During the winter, many adults and families travel to Florida, especially the Orlando area, to experience the many attractions, from Mardi Gras at Universal Studios to swimming with dolphins at Discovery Cove. Adults may prefer to escape to Winter Park, a small village complete with boutique shopping and luxury dining.
From February to April each year, Universal Studios Orlando hosts Mardi Gras, including the illuminating parade, complete with colorful costumes and creative floats. Families gather as close as they can so they can try to catch Mardi Gras beads. At night, popular artists will rock the house, and, in February 2012, Kelly Clarkson is scheduled to perform. Guests feel like they are in New Orleans as they walk along the French Quarter Courtyard, sample some spicy Cajun cuisine, and dance to live bands.
At Orlando’s Discovery Cove, both adults and families will delight in swimming with dolphins and snorkeling among tropical fish, such as eagle rays and colorful coral. An all-inclusive Dolphin Swim Day package begins at $199 and includes 30 minutes of interacting and playing with the dolphins in the water, a snorkeling adventure, exploring and feeding exotic birds, free meals and beverages and unlimited admission to Seaworld Orlando and Busch Gardens.
Adults flock to Winter Park because the village is full of charming boutiques, such as Shou’ture, a ritzy boutique which offers a complimentary pedicure with every purchase or John Craig, specializing in designer men’s clothing. Winter Part also features several art museums, including the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, which offers the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany who specialized in stained glass in chapels.
While Orlando offers plenty of family resorts, it also features historic and luxury hotels for adults. The Rosen Centre Hotel is one of Orlando’s finest Meeting hotels, as it features in-room Internet and an on-site business center with a copy and fax machine, but it also is located right near Orlando’s best attractions. In Winter Park, tourists can stay at the vintage Park Plaza Hotel, which is decorated with antiques and overlooks a Rose Garden in the park.
