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Photo: Jeremy Thompson, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A beautifully landscaped 200-acre marine theme park featuring thrilling rides, fun exhibits, an ever-shrinking amount of animal shows. A more laid-back alternative to Disney and Universal, the complex includes the main park, as well as the all-inclusive Discovery Cove experience park and the Aquatica water park.
SeaWorld Orlando is an animal theme park located just outside Orlando, Florida. Although separately gated, it is often promoted with neighboring parks Discovery Cove and Aquatica as well as Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, all of which are owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts. In 2022, SeaWorld Orlando hosted an estimated 4.45 million guests, ranking it the 10th-most visited amusement park in the United States. SeaWorld Orlando was also featured in the 1983 film Jaws 3-D.
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A unique companion to Sea World, it is often sold out as admission is limited to 1000 guests per day, but it does include all your equipment, food, drink and a 30-minute interaction with the dolphins in the water.
OCCC
With 2.1 million-square feet of exhibition space, the OCCC serves as the area's convention and meeting center.
In a building artfully constructed to appear as if it were collapsing to one side, visitors can explore bizarre artifacts, strange collections, weird art (for example, check out the scale model of a 1907 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost automobile made entirely of matchsticks and glue), and interactive exhibits in 16 odd galleries. Seriously schlocky, yet fun.