Jungle Island :: Miami, Florida

Situated on Watson Island in Miami, right between Miami Beach and Downtown Miami, is a wonderful interactive theme park that teaches about and features an amazing array of animals. Jungle Island is home to a variety of birds, mammals, primates, reptiles and fish and features some very unique animals like Ligers. Originally founded in 1936 and named Parrot Island, the park was located in southwest Miami and was one of the first tourist attractions established in the area. In the early 2000s it was decided that the park would move to its new Watson Island location and the previous park’s land was rededicated and developed into Pinecrest Gardens, a public park that features a Botanical garden, butterfly exhibit, petting zoo and more.

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Jungle Theater is home to wonderful shows and is the most noticeable attraction from outside the park with its huge sails that cover the show ground. The “Tale of the Tiger” show at the Jungle Theater is a definite must see during your visit; it features many unique and rare varieties of big cats including four different colors of tigers as well as Black Panthers, Lynx and many more rotating cast members throughout the year. Another magnificent show at Jungle Island is the “Winged Wonders” show at the Parrot Bowl which highlights some of the wildest birds from around the world. Make sure to pay a visit to Pinky before the show, the cockatoo has been entertaining audiences for years with his high-wire bicycle riding act. Jungle Island is also full of animals and exhibits to entertain and educate all who visit. The Liger Habitat is home to Jungle Islands resident Liger, a lion-tiger mix, who weighs 900 pounds and is almost 12 feet tall, he is most definitely the king of this jungle. Another cool thing about the park is that many of the incredible birds enjoy being fed by visitors, you will find them nearby the food dispensers along the jungle path. The Manu Encounter is a unique exhibit designed to replicate the clay cliffs of Manu, Peru. Here you will enjoy an interactive ten minute presentations and experience free-flying macaws, parrots, Squirrel Monkeys and many other exotic animals. The “Serpentarium” is home to all kinds of interesting animals including Alligator Snapping Turtles, Boa Constrictors, African Penguins and even lemurs.

Jungle Island even has its own private beach, “La Playa”, so you can relax and unwind under an umbrella while the kids enjoy the inflatable water slides and bounce house. A visit to Jungle Island will run you around $24-$30 depending on age, children 2 and under as well as military personnel with ID receive free entrance to the park. The park is open 365 days a year, Monday-Friday from 10 am through 5pm and on weekends it remains open for an additional hour. Public transportation is available via Miami Dade transit and parking at the park is available for $7 per car. So bring the family and enjoy the fun, Jungle Island is definitely a must-see on everyone’s Florida vacation.

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PortAventura Resort & Parks :: Spain

Located one hour south of bustling Barcelona is PortAventura, a theme park and resort that is among the largest in Europe. The park was originally built as a joint effort by the Tussauds group, Anheuser-Busch and Universal Studios and is currently owned and operated by Criteria with the original three no longer holding a stake in it. It has evolved into a complete themed resort destination boasting four wonderful 4-star hotels as well as the PortAventura Theme Park, the Caribe Aquatic Park and a Beach Club. The resort even has Read more

Tenement Museum :: Manhattan, New York

The United States of America is a hodgepodge, a mishmash, a melting pot of cultures, religions, ethnicities, and ancestry. The vast majority of its citizens hail from countries far from its promising shores. Often times, these families came here with little more than the clothes on their backs and the dream of a better life. As they crossed into the Hudson River and walked the cold floors of Ellis Island, myriad immigrants would soon find themselves living in the tenement slums of New York City. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum is a monument to these hardscrabble folk; poor working class families struggling to Read more

Europa-Park :: Germany

With over 4 million visitors a year, Europa-Park is the most popular theme park in Germany and the most popular seasonal theme park in the world. The park is usually opens for its summer season a few days before Easter and remains open until the beginning of November; it also reopens for winter season from the beginning of December through the second week of January. Following its name, the park is divided into fifteen different areas most named after European countries or regions. The park is run by the Mack family, who have been producing roller coasters since 1921, and was opened in 1975 to showcase many of their different ride models. The park is home to ten roller coasters and Read more

Museum of Bad Art :: Boston, Massachusetts

Everyone knows about the Louvre, Tate Modern, and The Met. But for those lesser known artists (lesser known because they kind of sucked) there is the Museum of Bad Art. Housed in two Boston area galleries in Massachusetts (the first in Dedham the second in Somerville), the Museum of Bad Art (MOBA) features what it calls “art too bad to be ignored”. Opened in 1994 by Scott Wilson, Marie Jackson, and Jerry Reilly, MOBA began with one specific work entitled “Lucy in the Field with Flowers”; a work commissioned by the family of Anna Lally Keane which did not turn out quite as expected. Wilson found the painting by a Dumpster and Read more

Busch Gardens :: Tampa Bay, Florida

An hour west of Orlando on Florida’s beautiful Gulf Coast, you’ll find yourself on the edge of Africa at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay. In the 1950’s, beer-brewer Anheuser-Busch started a beer garden and a bird show by its new brewery in Tampa Bay, and in a stroke of weird brilliance, wildlife-lover August A. Busch Jr. added a 70-acre Serengeti Plains, which featured wild, free-roaming animals. Today, you can experience up-close encounters with giraffes and elephants, take an unforgettable safari and test your courage on pulse-pounding coasters, or catch live entertainment all year long. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay features multiple beautiful gardens including trees, plants and flowers from all over the globe. Enjoy them Read more

Mall of America :: Minnesota

Covering more enclosed floor area than any other mall in the entire United States, Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota is a testament to consumerism and capitalism like no other. Not simply a parking spot for retailers, Mall of America is a hot bed of entertainment, dining, events, and so much more. You could easily come here every day for a week and still not experience everything they have to offer. Opened in 1992, it is undergoing an expansion project that has it poised to become the official largest mall in America, both in retail space (where it is currently second) and in floor area. This expansion project is expected to include Read more

Dreamworld :: Queensland, Australia

When most people think of a theme park, they think of it as being only for kids and thrill seekers. Not so with Dreamworld in Queensland, Australia. Opened in 1981, Dreamworld is now home to two parks: the original Dreamworld, and opened in 2006, Whitewater World. They boast of thirteen different “worlds” you can visit in the main park. Everything from Nickelodeon Central and Wiggles World for the kiddies, to Tiger Island and the Wildlife Experience for nature buffs, to the IMAX Theatre and Main Street for those who prefer a more casual laid back sort of vacation; it’s truly amazing how Read more

Blackpool Pleasure Beach :: Lancashire, England

Pleasure Beach in Blackpool is one of the top 20 attractions in the world and the most visited amusement park in the United Kingdom. Initially founded in 1896, it is a family run business that has grown over time into a highly visited attraction. It features a variety of roller coasters, thrill rides, water rides as well as general rides that appeal to those not seeking too much of an adrenaline rush. In September of 2007, Pleasure Beach tied Read more

Hershey Park :: Pennsylvania

From roller coasters to the museum, there is some delicious fun for everyone at Hershey Park! The park opened in Hershey Pennsylvania in 1907 for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company, and has expanded to over 110 acres with over sixty rides and attractions available to the public. Included with your admission to Hershey Park is entry into ZooAmerica, an 11-acre zoo featuring creatures from the farthest reaches of the globe including everything from alligators to owls. Also adjacent to the park is Read more

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