Florida "Old-school"

Long before Sea World (1959), long before Disney World (1965), Florida was a premiere resort destination, and was home to some attractions which pioneered the mainstays of today’s theme parks and entertainment destinations. Many are gone, but some remain and offer a glimpse into a simpler time.

Online reviews sometimes criticize these destinations because they don’t compare favorably to the “Disney”-type attractions. True, they do not have the high-tech attractions and frenzied pace of the big theme parks, but that is what makes them worth the visit. They are quieter, intending more to educate and develop an appreciation of the unique Florida eco-structure. And, by the way, we visited all of the attractions shown below for less than it would have cost us for one person, one day at the larger theme parks

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The first place we visited was Marineland, founded in 1938 and originally called Marine Studios. This was the first “oceanarium” in the world, and the research performed here has laid the groundwork for not only training dolphins for entertainment, but advanced the study of marine mammals and echo-location which was used in the World War II defense efforts. We spent an enjoyable afternoon here. We saw a beautiful green sea turtle as well as other types of turtles. We saw some sharks and watched a demonstration of training techniques with dolphins. They entertained us with their flips and comical manner. The trainers were rewarding them with fish and occasionally seagulls would grab the fish from the dolphins mouths!

We then took a “behind the scenes” tour which featured some beautiful aquariums and various sea creatures. We also learned about the expansive tourist area that developed around Marineland and some of its famous visitors, a proverbial who’s who of 1940’s Hollywood.

The next day we started our day by driving about an hour across Florida and stopped for breakfast along the way in the charming little town of Palatka, FL. Palatka’s streets are lined with hometown businesses, southern homes and beautiful landscaping that this tropical climate permits – lots of magnolias, lush tropical plants that we keep as houseplants further north, and poinsettias growing outside (it is, afterall, only a few weeks after Christmas).

In the center of the downtown area, we found Angel’s Diner, in continuous operation since 1938. The outside had the chrome diner look that was a 1950’s mainstay and remains unchanged – the inside boasts lots of pink and turquoise décor and 45 rpm records on the walls – near my seat I spotted “I’m a believer” by the Monkees. The diner is evidently most known for its hamburger, fries and shakes, but we were there for breakfast. We both ordered the morning special of eggs, bacon, and a pancake. Jim even tried some grits and liked them pretty well. The staff was friendly and we had a great time.

We continued our drive and arrived at Silver Springs State Park. It’s a beautiful park with lots of walking trails and picnic grounds, but we were here for the glass-bottom boat ride. I was so excited to be visiting this site – any time you can combine a beautiful natural setting, wildlife to photograph, and then throw in a boat – I’m totally in.

Silver Springs glass bottom boats began in 1870, and in the 1920’s, developers created what is billed as the first Florida attraction. The boat holds about 35 people seated around the edge of the boat, and the center of the boat is glass, allowing an restricted view of the beautiful springs below. We saw the remains of a dugout canoe from the 1500’s, as well as several movie props left here when filming “Creature from the Black Lagoon”, “Tarzan” movies, and the TV show “Sea Hunt”. But the real stars of the show were the beautiful fish and manatees that swam beneath the boat.

The captain was very knowledgeable and talked to us about the area and the wildlife. As we glided quietly through the crystal-clear spring water, the foliage on the banks of the water provided glimpses of other wildlife -- alligators, beautiful water birds, and a band of rhesus monkeys that were introduced into the area by developers in the 1940’s.

The 90 minutes flew by, and soon we were back at the dock. We sat, eating ice cream and looking out over the beautiful water until it was time to leave.

We drove over to the Orlando area and met our friends Harry and Joanne who prepared a wonderful dinner for us. We visited with them and then drove the 2 hours back to our campsite, tired but filled with wonderful memories of our venture into old-school Florida entertainment.