Things to Do in Doctor Phillips

In the outdoor mall, tables and stages stand in a ring under the open sky or beneath white tents. People drift around the circle, clutching cocktails in plastic cups and eye-catching Vietnamese sandwiches on their paper plates as they spy more must-grab food-and-drink samples from the area's best hotels. Though it started 26 years ago, Bacchus Bash hasn't drifted from its original aim to let the populace revel in the offerings of local hospitality establishments while funding high-school and university students studying in the industry. Since its inception, the festival has grown from 20 vendor booths with one entertainment stage to encompass 100 booths helmed by upscale local restaurants and bars alongside six entertainment stages.

Among the must-experience flavors of the fest is the tongue-wilting bananas foster by Chef Jean Louis of the Royal Plaza Hotel, which has won Best Dessert at the fest for the past 10 years. Other restaurants' teams showcase flavors such as American and Vietnamese barbecue, which are up for fest awards such as Best Original Drink and Most Interactive Booth. Live music from talents that include local barefoot folk singer Alan Byrd and country-western rock quintet Think Big streams from the entertainment stages, as well as the dueling ivories of two pianists from Howl at the Moon. The organizing party, Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Foundation, further immerses guests in its services with a travel, tourism, and dining silent auction, offering up more than 200 prizes to further raise funds for its students.

Steve Yanni first felt the inexorable pull of photography more than 20 years ago, when he picked up a camera and started snapping photos as a hobby. Since then, Steve has ceded to his artistic calling, dedicating his career to capturing special events, family portraits, and sensual boudoir shots, as well as imparting his knowledge upon fledgling shutterbugs during instructive workshops. The bridal specialist enlists a team of talented photogs to help him at events, ensuring that no special moment goes undocumented, from the cutting of the cake to the swallowing of the ceremonial flaming sword.

Volcano Island Miniature Golf’s 18 holes wind through an immersive landscape of volcanic crags and life-size dinosaur statues. A towering brachiosaurus welcomes visitors to the complex, its neck extending far above a canopy of palm trees that casts shadows on the course’s emerald corridors, tropical tiki huts, and camped-out dinosaur-rights activists. As golfers putt through the jungle, course-side plaques aim prehistoric factoids into their brains to fill holes in dinosaur trivia. A dazzling eruption spews from a volcano to celebrate holes in one on the final green, sending golfers and stranded hot air balloons on their way home.

The only way to get into Gatorland is to walk straight into an alligator's toothy grin. At the 63-year-old park’s main entrance, a giant alligator mouth provides a classic entrance to 110 acres of marshy wildlife preserve––home to a vast ecosystem populated by thousands of alligators, crocodiles, and birds. Gatorland’s diverse offering of thrilling attractions and exhibits intrigues nature-lovers of all ages with a variety of lively critters, including rare wading birds and American crocodiles found on Alligator Island. More than 130 alligators reside in the park’s breeding marsh, which visitors can view safely from a three-story observation tower or while sitting on the shoulders of Kareem Abdul Jabbar. At the Jungle Croc habitat, guests lock eyes with deadly Nile and saltwater crocodiles, as well as Lucy and Ricardo, a pair of jumping Cuban crocs who can leap out of the water to snatch their prey.

Envoys can also safely experience up-close encounters with snakes and other creepy creatures in the care of experienced handlers, take a stroll through an unspoiled cypress swamp, or cool off at Gator Gully Splash Park. Gatorland is navigable on foot, the Express Railroad, or seven-part Screamin' Gator Zipline excursions over the Jungle Croc and breeding marsh areas.

Since 1998, Old Town Stained Glass's resident silica specialists have been crafting custom glass artworks for local churches and businesses while sharing their skills with the public through a full schedule of glass art classes. All-inclusive crash courses in glasswork guide students through the process of blowing color-flecked baubles, spangling home décor with vibrant mosaics, and cutting and soldering fragments into elaborate stained-glass panes. The shop also stocks a full complement of glassworking supplies and handblown trinkets to satisfy any gift giver, artist, or disrobed message in a bottle that wanders by.