The Wandering Disciple

Sarasota, Florida: For more then 50 years, Mote Marine has been one of the premier research labs in the world in the field of marine biology. The facility on City Island in Sarasota is part laboratory, part marine hospital, part aquarium and part classroom, all geared to the conservation of marine ecosystems and their inhabitants. To help educate the public in species conversation, the laboratory opened the Mote Aquarium in 1980. Today the aquarium and the Marine Mammal Center welcomes over 400,000 visitors a year. As you enter the main aquarium building, you will begin your journey from the Rivers to the Seas. Here you will see what animal live in freshwater Florida. Here you will see crawfish, snails and even stingrays. Next you will follow the trail into the bay. This mix of salt and fresh water is home to many fish native to the coastal areas. In this exhibit, you will see cowfish, puffers, snook, crabs and more. As the water gets deeper, we next encounter our reef inhabitan...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: When people envision the Magic Kingdom, they see Cinderella’s Castle, Dumbo flying high in the air and even hear the repetitive voices of It’s A Small World. All of these attractions and more can be found in Fantasyland, one of the most popular portions of the Magic Kingdom. As you pass through Cinderella’s Castle, you are whisked away to a land where dreams come true. Children’s eyes light up as they enter Fantasyland, an area of the park designed with them in mind. The icon of the land and the park is Cinderella Castle. The 189 foot castle can be seen throughout the park and serves as the central hub of the park. While there is no rides or attractions inside the castle, it is home to a restaurant, store and a private guest suite. Straight ahead once you pass the castle is the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. The carrousel features hand painted scenes from the movie Cinderella. Here riders can ride one of 90 horses and take a two minute ride while listening...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: As you pass through the gates of Disney Hollywood Studios and begin your journey, Hollywood Boulevard is your gateway to the fun and excitement that awaits you within the park. Lined with shops and a giant sorcerer’s hat at the end, Hollywood Boulevard is the studios version of Main Street. The only ride attraction found here is the Great Movie Ride. Located inside a replica of the Chinese Theater, the ride was opened in 1989. It is a 22 minute moving theater ride that combines animatronics with live actors and special effects to create a special look at the history of motion pictures. The ride travels through scenes from Singing in the Rain, Mary Poppins, Public Enemy, Alien, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Tarzan, Casablanca and the Wizard of Oz. Hollywood Boulevard is home to many of the shops. The following stores and merchandise can be found here: Celebrity 5 & 10: Hollywood Studios items. Crossroads of the World: souvenirs from the park. The Darkroo...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Have ever dreamed about traveling around the world? For most of us, this dream will never become a reality. High prices for travel arrangements, fear of flight, lack of time are all many factors that make a trip of this magnitude impossible for the majority of people. But Walt Disney World has the answer, World Showcase. Here guests can travel the world and experience authentic cultures from eleven different countries without ever leaving Epcot. And you can do it in just a few hours for just the price of admission. The countries of World Showcase are situated around the World Showcase Lagoon. The 1.2 mile walk around the lagoon will take you through eleven countries that include: Canada United Kingdom France Morocco Japan American Adventure Italy Germany China Norway Mexico Each of the pavilions contain shops, restraraunts and rides/movies from the countries they represent. Even the Disney cast members are authentic as they come to the pavilion from their na...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: From the 50’s through the 90’s, our culture had seen some major changes in pop culture. The fads of these decades come back to life at Walt Disney World’s Pop Century Resort. In typical Disney style, they are brought back larger then life, in some cases more then 30 feet tall. The newest of the value class of Disney resorts, Pop Century opened in 2003. Like the other value class hotels, Pop Century is themed with oversized icons. The theme here is pop icons from 1950-1990. Each section of the hotel features color, phrases and items from the era on a very large scale. The hotel is divided into four periods: 1950’s: themed with large bowling pins, juke boxes, characters from Lady and the Tramp and a bowling pin pool. 1960’s: psychedelic colors with large yo-yo’s, play-doh container, characters from the Jungle Book and a flower shaped hippy pool. 1970’s: large eight track tapes, Mickey Mouse rotary phone, larger then life foosball game dominate this area of the...

Tampa, Florida: Timbuktu is an African Kingdom located in the middle of Busch Gardens Tampa. Behind the walls lies an open mall featuring rides, shops and games. Timbuktu is also home to several of the parks children’s rides and two of the theaters, Timbuktu Theater and Desert Grill. The center core of the park, Timbuktu was opened in 1980. Timbuktu consisted of a German dinner theater, dolphin theater, rides and midway games. Busch Gardens then introduced its second roller coaster, the Scorpion and added it to Timbuktu. The Scorpion is a single loop coaster that drops guests 45 feet in to a vertical loop at 50 miles per hour. In 1984, Timbuktu received another new attraction, the Phoenix. On the Phoenix, guests are on a Egyptian vessel that swings through a series of loops sixty feet in the air. Timbuktu saw a refurbishment in 2003. As part of the facelift, the dolphin theater was closed and transformed into the Timbuktu Theater. The Timbuktu Theater is a 4-D movie theater ...

Port Charlotte, Florida: The smell of funnel cakes and elephant ears combined with the screams of fear and excitement mean just one thing, its time for the fair. Its time once again for the Charlotte County Fair. Back and better then every, the fair boasts the largest midway on the east coast. With over 40 rides and attractions, there is something for everyone in the family. There are also shows, a petting zoo and music concerts. The 2007 Charlotte County Fair runs from February 16 though February 25 at the fairgrounds on SR-776 across the street from the Charlotte County Sports Complex.