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Orlando is Tops for an Edutainment VacationBy Paula Hughes Court
DISCOVERY COVE:
Spend the remainder of the day floating along the heated tropical river, staring down sharks through invisible glass walls, and feeding gentle stingrays. SEAWORLD:Known as Orlando’s best kept secret, SeaWorld is a great park for adults and children of all ages.
DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM:Disney outdid themselves once again when they opened the Animal Kingdom theme park. Five times larger than the Magic Kingdom, the park’s theme revolves around animals, but it’s definitely not a zoo. Upon arrival, go straight to the popular Kilimanjaro Safaris. This attraction comes as close to an authentic African safari as you can get without flying to Africa. An open-air vehicle takes you on an expedition through a savannah where animals such as giraffes, hippos, rhinos and elephants roam freely. Take plenty of film and don’t be surprised if a rhino ambles alongside the vehicle or an elephant blocks your path. On the Maharajah Jungle Trek, you can watch tigers romp like oversized kittens and observe giant fruit bats hanging upside down. Take the train to Observation Station to learn about animal habitats around the world and to observe the park’s veterinarians perform procedures. DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE:A stay at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is the perfect way to extend your edutainment vacation into the evening hours. Nestled on 74 acres west of Animal Kingdom theme park, the 1,293 room resort is built in the middle of its own savannah, providing most of the guestrooms with direct views into the animal sanctuary. The savannah is home to more than 200 mammals and birds representing a cross-section of African animals, including Greater kudu, Grant’s zebra, wildebeest, impala, and Marabou stork to name a few. The lodge also showcases an extensive collection of authentic artwork. Approximately 380 museum quality pieces are located in public areas, with more than 4,000 handcrafted pieces in the guestrooms. Keeping with the resort’s theme, the art tells stories about the relationship between man and animals while also helping guests understand the diversity of the different regions of Africa.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:Contact Discovery Cove at www.discovery.com or 1-877-4-DISCOVERY. The $229 all-inclusive package includes parking, lunch, use of wet suits, vests and masks, a complimentary snorkel, showers, lockers, animal-safe sun screen, a quality 5X7 photo of your family and admission to SeaWorld or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay for 7 consecutive days. The non-dolphin swim package is $129 per person. The minimum age for the dolphin swim is six. Contact SeaWorld at
www.seaworld.com or 1-800-327-2424. Contact Disney’s Animal Kingdom at
www.disneyworld.com or 1-407-W-DISNEY. For reservations at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, contact Disney Reservations at 407-W-DISNEY (934-7639). Rates range from $199 to $510 per night. For the best view, ask for a Zebra or Kudu trail room facing the main savannah. For budget accommodations contact Quality Inn Plaza at www.qualityinn-orlando.com or 1-800-999-8585. Rates range from $40 to $90 per night. The hotel is located one mile from SeaWorld and Discovery Cove. |
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There’s no greater place than Orlando to get an
education without opening a book. Many of Orlando’s attractions offer
opportunities for visitors to get up close and personal with animals, always
a big hit with children. The three best edutainment parks, Discovery Cove,
SeaWorld and Disney’s Animal Kingdom operate on a similar philosophy;
combine animals, lush vegetation, and equal amounts of education and
entertainment to create an enriching experience for guests of all ages. Your
children will have so much fun, they won’t even know they’re learning.
There’s two things you need to know about Discovery
Cove. One, it’s expensive at $229 per person for the all-inclusive package,
and two, it’s worth every penny. The park limits attendance to 1,000 guests
per day so there are no lines or crowds. Discovery Cove takes the thrill of
interacting with animals to a new level, allowing guests to play in paradise
with dolphins, hand-feed exotic birds, snorkel with thousands of colorful
tropical fish, and swim with stingrays. 
The
highlight of everyone’s visit is the dolphin encounter. After learning how
trainers use hand signals and positive reinforcement to communicate with the
dolphins, you’ll be invited to swim out into deep water for the most
exciting part of the day-being towed back to shore by a 450-lb bottlenose
dolphin. 
Along with the opportunities to touch stingrays and
feed dolphins, SeaWorld also offers special programs for a limited number of
participants who desire an even closer animal encounter. Surprisingly
inexpensive, the one-hour programs include tours of rescue and
rehabilitation facilities, a behind-the-scenes arctic tour where you can pet
a penguin, and a predators tour of the shark tank where you can even touch a
white-spotted bamboo shark. For the truly adventurous, SeaWorld offers the
chance to scuba dive enclosed in a shark tank in the Shark Encounter
attraction.
Don’t miss the penguin exhibit or the Wild Arctic where
you’ll be transported into a simulated twilight zone of the Arctic circle.
Children will enjoy watching the baby-faced beluga whales toss balls around,
but don’t forget to visit the enormous walrus on the lower level. He loves
interacting with visitors.
To truly appreciate all the resort has to offer, plan a
few hours of downtime to enjoy the 9,000 square-foot Uzima Pool, relax in a
secluded, bubbling hot tub and soak up the unusual African ambience. You’ll
soon feel a continent away.