What to See in Orlando - Top Sights and Attractions

Building in Orlando, Florida. The Blue Man Group Theatre was an indoor theatre located at Universal Orlando Resort's CityWalk, which housed a live show and residency by the Blue Man Group, featuring their unique musical and humorous performances. It opened on June 6, 2007 in the former Nickelodeon Studios building, which was re-zoned into Universal CityWalk Orlando. As a stand-alone experience within CityWalk, it required separate admission from the theme parks.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, the Blue Man Group Theatre closed along with the rest of the resort in March 2020. Performances were put on hiatus when the resort re-opened later that year. In February 2021, the Blue Man Group announced they would be ending their residency.^[3]

Simulator ride based on the TV show. The Simpsons Ride is a motion simulator ride located in the Springfield areas of both Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood. Based on the animated television series The Simpsons, the ride was announced in 2007 as a replacement for Back to the Future: The Ride at both parks. It first opened at Universal Studios Florida on May 15, 2008, and then a few days later at Universal Studios Hollywood on May 19, 2008. The producers of The Simpsons contributed to the design of the ride, which uses CGI animation provided by Blur Studio and Reel FX. Film Roman, along with AKOM and Rough Draft Studios, also worked on the ride's 2D animation. At the time of its opening, the ride featured state-of-the-art projection and hydraulic technology.

In 2013, the ride became the centerpiece of a themed Simpsons area at both parks, based on the fictional town of Springfield depicted in the animated series. The attraction is more than four minutes long and features two pre-show line queues that guests experience before boarding the ride. Its theme focuses on Krustyland, a theme park built by and named after Krusty the Clown, in which his former sidekick, evil genius Sideshow Bob, attempts to get revenge on Krusty and the Simpson family. Many characters from the animated series make an appearance, all voiced by their original actors.^[4]

Amusement ride. Transformers: The Ride 3D is a 3D dark ride located at Universal Studios Singapore, Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Beijing. The ride, based on the Transformers film franchise, was designed by Universal Creative, Oceaneering International, and Industrial Light & Magic. Each installation is reported to have cost US$100 million. Universal Studios Singapore was the first to open the ride.

The dark ride consists of motion platform-mounted vehicles which follow a 2,000-foot-long (610 m) track. Throughout the ride, screens up to 60 feet (18 m) high project 3D images of various Transformers characters as the Autobots attempt to protect the AllSpark from the Decepticons.^[5]

Interactive ride with multiple endings. Men in Black: Alien Attack is a shooting interactive dark ride located at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida, based on the film, Men in Black, itself based on the original comic book of the same name created by Lowell Cunningham. The ride opened in 2000 after a five-year development process. The ride has generally been well received, winning an Outstanding Achievement award from the Themed Entertainment Association.

Riders enter a MIB training facility disguised as a pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. After navigating through a themed queue and pre-show, riders board a spinning dark ride system. Once dispatched, riders are tasked to kill aliens using the supplied laser guns, and subsequently accumulate points. At the time of its opening, the ride was the biggest dark ride ever built at a Universal park, spanning 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) and featuring over 125 animatronic aliens.^[9]

Jaws is an amusement ride attraction based on the Jaws film series and is located at Universal Studios Japan. It originally opened at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando in 1990, and another installation later opened at Universal Studios Japan in 2001. The ride uses tour boats to take guests through a harbor of the fictional Amity Island, which begins as a leisurely tour that is abruptly interrupted by an attack of the famous great white shark. The concept is an expanded version of the Jaws miniature attraction featured in the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood in California. In 2012, the attraction was removed from the Florida theme park to make room for the second phase of expansion for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.^[13]

Amusement park ride in Orlando, Florida. Fear Factor Live was a stunt stage show attraction located in World Expo at Universal Studios Florida and previously, the Upper Lot at Universal Studios Hollywood. Both attractions opened in spring 2005. The Hollywood attraction was closed on August 14, 2008, to make way for Creature from the Black Lagoon: The Musical, which opened in spring 2009. The Florida attraction began operating on a seasonal schedule on June 3, 2005. The attraction began running again on a full-time basis in summer 2010. The attraction was based on the NBC television series Fear Factor and featured theme park guests becoming contestants in various stunts inspired by the show. After temporarily closing in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Universal confirmed in October 2021 that the attraction would not reopen.^[18]

Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Exploria Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Orlando, Florida. The stadium is located along West Church Street in the Parramore neighborhood west of Downtown Orlando. It is the home of Orlando City SC, which entered Major League Soccer as an expansion franchise in 2015, and their National Women's Soccer League affiliate club, the Orlando Pride. The stadium was completed in time for Orlando City's home opener of the 2017 season on March 5 and it became the first ever venue to permanently host MLS, NWSL, and USL teams all in the same location that year. Originally known as Orlando City Stadium, on June 4, 2019, it was announced that Exploria Resorts had acquired naming rights to the stadium.

As well as home matches for Orlando City, Orlando Pride, the stadium has also been used as a host venue for both the United States men's and women's national teams, the finals for both the NWSL Championship and NCAA Women's College Cup, numerous Florida Cup games, the MLS Combine in 2018 and 2019, and the 2019 MLS All-Star Game.

Away from soccer, the stadium hosted the 2019 and 2021 Cure Bowl, a college football bowl game. In January 2021, it was announced Exploria Stadium would be the venue of the 2022 Special Olympics USA opening ceremony.^[20]

Cinema in Orlando, Florida. The Beacham Theatre is a cinema built in 1921 by Braxton Beacham Sr. in the city of Orlando, Florida. The current address of the theater is 46 North Orange Avenue, and it is located at the southwest corner of Orange Avenue and Washington Street. The building's current lack of impressive architecture is offset by its significant cultural history. The Beacham Theatre was considered an important contributing structure when the Downtown Orlando historic district was created in 1980 and the building was granted local landmark status in 1987.

The Beacham was once part of the vaudeville circuit and hosted celebrity acts such as John Philip Sousa, the Ziegfeld Follies and W.C. Fields, whose signature was once visible inside a dressing room. In the eras of silent film and Classical Hollywood cinema, the Beacham was operated as a movie theater that used then-current state-of-the-art motion picture technology.

The Beacham, as it is currently named, has since been used as a series of concert venues and nightclubs thus saving it from demolition. The Beacham Theatre was once home to the internationally recognized late-night underground discotheque Aahz, a notable early component of the US electronic dance music movement in the early 1990s.^[22]

Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Camping World Stadium is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Amway Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and Exploria Stadium. It opened in 1936 as Orlando Stadium and has also been known as the Tangerine Bowl and Florida Citrus Bowl. The City of Orlando owns and operates the stadium.

Camping World Stadium is the current home venue of the Citrus Bowl and the Cheez-It Bowl. It is also the regular host of other college football games including the Florida Classic between Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman, the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, and the Camping World Kickoff. The stadium was built for football and in the past, it has served as home of several alternate-league football teams. From 2011 to 2013, it was the home of the Orlando City SC, a soccer team in USL Pro. From 1979 to 2006, it served as the home of the UCF Knights football team. It was one of the nine venues used for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The stadium has also hosted the NFL's Pro Bowl four times.^[25]

Convention center in Orange County, Florida. The Orange County Convention Center is a convention center located in Orlando, Florida. Opened in 1983 as the Orange County Convention and Civic Center, it is the primary public convention center for the Central Florida region and the second-largest convention center in the United States, after McCormick Place in Chicago.

The OCCC offers 7,000,000 sq ft (650,000 m2) of total space, 2,100,000 sq ft (200,000 m2) of which is exhibit space. The complex is located on the south end of International Drive, a major tourist area in Orlando. Solar panels on the roof of the South Concourse provide 1 MW of power.

The original building (the "West Concourse") once housed an 11,300-seat arena from 1983 to 1992. During its time, it hosted concerts by popular artists including Madonna, Tina Turner, Styx, Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe and Hall and Oates. Use of the arena declined following the opening of the Orlando Arena in 1989. The arena closed in 1992 and was renovated and converted into the main exhibition hall in 1996.

On April 18, 2012, the American Institute of Architects's Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of "Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places".^[30]

United methodist church in Orlando, Florida. First United Methodist Church of Orlando is a church located in Downtown Orlando. Founded in 1882, First United Methodist Church has been a presence in Central Florida for over 125 years. The church has helped found many non-profit and charitable organizations, including the Coalition for the Homeless and IDignity.

After a sale of property to the City of Orlando and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, First United Methodist Church of Orlando undertook a multimillion-dollar building project that revitalized its campus and changed the look of downtown. The new ministry building for First United Methodist Church of Orlando opened in September 2011 and held a special dedication on October 2, 2011.^[34]