Today’s travel tip sheet includes information on celebrating the Fourth of July in Orlando, Orlando’s newest selfie attractions, how to combine theme park thrills with white sandy beaches, major summer soccer events and a spotlight on the destination’s most thrilling attractions. For interviews and media info: media@visitorlando.com.   

MEDIA IMAGES

In this Issue:  

  • Fourth of July Weekend in Orlando 
  • Instagram-worthy Attractions 
  • Orlando’s Most Tropical Escapes  
  • Summer of Soccer  
  • Thrill Rides in Orlando 
  • DYK? A Mister Rogers Sculpture will be built in Winter Park!  

Orlando Named Top U.S. Destination for Fourth of July 

Named the “Top Independence Day Travel Destination” by AAA, Orlando offers a one-of-a-kind weekend getaway to celebrate America’s birthday. Visitors can enjoy the destination’s world-famous firework displays, including the return of Disney fireworks on July 1.  

CELEBRATE LIKE A LOCAL 

  • The 44th Annual Fireworks at the Fountain (July 4) event at Lake Eola Park returns to downtown Orlando. The free Fourth of July event will feature live entertainment; food and beverage offerings from various vendors; along with a fireworks finale set to a live performance by the Orlando Concert Band.  

  • Fun Spot Orlando (July 3) invites visitors to celebrate Independence Day during their HUGE Summer event. The free event will feature retro-inspired photo spots; exciting new food offerings; wristbands available for purchase to enjoy Fun Spot’s many rides and attractions; and a huge fireworks show. 

THEME PARK THRILLS 

  • Walt Disney World Resort will resume its nighttime firework spectacular just in time to commemorate Independence Day in the skies with the Fourth of July fireworks. Additionally, beginning July 1 guests can experience the nightly firework performances of “Happily Ever After” at Magic Kingdom Park and “EPCOT Forever” at Epcot.  

  • SeaWorld Orlando (July 2-4) will include its 4th of July Weekend Celebration as part of its Electric Ocean summer event. The event, which is included with park admission, will feature Fourth of July fireworks for three consecutive nights.  

  • LEGOLAND Florida (July 3-4) invites guests to celebrate July 4 during its AWE-Summer: Red, White and BOOM event, included in regular park admission, featuring the only fireworks display that transforms into bursts of LEGO®.  

Additional information and events can be found here. 

Instagram Alert: New Selfie Attractions in Orlando   

From mind-twisting exhibits to unique and immersive photobooth rooms, visitors seeking the perfect selfie will not want to miss these Orlando attractions for the most Instagram-worthy shots:  

  • NEW: Selfie WRLD, a “selfie museum” located at the Florida Mall, offers visitors 30 themed photobooths featuring immersive and interactive art installations to capture the perfect selfie.   

  • Museum of Illusions, a mind-bending “edutainment” experience offering 50 interactive, immersive and mentally deceptive exhibits perfect for brow-raising photo ops. 

  • Wall Crawl Orlando combines a photo studio experience with a mural gallery, offering guests a wide selection of colorful walls, backdrops and props. The backdrops are changed seasonally making every visit unique.    

Where to Dip Your Toes in the Sand: Orlando’s Best Kept Secrets 

Visitors can combine theme park thrills with the white sandy oasis that several Orlando attractions and resort pools provide. From all-inclusive escapes to white-sand water parks, Orlando offers these hidden gems for the entire family: 

  • Discovery Cove: At this all-inclusive, reservations-only tropical island oasis, guests can interact with and learn about dolphins, snorkel with tropical fish and rays, hand-feed exotic birds and even sun-bathe on a white sand beach. 

  • Aquatica Orlando: This one-of-a-kind water park is home to some of the world’s most thrilling water rides, slides, rivers, lagoons, exhilarating wave pools and more than 80,000 square feet of sparkling white, sandy beaches. Aquatica’s exclusive attractions promise unlimited fun, sending guests on amazing undersea adventures and through breathtaking animal exhibits.  

  • Buena Vista Watersports at Paradise Cove offers visitors at tropical lakefront, Key West-Style facility on a natural spring fed lake surrounded by cypress trees with white sandy beaches. Adventure seekers can enjoy a variety of water activities including jet skiing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding and more.  

Summer of Soccer  

Ranked by WalletHub as one of the country’s best cities for soccer fans, Orlando is a must visit destination for soccer fanatics, offering visitors plenty of opportunities to get their game on, not only with Major League Soccer’s Orlando City Soccer Club and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Orlando Pride, but also hosting major international soccer tournaments.  

  • 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup (July 12, 16 & 20): Downtown Orlando’s Exploria Stadium joins 10 other sport venues across the country in hosting the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, which determines the continental champion of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Teams coming to Orlando include Costa Rica, Jamaica and Suriname, which will compete against each other over a series of six Group Stage matches. 

  • Florida Cup 2021 (July 25 & 28): The international club soccer pre-season tournament, hosted at Camping World Stadium, will feature top clubs from Europe including Arsenal FC, Inter Milan, Everton FC and South American team Millonarios FC competing for the title. 

Additional information on summer soccer events in Orlando can be found here.  

Inside Look at Orlando’s Top Thrills  

With the recent opening of Universal Orlando’s Jurassic World VelociCoaster, we compiled a list of some of the destination’s biggest thrill rides. More of Orlando’s epic thrills can be found here.  

  • Jurassic World VelociCoaster opened June 10 at Universal’s Islands of Adventure as Florida’s fastest and tallest launch coaster, featuring an original story with intense maneuvers sending riders catapulting up to 70 mph and over 150 feet in the air with the swiftest of prehistoric predators.  

  • Mako at SeaWorld Orlando, named for one of the ocean’s fastest known sharks, is Orlando’s tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster, reaching speeds of 73 mph as it races along 4,760 feet of steel track.  

  • Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disney’s Hollywood Studios races guests through three thrilling inversions - two rollover loops and one corkscrew - to the tunes of Aerosmith with a state-of-the-art 32,000-watt audio system.  

Did You Know?    

Fred Rogers, known as television icon Mister Rogers, was an alumni at Rollins College, located in Orlando’s picturesque neighborhood Winter Park. Today, he is honored with an annual self-guided tour through Winter Park and a permanent 7-foot outdoor sculpture depicting him in his signature sweater and sneakers, scheduled to be completed in October.