Guides: Guide to Central Florida Theme Parks for Parents with Teens

By making other theme parks, rather than Disney, your primary point of entry you can really spice up the holiday. For old time sake, take one day at a Disney Theme park but there are now Flex Tickets available that allow you to park hop between the non-Disney Universal Studios Orlando, Islands of Adventure, Seaworld and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Wet ‘n Wild Water Park. These pack a great deal of fun and adventure and you won't miss Disney. 

And you are finally there. You enter Islands of Adventure and your teen, of course, wants to do everything and start with the fastest first. If you have no fear of thrill rides or coasters you can easily join them and I'll talk about some of the incredible rides and attractions you'll experience.. But if you are the trepidatious parent you'll have to decide what attraction or rides you want to experience. The first solution that comes to mind is the thought, "Maybe I'll just slip into somewhere for a coffee and let them wander around"… but then there is the fact that even though you aren't into theme parks in such a big way, you have this nagging thought that you came for the family, you spent all this money…

First off, you may think that the older coasters will be easier on your back but in actual fact the newer ones are superior and ride much more smoothly. The kiddie coasters and older coasters are the hardest on the body since they can stop and start suddenly and have no upper back support. The ones that you will have the most fun and even feel the safest in usually have a full upper body harness that goes over you. The only problem is that there is no floor- your feet are dangling! Yes, they look scarier but the static harness and centrifugal force hold you in.

One coaster at Islands of Adventure is called the Dueling Dragons, an "inverted" roller coaster - meaning that the trains and riders hang underneath the track instead of above it. The ride is actually two coasters that intertwine, sometimes coming at each other at 60 miles an hour- again a frightening thought but these marvels of modern technology are safe and you could even say comfortable. Later you can graduate to Montu at Busch Gardens - another "inverted" coaster made by the same manufacturer with a similar design but with even more inversions and corkscrews.

So you avoid the impulse to pull open the restraint and rush off the ride. You ride the ride. Whoa, now you see what your teen is about with all this coaster and ride enthusiasm. After both of these you'll feel proudly exhilarated and you strut to the next ride. But then again, you may be slowed down by your experience of some vertigo or dizziness which hopefully passes off.

After getting your feet wet, figuratively speaking, you are now ready to literally get your whole body wet by trying some water rides. These type of rides are great on hot sunny Florida days when you can dry off quickly. In Islands of Adventure these type of rides are located primarily in the island Toon Lagoon. Themed on old style cartoons this island is fun and wacky just to walk through and even more fun with a few rides experienced, albeit a wet experience. Popey and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges are a very wet river rapids raft ride that takes you through some white water and water fall areas. Fun for the WHOLE family. Dudley Do-Right's Rip-saw falls has a 75 foot double drop that's packed with excitement.

After experiencing a few of these rides you can then amble through each and every island which will always give you some new aspect of the Park- Seuss Landing includes one of the best and somewhat gentle rides with the Cat in the Hat – you whirl through the story- both teens and the very young love this ride and it will bring back that very child-like magical feeling.

Marvel Super Hero Island is really the teen Mecca. It is a raucous and comic book fantasy land that will bring back your memories of Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk and all the other super heroes you read about. Rides are made of these. The Spider-Man interactive 3D simulator ride is one you can really enjoy but the Incredible Hulk Coaster is one you should consider carefully unless you love speed and are into coasters. At the beginning of this state of the art coaster you get accelerated from 0 to 40 in two seconds! It was my son's favorite.

You walk a short distance and then the next Park to experience is Universal Studios Orlando. This is similar to Universal Studios Hollywood in California except many of the attractions that one would see on the tram tour in the Hollywood park are separate rides or attractions in Orlando . There is a separate ride for Jaws, King Kong, Earthquake etc. The idea behind the park is that you go behind the movies and experience in person some of the fright, thrills and entertainment rather than speed, of the movies. This is all through innovative shows, and attractions. For example they've added the attraction "Twister" which is where you get to experience close up a real tornado. The shows are like nothing you have ever experienced- the Terminator 3D show is the best 3D combined with multi media show around.

If you put yourself in the timid parent category it's pretty well safe to experience all the attractions in Universal Studios Orlando. You and your teens will love it. If you've already been, there are enough new additions to make the experience worthwhile. Consider seeing some of the shows in the heat of the afternoon, because the air conditioned theatres have a large capacity and there is less of a wait time. If you have a Universal Parks park hopper pass you can go back and forth between Studios and Islands of Adventure.

Busch is a special place for Florida (and international) coaster enthusiasts with Gwazi, the largest dueling wooden roller coaster; Kumba, a steel coaster with 7-inversions and which creates 3 seconds of weigthlessness; and Montu, which rates as one of the top inverted roller coasters in the world and is the largest in the South Eastern United States. In spite of this, since it has the over the head harness I would suggest Montu as the first choice coaster. Of course, forget your teen, now you are a coaster and ride enthusiast and ready for anything!

Busch has also newly introduced Rhino Rally which is a combination safari look-see and wild water ride. Busch Gardens also has what I would rate as the wittiest motion simulator attraction starring Martin Short as Akbar guiding you through a comical journey across Egypt. (The most intense and exciting motion simulator ride is the 3D Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man at Islands of Adventure.)

Sea World in Orlando is also owned and operated by Anhauser-Busch and has mainly shows and exhibits based on animals such as the ever popular Shamu Killer Whale Show. Its a nice break from the intensity of other parks in Orlando. Seaworld, though, has introduced two new thrill rides- Kraken a Coaster and Journey to Atlantis which we didn't get to experience but you may rush to first on entering the park.

So after visiting these sock em parks its hard to go back to Disney for the one or two days you have planned. If you haven't been for a while you may find it charmingly anachronistic with the inevitable Disney products being pushed every where and a few new choices in rides for teens (and you). Their employees truly seem happy and love little kids but you may get a different or indifferent reaction to your teen as we did.

All in all, though, I would limit your Disney time to one or two days max if you have a savy teen and want to maintain a relationship. Unfortunately, you have to buy a minimum 4 day "Park Hopper Pass" if you want to go back and forth between Disney parks. Since the distances are long between Disney parks and waiting for transportation also a long process, you may be well satisfied with only one Disney park daily. I would suggest Disney/MGM Studios or Epcot. If you are going to Universal you may want to just try Epcot since MGM is similar to Universal Studios Orlando but only a quarter the size. The ambiance at Epcot is pleasant and the Pavillions of different nations are interesting to teens and parents. The rides and attractions in Epcot, though, are mainly slow- they seem to be geared to the very young and very old. Whereas, as mentioned, MGM does have two good rides appealing to teens.

Outside of the parks, if you want a meal and have high expectations of service, I found that Wolfgang Puck's restaurant had reasonably priced excellent gourmet food that the whole family (especially teens) can enjoy. The service was excellent at Wolfgang Puck, but lacking at similar quality restaurants such as the Disney-run Fulton Crab House and other Disney establishments. Otherwise, you may want to try Emeril's at Universal Citywalk for an adult treat but you'll need to make reservations at least a month in advance from your home base. We also had an excellent Italian meal in CityWalk at Pastemore and Bahama Breeze deserves a mention for memorable Carribean style food.

You can get a 5 Park Orlando Flex Ticket which gives you unlimited admission to SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and Wet'n Wild water park for up to 14 consecutive days. These are the parks that should be the highest on your priority list particularly the ones at Universal. They will leave both you and your teen highly satisfied.

On this vacation you'll overcome terror and be thrilled. You'll graduate to a ride and coaster enthusiast. You can then spend the rest of the year visiting web sites on Coasters and Rides like www.coasterglobe.com. In the eyes of your teen this may make you even more likeable than an impulsively given twenty dollar bill. Take this vacation as a time to create new memories and nostalgic moments for you and your family - appreciate the magical transition and growth of your teen reflected in your new park experiences in Central Florida.