Florida Family Getaways - 2008 - (Page 26) OTHER CL What: Classic carousel Where: Daytona Lagoon, Daytona Beach Web: www.daytonalagoon.com ASS I CS While Daytona’s Boardwalk has changed, one favorite has not been lost. It’s the carousel. Locals love it, and have generations of photographs to prove it. For decades, the merry-go-round was at Daytona’s Boardwalk, but it was moved to Daytona Lagoon at Oceanwalk Village when the Boardwalk was redeveloped. The park, including the Lagoon Waterpark, go-karts, miniature golf and laser tag, is mostly for older kids, but the carousel appeals to all ages. What: Aerial tram ride Where: Busch Gardens Africa, Tampa Web: www.buschgardens.com/BGT Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa, which opened in 1959, is known for its newer, high-stakes thrill rides like Gwazi, SheiKra and Montu. But its more venerable attractions still attract crowds. Visitors still line up for the Skyride, an aerial tramway built in 1974. What: Museum of oddities Where: Castle Warden, St. Augustine When: Opened December 1950 Web: www.staugustine-ripleys.com Two hours north of Orlando is the oldest continuously occupied European city in the country. Founded by the Spanish in 1565, St. Augustine is famous for its historic buildings and beaches, but few know it’s also home to a worldwide entertainment empire. Starting in 1918, Robert Ripley shared exotic oddities with the world through cartoons, radio and television. Ripley opened his first temporary “Odditorium” at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The St. Augustine Believe It Or Not! opened a year after Ripley’s death and was his first permanent museum. It remains home to his personal collection. It may not have animatronics, but it does have a mummified cat. And the 1887 Moorish Revival castle in which it’s housed is an attraction in itself. No Tinker Toy trip this Skyride, Busch Gardens’ tramway departs from a grand station worthy of a major metropolitan city. The station also houses the massive gears and wheels that propel the whole cable system. The Skyride sits near the park entrance and Nairobi Gate and takes visitors in bucket cars across the Serengeti Plain to see the park’s African animals, including giraffes, elephants and zebras. Overlooking the Serengeti Plain is the Crown Colony House, a restaurant built by August Busch Jr. for his wife Trudy. The eatery is not just a theme park pizza joint, but rarity in theme-park land, a full-service restaurant. Also near the park entrance is the park’s classic Hospitality House, a legacy of the park’s early days when Busch Gardens contained a brewery. Overlooking a small pond where patrons play with model boats, the 1959 pub serves up pizza under a distinctive accordion-like angular roofline that gives the building a vintage Sputnik-era feel. 26 VISITFLORIDA.com/family http://www.daytonalagoon.com http://www.buschgardens.com/BGT http://www.staugustine-ripleys.com http://VISITFLORIDA.com/family
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