The warm climate and lush environment were an early draw for the Florida tourism industry. Railway arrivals, leisure travel and air conditioning jumped the Sunshine State ahead of the 1971 arrival at Walt Disney World. Over the decades, many travel stops have come and gone. Over the years, take a quick look at Central Florida attractions.
•1878: Glass-bottomed boats are being introduced at Silver Springs, Marion County.
•January 1936: Dick Pope Sr. establishes Cypress Garden, the state’s first theme park, in Winter Haven. Ultimately, it is known for being the Southern Bells, a film setting and “the world’s waterski capital.”
•December 1949: Owen Godwin Senior opens Gatorland as a roadside attraction on the South Orlando Blossom Trail. Original name: Florida Wildlife Institute. It was converted to Snake Village and Crocodile Farm before landing at Gatorland in 1954.
•November 15, 1965: After months of purchase and speculation of secret land, Walt Disney announced plans to build it in Florida from its Downtown Hotel in Orlando. Construction began in 1968.
•October 1, 1971: The Magic Kingdom theme park opens along with the Modern Resort Hotel, followed by the Polynesian Village Resort.
•December 15, 1973: Seaworld Orlando Theme Park opens approximately 7 miles southeast of Magic Kingdom.
•February 21, 1974: The Circus World, featuring coasters called Hurricanes and Zoom Run, will finally open in Davenport. The attraction closed in 1986.
• July 1974: Church Street Station, a collection of bars, opened in downtown Orlando and thrives in the 1980s. Co-founder Bob Snow sold the property in 1989.
•March 1975: Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village opens at Walt Disney World. It will go through several names in an enlarged fashion, including Walt Disney World Village, Disney Village Marketplace, Downtown Disney, and Disney Springs.
• June 20, 1976: River Country, Disney’s first water park, opens near Fort Wilderness. (It was closed in late 2001.)
•March 13, 1977: SeaWorld Mastermind George Millay creates Wet’N Wild, an International Drive water park. In 1998, Universal purchased an attraction that was closed in 2017.
•October 1, 1982: Walt Disney World introduces Epcot, the second theme park.
•April 1987: Boardwalk and baseball amusement park opens on the former circus world site. It was closed in 1990.
•February 1988: The Arabian Nights Dinner Show will be held in Kissimmee. It closed after 25 years of execution.
•May 1, 1989: Disney-MGM Studios’ theme park opens, with Disney CEO Michael Eisner edging the arrival of Universal Studios in Florida. It guides Eisner’s expansion plan, known as Disney’s 10th year.
•May 1, 1989: Pleasure Island Entertainment District opens at Disney World, adding several nightclubs to the resort’s lineup.
•June 1, 1989: Typhoon Lagoon Water Park opens at Disney World.
•June 7, 1990: Universal Studios Florida Theme Park makes its debut.
•November 8, 1991: The horrors of Church Street, a year-round haunt. The original was closed in 1999, but another owner has two years of fear on the third floor of the Church Street Exchange.
• July 1992: Ripley’s Believe It Museum is built to appear to fall into a sinkhole and opens on an international drive.
•1993: Ripley Entertainment Inc. will move its headquarters from Toronto to Orlando.
•Late 1993: Florida’s great China is the charm of a 1/1 scale replica, opening near Kissimmee. It worked for 10 years. (Currently on the site: Margaritaville Resort Houses and Condos.)
•April 1, 1995: Blizzard Beach Water Park opens at Disney World.
•March 1998: Wonderworks, an upside down charm, opens on International Drive.
•April 22, 1998: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park will open with celebrities such as Stevie Wonder and Jane Goodall.
•December 1998: Cirque du Soleil debuts the “La Nouba” show in downtown Disney. I ran until 2017.
•May 28, 1999: Universal Orlando opens the adventure park islands and the Universal City Walk, a shopping and dining area adjacent to Universal Studios.
• July 1, 2000: Discovery Cove, Sea World Day Resort with marine animals and water activities, debuts.
•February 2001: A Christian charm with Bible-related activities and shows, the Holy Land Experience opens near Conroy Road and the Interstate. Trinity Broadcasting Network purchased it in 2007.
•June 2003: Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede dinner show opens near the interstate. It was run for five years.
•June 2006: Blueman Group moves to Universal City Walk theatre. It was closed in the 2020 pandemic shutdown. In 2024, another Blueman show was announced for the new space at Icon Park.
•2008: Disney MGM Studio will be renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
•September 27, 2008: Pleasure Island Nightclub is closed as it will eventually be absorbed into an area known as Disney Springs.
•March 1, 2008: SeaWorld introduces Aquatica Water Park.
•June 18, 2010: Harry Potter’s first magical world begins on the island of adventure, along with Daniel Radcliffe and other actors taking part in the festival.
•October 15, 2011: Legoland Florida will open in Winter Haven on the previous site of Cypress Garden.
• July 8, 2014: The second installment of Harry Potter’s Magical World, the Diagon Alley, opens at Universal Studios. The Hogwarts Express Attractions connects attractions from two different theme parks.
•April 29, 2015: The 400-foot observation wheel, Orlando Eye will debut on International Drive next to Orlando and Sea Life Orlando Aquarium.
•September 2016: The International Entertainment Association and Attractions announce that they will move their headquarters from Alexandria, Virginia to Orlando, and extend the contract for the IAAPA Expo, which will be held at the Orange County Convention Center until 2030.
•May 25, 2017: Volcano Bay Water Park will open at Universal Orlando.
•August 29, 2019: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Realm makes its debut at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
•November 2021: “life to Life” will be held at Disney Springs, the new Cirque du Soleil show.
•May 19, 2022: Peppa Pig Theme Park for preschoolers will open next to Legoland Florida in Winter Haven.
•March 2024: The Covid-19 pandemic leads to central Florida attractions that have been closed for three or four months.
•May 22, 2025: The epic universe will become Orlando’s first new theme park in over 25 years.
