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Destination of the Day

Orlando

With the recent debut of the highly anticipated Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser at Walt Disney World Resort and the return of Epcot's International Flower & Garden Festival, Orlando has a lot going on for it at the moment. But even if you're not a Star Wars superfan or you consider yourself more a beach bum than a theme park-goer, there are plenty of other attractions to keep your spring break trip one to remember.

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Review

Sure, you can book a room at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, but it's not exactly a hotel. It's not really a cruise either, although there are hints of a luxury liner as it travels at the speed of light towards interplanetary ports of call. Nor is it quite DisneyBounding, immersive theater, or a live-action game. From Jedi training and an excursion to Galaxy's Edge to otherworldly cuisine and intergalactic pop performances, here's what you can expect on a two-night trip aboard the Halycon, according to our theme park expert.

EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival

Disney World celebrates spring with its annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. In 2022, it spans four months and runs from March 2 to July 4. The festival showcases millions of brilliant blossoms, fanciful topiaries, delicious cuisine, interactive play gardens, and live, national musical acts. Perhaps best of all, the festival is a wonderful bonus that's included with your regular park ticket. And, of course, you can also enjoy all of Epcot's regular rides and attractions.

Things to Do Besides the Parks

Although Orlando has become synonymous with all things Disney, there are actually a lot of other vacation-worthy things to do here. Experience the Central Florida Everglades by airboat—keeping your eyes peeled for alligators, birds, and turtles—and learn about NASA's early space programs at the Kennedy Space Center. Immerse yourself in Titanic history at Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, or swim with dolphins at Discovery Cove.

Vacation Like a Pro

Watch your speed on I-4, the main highway that connects Tampa, Disney, Orlando, and Daytona. It's well-patrolled, especially in the area near Disney, and tickets are expensive. You'll find other areas where radar-enforced tickets are common, but I-4 is probably the place where speeders get ticketed most frequently.

Mark Kahler
Travel Writer

Your Packing List

A backpack with padded, adjustable shoulder straps and a contoured back is key.

An amazing pair—or two—of shoes as you explore the many acres of some of the happiest, most magical, and fun-filled places on Earth.

Don't let cool or cloudy weather fool you; the Florida sun can inflict serious damage at any time of the year, so you need to diligently apply sunscreen whenever you're going to be outside.

Be prepared for a range of temperatures in March. You may start out in the morning wearing a hoodie or sweater with long pants, then want to strip down to shorts and a T-shirt by mid-afternoon.

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Get Inspired

The Seattle Gum Wall has been gathering gum since the early 1990s when people waiting for shows at nearby Unexpected Productions would stick gum to the wall to pass the time. Although theater workers tried to keep the wall clean when this tradition first started to happen, the number of people who added to it daily overwhelmed the theater's cleaning capabilities. It was only cleared off once, in 2015, and the work took 130 hours to complete. Soon after, visitors quickly began adding gum to the wall again; if you visit today, you might never guess that it was cleaned at all.