Did you ever sit down with your family to plan your next vacation and then realize that you just couldn’t find that special somewhere where the parents and the kids, and perhaps another relative or 2, could all find something interesting to do?

And on top of that, maybe you’ve been to all the interesting places within your travel budget anyway? Well then you probably haven’t been to Orlando, Florida. Otherwise you’d realize that even Orlando ‘V-V’s’ (Vacation Veterans) can always find something to see and do in Orlando that they didn’t do the last time they were here, or even the time before that.

I’ve long wondered what it is about Orlando that draws so many people to this, the sixth largest city in Florida. Well, a city of less than 200,000 people that draws about 52,000,000 (yes, Million!) tourists a year must be doing something right.

It’s almost an understatement to say that the good people of the city want to give you the chance to see and do something new and fun (or even something old and fun, because many of the city’s attractions do bear repeated visits).

This attitude, and the countless opportunities for the fun-loving and health-loving and education-loving visitor, is one reason that Orlando is called ‘the amusement capital of the world’, as well as ‘the city beautiful’.

Step by step I’ll take you through a lot of the city’s tourist attractions (not the least of which are the fine accommodations for visitors, from hotel rooms to fully equipped apartments). In this article I’ll start with some of the more famous attractions, since these are what many people are initially interested in.
Not that you’re unfamiliar with Disney World. We may safely label it as the world's favorite children's theme park.

This grand creation has 4 different theme parks full of shows, rides and other attractions. As well it provides plenty of shopping and eating opportunities for those who may be ‘themed’ out for awhile.

The first park is Magic Kingdom, Disney’s first theme park. Second is Animal Kingdom Park, combining an animal experience with classic rides, attractions and shows. Epcot Park takes you into the future, cleverly combining fun and learning. The MGM Studios contains among many other things, a tower of terror which is pleasant looking from outside but may, once you’re inside, frighten your heart out.

Another famous tourist haven in Orlando is Universal Orlando Resort, which has five theme parks, including the Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios Florida, Wet 'n Wild Water Park, Sea World, and Busch Gardens. Add to this the dining, nightlife and shopping venues and you may just find the ideal place for at least one full vacation. The resort also contains the Universal Studios where you can enjoy the ride while watching movies. If you have a budding Hollywood star in your brood they can learn how movies are made and the secrets behind some movie effects. Within this resort each theme park stands alone.

Perhaps two of them at this resort are most famous One is The Islands of Adventure, which certainly live up to their name, with wild rides and roller coasters in this quite new park in Orlando.
There is also Sea World, a well known aquatic park, which offers breath-taking rides as well as animal shows where you can see smart animals doing their amazing stunts.

We are just scratching the surface of this amazing town. We’ll follow up with more on Orlando in future articles and I won’t be surprised if you write me sometime to say you’ve planned several vacations there for the near future.