Florida Family Getaways - 2008 - (Page 25) What: Walk-through haunted house Where: Old Town, Kissimmee When: Opened 1993 Web: www.old-town.com Orlando is a tough town for haunted houses. Over the years, fabled walkthrough spook houses such as Mystery Fun House and Terror on Church Street (along with not-so-fabled ones like Kissimmee’s Haunted Mansion) have come and gone. The most recent victim of Orlando’s haunt curse was Skull Kingdom, whose iconic fortress façade was demolished to make way for high-rises. One haunt, however, has managed to hang in there, delivering frights for more than a decade, about an eternity in amusement park years. Halfway down Old Town’s midway, which is filled with familiar carnival contraptions, sit two dilapidated stories of boos. The maze’s 20-plus spooky rooms aren’t nearly as elaborate as one of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights houses, but it’s a much gentler way to introduce the kids to the thrill of an old-school scare. HORSE ON LAKESIDE CAROUSEL THE HAUNTED MANSION, WALT DISNEY WORLD What: Wooden Carousel Where: International Market World, Auburndale When: Built 1909; at current location since 1996 Web: www.intlmarketworld.com Halfway between Orlando and Tampa, amid a sea of flea-market tables and food vendors, hides a genuine antique that’s one of the last of its kind. By the time International Market World, Polk County’s mecca of bargain shopping and bluegrass, was built in 1981, the vintage merry-go-round it hosts was already 72 years old. This is one of only 16 surviving carousels that still dispense rings for you to grab at as you ride. (In case readers don’t know, grabbing the ring happens when a rider on an outer horse reaches out to grab a brass ring; most parks have eliminated the rings). Built in Philadelphia, it ran on steam until it was converted to electricity in 1930 while installed at Harveys Lake, Penn. The ride was passed down through the Wintersteen family until the original owner’s great-grandniece leased it first to Old Town in 1987, and then to International Market World. Go for the brass! Glossary of terms Out-and-back roller coaster: “Out and back” simply refers to the layout. An out-and-back coaster is one that climbs a single lift hill, races out to the far end of the track, performs a 180-degree turn and goes home. Hills at the beginning, obviously, are larger than the hills at the end. Omnimover: The Omnimover is a Disney-created word for their ride-moving systems. Omnimovers keep a constant speed as they take riders through an attraction. Passengers typically get on the ride via a moving belt, so that it can keep moving. Dark ride: A ride where a moving vehicle passes through animated scenes. Notable dark rides include the Futurama at the 1939 New York World’s Fair and The Haunted Mansion at Disney theme parks. They aren’t always totally dark. Disney’s brightly lighted It’s a Small World has patrons float through a lighted space of scenes. Family Getaways 25 http://www.old-town.com http://www.intlmarketworld.com
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