As Good As Being There

John Pennekamp State Park - Key Largo, FL Keys

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, established in 1963, was the first undersea park created in the United States. The park, combined with the adjacent Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, encompasses 178 nautical square miles of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps. These areas were established to protect and preserve the only living coral reef in the continental United States.

Named for the late Miami newspaper editor John D. Pennekamp, who was also instrumental in preserving the land that would become the Everglades National Park, Coral Reef State Park now enjoys over a million visitors per year from around the world.

The Visitor Center features a 30, 000 gallon saltwater aquarium and other natural history exhibits interpreting the park's unique marine environment. There is also a theater where visitors may watch nature videos. Hours are from 8am to 5pm daily.

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SeaWorld - Orlando, Fl

SeaWorld is a chain of theme parks in the United States, with operations in Orlando, Florida, San Diego, California, and San Antonio, Texas. The parks feature killer whale, sea lion and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. The parks' icon is Shamu the killer whale.

Shamu performingSeaWorld parks also feature a variety of thrill rides, including roller coasters like Kraken at SeaWorld Orlando and The Steel Eel at SeaWorld San Antonio. Journey to Atlantis, a combination roller coaster and splashdown ride, can be found at both SeaWorld Orlando and SeaWorld San Diego. The parks are owned by Busch Entertainment Corp., the family entertainment division of Anheuser-Busch, which is best known for brewing beer but also owns nine theme parks.

SeaWorld has made many contributions to wildlife conservation. SeaWorld scientists, zoologists, trainers and rescue teams participate in research and wildlife preservation. Recently, SeaWorld teams have helped saved beached whales, dolphins, seals and sea lions and helped raise the awareness of endangered manatees.

SeaWorld's main attraction is the killer whale or 'Shamu Stadium.' It is important to note that there is not just one killer whale named Shamu. Shamu was the name of the first killer whale ever to be brought to SeaWorld San Diego in the 1960s. 'Shamu' is now used as a stage name for adult killer whales in performances at SeaWorld parks. The killer whales all have real names. In the Orlando park, for example, there are nine whales: Tillikum, Ikaika, Katina, Kalina, Takara, Kohanna, Skyla, Taku and Taima.

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Busch Gardens - Tampa Bay, FL

Busch Gardens Tampa, the first theme park opened by Anheuser-Busch, has an African theme and is operated by Busch Entertainment Corp is located in Tampa, Florida. The theme park is one of America's largest zoological institutions, with more than 2,500 animals in its collection. Attractions include: Rhino Rally, Montu, Kumba, Edge of Africa, Python, Scorpion, Gwazi, and the new vertical dive coaster Sheikra. The theme park is located away from the downtown area in the northern part of the Tampa city limits; it borders the town limits of Temple Terrace.

Did you know?  that The Busch Gardens were spoofed in The Simpsons as the Duff Gardens.

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Walt Disney World - Lake Buena Vista, FL

Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company, the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA is home of Magic Kingdom (Cinderella Castle) ,  Epcot (Spaceship Earth, the giant golf ball-looking geodesic sphere) , Disney-MGM Studios (the giant Mickey sorcerer's cap, though formerly the 'Earful Tower' water tower represented it) , and Disney's Animal Kingdom (the Tree of Life)

The Walt Disney World resort also includes five world-class golf courses. The five 18-hole golf courses are the Magnolia, the Palm, Lake Buena Vista, Eagle Pines, and Osprey Ridge (the last two are part of the Bonnet Creek Golf Club). There are two miniature golf courses: Fantasia Gardens and Winter Summerland. 

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John F. Kennedy Space Center - Cape Canaveral, FL

The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the NASA space vehicle launch facility at Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. The site is midway between Miami and Jacsonville, Florida.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is home to a number of museums, two IMAX theatres, and various bus tours allowing visitors a closer look at various restricted areas than would otherwise be possible. Included in the base admission is tour-bus transportation to an observation gantry on the grounds of Launch Complex 39, as shown, and to the Apollo-Saturn V Center, a large museum housing a restored Saturn V launch vehicle and various other exhibits, including one theatre that reconstructs an Apollo-era firing room, where visitors can relive an Apollo launch, and another where visitors can relive the Apollo 11 landing.

The Visitor Complex also includes two facilities run by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation. The most visible of these is the Space Mirror Memorial, a huge black granite mirror through-engraved with the names of all astronauts who died in the line of duty. These names are constantly illuminated from behind, with natural light when possible, and artificial light when necessary. The glowing names seem to float in a reflection of the sky. Supplemental displays nearby give the details of the lives and deaths of the astronauts memorialized. Elsewhere on the Visitor Complex grounds is the Foundation's Center for Space Education, which includes a resource center for teachers, among other facilities.

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