for the most part, with Miami being an exception. While knowing a little Spanish will benefit you here, a majority of the Spanish speakers are bilingual so it’s not an absolute necessity. However, if you’re planning on moving to Miami… definitely make sure you have a translator or you have some type of knowledge on the language. As I said before, the population in Miami is mostly Cuban and Spanish is pretty much the primary language there. If you’re planning on starting a business in Miami, your business may suffer if you can’t communicate with the locals. If you’re a snowbird trying to relocate your business and have no knowledge on the Spanish language, I would recommend Tampa, Jacksonville or Orlando, since they are primarily English cities.
The Animals
The state of Florida is notorious for being a home to tons of wildlife. Because of the sub tropical climate, it would make sense for a lot of animals (especially ones that are warm blooded) to live here. As someone who has grown up here, I have seen my fair share of multiple wild animals in my own backyard. Without further ado, here are some of Florida’s most known wildlife.
The Alligator
This beast is the state’s reptile, so it was obvious for me to name it as the first animal on the list. Contrary to popular belief among tourists, this guy is really not a huge threat although I can understand if he would terrify someone who hasn’t been to Florida before. Most of the time, Alligators just want to chill out in their lakes or any type of water that is nearby. They don’t go and hunt humans during their downtime. Although, depending on their size they are very capable of killing a human if they get too close to them. There have been some reports down here of careless parents letting their small children get too close to a lake that just happened to have a hungry alligator swimming in it. It’s not impossible for something like that to happen because they’re wild animals and they’re a predator on the top of the food chain. But if you leave the alligator alone, he will bring no harm to you. I live in a neighborhood that is surrounded by lakes so I have seen plenty of alligators while walking my dog or riding my bike and not once have they tried to attack me. I left them alone and they let me go on about my day. If you are a pet owner and you are thinking of moving to Florida, just be cautious because there have been many incidents of dogs and cats becoming dinner to the reptile beast. If you wish to see an alligator while visiting, you have to be in an area with a lot of lakes and swamps. If you wish to not see an alligator, then I would advise that you avoid lakes and swamps.
There have also been multiple incidents with alligators being found in people’s pools and during rare occasions, inside their homes. Exterminator businesses normally thrive down here because of all the alligators that often trespass into people’s properties. These types of things don’t happen extremely often, but they normally happen to people who live near the gators habitat without a pool screen to protect their property. So, pro tip, if you don’t want this aquatic lizard invading your home, I suggest that you live in an area away from swamps or install a pool screen.
The Snakes
Okay, I am literally terrified of snakes, so one thing that I hate most about my home state is that I have to share it with these awful things that inhabit the earth. I would honestly take the gator over this creepy son of a bitch…
Unfortunately, Florida has multiple species of snakes that are both venomous and nonvenomous. The bad thing is that you really can’t tell the difference between which ones are harmless and which ones will kill you in a strike, so you have to just try and stay away from all of them. Snakes have been found in people’s homes, pools, and they have been found slithering out of car air vents, so be careful where you decide to park your cars. These things can find ways to get into your car without you knowing.
When I was six years old, I went swimming in my pool all by myself. I was minding my own business until I turned around and saw a medium sized Cottonmouth Water Moccasin swimming just a foot away from me. (For those who don’t know, Cottonmouths are extremely venomous and you can normally tell a Cottonmouth by its triangular shaped head.) He had his mouth opened as if he was about to strike. I screamed bloody murder, swam like my life depended on it (because it did), got out of the pool and began to cry because I was petrified. And my father came out wondering what was wrong and I showed him the big snake in our pool. He immediately got out a net and got the motherf***** out of there. I didn’t care though, I refused to go back into that pool for awhile, and it’s probably why I am, to this day, very scared of snakes.
The thing with snakes is that they, along with gators, live in swamps, lakes or underneath dark and rocky surfaces. We lived in a neighborhood surrounded by lakes, so the fact that a venomous snake was found in our pool wasn’t a surprise. Putting my hatred towards these animals aside, snakes are often just trying to mind their own business too and, like gators, will often not try to hunt for humans. As a matter of fact, snakes try to stay as far away from humans as possible. However, they will strike at someone if they feel threatened.
I specifically want to call out the Burmese Python in Florida, because even though it is nonvenomous, it is the one snake that is responsible for killing the most Florida natives, the most Florida wildlife and for being just a big f**king ass***. The Burmese Python can get up to 17 feet in length and many of them have been found intruding on Floridian’s homes. It is the largest snake species in the state of Florida. And even though this little sucker has no teeth and no venom, it can strangle and kill its prey by suffocation and then proceed to eat it. Burmese Pythons have eaten adult alligators before, which tells all you need to know about how deadly these snakes can be. I even once remember hearing a news story of how a Python was found in someone’s house and had already killed a 3 year old girl. Her body was found with the snake still coiled around her…
Unfortunately, Florida has way too many of them. However, these snakes also inhabit areas with a lot of fresh water, lakes and marshes, so keep your eyes peeled for them.
Both gators and snakes can often be heavily found in areas such as the Florida Everglades National Park. When I was 11, my family and I took a trip down here and got to ride on an airboat into the glades. I saw multiple gators and pythons.
Manatees
Often called “Sea Cows”, Manatees are a gentle aquatic creature that live along the fresh Florida rivers. They can often be seen under the water of boat docks or in various fresh water springs. While they look like miniature whales, they bring no harm to humans and are actually an endangered species due to environmental reasons such as Red Tide which has poisoned their only source of food. However, even before Red Tide, Manatees are often victims of getting hurt by sharp boat propellors since they like to stay somewhat close to the surface. When I visited Weeke Wachee Springs, I saw a Manatee and her calf relaxing at the surface of the water. It was an amazing sight.
Dolphins
These are the mammals that make me proud to live in Florida. Not many people get to see these creatures everyday, but when I lived in St. Petersburg for a few years, I got to see a whole pod of them and I got to pet one! While I was in college, I lived in an apartment with a few of my friends in St. Petersburg, and we had an ocean view of the Gulf of Mexico. Sometimes when I needed to study, I would go out and relax by the Bayfront on a lovely sunny day, sip on my iced Starbucks coffee, and try to focus on my notes for an upcoming final exam. Every now and then, these little fellas would pop out from the water and say hi to me. Sometimes they would show their dorsal fin and other times I would see a trio of them simultaneously jump out of the water.
Dolphins don’t bring any harm to humans. As a matter of fact, they love to be around humans. Whenever boats speed through the Gulf of Mexico, it is not uncommon to see a pod of dolphins following the boat and jumping out of the water to say hello. Dolphins have also rescued Floridians from shark attacks on multiple occasions.
Stingrays
Stingrays are more commonly found in tropical and subtropical waters, so if you happen to see one while visiting a Florida beach, don’t be shocked. No matter what beach you visit, you will see warning signs about stingrays possibly being on the shores. Some people have accidentally stepped on their stinger tails, resulting in trips to the emergency room. This mistake is very easy to do because stingrays often hide underneath the ocean sand, and people cannot see them because they blend so well. In order to prevent stuff like this from happening, Floridians do what is called “The Stingray Shuffle”. This is a type of step in which people slide their feet against the sand instead of taking big steps. To a stingray, sliding movements create vibrations which will scare them away. Most of the time, stingrays don’t intentionally try to hurt humans, however they will raise their stingers if they feel threatened. They love shallow warm waters so it is very common to see them on the shores of Florida beaches. I’ve seen many of them while swimming on the beach, and while I do find good use in the Stingray Shuffle, I also find the wearing beach shoes can help protect you from Stingrays or sharp seashells in general.
The Florida Panther
I will be honest, I haven’t seen any Florida panthers and I have lived here my whole life. However, I do live in the Tampa area and more panthers reside in South Florida closer to Miami and The Florida Everglades. This isn’t to say that they can’t be found in the Tampa area, because Tampa does have many conservation sites in which I’m sure some of them inhabit. In Tampa, there is a place called “Big Cat Rescue” where they hold the states famous cougar because its species has become endangered over the years. Because of this, their population increased from only having 20 in the wild to 270 from the 1970s to 2017. The Florida Panther was chosen as the state animal, so I had to name it on this list, even if I personally have yet to have an experience with one.
Pelicans
These birds can be seen at any beach front area. They can be seen perched near boat docks searching for their morning meals. You can also see them flying high over the ocean or diving into the water to capture their food. I always saw pelicans while visiting the beach or driving over the Sunshine Skyway in Tampa.
Turtles
Florida has many different types of turtle species. Sea Turtles, Tortoises, Fresh Water Turtles, Snapping Turtles, etc…
Sea Turtles aren’t seen often because, well…they live in the sea. However, from the months of March-October is the season of sea turtle nesting, so expect to see a lot of caution tape surrounding an area where it appears there is nothing there. It is very easy for people to step on a sea turtle nest, so in order to prevent this, scientists from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation will build a small fort with caution tape around the nesting area. Notice on the sign in the photo above that states “Violators subject to Fines and Imprisonment”. The Florida government takes their sea turtles very seriously. They are protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 and Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Act (379.2431, Florida Statutes). Florida Statutes restrict the take, possession, disturbance, mutilation, destruction, selling, transference, molestation, and harassment of marine turtles, nests or eggs.
Sea turtles can be found in all oceans except for the polar regions. The flatback sea turtle is found solely on the northern coast of Australia. The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is found solely in the Gulf of Mexico and along the East Coast of the United States.
Tortoises are also native to the southeast U.S, and are a widely known species in Florida. Tortoises are different than regular turtles because of the fact that they live on land rather than in water. They also don’t have webbed feet and usually dig through sand. These guys can get rather large in size, much larger than an average turtle. Their burrows are common in longleaf pine savannas, where the tortoises are the primary grazers, playing an essential role in their ecosystem. Unfortunately, tortoises are often victims of road kill due to their rather slow pace, and when they cross busy streets, people often don’t see them and run them over… People who do see them however, normally try to help them get across unscathed. I once saw one of these while walking my dog in a Conservation Camp Site close to where we live. My dog wanted to chase it… but I didn’t let her. (LOL!)
These turtles I see almost everyday! Like I said, I live in a neighborhood that is surrounded by lakes, and when I walk my dog while passing the lakes, I always see these little guys sunbathing. These little guys are very harmless to humans and often just go about their days in the sun or in the water.
Other forms of wildlife that can be found in Florida is rabbits, deer, raccoons, armadillos, various species of birds etc. A lot of people that live in colder climates rarely see animals like these, so it’s kind of cool knowing that I can see them any time of the day.
The Famous People
People describe Florida as being a California 2.0. Just like Cali, there is a huge film industry here, we have a ton of beaches and we have loads of celebrities who are born here and even live here. The only difference is Florida has better beaches with cheaper taxes.
There are many people in the Hollywood Industry that grew up right here in my home state, and it is not uncommon to see some of them walking around too. Without further ado, here are a few celebrities that hailed right here in Florida.
Ariana Grande
Ariana grew up in Boca Raton, Florida, just a small distance away from Fort Lauderdale. Had she not become famous, she could’ve attended Florida Atlantic University, one of Florida’s big universities in the Boca Raton area. Even though she has found herself a home in New York City and Los Angeles, her first home will always remain here in Florida. It is where her family and her brother Frankie still currently live today. After the bombing that happened at her Dangerous Woman Tour in 2017, the first place she returned to was Boca Raton to be with her family and friends.
Funny enough, one of my roommates in college actually attended high school with Ariana before she became famous. She gave me the low down on what she was really like as a person.
Channing Tatum
Channing Tatum is from my hometown of Tampa, Florida. I bet a whole lot of people probably didn’t know that. Him and I graduated from the same high school in Tampa: Tampa Catholic High School. Of course, not at the same time because he is way older than me. He graduated in the Class of 1998, and I graduated in the Class of 2014. Don’t believe me? Here is the proof! (And a couple of personal photos from my senior year at Tampa Catholic)
Knowing that Channing and I share the same alma mater is kind of surreal. One of my old theology teachers who attended TC and graduated with him was a friend of his and told us exactly where he sat in our classroom. One year when we were playing against our longtime rivals Jesuit High School (a Catholic all boys high school), Channing Tatum tweeted a #BeatJesuit on the night of our football game.
His movie Magic Mike is about his life when he lived in Tampa, Florida. The story is set in Tampa and it was also filmed in Tampa. Tampa Catholic was not mentioned in it due to the film being about his life after high school. It would make sense, considering that Tampa has a huge strip club scene. Although, the club that Tatum used to strip for is no longer in business.
Brittany Snow
Our name is not the only thing that we share in common… As a matter of fact, not only is Brittany Snow a Tampa native like me, but her family actually lives in a neighborhood that’s about 5 minutes away from mine. My friend Lindsay (one of my cheer teammates and also pictured in one of the photos above) told me that she and her twin sister Nicole were next door neighbors with Brittany’s family and know them personally. Known for her roles in the Pitch Perfect franchise, Hairspray, and John Tucker Must Die, Brittany graduated from Gaither High School in Tampa. Let me just say, my boyfriend’s little brother also graduated from Gaither and he always told me that her name was all over the school because they are so proud of her accomplishments as an actress. Brittany also attended Carrollwood Day School and Ben Hill Middle School, both of which are in my district and neighborhood.
Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson is another famous Florida native. He attended the University of Miami where he played football and helped them win a national championship in 1991. He was initially a professional athlete before he starred in his first movie in 2001.
He currently owns a mansion in South Florida where he lives.
Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow was obviously going to be named on this list. He was the star quarterback for the University of Florida and helped them win several national championship games in the late 2000s. He was a professional football player in the NFL before switching to the MLB. He lived in Jacksonville, Florida where he was homeschooled until his college years.
Kevin Knox
Here is another famous athlete from my hometown of Tampa. Kevin Knox of the New York Knicks also graduated from my high school, Tampa Catholic. He was a freshman while I was a senior, so I actually saw him in the halls at school. He graduated in the class of 2017 (while I graduated in 2014). It was interesting because he was the only freshman who was good enough to play on the varsity basketball team. I know this because I was a cheerleader and we were required to cheer at basketball games. I always saw him out on the court and he was the sole reason why our team won the District Championships for multiple years, even after I graduated. When I saw that he got drafted in the NBA, I couldn’t believe it, because I remember seeing him right across from my friends and I’s lunch table eating with the rest of the freshmen and not thinking anything of it.
Pitbull
Pitbull the rapper was born in Miami, Florida. His music is influenced through the Cuban culture in South Florida. He graduated from Miami Coral Park High School. Believe it or not, I met some people in college who graduated from his high school as well, and Miami is very proud of him.
Donald Trump
Welp…this is awkward… but yeah, the President of the U.S.A owns a house in Mar-a-Lago and now has permanently become a Florida Resident as of 2019. He moved from NYC to West Palm Beach just about a couple months ago. Us Floridians don’t really know how to feel about it. I guess it all depends on if you’re a Trump Supporter or not, but I want to keep this article as nonpolitical as possible, so… moving forward.
Shakira
Shakira currently owns a mansion in Miami, Florida and resides there. She has stated herself that if she were to live in the United States she would pick Miami over Los Angeles because it feels more like her home country. That’s because Miami has a strong hispanic culture. Also, it’s a lot cheaper than LA.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp grew up in Miramar, Florida, which is about 30 minutes north of Miami. I’m willing to bet that a lot of people didn’t know that.
Flo Rida
He loved his home state so much, he made it his stage name. Flo Rida if you didn’t know, it literally Florida separated into two words…duh. This famous rapper grew up and still currently resides in Carol City, Florida, a neighborhood within the Miami area.
The Headline News
Okay… as a Floridian, I know that we have some bizarre news headlines… I tend to think that sometimes our news is what makes Florida a laughing stock to people who live anywhere else. But, even Floridians themselves laugh their asses off at them. Don’t put all of your apples in a bunch people, not all Floridians do things like this. As I said before, Florida is a melting pot full of people, and unfortunately, we have attracted a lot of crazy people here.
However, it has made for great entertainment and the phrase “Florida Man” even became a meme. People all over the place now like to engage in something called “The Florida Man Challenge”.
The Theme Parks
You all knew I was going to talk about this eventually. Expect this segment of the article to be a very lengthy, because Florida is the King of the U.S when it comes to theme parks. There are a lot of them and a lot of amazing attractions, so buckle in…
Florida is the Theme Park Capital of the U.S.A. containing four Disney Theme Parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios), two Disney Water Parks (Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach), two connected Universal Theme Parks (Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure), one Universal Water Park (Volcano Bay), Legoland, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, SeaWorld and many more. A majority of the theme parks are located in the heart of Orlando, Florida which is right-smack-dab in the middle of the state.
Even though I grew up in Tampa, all of these theme parks were within a 30 minute-1 hour and 30 minute drive away from me, depending on which one I was going to. As a child, I was pretty much in heaven having all of that so close to me, especially when my cousins, who lived in Buffalo, would just die in order to visit Disney World once. My family had annual passes for a while to a majority of the Disney Theme Parks, and we would always stay the night at a Disney Resort (because Orlando has about 20 different resorts on Disney property), and then we would visit each park during one day of the week while taking the Disney tram, and just have a blast for the whole week! At night, Disney also has an area called Disney Springs (or Downtown Disney is what it used to be called) full of gift shops, restaurants, live music and outdoor nightlife. Notice how I said “week” and not “weekend”. That’s because visiting Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is about a week vacation time-span. Everything here is so huge, you have to literally take a whole week in order to experience everything in order to get your money’s worth. And that’s just Disney Parks… if you included Universal Parks… you’d have to add on about two extra days and three if you include Universal’s water park. By that time, I guarantee you will be exhausted after your vacation! Sometimes, it’s super hard for my friends and I to decide which parks to visit because there is no way we have time for all of them. Orlando doesn’t make our choices easy, because both Universal and Disney are amazing to experience. So, without hesitation, let me explain all of Florida’s amazing theme parks, and how lucky of a child I was to grow up with all of it in my backyard.
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom
While California’s Disneyland is Walt Disney’s original theme park, he also designed and initialized Walt Disney World in Florida. And even though he died before the ending of the project, he was the one who had the plans to bring his Disney business down to the Sunshine State and make it even bigger than California’s park, because he loved all of the space and land that Florida had to offer. Since Disneyland in California represents Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, he decided to have Florida’s version represent Cinderella’s Castle, which is the castle used in the logo shown before any Disney movie that you see.
- Now this isn’t an article to compare California’s Disney and Florida’s Disney because I’m sure they’re both amazing. I just want to squash the ignorant comments from Californians (who have probably never even visited Florida) saying their park is better because its the original created by Walt Disney. Walt Disney also designed Orlando’s park, so ya’lls comments are invalid…Had he not passed away before the end of the project, he would’ve absolutely been completely responsible for Disney’s Florida Parks, so hush!
Magic Kingdom was the original Walt Disney World Florida theme park and hosts about 20.859 million visitors making it the most visited theme park in the world for the thirteenth consecutive year. The park was built as a larger, improved version of Disneyland Park in California. There are several anecdotes regarding some of the features of Walt Disney World, and Magic Kingdom specifically. According to one story, Walt Disney once saw a Frontierland cowboy walking through Tomorrowland at Disneyland. He disliked that the cowboy intruded on the futuristic setting of Tomorrowland and wanted to avoid situations like this in the new park. Therefore, Magic Kingdom was built over a series of tunnels called utilidors, a portmanteau of utility and corridor, allowing employees (called “cast members”) or VIP guests to move through the park out of sight.
Disney’s Magic Kingdom includes multiple rides such as Space Mountain (Disney’s oldest dark roller coaster), Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor, The Haunted Mansion (which inspired the popular film starring Eddie Murphy), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Under The Sea: Journey to The Little Mermaid, It’s a Small World (Disney’s oldest ride) and many more.
Space Mountain is my favorite ride in this park. It’s thrilling and really makes you feel like you’re in space during some moments. It is also the oldest roller coaster throughout all of the Disney parks in Florida. My second favorite ride is The Haunted Mansion because it’s just a classic. I went on that when I was five and thought it was scary… but I still loved it!
For whatever reason, The Haunted Mansion ride scared me as child. The dark rooms always freaked me out. Regardless, it is still a classic ride.
Magic Kingdom also includes the Hall of Presidents which is located on Liberty Square. The attraction is a multi-media presentation and stage show featuring Audio-Animatronic figures of all 45 individual United States Presidents. An animatronic of President Trump was added to the attraction in 2017. After the roll call of all the past presidents, the animatronic Washington gives a short speech, followed by Trump standing and reciting the Presidential Oath of Office followed by his own short speech.
I also remember when I was five, I forced my mom and my aunt to wait in line for two hours for a Princess Ariel Meet n Greet because she was (and still is) my favorite Disney princess. I also made them wait for a Mickey Mouse Meet n Greet and a Minnie Mouse Meet n Greet. I know… I was such a spoiled child, but at least I can acknowledge it.
When I was seven, my Buffalonian family flew down and me, my older cousins (Zachery, Josh, and Michael), my parents and my aunts and uncles all took a trip to Disney. We went to Downtown Disney (Disney Springs) on the first night of arriving in Orlando and had dinner there. We then spent the night in a Disney resort (I had to share a room with three boys, I was the only girl and I was the youngest, so that was interesting.) We got breakfast early in the morning and went straight to the park by opening. I would walk with my cousins down Main Street at Magic Kingdom, and even though they were all pretty much teenage boys (Zach was 17, Josh was 14, Michael was 11 and I was only 7) they acted like little kids in a candy store. After we were done having our magical fun, our entire family ate dinner inside Cinderella’s Castle. Some people who have never been to Florida’s Disney knows that the iconic castle contains a 5 Star Gourmet restaurant along with an area for a Cinderella Meet n Greet. When I went, I got Cinderella to autograph my Disney diary.
Walt Disney World’s Epcot
Out of all the Disney theme parks, Epcot is the one park that really caters more towards adults and teens rather than children, however the park is still kid friendly. Spanning 305 acres (more than twice the size of the Magic Kingdom park) Epcot is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely technological innovation and international culture, and is often referred to as a “permanent world’s fair”. Epcot was originally conceived by Walt Disney during the early development of Walt Disney World, as an experimental planned community that would serve as a center for American innovation and urban living.
Epcot is a unique Disney park because it offers a World Showcase which circles the World Showcase Lagoon. There are 11 different pavilions that represent 11 different countries and people get to walk around the World Showcase and experience each individual country. The country contains themed architecture, landscapes, streetscapes, attractions, shops and restaurants representing the respective country’s culture and cuisine. In an effort to maintain the authenticity of the represented countries, the pavilions are primarily staffed by citizens of the respective countries as part of the Cultural Representative Program through Q1 visa agreements. The countries that are represented in Epcot are as follows:
- Mexico
- Norway
- China
- Germany
- Italy
- United States of America
- Japan
- Morocco
- France
- United Kingdom
- Canada
When I was a child, I didn’t really care for Epcot that much because I thought it was boring, but I learned to appreciate it as I got older. When I was 14, my parents and I went for Thanksgiving Break, and because of my Italian roots (with my grandparents being Italian Immigrants from Sicily and Naples) we had lunch in an Italian restaurant called Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria where they served authentic Italian dishes. I ordered the Pollo Parmigiana which translates to “Chicken Parmesan” in English. My mother and father ordered an authentic wood fired pizza which the chefs bake and cook the pizza in the three wood fired stoves in the front of the restaurant. We spoke with our waiter who was from Milan and asked him if he missed his country and he said that he did miss it, but he also loves being in America.
- My mom can only speak a little Italian but she is not fluent, although she did her best to speak with him. I unfortunately couldn’t speak to him because I never got to learn Italian since my grandparents passed away before they could start teaching me, although my grandpa did teach me how to count to 10.
We made pit stops in every single country, however my absolute favorites (besides Italy) were the United Kingdom and France. I favor all three of these countries because these are the three countries that I dream of visiting before I die. Some honorable mentions of countries that I liked were the United States and Canada.
The France Pavilion had a very realistic look about it. When I walked through it, I really felt like I was walking through Paris and, to be honest, I felt the same with just about every country that I walked through. Like Italy, France offered a restaurant where people can dine on French food with a little stand outside that sold Crepes. (Crepes are my favorite French pastry). I also briefly remember walking inside a perfume shop since the French are known for having a large perfume market. I got to smell real authentic perfumes that are only sold within the country of France, so that was really cool. I couldn’t buy any though because it was way too expensive. I tried to ask the French employees some questions about their country, but I don’t think they understood what I was saying because the lady answered my question in French.
The United Kingdom Pavilion is another country that stood out to me at Epcot. I loved all of the intricate details that Disney included with it. The UK offers beer pubs, gift shops (full of Beatles Merchandise), an area that plays live music by either the British Revolutionary Band or by The Beatles (impersonators), and a replica of the Kensington Palace (where the Royal Family lives). You will also see some authentic British employees dressed as members of the British Parliament.
My favorite part of this country was definitely seeing the Beatles perform. Even though they are impersonators and not the real Beatles, Disney did amazing at hiring people that looked almost identical to them. I even got a picture with all of them after the show. It was amazing! They also did covers of many of their best songs such as Yellow Submarine, Hey Jude, Yesterday, Here Comes The Sun, etc.
Okay, I know that America is my home country, but I had to name it as an honorable mention at least… because, come on, it’s America, it’s the best country in the world (in my opinion)! As an American, I can say that Epcot did a very good job at representing the history of the U.S.A. The American Adventure pavilion is a colonial-style mansion whose roots are found in the architecture of Independence Hall, Boston’s Old State House, Monticello, and Colonial Williamsburg.
Inside the mansion is an oval shaped lobby with walls containing quotes from famous Americans such as Walt Disney himself and others such as John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and many more. The hall also includes paintings of American life throughout history representing what America is all about. Inside the theater itself, you will see a short show narrated by Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain showing segments from different historical periods in American history. Periods that are represented are the American Revolutionary War, The Civil War, The Great Depression, World War 2 and footage of New York City Police Department/New York City Fire Department rescue crews after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.
*The 9/11 clip hit me the hardest because I was alive when that happened and can still remember watching those towers fall while on TV in my Kindergarten class. It was horrible.
The montage showed just how many people fought and died for Americans to truly have freedom in their country.
Along with the show, there is a Voices of Liberty a cappella group singing covers of the National Anthem and many other American songs such as “Proud to Be An American”.
And even though the reputation of America seems to have been tarnished because of our joke of a government from both Democrats and Republicans, Disney surely did a good job at reminding me of what a great country that I live in and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, despite its flaws. God Bless America!
The last country that I wanted to list as an honorable mention is Canada. Like I said, my parents are from Buffalo…so Canada is their second home country even though I (personally) never had the pleasure of crossing the border. They apparently used to cross over to Canada all the time before passports were needed. I have, however been to Niagara Falls, and that national landmark was represented in this pavilion.
The Canada Pavilion is designed to remind guests of Canada’s outdoors. It includes a replica of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta and British Columbia, Totem Poles, a replica of the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, a replica of the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia and the attraction of “O’ Canada” which is a movie that shows all of Canada’s greatest landmarks, cities and culture. The pavilion also features a gift shop which sells Canadian merchandise and a restaurant called Le Cellier Steakhouse which serves Brunch, Lunch and Dinner food items, including authentic Maple syrup, authentic Poutine and an assortment of Canadian beers. Just like all the other countries, all the employees in this pavilion hail from Canada.
I have one Canadian best friend who I have known since pre school because she used to live in Florida before her parents got a divorce. Evidently, her mother was from Toronto (which I didn’t know that at the time) and she since moved away with her mother back to Toronto where the rest of her family live. It was a sad day for me though. We’ve still kept in contact after all these years and when I visited this pavilion I sent her a photo of me eating poutine from Le Cellier and I told her I was thinking of her.
- Whenever we used to visit Buffalo, we always reunited at the Niagara Falls border and got to spend the day together and catch up. Her family also sends me Canadian snacks such as Coffee Crisp and Ketchup Chips through the mail and I appreciate it a lot. When it was time for both of us to attend college, she came back to Florida to attend UCF since her father lives in Orlando. Therefore, I got to see her more often during our college years.
While the countries of Epcot are certainly the biggest attractions in the park, Epcot also has some really cool futuristic rides such as Test Track, Mission Space, Soarin, and Spaceship Earth.
Test Track is my favorite ride here because it is just as thrilling as Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom. The ride is a simulated excursion through the rigorous testing procedures that General Motors uses to evaluate its concept cars, culminating in a high-speed drive around the exterior of the attraction. It closed for refurbishment on April 15, 2012, and re-opened on December 6, 2012. It is now sponsored by the Chevrolet brand instead of General Motors as a whole, which had sponsored the attraction since its initial opening. Before the 2012 refurbishment, guests rode in “test vehicles” in a GM “testing facility” through a series of assessments to illustrate how automobile prototype evaluations were conducted. The highlight of the attraction was (and still is) a speed trial on a track around the exterior of the building at a top speed of 64.9 miles per hour (104.4 km/h) making it the fastest Disney theme park attraction ever built. After the 2012 refurbishment, guests design their own car in the Chevrolet Design Studio. Then they board a “Sim-Car” and are taken through the “digital” testing ground of the “SimTrack”. Throughout the ride, guests see how their designs performed in each test. After the ride, guests can see how their car did overall, film a commercial, race their designs, and have a picture taken with their own virtually designed vehicle with a chosen backdrop in the background.
Events that take place in Epcot is the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival where visitors 21 and over can eat and drink around the world. The festival begins at the end of August and lasts until the end of November. A lot of people get drunk at this event so I would advise to not bring your children to this park while the event is being held.
Walt Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios is by far my favorite Disney Park. It was the third out of the four parks built at Walt Disney World. Disney’s Hollywood Studios was initially developed as both a theme park inspired by show business and an operating production studio, with active film and television production services, an animation facility branch, and a functioning backlot. As a matter of fact, Disney Channel used to film a lot of their TV shows (such as the Mickey Mouse Club with Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling) right on these very grounds. In the 2010s, the park began to distance itself from the original studio backlot intention and entered a new direction of immersive theming and attraction development inspired by Hollywood stories.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has various notable rides such as The Rock N Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Star Tours The Adventure Continues.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is one of Disney’s classics! The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, also known as Tower of Terror and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: A New Dimension of Chills, is an accelerated drop tower dark ride located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Tokyo DisneySea, Walt Disney Studios Park, and formerly located at Disney California Adventure Park. The original version of the attraction opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in July 1994, and was the basis of the 1997 television film of the same name, several scenes of which were shot at the attraction. A decade later, Disney began plans to add similar versions of the attraction to their newest parks at the Disneyland Resort in California, Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan, and Disneyland Paris. In California and Paris, Disney sought to use the popular attraction to boost attendance at the respective resorts’ struggling new theme parks. The California and Tokyo versions of Tower of Terror opened in 2004and 2006, respectively, while financial problems delayed the opening of the Paris version until 2007. The California version closed in January 2017.
For those who don’t know, the ride takes place in a creepy abandoned 1930’s hotel where evidently a few guests mysteriously disappeared after getting on an elevator. Entering through the hotel’s front doors, guests encounter an interior designed to give the impression that the Hollywood Tower Hotel has been left untouched since the night of its closure. The lobby is covered in dust and draped with cobwebs, and throughout there are other signs of the hotel’s abrupt closure. Past the front desk, the main elevators are in a dilapidated state, and a sign reads “Out of Order”. When guests enter the elevator, they are taken on a journey into another dimension.
There is also used to be studio backlot tour which showed guests how popular movies such as Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Indiana Jones franchise, and Pearl Harbor were filmed and demonstrated a lot of different special effects. It also included a walking tour which showed real props that were used in films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Santa Clause, and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. The tour has since been closed, however and replaced with Toy Story Land.
Hollywood Studios also added a new addition to the park called Star Wars: Galaxy Edge in 2019 and the area has since increased attendance in the park twice as much as before. Attractions include the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, a flying simulator attraction that allows guests to pilot the Millenium Falcon through a customized secret mission on behalf of Hondo Ohnaka and Chewbacca. The forthcoming Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, will be a dark ride that places guests in “a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance”. Restaurants and shops include Oga’s Cantina, Savi’s Workshop, and the Droid Depot. To go with the new addition to the park, Disney is also constructing a brand new Star Wars themed hotel that will be included on Disney property.
Hollywood Studios also has a live show called “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular” which stars the real stunt doubles of Harrison Ford and Karen Allen (both stars of the Indiana Jones franchise) and other stunt people who have played as doubles in other popular action films. The show illustrates just how stunts are done in movies and uses Indiana Jones: Raidars of The Lost Ark as a prime example. This was my favorite show at Hollywood Studios.
Hollywood Studios also features an area called Municiberg which is themed after The Incredibles. An Edna Mode Meet n Greet is normally presented in this section of the park.
My all time favorite ride here is the Rock n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. This ride has to be the most thrilling and fastest ride (tied with Test Track) in the Disney parks. The ride is a roller coaster in the dark featuring different music by Aerosmith while on the ride. If you’re a fan of roller coasters and you also like rock music (specifically Aerosmith) this is definitely a ride for you.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is one of Disney’s most classic rides based off of an episode from old tv series “The Twilight Zone” which featured a haunted hotel with an elevator that takes guests to an alternate dimension. This is also a really fun ride, and the queue and cast members really make this ride even better.
Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is Disney World’s only animal based theme park. It was the fourth Disney theme park built in Orlando, Florida and the park is dedicated and themed entirely around the natural environment and animal conservation, a philosophy once pioneered by Walt Disney himself. Meet n Greets at this park are limited to only Disney characters whose stories and themes are set in an environmental wildlife setting. Disney characters such as Simba, Nala, Timon, and Rafiki (The Lion King), Baloo, King Louis and Mowgli (The Jungle Book), Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Tarzan and Jane (Tarzan) and Pocahontas are some of the only characters available because they match best with the environmental theme of the park. Some Pixar Meet n Greet characters include Russel and Dug (UP) and Nemo (Finding Nemo) both which also feature some type of environmental setting within their respective storylines. The last time I was here with Jack, we got a photo with Pocahontas, Jane and Tarzan and Simba!
Animal Kingdom features a live show called “The Festival of The Lion King” which is still currently running today. The show is a broadway style spectacular that features music from The Lion King and professional theatrical performers. Animal Kingdom also used to have a popular show called “Tarzan Rocks” which featured the music from the film by Phil Collins and multiple acrobatic performers who swung on ropes (vines) and performed multiple gymnastics tricks. The show brought to life the characters from the film such as Tarzan, Jane, and Terk and illustrates the relationship between Tarzan and Jane and how they fell in love.
One of the most notable attractions featured at Animal Kingdom is Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. The attraction is a large mountain that resembles Mount Everest in the Himalayas and the ride takes guests in a journey through the mountain where they will experience the Yeti, a legendary mythical creature that scientists have believed but have not yet proven of its existence. The ride itself is a steel roller coaster that goes forwards, backwards and dives through dark rocky tunnels making it one of the most popular attractions in Walt Disney World.
Animal Kingdom also features an Avatar area where two attractions such as Pandora: Flight of Passage and the Avatar Land Boat Ride. Both are truly breathtaking experiences that I would highly recommend to anyone. Jack and I went when it first opened and it became one of my all time favorite rides at this park. I know that is is also Jack’s favorite because Avatar was always one of his favorite movies.
We were both in middle school when the film came out in 2009 (he was in 8th grade while I was in 7th grade) and he was practically obsessed over it. He wanted me to see it with him, so I did. But we were only friends at that time. He really wanted to see the new ride in Disney, so we took a couples trip to Orlando about a year ago. It was amazing!
Animal Kingdom is also the only Disney park that has multiple wild animals on display in many areas of the park. The Tree of Life (featured in The Lion King) is the biggest iconic landmark of the park.
Walt Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon one of the Disney themed water parks in Orlando, Florida. It is home to one of the largest wave pools in the world. The theme of the park is the “Disney legend” of a typhoon that wreaked havoc upon a formerly pristine tropical paradise. Ships, fishing gear and surfboards are strewn about where the storm flung them. Its centerpiece is “Miss Tilly,” a shrimp boat impaled upon a mountain named “Mount Mayday” that erupts a 50-foot (15 m) geyser of water every half hour, right before the bells of the watch sound on it. Its mascot is “Lagoona Gator.” In 2016, the park admitted approximately 2,277,000 visitors, currently making it the second most visited water park in the world.
I have visited this water park during the summer of 2007 with my family, and this has to be my favorite water park that I have visited thus far. The park makes you feel like you’re really on an island. The park is home to multiple water slides, including the Crush n Gusher water coaster where one to two person rafts are propelled by water jets through hairpin turns and drop-offs.
The park also used to include a reef called “Typhoon Lagoons Shark Reef” which allows visitors to snorkel across a manmade lagoon full of stingrays, small sharks and other tropical fish. This attraction has been closed however due to its high costs.
Walt Disney’s Blizzard Beach
Blizzard Beach was the second Disney themed water park built after its sister park Typhoon Lagoon. In 2016, the park hosted approximately 2,091,000 guests, ranking it the third-most visited water park in the world, behind Typhoon Lagoon. The park is designed with four different levels: Green slope, Purple slope, Red slope and Ground Level. Each slope offers different types of waterslide attractions at different heights. The Green slope is the highest you can go with Summit Plummet being a main attraction of the level. Guests must take a ski lift in order to reach the top of Mount Gushmore.
This is the only Disney park that I have not been to yet, so I personally can’t say much about it through my experiences. However, I’ve heard a lot of great reviews on it. I mean, it is a Disney water park so it can’t be that bad, right?
Disney Springs (Downtown Disney)
With all of the theme parks and water parks that Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida has to offer, it also has a huge downtown area located on Disney property. The area (which formerly was called “Downtown Disney”) is called Disney Springs and offers guests a lot of amazing areas for dining, shopping and entertainment. Disney Springs is divided into four areas: Marketplace, The Landing, Town Center, and West Side. The complex is bordered by Lake Buena Vista to the north and the parking garages and surface lots to the south. Walt Disney Imagineering took inspiration for Disney Springs from real coastal towns found throughout Florida, such as St. Augustine and Coral Gables.
The Marketplace houses many shops and restaurants reminiscent of the American Craftsman-style of the 1930s. The first restaurant in the Earl of Sandwich chain is located here. T-Rex Cafe is a dinosaur-themed restaurant that features animatronic dinosaurs, woolly mammoths and simulated meteor showers, as well as an impressive Octopus Bar with moving tentacles and jellyfish, and a dinosaur-themed retail store. Personally, I think the T-Rex Cafe is one of the coolest restaurants to dine in Disney Springs. Jack has taken me there almost every time we went and it one of the more affordable restaurants there. Be prepared, however, this restaurant (like all the others in Disney Springs) gets crowded quickly, so be sure to make a reservation ahead of time, unless you want to wait over an hour for a table.
The Landing depicts the fictional town’s transportation hub and marina. The area features nautical-themed restaurants and shops, including Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar — an aviation-themed dive bar based on the character from the Indiana Jones films — and The Boathouse, which serves as the port for the amphibious automobiles that offer cruises of Lake Buena Vista. Jack and I ate at The Boathouse for our 5th year anniversary when we took a trip to Disney. That was memorable because he gave me a promise ring.
Fulton’s Crab House (previously known as the Empress Lily) a static replica paddle steamer riverboat on Village Lake. It is 220 feet long and 62 feet wide. The “boat” is actually a boat-shaped building with a submerged concrete foundation. Built for the Walt Disney World Resort in 1976, it contained three restaurants and a jazz lounge. It greeted guests for the first time on May 1, 1977, when it was christened by Lillian Disney, Walt Disney’s widow for whom the ship is named. This boat style restaurant has four different sections: The Baton Rouge Lounge, The Steerman’s Quarters, The Fisherman’s Deck, and The Empress Room.
In 2016, Fulton’s Crab House went under for renovations and was temporarily closed. It reopened and was renamed to The Paddlefish. However, I will still call it Fulton’s because that is how I remember it.
Town Center depicts the fictional town’s central business district, featuring Spanish Revival architecture from the 1920s. The Town Center area also features the namesake “springs”, which are artificial. This area of Disney Springs offers more shopping retail stores such as Sephora, Pandora, Anthropologie, Uniqlo, Kate Spade and many more.
West Side depicts the town’s exposition center, having been developed in the 1950s, according to the town’s fictional history. This area is where guests can receive a majority of their entertainment. One big attraction is the AMC Downtown Disney 24, an entire movie theater where people can dine and watch a movie in theaters of their choice. DisneyQuest used to be a huge attraction as well before it got replaced by The NBA Experience. DisneyQuest used to be a huge two story arcade attraction located in the West Side. The NBA Experience is an immersive basketball themed attraction which allows guests to experience being an NBA player. You can practice 3-pointers, shooting, dribbling, and watch multiple NBA films etc. I’ve unfortunately haven’t been able to experience this yet, but I do look forward to doing it soon.
Characters in Flight is another huge attraction located in this area. It is a large hot air balloon that takes guests on a hot air balloon ride. The balloon will not fly if there is severe weather, so if you plan on purchasing tickets ahead of time for this, I would check on weather updates before going.
La Nouba is a Cirque Du Soleil show that ran for 19 years at Disney Springs. It was a contemporary circus performance featuring acrobats, gymnasts, and other skilled performers. This show unfortunately closed, but Disney has plans to reopen it soon with a brand new Cirque Du Soleil show, theme and set design. The new show will pay homage to Disney’s rich history of animation, with a vivid story told in a way that only Cirque du Soleil can deliver.
Walt Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a 220 acres (89 ha) athletic complex with a total of nine venues and hosts numerous amateur and professional sporting events throughout the year. The different venues in the complex are as follows:
The Champion Stadium
A 7,500 seat baseball stadium and one of the original components of Wide World of Sports. It is the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves. The stadium has hosted two regular season Major League Baseball series in 2007 and 2008 featuring the Tampa Bay Rays as the home team.
HP Field House
A 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena, The HP Field House has 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2)with stadium style seating with the highest row 35 feet off the floor. It also features a smaller gymnasium behind the main arena with retractable seating. Beginning in 2018, the arena hosts the Jr. NBA Global Championship, a tournament that features both boys’ and girls’ teams divided into national and international regions.
When I was a gymnast, I had numerous competitions that were hosted at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports. Most of the competitions took place in this exact arena. It was an amazing feeling to be able to compete here.
Visa Center
The Visa Athletic Center is a 70,000-square-foot arena. The center features six college-size basketball courts, twelve volleyball courts, or two roller hockey rinks. Its seating capacity is 1,200.
As a gymnast, I sometimes had my competitions held in this arena as well.
Marathon Sports Fields
The Marathon Sports Fields consists of twelve fields, the Baseball Quadraplex, Softball Quadraplex and four multiple purpose fields.
One of the fields has 500 permanent seats, and another has 1,000 permanent seats, expandable to up to 3,000 with additional grandstands. Field 17, the field with the larger grandstands, hosts the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, an annual eight-team preseason soccer tournament featuring Major League Soccer teams.
Baseball Quadraplex
Consisting of four professional baseball fields and one practice infield, the quadraplex also includes batting tunnels, pitching mounds, hitting tunnels, masters pitching machines, and ten bullpens. All fields are equipped for night play.
Softball Quadraplex
The first venue to be completed at the facility, it consists of six fields used for softball and youth baseball. Organized with four fields in circle and two adjacent.
Tennis Complex
A 1,000 to 8,500 seat tennis complex with 10-clay courts with center court stadium and was one of the original nine venues.
Cross Country Course
The Cross Country Course consists of multi-purpose fields, the Track and Field Complex, and a 0.7-mile wooded trail.
Track and Field Complex
A 500-seat competition facility for track and field events, this venue was one of the original nine venues. The venue consists of:
- nine lane track
- three shot put rings
- two discus/hammer rings
- a javelin runway
- two high jump areas
- two horizontal jump runways
- two pole vault runways
The Arena
The Arena opened in early January 2018 as the third indoor multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena at the complex. While multipurpose, the venue was designed for cheer and dance events. Its first event was the UCA and UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship, January 12 to the 14, 2018.
- seats: 8,000
- flexible configuration:
- six plus regulation-sized basketball courts
- six plus regulation-sized volleyball courts
Universal’s Island’s of Adventure
Walt Disney World isn’t the only thing to experience while in Orlando, Florida. Remember when I said you had to plan a week’s trip to experience everything? I meant it! Orlando is home to two huge theme park companies both of which compete against each other but yet are neighbors. Universal Studios has its own property in the Orlando area and is just as good as Walt Disney World. If you want to take a break from Mickey Mouse for awhile, this is the place to go. Universal has two theme parks which link together and just recently built its own Universal themed water park. They also include their own downtown area called “Citywalk” which features a lot of popular entertainment, dining and shopping areas.
I know what you’re thinking… “There is a Universal Studios in Hollywood, California! Florida isn’t special.” I know that. I also know that, like Disney, California is also home to the original Universal Studios Park. I’ve never been to that one, but I’m sure it’s cool. I heard it is a real Hollywood Studio where a lot of films were made. Universal Studios in Florida is a little different though, considering that it consists of, not one, but two theme parks. It’s cool that you might be able to see a live film being made at the Hollywood park, but if you’re a thrill seeker and you want some awesome thrill rides, Orlando is the park that might suit you more. That’s because Orlando has more space and more of a budget to make bigger things, which is why many of the rides and thrilling attractions were actually born at the Orlando location before Hollywood would follow suit. Both Universal theme parks feature attractions based on popular films and TV shows such as The Simpsons, Harry Potter, Marvel, King Kong and many more. So if you’re a huge movie freak, this park is for you.
Island’s of Adventure is just one of the two Universal theme parks. Islands of Adventure is modeled after a journey of exploration, where guests embark on an adventure to visit a variety of themed islands. Initially, the park featured eight islands:
- Port of Entry
- Marvel Superhero Island
- Toon Lagoon
- Skull Island
- Jurassic Park
- Seuss Landing
- The Lost Continent
- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
The Port of Entry is the park’s main entrance and is home to many shops and services including Guest Services aptly named The Open Arms Hotel. The park’s centerpiece, Pharos Lighthouse, is also located within Port of Entry. Each night, this real, functioning lighthouse sends out a bright beam to lead visitors to and from the park’s gates. Like many theme parks using the “hub and spokes” format, this entry Island contains no rides. It has dining options including Croissant Moon Bakery, Backwater Bar, The Grinch & Friends Character Breakfast, Confisco Grille, Starbucks, & Cinnabon.
Before Disney bought the rights to Marvel, Universal Studios had the rights to it all the way back in when the park first opened in the 1990s. After Disney bought the rights to Marvel, this did not affect anything in the Universal owned park, and thankfully, Marvel Superhero Island remained to stay. Marvel Superhero Island is based on the superhero characters featured in Marvel Comics. The area features comic-book styled architecture; many of the building interiors are created in comic book perspective, with exaggerated lines and angles. The island is home to various popular attractions which are all based off of iconic Marvel characters. Attractions such as “The Incredible Hulk Coaster”, “The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman”, “Doctor Doom’s Fearfall” and “The Storm Force Acceleration”. Out of all of them, “The Incredible Hulk Coaster” and “The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman” are my all time favorites.
The Incredible Hulk Coaster is themed after the famous Marvel character, The Hulk. The coaster launches riders from 0–60mph up a 110-foot-tall hill as if they are being shot out of a cannon. he ride features two subterranean dives, is partially built over water, and is illuminated green at night. This coaster has went through multiple changes throughout the years. Originally, the coaster was themed around the life of Bruce Banner and his story of how he became The Hulk. Throughout the original queue, riders entered the science laboratory of Dr. Bruce Banner with many televisions showing a cartoon about the story of the Hulk. Bruce tried to find a way to reverse the effects, which the guests were about to take part in. While walking through the lab they encountered items including the generator, the gamma core and the towers of power. Riders were also able to watch the roller coaster through large holes in the walls as well as listen to the ride as it did a number of passes. Once riders had boarded the train, it departed the station entering the gamma-ray accelerator, where the anxious voice of Bruce Banner was issued from speakers in the walls: “Everything looks good…I think…I think this time it’s…going to work!” On cue, a female voice announces that there was a malfunction. Klaxons began to sound inside the tube as Dr. Banner screamed in terror: “No. No! No!! NO!!!” The last “No!” was synchronized with the launch mechanism, which propelled the train from 0–60mph with 2 seconds flat.
In 2016, the ride went under for refurbishments and reopened later in the year. The queue and the storyline behind the ride completely changed although the theme of the Hulk still remained. The new queue places guests inside a perilous scientific experiment led by General Thaddeus Ross, in which the guests will be used as his test subjects. The televisions now show CGI animations of test subjects being exposed to gamma radiation and being transformed into Hulk-like creatures. The new version of the attraction incorporated new features such as the upgraded launch tunnel and on-board music. After walking through the queue, guests arrive at General Ross’ launching platform. After boarding the vehicle, they depart the launching platform and directly enter the gamma core. The train ascends into the gamma ray launch tunnel, when the female announcer tells the riders “Initiating Gamma Exposure. Hulk Transformation: Accelerating. Do not be afraid.” The gamma accelerator then blasts riders with superhuman strength, catapulting them out from the gamma ray accelerator.
- During my senior year, my friends and I came to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for our 2014 Senior Grad Bash, which every high school in the state of Florida participates in. (During Senior Grad Bash, seniors in all Florida High Schools take a night field trip to either Walt Disney World or Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, and they stay from 6:00pm-2:00am.) Our group rode this ride at night, and it was incredible! It was the most exhilarating feeling that I have ever experienced.
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is a motion-based 4D dark ride based on the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man. The ride turns park guests into last minute reporters of the Daily Bugle, and after boarding a vehicle known as the “Scoop”, the rider learns that the Sinister Syndicate has captured the Statue of Liberty with an anti-gravity gun. This evil group is made up of five famous Spider-Man villains who are featured in the ride; Doctor Octopus, Scream, Electro, Hydro-Man, and the Hobgoblin, and it is up to Spider-Man to defeat the villains and save the guests. Everything in this ride is entirely based off of the comic books, so don’t expect to see anything related to the Spiderman film franchises in this ride. Marvel creator Stan Lee also makes two separate cameos in this ride, so keep your eyes out for him.
During the queue, guests enter the Daily Bugle office where they are shown a video in which the company’s good reputation is touted and a new high tech news-gathering vehicle, the “Scoop”, is introduced. After walking through the empty office, guests are shown a “live” video feed of news coverage. Five supervillains led by Doctor Octopus have lain siege to the city by an experimental anti-gravity cannon created by Doctor Octopus himself. The syndicate steals the Statue of Liberty and threatens to destroy it if the city does not surrender to them. As guests walk through the empty offices of the Bugle, it becomes apparent that all the reporters have fled, leaving The Bugle’s Editor-in-Chief J. Jonah Jameson with no choice but to send the tourists to cover the story using the Bugle’s new Scoop vehicle.
After donning night vision goggles (3D glasses), the “cub reporters” get in the Scoop and leave the loading docks to a Manhattan back alley where they encounter Spider-Man. Throughout the ride, guests experience all five super villains along with being splashed in the face by Hydroman, electrocuted by Electro, almost burned to death by the Hobgoblin, and nearly killed by dropping off a 400ft Manhattan building until Spiderman rescues them with his webs.
I first rode on this when I was four years old, and the ride terrified me because I didn’t expect all of the fire to be exploding in my face. I also didn’t expect to be falling off of a 400ft building. I cried extremely hard and was shaking violently and it scared me so bad, I refused to go on any other rides as a child. That is how immersive the spiderman ride is. When I was four, I felt like I was really in New York City about to be blown to bits. Since I got over my fear of it, I have loved this ride because of its amazing special effects and thrilling elements. The moment you step into the Scoop vehicle, you are transferred from Orlando, Florida into a comic book world. Spiderman is also my favorite Marvel superhero, so that’s another reason why I love it so much.
Doctor Doom’s Fearfall is a space shot ride based on he Marvel Comics supervillan Doctor Doom from The Fantastic Four franchise.
During the queue, riders enter the science laboratory of Doctor Doom, with many televisions showing details behind Doom’s latest invention, and its ability to defeat the Fantastic Four. You soon become a subject of Dr. Doom and he traps you so he can have your fear extracted. Your fear will become the ingredient he needs for his weaponry schemes. After walking through the queue, guests arrive at Doctor Doom’s launching platform. After boarding the vehicle, a doombot begins the countdown. After the countdown, riders are launched into the air for approximately 2 minutes. After the riders return to the ground, Doom laughs manically as he successfully got everything he wanted. The countdown may not always be the same, making the pre-launch wait scary.
This is a very underrated ride in the Marvel section, in my opinion. It really knows how to get your heart pounding because the pre-launch wait feels like an eternity. It will give anybody a great adrenaline rush.
The next stop through Islands of Adventure is Toon Lagoon. Toon Lagoon is based on the cartoon characters of King Features Syndicate and Jay Ward. The area focuses on water-based rides (hence the name) and features three counter-service restaurants. Toon Lagoon features three main attractions: “Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls”, “Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges” and “Me Ship, the Olive”. All of these attractions involve water.
Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls is a log flume ride inspired by the old popular Canadian television show “Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties” written by Jay Ward and Alex Anderson. The ride centers around the show’s main character, Dudley Do-Right, a Canadian Mountie who must rescue his love interest Nell Fenwick, an actress who was kidnapped by Snidely, the show’s antagonist. The ride is a log flume combined with roller coaster track base that includes three huge drops, all of which plunge the riders into water, guaranteeing that everyone gets equally soaked.
The attraction’s queue area passes through: Snidely Whiplash’s hideout; a theater that spoofs movies such as Jaws, The Silence of the Lambs, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Three Men and a Baby and Star Wars; and a room with a talking bear head and a talking beaver head on a wall. While passing through the theater room of the queue, guests watch as Nell Fenwick is kidnapped from her dressing room, setting up the ride’s main story. Throughout the queue and in the loading area, there are black and white screens showing a preview of a fictional cartoon, RipSaw Falls. During the queue, guests will also encounter queue actors dressed as Canadian Mounties assisting them onto the ride.
This is by far, the best water ride I have been on so far in my life. Every time Jack and I or my friends and I visit Islands of Adventure, and we are dripping with sweat because it is so incredibly hot, this ride always comes through with giving us a nice cool off. There is absolutely no escaping it, you will 100% get soaked on it, and that’s why I love it so much.
Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges is a river rafting water ride themed after the old television show Popeye the Sailor written by King Features Syndicate. The ride centers around the show’s main character Popeye as he attempts to rescue his girlfriend Olive from Bluto, the show’s antagonist. Riders go through the river rapids at high speeds while spinning, going through tunnels, and going down big steep drops right into the river. Meanwhile, non riders on a bridge make attempts at squirting the quests with huge squirt guns. Like Dudley Do-Right, Popeye’s ride will guarantee that you 100% get soaked as you go under waterfalls and get splashed by oncoming waves from the current.
I remember when my friends and I came to Islands of Adventure, we went on this three times in a row, and we were so soaked that there was water in my sneakers and my toes were all pruney by the end of the day. I felt like I was walking around in a puddle for the rest of the day, but it was so worth it.
Seuss Landing is an island in Islands of Adventure that is themed around the works of author Dr. Seuss. The island features several Seuss-themed attractions, especially geared towards small children, as well as a Green Eggs and Ham Cafe and Circus McGurkus restaurant. As in the books, one of the unique characteristics of this area is that there is not a single straight line anywhere. Palm trees bent by the winds of Hurricane Andrew were even planted in the area to continue this theme.
Seuss Landing includes six attractions inspired by Dr. Seuss’ books. The Cat in the Hat is a dark ride that takes guests through the Dr. Seuss story of the same name. The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride is a twin-tracked tour above and around Seuss Landing. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish is a spinning ride with a musical riddle that will help riders escape water-spitting fish. Caro-Seuss-el is a Seuss themed carousel. Oh, The Stories You’ll Hear is a stage show based on the Dr. Seuss books and characters. If I Ran the Zoo is an interactive play zone for kids.
Skull Island is the newest island at the park, having been opened in the summer of 2016. The area’s sole attraction, “Skull Island: Reign of Kong”, which is entirely based off of the 2005 King Kong film starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black, and Adrian Brody. The ride takes guests through an expedition through Skull Island in which guests will encounter various animals featured in the film such as Carnictis and multiple species of dinosaurs, including the T-Rex. Eventually, guests will encounter King Kong himself throughout the journey.
In the queue, guests enter under a giant sculpture of King Kong. Guests start to proceed into a line outside of the temple where they can hear radio broadcast advertising the expedition group and playing music. They then proceed into the temple of the natives, where many skulls line the walls and figures of their beliefs lie. Guests then enter into a chamber where a shamaness is performing a ritual and possibly warning guests that they are in sacred lands and are not safe. As guests proceed through the temple, they encounter bodies of the dead and possibly natives (scare actors) that may scare oblivious guests. After leaving the temple area, guests proceed into the base camp where many supplies are stacked and ready to be taken on the trucks. Guests also encounter an animatronic worm that moves around but doesn’t attack. After this line, guests pick up their 3D glasses and are sent to the boarding area to wait for their truck to arrive. The guests then board a truck, with a driver played by an animatronic person styled to look like a Universal cast member; the driver character varies from one truck to the next.
During the ride, guests enter the expedition truck with one of five different drivers each containing a different backstory for the ride. They drive into a dark cave while Skull Island natives chant King Kong’s name, much like the movie. Guests ride through caves and soon dive through rivers of mud and explore the jungle among the island. Unfortunately, they are attacked by multiple T-Rexes until King Kong intervenes and battles all of them. The ride is an updated version of the original Universal Studios Kong ride that closed in 2002.
In all honesty, this wasn’t my favorite ride, but it is definitely not bad. The ride was just a little too short in my opinion, however I felt like walking through the queue was an adventure of its own. The queue was completely immersive with all of the small details from the movie such as the queue actors scaring guests while dressed as the natives and the shamaness giving everyone warning. I can’t forget about the animatronic animals and the scary looking detail of all the statues.
Another popular island (and frankly one of my favorites) in Universal’s Island’s of Adventure is Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park is themed to Steven Spielberg’s film series of the same name. Set after the events of the first film, the area undertakes the guise of the John Hammond’s dinosaur theme park featured in the series. As such, the area is filled with the attractions and exhibits one would find in the “real” Jurassic Park, including thrill rides and discovery-based exhibits. The island is currently going through remodeling due to a new attraction coming soon that will be themed around the brand new Jurassic World franchise. This way, Universal Orlando can keep their classic water ride based off of the original film, unlike its sister park in Hollywood, which replaced and re-themed its version of the Jurassic Park water ride for a Jurassic World water ride. Jurassic Park currently includes one attraction called “The Jurassic Park River Adventure” and they will eventually have a new Jurassic World themed roller coaster called the “VelociCoaster”.
The Jurassic Park River Adventure is a water raft ride based entirely on the original Jurassic Park film. It features various different dinosaur species such as Ultrasaurus, Brachiosaurus, Psittacosaurus, Stegosaurus, Compsognathus, Parasaurolophus, Dilophosaurus, Velociraptor and the Tyrannosaurus rex. The ride at first begins as a calm boat tour through Jurassic Park. Everything seems to be going smoothly until the raft drifts into a restricted and dangerous area where Velociraptors are being contained. The raft then heads into the water treatment plant where multiple dangerous dinosaurs have gotten loose.
If you love Jurassic Park like me, then this ride is definitely one to try. I went on this for the first time when I was six years old and I loved it ever since then.
- Note: I have been a huge Jurassic Park fan since I was five years old. My parents never wanted me to watch it back then because they thought it was inappropriate. But when we were in Buffalo and my parents had left me at my aunts house so that she could babysit me while they went out somewhere, I saw my older cousins Josh (who was 12 at the time) and Michael (who was 9 at the time) watching it. Michael saw me sneak into the room and I explained to him that I really wanted to watch the movie but my parents won’t let me. Josh let me climb up on their bunkbed with them and we watched it together, and to this day my parents never knew I saw the movie before I rode this ride…
The Lost Continent is themed to ancient myths and legends, and is divided into two sub-sections; an ancient Arabian marketplace called Sinbad’s Bazzaar, and a Grecian-Atlantis-esque Lost City. Formerly, the Lost Continent included a medieval section Merlinwood, but the majority of that area was re-themed for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Today the area contains one live-action show. This land is also home to Mythos, which is one of two full-service restaurants in the park and was voted winner of best theme park restaurant by Theme Park Insider for six successive years between 2003 and 2008.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter- Hogsmeade is a chain of themed areas based on the Harry Potter novel and film franchise written by J.K Rowling. It was the seventh island added to the theme park replacing the famous Jaws ride in 2010. Harry Potter was Universal’s largest investment since the resort’s founding in 1990. They had to make a deal with Warner Brothers Pictures (the production studio that created all eight Harry Potter films) and get the rights from J.K Rowling herself. The expansion led to a significant increase in attendance, and in 2013, Islands of Adventure ranked seventh domestically and eleventh internationally after hosting approximately 8.1 million guests. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter first opened in Orlando, Florida before it gained a huge increase in attendance and popularity. In 2016, Universal Studios Hollywood installed their version of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Before the segment’s opening, Rowling herself got to experience everything first hand before it was opened to the public. Cast members such as Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), James & Oliver Phelps (Fred & George Weasley), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid) and Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) got to have a small grand tour of the segment before its opening day. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) received their personal grand tour of the segment on the day before it opened. On opening night, the entire cast and J.K Rowling walked across a red carpet towards a center stage where the star of the film, Daniel Radcliffe would deliver a speech and have everyone raise their wands in the air saying “Lumos Maxima” before the curtains dropped and the Hogwarts castle was revealed to the public.
There are five main attractions in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter along with multiple shops and dining areas that are featured in the books and films. The attractions are “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey”, A new roller coaster, “Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure”, which replaced the “Dragon Challenge”, “Flight of The Hippogriff”, and “The Hogwarts Express”. Other areas include The Three Broomsticks, The Hogs Head, Ollivander’s Wand Shop, Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods, Dervish and Banges, Honeydukes, and The Owl Post. Not to mention, there is a big barrel stand that sells frozen Butterbeer (which is quite delicious!).
- **Note: If you purchase an interactive wand here, there are various places in this segment of the park where you can perform specific spells. The Mauraders Map that you receive with your wand will tell you where these locations are along with the spell you should say and the hand motion you should make while performing it. You can either buy a character’s wand or your own wand. I purchased a Ginny Weasley wand and I don’t regret it.***
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a motion-based dark ride that takes guests through scenes and environments in and around Hogwarts Castle from the Harry Potter series of books and films. The cast themselves adjusted their schedules in order to reprise their roles as their characters and film the segments featured on the ride. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Tom Felton, Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Katie Lueng (Cho Chang), and Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) all returned to film scenes that will be featured in the ride. The ride features numerous settings, characters and creatures that played a dynamic role in at least one of the eight films.
Guests enter the ride through the Hogwarts Castle where queue actors dressed as Hogwarts students greet the Muggles into their school. Throughout the queue, there are multiple objects recognizable from the series including the Mirror of Erised, the Hogwarts House Jewels, and talking portraits of all four House founders of Hogwarts. Guests also pass by or through notable rooms from the series such as Professor Snape’s Potions Classroom, The Herbology Classroom, Dumbledore’s Office, The Defense Against The Dark Arts Classroom, The Gryffindor Common Room and The Room of Requirement. Connecting hallways show moving pictures on the walls and a copy of The Daily Prophet with Harry’s moving photo on the front page. Other iconic objects that you may see include The Pensieve (featured in Goblet of Fire) in Dumbledore’s office, The Fat Lady singing, The Sorting Hat, and multiple statues that were seen within The Room of Requirement in the fifth, sixth and seventh books and movies. Dumbledore can be seen welcoming the Muggles as they enter his office and Harry, Ron and Hermione welcome the Muggles while in the Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom. Guests then enter the Room of Requirement where they will board the benches that have been enchanted by Hermione.
On the ride, Harry attempts to take you to the Quidditch Pitch in order for you to watch the Slytherin vs Gryffindor game, however you end up experiencing a Hungarian Horntail, Aragog the spider, The Whomping Willow, Dementors, and The Chamber of Secrets. At one point Harry even has to rescue the guests before they are taken over by the Dementors.
I am a huge Harry Potter fan, so when the original Harry Potter theme of the park opened up in Florida I was beyond ecstatic. Everything about this ride is so immersive, you actually feel like you are in the movie and you really feel like you’re flying on a broom. When you come face to face with Aragog, he spits water into your face! It was amazing! Although if you have an intense fear of spiders, be warned that this ride contains a large spider sequence in the middle of it. The Hungarian Horntail spits fire into your face and the Dementors blow extremely cold air on your face as if they were really sucking out your soul.
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is a brand new high speed roller coaster that is centered around the character of Hagrid while he takes guests on a journey through the Forbidden Forrest. The ride is so new that I haven’t even had the chance to experience it yet. It replaced another roller coaster called “Dueling Dragons”, which centered around the fourth book and film “Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire”.
The new Hagrid themed coaster has a number of different magical creatures that were featured in both the films in the books. One big one being Fluffy, the three headed dog. It also features the Blast Ended Skrewt (which is not featured in any of the films, however is mentioned in the book series) and the Devil’s Snare (featured in the first book and film).
Even though the ride is no longer there, I feel that I should at least mention Dueling Dragons, only because it was such an iconic coaster that was at Island’s of Adventure for a long time. The Dueling Dragons coaster was neat because they were two separate coasters that intertwined together. The ride’s storyline is set within the fourth installment of the Harry Potter franchise, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. Both coasters act as dragons that are about to engage in a duel. One coaster was called The Hungarian Horntail (Blue Coaster) and the other was called The Chinese Fireball (Red Coaster). While in line for the queue, guests pass by the Triwizard Cup and the Goblet of Fire itself which has a blue lit fire coming out of it. Guests go through the Triwizard Champions tent, passed by the Ford Anglia that honked as people walked by (featured in the Chamber of Secrets), and passed by Hagrid’s cottage.
The Hogwarts Express is an interactive train ride (featured in both the books and films) that takes guests in Hogsmeade to Universal Orlando’s other theme park Universal Studios Orlando, where guests will arrive at Kings Cross Station in Diagon Alley (the extension to the Harry Potter world added in 2015). Guests who ride this must have a park-to-park Universal pass, otherwise they will not be permitted on the ride.
The Hogwarts Express takes guests straight into the world of Harry, where Harry, Ron and Hermione’s shadows can be seen through one side and the outside Wizarding World can be seen out the window. The experience traveling to Diagon Alley is different than the experience of traveling from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade.
Universal Orlando is the only Universal theme park that offers this ride along with the addition of Diagon Alley. Universal Studios Hollywood does not offer The Hogwarts Express nor Diagon Alley.
In Ollivanders Wand Shop, guests are invited to participate in a Wand Choosing Ceremony where one lucky witch or wizard is picked to have a wand choose them as its master. The wand wood, core and durability is determined by the birthday of the person chosen for the ceremony.
After the ceremony, guests can further explore Ollivander’s shop and look at all of the neat wands in store. There are wands made specifically for someone which is specified by their exact birthday OR you have the option to purchase the wand of your favorite Harry Potter character. As I said before, I purchased Ginny Weasley’s wand, meanwhile my boyfriend Jack bought Sirius Black’s wand. Death Eater wands such as Bellatrix LeStrange and Lord Voldemort’s wands are also offered.
As I noted previously in italic, if you purchase an interactive wand, whether it be your own or a characters wand, you can go around both Harry Potter parks and locate some areas where you can perform a spell.
Dervish and Banges Shop is a shopping store within The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The store was featured in both the films and the books. The store sells House merchandise, books, Quidditch Brooms and uniforms, and different Hogwarts robes and uniforms.
The Three Broomsticks is a dining area located in Hogsmeade of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida. The name of the restaurant is based from the books of the Harry Potter franchise. It serves authentic British cuisine. What is interesting about this restaurant, is that even though it was mentioned in the books, it wasn’t featured in the films until the sixth installment of Harry Potter (Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince). By the point of filming the sixth movie, this restaurant was already designed and the director used the design of this exact restaurant to model the stage set for the scenes that took place within the Three Broomsticks in the movie. So that means, yes, that exact table that I sat at next to the giant fireplace with all the mounted antlers is precisely the same one that was on the big screen.
The Three Broomsticks sells British cuisine along with Pumpkin juice, Butterbeer and other amazing foods that will surely satisfy your appetite.
The Hogs Head is a pub located in the heart of Hogsmeade. It is a place that serves Frozen Butterbeer along with other alcoholic drinks and Pumpkin Juice. The pub was featured in both the films and the books, and it was the meeting area for Dumbledore’s Army.
Honeydukes is a candy shop located in both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida. The shop was featured in both the books and the films. The store was designed after the shop featured in the third installment of the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Many of the candies in the Honeydukes store in Orlando were inspired by candies specifically mentioned in the book, such as Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Fudge Flies, Sugar Quills, Chocoballs, Acid Pops, Pumpkin Pasties, Licorice Wands, Chocolate Wands, and many more.
During my Grad Bash, my friends and I came into Honeydukes. My friend Sarah purchased a Chocolate Frog (with a Rowena Ravenclaw card) and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. I purchased a Pumpkin Pastie along with a bag full of different wizard candies. Honeydukes gives you the option to get a bag. You can put in as much wizard candy as you want and you can get any type of candy that you want, and then you pay by the pound. Needless to say, I was really high on sugar on my Grad Bash night with all the dessert and candy that I purchased at Honeydukes. All of it was really good though.
Universal Studios Orlando
Universal Studios Florida is the second of the two Universal theme parks located in Orlando, Florida. While its neighboring park is strictly an amusement park, Universal Studios Orlando is also a production studio, much like its California counterpart. Much like Islands, the park’s theme is the entertainment industry, in particular movies and television. Universal Studios Florida inspires its guests to “ride the movies”, and it features numerous attractions and live shows. Celebrities such as Ellen Degeneres and Jimmy Fallon have hosted their TV programs right here at Universal Studios Orlando. Other celebrities such as Kevin Hart, Millie Bobby Brown, Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes, Kylie Jenner and many other have taken vacations to the popular Florida theme park.
In 2017, the park hosted an estimated 10,198,000 visitors, ranking as the sixth most attended theme park in the United States, as well as the ninth most attended theme park worldwide.
The park is home to some of the most iconic attractions in the U.S. In the 1990s, the park featured attractions themed after popular movies such as Back To The Future, Men in Black, Ghostbusters, E.T, and Jaws. Today, a lot has changed, however Universal still managed to keep their most iconic rides. Attractions such as “E.T Adventure” and “Men in Black: Alien Attack” still remain in the park today. However, some props that were used in the old attractions can still be seen throughout the park. The Jaws Photo Op still remains in the park where the old Jaws ride used to be. If you walk around you may also see the old DMC DeLorean featured in the Back To The Future ride.
Today, Universal has added a lot more attractions, including “Revenge of the Mummy”, “Hollywood’s Rip Ride Rockit Coaster”, “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Diagon Alley”, “Transformers”, “Despicable Me”, “Jimmy Fallon” “Shrek”, “Fast and Furious”, and “The Simpsons”. The park is divided into nine sections, much like Islands of Adventure:
- Production Central
- New York City
- San Francisco
- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Diagon Alley
- World Expo
- Springfield: Home of The Simpsons
- Woody Woodpecker’s Kid Zone
- Hollywood
- Lagoon
Production Central is the section of the park that is first seen right after going through the front entrance of the park. The area contains attractions that are mainly based within a studio with the exception of one ride. Some of the best rides in this section is “Hollywood’s Rip Ride Rockit”, “Shrek 4-D” and “Despicable Me”.
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is a steel roller coaster that features on-ride music LED lighting, and on-ride photos and videos captured from cameras mounted in each passenger row. What makes this ride so unique is that it gives guests a music selection on a key pad that is installed in the harness. People can pick whichever song they want from any genre and the song will play during their ride experience. Every song in the playlist is supposed to be synced with the coaster track. Some song choices that is offered is “Bring Me To Life by Evanesence”, “Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf”, “Stronger by Kanye West”, “That’s The Way I Like It by KC and the Sunshine Band”, “Pump It by The Black Eyed Peas”, “Glamorous by Fergie”, “Stayin Alive by the Bee Gees”, “U Can’t Touch This by MC Hammer” and many more.
While entering the queue, riders must pass through a metal detector in order to board, and may not board with any loose items on their person or in pockets. Lockers are provided for storage of these items. In each of the queue lines, there are several large screen displays that explain how to pick a song to play during the ride and important safety instructions. In the video, characters called “Video DJ’s” are used as demonstrators to provide a visual explanation.
The station for the roller coaster is quite different from traditional stations. As the train enters, it slows down but does not stop. There is a moving sidewalk on both sides of the station moving at the same speed as the train so riders can load and unload. Riders have about 30 seconds to take their seat, lower the lap-bar, and make their song choice. After the restraints are checked, the train immediately begins to climb the 167-foot vertical chain lift and the song that the rider picked begins to play while the on-ride video recorder begins recording. When the train reaches the top of the lift, it drops back to the ground, reaching a maximum speed of 65 miles per hour.
The ride goes so fast, that if the weather is mildly rainy, the ride will close. This is because even a slight drizzle will feel like pins and needles due to the amount of speed this coaster can pick up. It is one of the fastest coasters in the park.
I know it seems like I’ve been saying this about almost every ride so far, but as far as Universal Studios Orlando goes, this is my favorite ride in the park. It’s thrilling and really helps get all of the adrenaline out of anyones system. I’ve went on this at night and during the day, however for the best experience, I’d say riding it at night makes it 10x more intense.
New York City features several dining outlets: Finnegan’s Bar and Grill and Louie’s Italian Restaurant which were designed for the park as well as Starbucks Coffee and Ben & Jerry’s which are commercial franchises. The area also features major attractions such as “The Revenge of the Mummy”, “Transformers” and “Race Through New York: Starring Jimmy Fallon”.
Revenge of the Mummy is an enclosed roller coaster based on the The Mummy film franchise. The attraction is held at two other Universal parks including Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Singapore. It first opened at the Orlando park in May 2004 and following it, Hollywood opened their version of the ride a month later. The attractions at each park are very different because they follow two completely different storylines.
In Orlando, the Revenge of the Mummy takes guests onto The Mummy film set by entering the massive Museum of Antiquities facade, browsing through the film setup of a fictional sequel titled “Revenge of the Mummy”. The film’s props, molds, and concept drawings are on display inside. TVs around the studio play a video explaining how the original Mummy film was made, and most importantly how the film’s fictional curse seemingly was proven to be real while filming, with various accidents and plagues striking the cast and crew. The star of the original film, Brendan Fraser makes a few cameos during the queue sequence, in which he is skeptical and refuses to wear the medjai symbol that the crew and locals are convinced will protect them from the curse. Brendan steals crew member Reggie’s medjai necklace and demands a coffee (which craft services would not serve him before since he was not wearing the medjai symbol). Reggie injures himself in a freak accident later in the video, and then is seen being trapped inside a sarcophagus prop in the background near the end of the video. The inside queue morphs into a 1940s archaeological dig inside an Egyptian tomb, where guests climb to the second floor to board mine carts utilizing individual lap bars.
While on the ride, guests go through Imhotep’s tomb where Reggie (a “Revenge of the Mummy” crew member who was missing on the set) is seen partly mummified and warning the guests. The ride dives into a pitch black tunnel and goes through rooms that are lit on fire (these rooms are incredibly hot by the way…). The ride also goes through a tunnel of beetles and goes backwards before it launches the guests from 0–40mph into pitch black darkness.
Brendan Fraser once again makes a cameo in the last scene of the ride as the coaster returns to the station.
This ride is extremely intense as it really takes you on an adventure into the tomb of a Mummy. As I noted before, you can really feel the heat of the fire when you’re in all of the fire rooms. However, the best part is the launch into darkness! If you love dark rides, this is definitely one for you.
Transformers: The Ride is a 4D dark ride at Universal Studios Orlando. The ride is also an attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Singapore. The ride is based off of the Transformers film franchise starring Shia Labeouf.
The first portion of the queue is a large collection of switchbacks. The later part of the queue is themed as a Nonbiological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty (NEST) base. A series of signs and video screens are located within this area. The video screens play briefings from General Morshower, Ironhide, and Ratchet, who explain that the Decepticons have come to Earth in search of the AllSpark and are attacking the NEST base in order to recover the fragment stored there. Optimus Prime concludes the briefing by introducing all of the Autobots that are featured in the ride. Towards the end of the queue, guests are given a pair of 3D glasses. Once guests arrive at the loading station, they are grouped and loaded into a ride vehicle modeled on an Autobot named Evac, whose mission is to take the AllSpark to safety with navigational help from a squad of NEST recruits (the riders).
The ride features Optimus Prime and many other Transformers characters. It is described as a more intense version of the Spiderman ride in Islands of Adventure.
I liked this ride, but it wasn’t my absolute favorite. However, I did ride it during my Grad Bash night which made it very memorable.
The Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon is a 3D motion-simulator attraction located only in Universal Studios Orlando. The ride was based off of Jimmy Fallon’s tenure as the host of The Tonight Show. This ride was initially Jimmy’s idea and he pitched it to Mark Woodbury, the president of Universal Creative. Eventually, Woodbury agreed with the idea and so Jimmy worked with two of his main writers on the ride’s concept for three and a half years. Soon filming commenced for it, and Jimmy had shared photos with the public of him in a motion capture suit and helmet, while sitting on a makeshift go-kart, surrounded by motion capture cameras. Fallon posted another photo on his Twitter account on a closed set in Vancouver filming new scenes for the attraction on April 18, 2016, this time wearing a suit as he usually wears on The Tonight Show, sitting in a hydraulic go-kart simulator in front of a green screen.
The attraction is housed inside a replica of 30 Rockefeller, where The Tonight Show is taped. The corridors of the actual NBC Studios are also replicated in the queue. Divided in two parts, the queue is composed of one in a lower level and the second in the upper. As guests enter the lobby in the lower level, they receive a ticket that matches one of the six colors in the NBC peacock logo. This level features displays of items from the entire history of The Tonight Show, including exhibits dedicated to each of its past hosts. Items on display include suits and desk props used by the hosts, admittance tickets from each host’s tenure, and an NBC video camera used for the show’s taping in the golden age, all adjacent to a display of Jimmy Fallon as the current host.
Guests are called in to enter Studio 6B once the lighting in the upper level waiting area changes to the color of the NBC ticket they were given at the receptionist desk. After guests are ushered into the doors that lead to Studio 6B, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon begins in the screens. The show begins with its intro and music played by The Roots, with Steve Higgins announcing the guests for this episode: you (the audience) “and featuring the Legendary Roots Crew”. The shot cuts to Questlove yelling “Universal Studios!” followed by Higgins introducing Jimmy Fallon. As he emerges from the curtains, studio applause lights flash, indicating the guests to do so as the show intro proceeds.
After the intro ends, Fallon begins the show with a quick monologue about the sights the audience will get to see in the race through New York City and requests the help of Roots vocalist Tariq Trotter to rap about the safety precautions of the ride, instead of reciting them because “that’s boring”. After the applause lights flash again for The Roots, Sara and her stepdad, Gary, make an appearance as the only people in the studio audience, who later leave the studio for the ride’s gift shop. After they leave, Fallon ushers guests to step inside Studio 6B to begin the race, as he returns backstage through the curtains he emerged from to board his vehicle, “The Tonight Rider” (a nod to Knight Rider, which aired on NBC).
While the ride itself is just a motion simulator, it was the queue that I really liked the best about this ride. I really felt like I was in New York City walking into a live taping of The Tonight Show. I like Jimmy Fallon, so seeing the small museum in the beginning and walking through the studio halls was completely immersive.
San Francisco is a small area within Universal Studios Orlando. The area only contains one attraction which is called “Fast & Furious: Supercharged”.
Fast & Furious Supercharged opened in 2018 at Universal Studios Orlando and it is entirely based off of the Fast & Furious film franchise starring Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson.
The facade is meant to represent a garage with Dom’s Charger parked outside. The queue winds through the garage which is full of cars from the films. Guests enter a room with pictures of the characters and a television screen. Guests are greeted by a live actor who tells them about the garage. Mia Toretto calls and tells guests that Dom has won another street race and is celebrating at Sullivan’s garage and that guests are invited. Tej appears and tells them that he has party buses to take the guests there. Guests then enter Tej’s war room where they are greeted by another cast member who explains everything in the room. Tej calls and says that the buses are ready, but is called by Dom who tells him that the FBI are honing in on their location. To make matters worse, Owen Shaw is following them. Tej then calls Hobbs who informs him on the plot and reminds guests to turn off their phones Shaw can’t track them. Guest enter the loading area past wanted posters for Shaw and his gang. Guests board the buses and head for the party. The ride follows the same pattern as the Hollywood version with the exception of the 3D and inserted shots of Tej and Mia.
Dwayne Johnson took time out of his schedule to film the scenes needed for this ride.
Diagon Alley is the second half of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter located in Universal Studios Orlando. In order to get there, you can either walk through a brick wall (which Hagrid and Harry walked through to get to Diagon Alley in the first film) or you can arrive by the Hogwarts Express.
This area is an extension of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Islands of Adventure and it was only built at the Florida location so far. Hollywood’s park does not offer Diagon Alley and has not mentioned of plans to bring it into their park. Universal Studios Japan, however, has mentioned plans to eventually introduce Diagon Alley into their park. The expansion opened in 2014.
Diagon Alley is full of multiple other Harry Potter attractions. The biggest one being Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts. The is a 4D indoor steel roller coaster dark ride that takes place during the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows- Part 2, in which Harry, Ron and Hermione infiltrate Gringotts Bank in order to break into Bellatrix Lestranges vault to retrieve a Horcrux. While guests encounter Harry, Ron and Hermione once more, this ride introduces a couple of new characters that were missing in the other half of the park. Characters such as Lord Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Bill Weasley make an appearance in this ride along with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Actors Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort), Helena Bohmen Carter (Bellatrix) and Domhnall Gleeson (Bill) reprised their roles to film the scenes for the ride, along with the rest of the main cast.
The queue begins through the lobby of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, where Bogrod, one of the bank’s tellers, awaits guests who are visiting the bank to open an account. After he clears the guests to visit the vaults, they walk toward a security check to have their ID picture taken. After getting clearance, guests pass tables laid out with issues of the Daily Prophet newspaper that display prominent headlines from the film series, then continue down a corridor lined with offices used by the bank’s goblin employees. In one of these offices, silhouettes of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger (disguised by Polyjuice Potion as Bellatrix Lestrange), and Griphook can be seen and heard as they plot to infiltrate the vaults to retrieve an unmentioned item. Continuing through the queue, guests enter Bill Weasley’s office, where they are welcomed by the goblin Blordak and eventually joined by Bill. Blordak directs the guests toward the vaults; after exiting the office, they wait at the door of an elevator that will take them there as a moving portrait of a goblin explains the safety precautions of the ride. Upon taking the elevator down to the vaults, guests pick up cart goggles and ascend a flight of stairs to the cart loading station.
While getting on the cart, riders then delve deep into Gringotts where they meet Bellatrix Lestrange, who tortures the guests by cutting off the track and tilting it. At this point, the coaster goes down a steep drop underground towards stalagmites before Bill Weasley rescues them and stops their cart from moving. The coaster goes down steep drops, goes backwards, forwards and spins. During the scene when Voldemort and Harry duel, extreme heat can be felt within the room, before Hermione casts a spell to latch the guests onto the Ukranian Ironbelly and pull them forward at a high speed.
It is so funny, because every time I watched the Harry Potter movies or I read the books, I always thought that the Gringotts Bank ride would’ve made a good roller coaster ride. A couple of years later, and my one thought became reality in my home state. I love this ride and I can’t help but feel so fortunate to live here in Florida because it is only an hour drive away from me. Meanwhile, there are loads of passionate Harry Potter fans in different countries who don’t have the opportunity to experience this at least once. I still prefer the Forbidden Journey ride, however I like how this one is a coaster! Oh! And I can’t forget, the queue in itself is absolutely immersive and breathtaking. When I first saw it, I was blown away. The trolls in Gringotts were starring right at me and they looked so real! Universal Orlando just seems like it is always one step ahead of its sister park in California.
Featured in the sixth installment of the Harry Potter franchise, “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince”, Universal Studios Orlando brought to life one of the most iconic shops within Diagon Alley, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. This colourful emporium is the novelty joke shop run by identically ingenious prankster twins Fred and George Weasley. As you shop around, you’ll notice many familiar items such as Pygmy Puffs, U-No-Poo pills, Skiving Snackboxes, and Puking Pastilles. You’ll also find Sneakoscopes, Bombtastic Bombs, Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, Decoy Detonators, Extendable Ears, and love potions. As you shop, there is a dazzling display of never-ending fireworks exploding at the ceiling.
Madam Malkin’s Robes For All Occasions is where guests can purchase their own Hogwarts House robes, House patches, and House ties. Along with the Hogwarts uniform, people can purchase wool sweaters that were made by the same people who created the costumes for the films, which is really neat. Of course with that type of fact, you should expect the prices to be high.
The coolest part about Madam Malkin’s, however, is that they put authentic costumes from the movies on display, including outfits worn by Professor Dumbledore, Gilderoy Lockhart, Professor McGonagall and Hermione Granger. One big outfit to be seen right out the window of the store is Hermione’s Yule Ball dress. This was the exact dress that Emma Watson wore while filming The Goblet of Fire.
The last time I came here, I tried on some Slytherin robes (my Hogwarts house) while my best friends (a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor) tried on theirs. Jack is also a Gryffindor, and he tried on his robes too but he went with his own friends and his brother Patrick (a Hufflepuff).
*Note: We got our final House results after taking the Pottermore quiz. If you’re interested in learning yours, go here. I wasn’t initially happy with my results given Slytherin’s reputation throughout the whole series, but I’ve learned to truly accept it, especially after taking the test several times and still getting Slytherin as the final result. After doing my own research, I realized everything I read about the Slytherin house was unfairly bias, because I was reading it through Harry’s perspective. I learned that the Slytherin house is quite badass but also very misunderstood. We are ambitious, cunning and determined. And we’re natural born leaders, and I think those are awesome traits.
If you explore deep into Diagon Alley, you’ll find Knockturn Alley, which was featured in the second and sixth installments of the Harry Potter franchise. If you go through Knockturn Alley, you’ll find Borgin and Burkes, the famous store within the films and books that sells a lot of things involving the Dark Arts. In Orlando, it is no different, the store sells Death Eater merchandise, including Death Eater masks, the cursed White Opal Necklace (from Half Blood Prince) and other terrifying looking items. Outside the window is Bellatriz Lestrange’s Wanted poster along with Harry’s Wanted poster. Inside the shop, you will also find the Vanishing Cabinet featured in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Tom Riddle’s Diary featured in Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets.
While there is an Ollivanders shop in Hogsmeade, Universal Studios also has its own version of Ollivanders Wand Shop. Like the other location, the shop offers character wands and other types of wands along with a special Wand Choosing Ceremony, where one lucky witch or wizard is selected to be chosen by a wand.
Wands by Gregorovitch is another wand shop located in Diagon Alley. For those who don’t recall, Mykew Gregorovitch was another wand maker within the Harry Potter franchise. He sold wands within the continent of Europe and was in competition with Ollivanders. Viktor Krum mentioned in The Goblet of Fire that he received his wand from Gregorovitch. Gregorovitch was also a minor character in The Deathly Hallows. He was tortured and murdered by Voldemort while Voldemort was seeking out the location of the Elder Wand.
Ever wanted to receive wizard currency? Well this is exactly where you can get it. At Gringotts Money Exchange, guests can exchange their U.S money for wizard cash and purchase anything The bank notes can be used for purchases within Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and select locations throughout Universal Orlando Resort. Any unused wizard money can be transferred back into U.S. currency at the Guest Services office in either Universal Studios Florida or Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
Remember when I said the Hogwarts Express goes back and forth between both Harry Potter locations within the two Universal parks? Well, if you wish to leave to go to Hogsmeade, this is exactly where you can catch the train. Universal Studios built an exact replica of King’s Cross Station in London so that guests may board The Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade. In order to board, you will need a park-to-park Universal pass, and guests will walk through security guards to check for passes and baggage check as if they were actually going to catch a train.
Guests then get to visit Platform 9 3/4 to take photos and even run through the brick wall. Yes, Universal Orlando somehow made this possible.
Want in on a little secret within Harry Potter world of Universal Studios Orlando? Many tourists don’t know this because they don’t get to fully experience it like we Floridians do. Universal Orlando has a replica of 12 Grimmauld Place featured from Order of the Pheonix. It is right next to King Cross Station. There you will see a brick building that looks like an apartment, and you will soon find Sirius Black’s old residence and the secret meeting quarters of The Order. Let me tell you something that most people don’t know. If you go up to the door of 12 Grimmauld Place and knock on it, Kreacher, Sirius’ house elf, will poke his head out the window.
This might just look like a normal telephone booth. However it is located directly outside of Kings Cross Station, and guests can go inside it and call The Ministry of Magic.
Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour was an ice cream shop within Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter franchise. At Universal Studios Orlando, the iconic shop is brought to life with numerous ice cream flavors. With different sundaes, soft and hard ice cream, it’s extremely difficult to choose. I ended up getting the Butterbeer flavored ice cream in a small cup. It was delicious.
World Expo is area of Universal Studios Florida was originally designed as the set of a World’s Fair. The area used to contain The Back To The Future Ride, however things have changed massively since then. Today, the area known for being the location for The Men In Black: Alien Attack ride.
Are you a thrill seeker and a video gamer? This might be a great ride for you. Men in Black: Alien Attack is a shooting interactive dark ride based on the 1997 Men In Black film starring actor Will Smith.
Riders enter a MIB training facility disguised as a pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. After navigating through a themed queue and pre-show, riders board a spinning dark ride system. Once dispatched, riders are tasked to kill aliens using the supplied laser guns, and subsequently accumulate points. At the time of its opening, the ride was the biggest dark ride ever built at a Universal park, spanning 70,000 square feet and featuring over 125 animatronic aliens. Riders can compete against other riders in different cars. The bigger the alien that they kill, the more points that they can earn. There is also a big red button in each of the rows for every rider. While the button blinks red, riders must press it immediately in order to earn the bonus points. If everyone in the car hits this button at the same time, the bonus points are multiplied.
During the queue, guests enter a hallway within the secret MIB Headquarters. Traveling down the hall, they pass the film’s famous “worm guys” on break, several interactive doors to various labs, and through the alien scanners. At the end of the hallway, guests overlook the immigration and controls room, with a large video screen broadcasting the training information and alien twins, Bob and Bhnxaxx operating controls. They then move into the weapons room, and finally into the training facility, where a training vehicle awaits.
During the ride’s production, Will Smith and Rip Torn reprised their roles to create the scenes for it. You will definitely see TV screens of Will Smith coaching the riders while they try to annihilate the aliens.
My friends and I always get really competitive when we ride this. We are always comparing our points afterwards. And for first time riders, it can be a little difficult. I had to actually practice in order to get a high score on it, which resulted in me riding it almost 1,000 times.
Springfield is a themed area at Universal Studios Orlando. The area is themed after the popular American television show, The Simpsons. It was first opened in the Florida park in 2007 and then it opened at Universal Studios Hollywood a year later in 2008. In October 2007, Kwik-E-Mart-themed merchandise shops opened selling a variety of items including Squishees (which are The Simpsons’ parody of 7-Eleven’s Slurpees). The Simpsons Ride opened at both parks in May 2008.
Fast Food Boulevard which encompasses Krusty Burger, Moe’s Tavern, The Frying Dutchman, Cletus’ Chicken Shack, Flaming Moe’s, Lisa’s Teahouse Of Horror, and Luigi’s Pizza. A second phase consisting of Lard Lad Donuts, Duff Gardens, and Bumblebee Man’s Taco Truck, opened on August 2, 2013.
The biggest attraction within this area is The Simpson’s Ride, which is located at both Universal Studios parks (Orlando & Hollywood).
The Simpsons Ride is a simulator ride located in the Springfield areas at the Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks. The ride is based off of the popular animated television show The Simpsons. Florida’s version of the ride opened first before Hollywood’s version opened up two months later.
The ride itself is four and a half minutes long, but original footage for the ride can be seen in the queue, and there is also a pre-show video. In the ride, patrons are introduced to a cartoon theme park called Krustyland built by Krusty the Clown. Sideshow Bob, however, is loose from prison to get revenge on Krusty and the Simpson family. At least 24 regular characters from the series make an appearance, all voiced by their original actors. Along with the attraction is a gift shop modeled after the Kwik-E-Mart, which opened in late 2007.
In the queue video, several clips from episodes of the show are featured. They include:
•Homer the Heretic
•Itchy and Scratchy Land
•Selma’s Choice
•The Last Temptation of Krust
•Mr. Plow
•Brush with Greatness
•In Marge We Trust
•Lisa The Vegetarian
•Marge in Chains
•Boy-Scoutz ‘n the Hood
- A Star is Burns
Halloween Horror Nights
Halloween Horror Nights is an annual special event that occurs at Universal Studios theme parks in Florida, California, Singapore, and Japan. The parks remain operational during the day and transition to Halloween Horror Nights at night. The Halloween-themed event occurs during the fall season and features haunted houses, scare zones and live entertainment, many of which use Universal Studios’ characters. Many of the houses are themed after horror movies or horror television shows. Its intended audience are teenagers and young adults and alcohol is served at various restaurants within the park. (At the Florida location, Island’s of Adventure does not take part in this event and closes on regular hours, while Universal Studios stays opened.)
The original Halloween Horror Nights started at the Florida parks and eventually grew into the other Universal based parks across the world. Various houses and scare zones in the park have been themed after popular horror movies such as Halloween, The Exorcist, Child’s Play, American Horror Stories, The Walking Dead, Poltergeist, The Purge, Insidious, The Conjuring, The Shining, Zombieland and many more! Every now and then, Universal Studios provides a house that pays tribute to every Universal horror character such as Frankenstein, Wolfman, Dracula, and The Invisible Man.
In recent years, HHN had featured multiple popular horror/sci fi tv shows and movies such as Stranger Things, Us, and Ghostbusters. In 2018, Stranger Things became the very first Netflix original series to have its own house at the event. Universal had to do some business with Netflix to claim the rights, along with The Duffer Brothers, who produced the show. If you visit both Hollywood and Orlando’s HHN events, you might notice some huge differences between the events. While both parks feature the same themes, the houses are completely different.
I don’t want it to seem like I’m comparing the two parks, however I have read a lot of reviews from people who have attended both events, and most of the time, people claim to enjoy Florida’s event more so than Hollywood’s. Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood receives more negative reviews compared to its Florida counterpart. This is due to a number of reasons. Because Universal Studios Hollywood is a real Hollywood Studio film set, they have limited amounts of space and a very tight budget, therefore a lot of the props and houses are cheaply made and often not that scary. Orlando has more space along with more of a budget to be able to create terrifying experiences to its guests.
For example, during the Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights 2018, there were many comparisons being made between the Stranger Things houses at each park. Many fans of the Netflix series stated that The Stranger Things house in Hollywood was an utter disappointment. The Demogorgan’s were all just statues made of clay, Eleven was a plastic mannequin and the demogorgans were the only things that had scare actors in them. Many were saying that the house at Hollywood’s was just boring. However, at Orlando’s event, the Stranger Things house was met with a ton of positive feedback. This is because Orlando’s staff hired look alike scare actors that resembled the real actors from the show. Not to mention, every single character within the first season made an appearance in the house, even Barb! The demogorgan costumes had better special effects where there mouths can open and close just like the show (compared to Hollywood’s where the Demogorgan mouth stayed open the whole time.) So not only were there Demogorgans in almost every corner, but Will, Dustin, Lucas and Mike also came out and scared the guests. Will was seen holding a shotgun up at the guests similar to how he held it in the very first scene of the show. Dustin was seen talking on his CB to Lucas who was calling him a “pussy”. Mike was hiding behind laundry curtains and scared guests by flashing his flashlight in their faces while screaming “WILL!”. Jonathan and Nancy came out and scared the guests during the scene where Nancy accidentally went into the Upside Down, Joyce Byers came out at guests with an axe as she tore a hole in her house, and Hopper came out holding a shotgun which would ultimately scare the guests as well. At the very end, Eleven came out of the pitch black darkness and used her telekinesis to rid the Demogorgan, much like the ending in the final episode of the first season. The fact that real actors were there interacting with the guests made the house more immersive, enjoyable and terrifying.
- Note: Let me just add in the fact the Orlando did an amazing job with the Stranger Things House cast. They all looked exactly like the character themselves, and I swear whoever played Hopper, I thought he was actually David Harbour. He looked and sounded exactly like him!
While HHN Orlando nailed it with their Stranger Things house (and all of their other houses), they also had Benny’s Burgers and a Waffle stand adjacent to the house. In 2019, they had Scoops Ahoy and the Starcourt Mall.
The star of the show herself Millie Bobby Brown, even took a trip to Orlando, Florida to check out the Stranger Things house. She stated that she felt as if she were onset but at the same time, she was terrified.
Actress Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair) also took some time out of her schedule to check out the house in Orlando. And from what has been seen, she was terrified, but also impressed with her doppelganger actress who portrayed her character in the house.
Both actresses in the show were very impressed with their doppelganger actors who portrayed their characters in the house. Priah even wanted a picture with her twin actress from the house. The 2019 Stranger Things house featured three versions of Eleven’s character. Her season 1 look, her season 2 look and her season 3 look. Therefore, Millie got to meet all three actresses who portrayed her character in the house. She stated that she thought all three of them nailed the character of Eleven to a T.
*Note: When Universal Orlando hires their scare actors before the years event, they put them through an audition. Employees are then assigned a set character and a set house for the entire event. They are placed through an extensive training program to help them get accustomed to long periods of flashing lights and loud noises while staying in character. Some of them are trained to hold a position for very long periods of time, which means that they have to stay as still as possible. Also keep in mind that characters may not always make an appearance in the houses due to the fact that the actors are required to take a break from their shift. If a character is taking a break, another character is used as a fill-in to replace them for a period of time. For example, in the 2019 Stranger Things house, I saw Mike Wheeler but I personally didn’t see Max Mayfield. However, in the video footage, you can clearly see Max but you can’t see Mike. This is the character fill-in. Max was a character used to replace Mike’s scare actor while he was on his break. The actors go through a ton of rehearsals months prior to the events opening night. Scare actor employees are required to be at work by 5:00pm (an hour and half before opening) they get into costume and then proceed to get their makeup done. Depending on the character they are portraying, this can take up a large amount of time. People backstage are required to get the houses all set before guests can walk through.
There are so many different HHN houses in Orlando that are just amazing and yet terrifying. I attended both 2018 and 2019 events and Stranger Things was a major theme of both of them. During 2018, they focused more on Season 1 and in 2019, they focused on Seasons 2 and 3. During the 2019 event, Universal introduced brand new characters to their Stranger Things house such has Billy Hargrove, Max Mayfield, Steve Harrington, Erica Sinclair, Robin, and Bob Newby.
- During the both years that I went I had a blast in the Stranger Things house. Even though, I’m showing videos of footage from the house, they simply don’t do it justice with how scary it can actually be. In 2018, when my friends and I went, it got really pitch black, especially during the part when we went into the Upside Down. The room was freezing cold and little particles were touching my face as I walked through. It only got worse as we walked through Hawkins Middle School because Dr. Brenner appeared along with Connie Frazer who came out with blood coming out of her eyes. In 2019, I got jump scared by Billy Hargrove. While we walked through the dark alley he started to chase us slightly before going back to his hiding spot. I was also jump scared by Mike when we walked through the cabin scene (who might I add looked exactly like Finn Wolfhard… it was so weird. He had the black curly-ish hair, the freckles, pale white skin, and he was even tall just like him.) He came out from his hiding spot and jumped into my face and told me to run while saying the line “Nancy shoot it!” Which I think was a line from Season 3 in the show.
This isn’t just about Stranger Things though. As a matter of fact, as much as I do love the show, it wasn’t my favorite house for both years. In 2018, my favorite house was Poltergeist, because that one actually scared me. Stranger Things didn’t scare me as much as Poltergeist did. And just like the Stranger Things house, actors that resembled the actors from the original movie portrayed the characters. I’m terrified of clowns, they are one of my top biggest fears. Well the clown doll was on one of the shelves on the walls when I walked through one of the bedrooms, and I said out loud “Clowns are stupid!” and the clown doll from the movie moved his head and looked straight at me. Never in my life have I ever felt chills go up my spine so quickly.
In 2016, my favorite house was The Exorcist house, because The Exorcist just happens to be one of my favorite horror movies. Once again, Orlando hired a small girl who resembled a young Linda Blair. While walking through it, Orlando added some extra detail that played with your senses. When we walked through Regan’s room, there was green vomit on the walls, and not only can you see the vomit, but you can actually smell it. It smelt so gross in that room.
In 2017, my favorite house was The Shining. That was another great house that really stayed true to the book and film. It was also the very first Stephen King adaptation to be used at HHN. There was a part where you walked through the blood bath scene, and you can actually smell the blood. And me being the squeamish person that I am, nearly passed out at that part.
In 2019, I had two favorite houses. Ghostbusters was amazing. Orlando did a great job at turning a comedy film into something mildly scary! However, the house that actually terrified me was called Universal Monsters. This house was so intense. I don’t think I’ve been in a house that has increased my anxiety as much as this one did. My friends and I clung onto each other for our lives. One of the monsters was following us in the house and he whispered in my friend Sarah’s ear, which made her scream in my ear, which as a result made me scream because it scared me! During some portions we walked through rain in a forrest, and you can actually feel the moisture on your face. However, that wasn’t the scariest part… For a long period of time, we walked through pitch black darkness. I couldn’t see anything at all. The only thing I relied on was my friend Tabitha who I was holding on to as if my life depended on it. The house featured Universal’s classic monsters such as Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, and Wolf Man.
Without further ado, here are some more awesome houses that HHN Orlando featured in years past:
Universal’s Volcano Bay
Volcano Bay is a tropical-themed water park owned by Universal Orlando Resort introduced in May 2017. The park is Universal’s only operating water park and it is themed around a 200-foot-tall volcano named “Krakatau”. Volcano Bay’s attractions are located in four themed areas, each inspired by various Polynesian islands and cultures. The centerpiece of the park is “Krakatau”, a volcano that will have waterfalls during the day and lava flows at night.
The Krakatau Aqua Coaster is a water coaster taking riders inside the heart of the Krakatau volcano, before plunging through a shimmering waterfall. It features linear induction motors to propel riders uphill.
A near-vertical (70-degree drop) speed slide with a trap-door start that passes through the Krakatau volcano, falling 125 feet (38 m). The slide will also pass through one of the pool attractions at the base of the volcano, described by the park as a “world’s-first” feature. Along with the Kala and Tai Nui Serpentine Body Slides, Ko’okiri Body Plunge is the tallest drop capsule slide in the world. It is also the tallest body slide in the world to send riders out of a drop capsule the entire height of the slide in one continuous descent.
I personally have not been to Volcano Bay yet, but I plan on going there sometime next summer and I am psyched to experience all of the cool water slides that they have to offer.
CityWalk Orlando
Orlando’s CityWalk is similar to Disney Springs, except that it is owned by Universal Studios. It is Universal’s very own downtown, the only difference is that CityWalk can be seen before both theme park entrances, whereas Disney has its very own separate downtown area.
The Universal CityWalk in Orlando opened in 1999 as one component of the expansion that transformed Universal Studios Florida into today’s Universal Orlando Resort. It was built over the former Universal Studios parking lot and entrance. Guests arriving at the resort park in one of two multi-story parking structures then travel via covered moving sidewalks over Universal Boulevard into CityWalk. From there, guests can proceed into either of the theme parks: Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure.
Like Disney Springs, CityWalk offers great nightlife to its visitors such as shopping, dining and entertainment. At Universal Studio’s Hollywood, the same thing is offered, however different restaurants and shops will be found at the California park.
There are multiple dining options at Orlando’s CityWalk:
Hard Rock Cafe-Orlando
A great place to go if you want to dine and gamble!
Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville
Of course, with Jimmy Buffet being well known for producing tropical music, he just had to open his own restaurant and name it after one of his classic songs, Margaritaville. Even though his first restaurant opened in Key West (where he currently resides), Buffett brought his restaurant to Orlando’s CityWalk in 1999, and it has since gained massive success. The restaurant sells Jimmy Buffett-themed merchandise, and provides casinos with lodging facilities.
My aunt once came here when she vacationed to Florida with Zach, Josh and Michael, and when they came to visit me while I was in college, they got me a Margaritaville T-Shirt for my birthday. I believe it was the day I turned 21, and they thought it be cute since I could go out with the boys and drink Margaritas with them.
A Margaritaville eventually opened at Universal Studios CityWalk in Hollywood in 2016.
While there, don’t forget to have a nice taste of the “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, it’s delicious!
Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food
You’ll think you’ve stepped south of the border when you discover the lively fiesta inside Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food. Only the finest ingredients are used to create the made-from-scratch Mexican street fare that has garnered attention from around the globe. The menu mixes flavorful favorites like tacos, empanadas, and fajitas with traditional creations like hearty Mar y Tierra Stew and Cochinita Taco. Tableside guacamole is as fresh as it gets, a delicious complement to warm chips and a cold cerveza.
Bubba Gump Shrimp
Inspired by the iconic 1994 film, Forrest Gump, Bubba Gump Shrimp made its debut at Universal Studios CityWalk in 1999 and has since been highly popular. I’ve never eaten at this location, however I’ve been to another Bubba Gump in Daytona Beach, and the food is great, especially the shrimp!
The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen
The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen (shortened to Chocolate Emporium) indulges in classic dishes like steak and seafood, as well as an all-day brunch menu featuring crepes and quiches, each with their own novel twist. But save room for the grand finale: the chefs create culinary alchemy with gourmet chocolates and one-of-a-kind desserts, ranging from artisanal milkshakes to sumptuous sundaes. Flavors like Chocolate Brownie Bark, Bacon Brittle and Salted Caramel Flan might make it impossible to choose just one.
The Chocolate Emporium is only located at CityWalk in Orlando. Hollywood does not offer this delicious dessert factory. Here is a photo of what my friends and I had the last time we had the Chocolate Emporium:
Jack had the Strawberry Cheesecake milkshake (far left) because he loves Strawberry Cheesecake. My best friend Sarah had the Chocolate X5 (middle) which is made with Chocolate ice cream, chocolate chunks, strawberries, chocolate sauce, fresh whipped cream, and chocolate spirals on top. I had the Red Velvet (on the right) with the red velvet cupcake on top. Red Velvet is my favorite flavor cake so it was obvious that I would get that one. It was delicious!
Cinnabon
Are you in the mood for a fresh Cinnamon Roll? CityWalk Orlando has a Cinnabon! That’s all you need to know!
Universal Cinemark
Want to see a movie? Just like Disney Springs has it’s own AMC Veterans, Universal Orlando’s CityWalk also has its very own AMC theater as well. I haven’t seen a movie here, however I know that they have played multiple different films in theaters recently such as Frozen 2, The Lion King, and IT Chapter 2.
NBC Sports Grill & Brew
If you’re a sports person, this is your place. Not only is there a huge big screen right on the roof of the restaurant that plays live games of the NHL, NFL, NCAA, MLB or even the Olympics, but there are numerous flat screen TVs inside as well as a huge bar.
Every time I pass those flat screen TVs, there is always a football game, hockey game, or basketball game on.
I remember when I was here one time during the 2016 Olympics, everyone was watching Simone Biles on those big flat screens as she won the gold medal for Team USA in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics. Everyone cheered for her in Orlando.
Pizza lovers! This one is for you! CityWalk Orlando has Red Oven Pizza Bakery. Here you’ll have some of the biggest slices of pizza that you’ve ever had!
Blue Man Group Sharp Aquos Theatre
The Blue Man Group is a live entertainment show in CityWalk Orlando. The original show features some of the same humor and routines from the other Blue Man shows in the United States, as well as new routines and components not seen in any other show.
BK Whopper Bar
BK Whopper Bar is a limited service concept created by Burger King in 2009.
Bob Marley- A Tribute to Freedom
Working closely with Rita Marley and the Bob Marley Foundation, Universal Orlando created a replica of Bob’s home on 56 Hope Road in Kingston, Jamaica. Artifacts, photos, and video clips from his storied career surround you in the open-air veranda and courtyard. Get a taste of island life with a menu of Jamaican-influenced appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Try favorites like the Oxtail Stew, the Sun is Shining grilled chicken, or the Taste of Jamaica appetizer platter featuring veggie and beef patties, jerk wings, and yucca fries.
Other neat places located in CityWalk Orlando is Menchies Frozen Yogurt, Hollywood Drive-In MiniGulf, The Cowfish Sushi and Burger Bar, Moes Southwest Grill, Panda Express, Fusion Bistro Sushi & Sake Bar, CityWalk’s Rising Star, Tommy Bahama Store, Fossil, Inc., and many more!
SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park in Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. In 2018, SeaWorld Orlando hosted an estimated 4.594 million guests, ranking it the 10th most visited amusement park in the United States. Throughout recent years, SeaWorld unfortunately fell victim to a lot of scandals involving the famous Shamu show. Shamu, the Orca Whale, has been SeaWorld’s most popular show for many years, and was a main staple of what attracted tourists to the park in the first place. In 2013, a documentary called “Blackfish” was released, and destroyed SeaWorld’s reputation, and possibly even ruined what SeaWorld was known for.
Regardless, of what some may think, SeaWorld has shown to be a reliable park that provides endangered species of marine wild life with lots of food, love and care. I understand what many had to say about Orca Whales in captivity, however some of them were actually born in captivity, so they wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild if they were set free.
Anyways, I don’t want to delve into too much of my opinion, because SeaWorld was a theme park that I spent a large part of my childhood in, and the Shamu show was always my absolute favorite thing in the world, along with the Dolphin show. And I remember that when I was a child, all I wanted to do when I grew up was to become one of the trainers that jumped in the water and swam with the beautiful aquatic creatures. So regardless of what SeaWorld is today, I want to show people what I remember it as and why it holds such a special place in my heart.
The Shamu Show was one of SeaWorld’s most iconic gems of the theme park. Back in the early 2000s, everyone paid money just to catch a glimpse of the famous orca whale. Trainers used to dive into the water and dance with them, swim with them and surf on them. SeaWorld used to sell little stuffed Shamu animal toys that sold like crazy to all the children, including me. I got a Shamu doll and a stuffed Dolphin that I named Cindy. At this point, SeaWorld was at its prime and was one of the most popular theme parks in the world, and its all because of this beautiful whale.
The Shamu Show remained to be the most popular attraction in SeaWorld for many years. That is, until the dreadful event that happened on February 24, 2010 that changed the course of SeaWorld forever… I remember it like it was yesterday. On that sad day, Dawn Brancheau, a young and experienced orca trainer for many years at SeaWorld, died in front of a live audience during a show.
According to sources, Dawn was in the middle of her performance with one of the male Orcas named Tilikum. As she was finishing up a section of the show, Tilikum grabbed her by her ponytail and dragged her straight into the water, drowning her. Employees used nets and threw food at Tilikum in an attempt to distract him and save Dawn, but it was too late. Moving from pool to pool in the complex, they eventually directed Tilikum to a smaller, medical pool, where it would be easier to calm him. After approximately 45 minutes, Tilikum released Brancheau’s body. The autopsy report said that Brancheau died from drowning and blunt force trauma. Her spinal cord was severed, and she had sustained fractures to her jawbone, ribs, and a cervical vertebra. Her scalp was completely torn off from her head, and her left elbow and left knee had been dislocated.
Following her death, SeaWorld disallowed trainers to be in the water with the orcas and no trainer stepped foot in the pool with them ever again. Women trainers were required to wear their hair in a tight bun with a hair net to keep them safe from the whales pulling them by their hair. Additionally, Brancheau’s death is a focus of the documentary Blackfish, which criticizes keeping orcas in captivity, and her death awakened a national conversation about the issue.
Let me just say, that I have seen the movie Blackfish, and while I do agree with some points that they make, I don’t think trying to end SeaWorld as a company is the answer. The trainers who worked with the Orcas legitimately loved what they did, they loved the whales and they wouldn’t try to put them through any type of abuse. There are some things that SeaWorld could’ve done to prevent something like this from happening. However, Tilikum was not initially brought to SeaWorld. He was captured from his home near Norway and brought to a theme park called Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He was then transferred to SeaWorld Orlando after he killed a trainer that worked at the Canadian park in 1992.
Tilikum was involved in a second death in 1999 in Florida when a naked 27 year old man named Daniel Duke was found dead in the tank. Dukes had visited SeaWorld the previous day, stayed after the park closed, and evaded security to enter the orca tank unclothed. An autopsy found numerous wounds, contusions, and abrasions covering his body that were allegedly caused by Tilikum. This second incident seems to have been a suicide attempt on the victim.
Tilikum’s third death was Dawn.
I think SeaWorld should’ve provided bigger tanks for him to swim in and provided him with more Orcas to be around, therefore he wouldn’t be completely isolated from the rest of the whales. I also believe that he shouldn’t have been allowed to perform in the show given his history with killing two people, which showed that he was a whale that had potential of becoming aggressive if angered or threatened.
I also don’t think SeaWorld should’ve used him for his sperms. He was the only male orca whale, and SeaWorld used him for reproduction to create more Orcas in the park. All of the other Orcas who performed were females. The thing is, is that most of the Orcas that were born in captivity were not aggressive like Tilikum. This could be due to the fact that Tilly was captured from the wild while the rest were bred in captivity. Regardless, the entire situation was poorly mismanaged, and SeaWorld paid for it big time with huge fines and a decrease in popularity over time. After Tilikum died in January 2017, SeaWorld announced to ending their breeding program, (which I think is a good thing) and eventually they will do away with the theatrical shows and create a show with a more educational background.
While this is all great for the well being of the Orcas, I can’t help but feel a little sad about it. Probably because when I was little I loved watching the Orcas throw the trainers in the air and do cool dives into the water. I can’t help but feel like SeaWorld will never be the same without Shamu. But it is also very selfish thinking on my end. I want the whales to be happy too. It’s a serious struggle that I hope people can understand without being upset with me.
The Dolphin Show at SeaWorld was the second most popular attraction at the theme park after Shamu. The show is very similar to the Shamu spectacular but with dolphins instead of Orcas.
Much like the Orca show, activists fought to end the dolphin shows as well, however it is unknown if SeaWorld ended their theatrical dolphin shows. This show was absolutely amazing. It was the reason why I dreamed of petting and swimming with dolphins (which I eventually succeeded in achieving).
Manta is a steel flying roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando. It is a flying roller coaster, which simulates the sensation of flight. It is designed to resemble the way rays — mantas in particular — appear to fly through seawater. Guests are initially seated upright on the trains, just like any other roller coaster. However, soon the floor drops and the seats are lifted horizontally so that guests are laying down with their stomachs facing the floor.
The coaster itself goes upside down multiple times, twists and dives the guests through water.
In my opinion, this is one of the most exhilarating rides at SeaWorld Orlando. It’s been awhile since I’ve been to SeaWorld, but I do remember riding on this, and I loved it.
Kraken is a steel floorless roller coaster located at SeaWorld Orlando. It is also the world’s second longest floorless coaster elongating up to 4,177 feet (1,273 m). The roller coaster has been refurbished and renamed to Kraken Unleashed with virtual reality. However as of 2018 fall season, the name Kraken Unleashed has remained, but the virtual reality experience is no longer available.
This ride remains to be the oldest and most iconic roller coaster in SeaWorld and all of Orlando, Florida. The addition of the virtual reality made the ride 10x more intense than it was originally. Riders had the option to receive VR goggles in which the guests are on a submarine and diving into an adventure of being under the sea.
I have personally never done the virtual reality, but I can say this is a great coaster, especially if you like inversions. This goes upside down at least seven times.
Mako is a steel roller coaster located at SeaWorld Orlando. Mako is named after the mako shark and is located in the Sea of Mystery section of the park. It reaches a height of 200 feet (61 m), a maximum speed of 73 mph (117 km/h), and features a track length of 4,760 feet (1,450 m).
Mako was marketed as the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster in Orlando and has been well-received, ranking every year since its opening in the top 50 of the annual Golden Ticket Awards publication from Amusement Today. It attained its highest ranking of 15 in 2019. The ride is one of five roller coasters at SeaWorld Orlando and the first since Manta opened in 2009.
As guests go through the queue area, various educational displays and a Guy Harvey exhibit can be seen.The queue of the ride consists of a wooden pier, where the riders are situated under while waiting. During the queue, guests take on the point of view of a mako shark as it traverses through preying grounds. The theme of Mako’s station is a shipwreck. Before the ride’s train dispatches, a panel located above the riders shows scenes of shadowy figures consisting of a group of sharks migrating forward with accommodating visuals and sound.
After Mako came out in 2016, SeaWorld’s attendance increased tremendously, giving the park some redemption from the Shamu controversy.
Journey to Atlantis is a popular water coaster at SeaWorld Orlando. The ride tells a story of a trip to the mythical city of Atlantis. Riders enter in a boat that takes them deep into a dark and cold cave which introduces them to a siren disguised as a mermaid. Riders see a lot of Greek mythology items before they take the uphill lift. The ride soon turns into a roller coaster towards the very end and splashes everyone in the boat.
When I was little I loved this ride, however I heard it went under a lot of changes in recent years due to it being “too scary”. (Which it wasn’t, a lot of parents just overreact to a lot of things, and like to ruin fun things for everyone else…) This ride probably isn’t the same as it used to be, but I am lucky to have experienced it when it was good, thanks to the fact that I lived in Florida all of my life.
Busch Gardens Tampa
Alright, now we’re getting out of Orlando, Florida for a little bit and we’re going to take a little look at my hometown of Tampa, Florida. While Orlando might known as theme park city, it is definitely not the only place in Florida with good theme parks. Busch Gardens in Tampa actually ranks pretty high as one of the top 10 theme parks in the United States, and it is only a mere 15 minutes from my house! The park is home to the largest amount of roller coasters along with the most thrilling roller coasters in the state of Florida with a total of nine coasters, two water rides amongst other rides and animal attractions. Many of the roller coasters in Busch Gardens Tampa Bay often rank in the top 10 roller coasters in the U.S.A. In 2015, the park hosted 4.2 million people, placing 11th as the most-visited theme parks in the United States.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is an African themed theme park (compared to its sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg which is European themed) therefore everything in the park is named after real countries in Africa. There are nine sections within the park:
Morocco
Sesame Street Safari of Fun
Stanleyville
Congo
Jungala
Pantopia
Nairobi
Edge of Africa
Egypt
Morocco is the park’s main entrance. Treats can be purchased at the Sultan’s Sweets and the Zagora Cafe. The Moroccan Palace is located here, as well as the outdoor Marrakesh Theater. Gwazi was the major ride in this area and a new hybrid roller coaster ride (Iron Gwazi) will take its place in 2020. It will be the park’s 10th coaster.
Before I dive into what is currently at Busch Gardens, I just wanted to give a shout out to Gwazi. This ride is no longer in existence since a replacement for it will be coming next year, however I wanted to mention it for a few reasons. Once upon a time, I used to be terrified of roller coasters, but one of my friends in second grade bribed me to go on the Gwazi. She promised me that it didn’t go upside down and so I said yes. Gwazi was the very first roller coaster that I ever went on, and therefore it carries a lot of childhood memories and marks a special place in my heart.
Gwazi opened in 1999 as the first dueling roller coaster in Florida, with one track being a Tiger and the other track being a Lion. When I first went on, my friend and I chose the Lion track because we were both obsessed with lions for some reason. After I went on that coaster, my fear of coasters completely went away. Eventually we went on the Tiger track too. It eventually closed down due to the wood rotting and getting too old to maintain. It will be replaced with a new roller coaster called “The Iron Gwazi” in 2020.
This section of the park is home to one the park’s water rides, Stanley Falls Flume. It is also home to launch coaster Tigris, and SheiKra, which was the first and only Dive Coaster in the United States until the addition of Griffon at the sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
The Sheikra is a steel Dive floorless roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. The coaster climbs a steep uphill lift which takes them 200 feet in the air. The coaster then makes a circular turn before it dangles the riders for a good five seconds before it drops them 90 degrees and 200 feet straight down. As the train reaches the bottom of the first drop it reaches its maximum speed of 70 miles per hour, making it one of the fastest roller coasters in Florida. The ride made its first debut in June 2007 and has continued to be a very popular attraction at the park.
If you are looking for a ride that will really make your stomach drop, this is that ride. It doesn’t look that high when you look at the coaster from an off ride perspective, however the moment you’re on, you realize how high it actually is. I was 12 years old when I went on for the first time and I was in the front row, and I thought I felt my heart stop when we dangled there.
- Note: I also remember being in middle school and Jack and I (before we were dating) always made jokes about the Sheikra saying how it would be funny if people were having a typical conversation while on it and then just went “AAAAAHHHH!” on the big drop.
I love this ride, and if you are a huge thrill seeker, I would definitely recommend this ride! If you have heart conditions however, this may not be a ride for you…
Tigris is a steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay theme park in Tampa, Florida that opened in 2019. The coaster is themed after a female tiger.
The coaster can either go both backwards and forwards, and during each ride it switches its direction in which way that it will start first. It launches to a top speed of 65mph. During one point, it travels up to a height of 150 feet (46 m) where it completes a non-inverting half-loop, a heartline roll (ranking it among the tallest inversions in the world).
I have yet to go on this ride, since I have not yet renewed my Busch Gardens pass, however you can bet that I will be on this soon enough. I’ve heard nothing but great things about it, and the video footage looks insane!
This Congo section is themed to the jungles of Congo in Africa. It contains two of the park’s most popular rides, Kumba and Congo River Rapids. In November 2006, Congo underwent major renovation, including the removal of the park’s classic Python corkscrew roller coaster.
Kumba is a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. It was one of the first roller coasters that opened in the park as it debuted in 1993 and is still running today. It stands 143 feet tall and has a top speed of 65 miles per hour. Kumba features a total of seven inversions across the 3-minute ride. Its name “Kumba” means “Roar” in Swahili, and that is exactly what the coaster does. It goes so fast, that you can hear it roaring halfway across the theme park.
When I first rode this I was 12 years old. I remember my little heart beating so fast while we were going uphill, but when the ride actually started, I felt all of my anxieties just go away.
A section originally themed after the malls and bazaars of Africa that opened up in May 1980 as Timbuktu. The section was renovated in 2003. Important elements added during this facelift included the enclosing of the Timbuktu Theater, which replaced the park’s Dolphin Theater with an indoor 4-D movie theater. The dolphins retired to other locations. The 4-D theater premiered with “R.L Stine’s Haunted Lighthouse” film in 2003, followed by “Pirates 4D” in 2006 and “Sesame Street Presents: Lights! Camera! Imagination!” in 2010. In 2004, Das Festhaus was transformed into the Desert Grill, and the park’s family-friendly Sand Serpent wild mouse roller coaster opened, replacing the Crazy Camel Trabant flat ride. In September 2014, Falcon’s Fury, a 335-foot drop tower, opened, replacing the former Sandstorm orbiter flat ride. This section of the park was re-themed to Pantopia, alongside the opening of Falcon’s Fury.
Sand Serpent (formerly Cheetah Chase) is a Wild Mouse roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. If you can’t handle the big coasters, this one might be better for you. The swerves at the beginning make you feel like you’re going to fall off the edge.
This was always one of my favorites as a child. It is just too bad that it is so short.
The Scorpion is a steel looping roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. It opened in 1980 as a part of the newly added Timbuktu section that gave the park a complete circuit, linking the Congo section to the Nairobi section of the park. To this day, it remains to be the oldest roller coaster in the park.
While definitely not being the best of the coasters, it is definitely a classic. The Scorpion was my very first inverted coaster that I went on. I went when I was about 10 years old for the first time. The friend that bribed me to go on Gwazi was the same girl who also bribed me to go on this.
If you’re afraid of heights, this IS NOT a ride for you. Falcons Fury s a free-standing Sky Jump drop tower attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa amusement park in Tampa, Florida. The ride reaches a maximum height of 335 feet making it North America’s tallest free-standing drop tower. Not only that, but the ride forces riders to look down by tipping them over face first. Riders hang in a face first position for an unpredictable time before experiencing five seconds of a free fall, reaching a speed of 60 miles per hour. The ride’s name was chosen to invoke a falcon’s ability to dive steeply at high speed to capture prey. The ride opened in 2014, with a majority of people giving positive feedback on the ride experience and the thrill of being dangled face first and then diving down with a speed of 60mph.
I love thrilling rides so I rode this the year it opened. I was 18 years old when I first rode this and I took Jack (19) with me even though he is terrified of heights. I told him that if he went on with me that I would repay him later (in the bedroom.) He started crying when he got to the top, and I felt kind of bad, but he was fine after the drop. And of course, I gave him my end of the bargain the moment we arrived home.
The Edge of Africa is the smallest section of the park. It features a restaurant, The Serengeti Overlook Restaurant and Pub, the Cheetah Hunt roller coaster, and the Skyride station.
Cheetah Hunt is a steel launched roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa in Tampa, Florida. The ride was placed directly adjacent to a Cheetah Exhibit so that riders can feel like they are running with the Cheetahs. Because Cheetah’s are known to be the fastest predator in Africa that can reach a maximum top speed of 70 mph, the ride is meant to reach a top speed of 75mph, making it the fastest roller coaster in Florida. The coaster features three launches that increase the coasters speed.
This is one of my favorite roller coasters at Busch Gardens. The videos really don’t do this ride justice because it is much faster when you’re actually on it. Every time I ride this, my eyes water…that’s how fast it goes. There is a section in the ride where the coaster swerves between rocks which is exhilarating but at the same time, you feel like you’re about to crash.
Egypt features bedouin tents, authentic handicrafts and art create an Egyptian marketplace feel. The primary attraction of the Egypt-themed area is Montu, an inverted steel coaster. Tut’s Tomb, a former audio guided walk-through tomb excavation closed in Winter 2013 and the interior was gutted to make way for the queue for Cobra’s Curse. The former Golden Scarab Gift Shop was converted into a gift shop at the exit of the attraction.
Cobras Curse is a steel spinning roller coaster that is located at Busch Gardens Tampa in Tampa, Florida. The ride features an elevator-style lift, and was the first new ride to open at the park since Falcon’s Fury opened in 2014. Cobra’s Curse presents a fictional story about the ancient Egyptian ruler the Snake King Venymyss and his curse upon his lost kingdom. The trains of the ride are able to lock and rotate in three stages; the trains face forward, backward, and then turn in to a free spin.
This is not one of Busch Gardens’ most intense roller coasters, however it is still very fun and very simple. It’s based for a whole family with children who might be riding their first roller coaster. I do like how the coaster spins though. That makes the experience 10x more fun.
Montu is an inverted roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa in Tampa, Florida. It is the park’s second roller coaster following the success of Kumba which opened 3 years prior. When the ride opened on May 16, 1996, it was the world’s tallest and fastest inverted roller coaster gaining speeds at 60mph. To this day, the coaster still remains to be one of Busch Gardens’ most popular attractions.
I first went on this when I was 12 years old. It was the summer of 2008. For once, my friend didn’t have to bribe me to ride it, since I told her that I wanted to get rid of my fears of big inverted coasters once and for all. I watched POV videos of this coaster and I thought it looked fun, however that didn’t stop the wild beating of my heart that I felt while I waited in line. My anxiety only got worse as I got on the train and it started to go uphill. My friend noticed that I was feeling anxious because I was unusually quiet and I was holding on to the harness for my life, but she assured me that I was going to be okay, and that after the ride my fear of inverted roller coasters would go away.
Since then, I have loved this coaster. Along with Cheetah Hunt, Montu remains to be in my top 3 roller coasters at Busch Gardens.
Howl-O-Scream
Howl-O-Scream is an annual special event that occurs at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and SeaWorld San Antonio. The parks remain operational during the day and transition to Howl-O-Scream at night. The event features haunted houses, “scare zones”, and live entertainment. It is a seasonal event that occurs in the Fall of the year, tied to Halloween. It is very similar to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights, which it regularly competes with every year. Lucky for Floridians, we have two Halloween events to choose from between Tampa’s Howl-O-Scream and Orlando’s HHN. Both events are equally a terrifying experience.
Howl-O-Scream contains intense adult content such as violence, gore and blood and sexual innuendo. As such, it is not intended for children.
While this event is intended for adults only, individuals under the age of 18 are admitted to the event, however, the event is not recommended for children under the age of 13.
Most of the time, HOS features about 6–8 haunted houses and 5 scare zones, while HHN features about 10 haunted houses with 4 scare zones. For the past couple of years, HOS has done a good job at giving HHN a run for its money. While HHN still remains to be a little more intense, HOS has given me a couple of good scares as well.
Like HHN, HOS also hires scare actors to feature in their scare zones and haunted houses. The actors are hired early within the year. Due to the lack of the strobe effects the HHN uses, HOS actors don’t have to be trained on how to last with the flashing lights and loud noises.
While HOS houses are a bit milder in comparison to HHN, they still brought in horror elements that messed with the 5 senses. For example, in a house called Motel Hell, there is a section in which you walk through a bloody bathroom. In this section, you can literally smell the blood.
Adventure Island
Adventure Island is a water park located northeast of Tampa, Florida, across the street from Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The park features 30 acres of water rides, dining, and other attractions. Often confused with Islands of Adventure in Universal Studios Orlando, Adventure Island is Tampa’s very own water park.
Aruba Tuba is a fast enclosed water slide at Adventure Island. It is one of my favorite slides and also remains to a be one of the most popular in the park.
The Caribbean Corkscrew is a single-rider water slide at Adventure Island in Tampa, Florida. The purple tube slide consists of two mirrored, twin-helix tracks interlacing each other. The slides are both entirely enclosed, until reaching a splash pool at the base of the ride.
Key West Rapids is a one-or-two person water slide at Adventure Island in Tampa, Florida. The 700 ft.-long slide takes its riders, seated on tubes, down a course that includes gushers, pools, water mines, and 3 terraces of water, that slow the tubes to a near halt so that staffers can redirect the tubes down the remainder of the course. On August 29 the park announced that Key West Rapids would be leaving the park in October 2019. It will be replaced by Solar Vortex in 2020.
The Colossal Curl is a brand new water slide at Adventure Island that opened in the summer of 2015.
Final Conclusion
Whew… this is one lengthy article! But what can I say? I LOVE my home state! And just like how all New Yorkers like to brag about their New York Style Pizzas, I wanted an opportunity to show you everything about the state of Florida from its historical sites, amazing animals, beaches and theme parks! Are there cons to living here? Of course there are! One of them being that you have to deal with tourists 24/7, but I suppose I can save that for another day.
If you’re planning on taking a trip down to the Sunshine State, hopefully this lengthy article gives you some insight on things to do and where to go. People always say that you should feel proud of who you are and where you’re from. Thankfully, Florida makes it very easy for me to feel that way. In my eyes, it’s the best state in America. I love being a Floridian, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!