Orlando hotels

Mention Orlando and you see visions of Mickey Mouse, the Magic Kingdom and Disney World hotels. But Orlando is more than theme parks and sunny days, and travelers easily fall in love with the city’s variety of diversions and heart-stopping thrills.

Meet playful dolphins, sea lions and sting rays at SeaWorld Orlando. Florida’s beaches are a two-hour drive, so head to SeaWorld’s Aquatica Waterpark for the perfect substitute. Hotel guests in Orlando also love America’s #1 waterpark, Wet ‘n Wild. Four floors of interactive exhibits fire the imagination at the Orlando Science Center, and at Gatorland, test your nerves on the Screamin’ Gator Zip line 1,200 feet above smiling gators and crocs.

The arts are well represented with everything from Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba to the year-round Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. After the performance, don’t go back to the hotel in Orlando before cooling off for 45 minutes in the world’s largest permanent ice bar, ICEBAR Orlando.

Visitors quickly learn that Orlando is more than just orange trees and amusement parks. Bok Tower Gardens offers landscaped gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. for a quiet afternoon stroll, and the Orlando Museum of Art is a quiet feast for the senses.