Things to Do in Orlando

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.

Based out of Orlando Executive Airport, Flight Training Professionals puts students behind the steering column of a 2011 Cessna Skycatcher C-162 aircraft alongside certified flight instructors during flight-training exercises. As trainees soar toward a sport, private, or commercial pilot license, they’ll divide their time among scenario-based learning in the flight simulator, ground schooling, and actual flying time in the cockpit. In the air, they can enjoy the user-friendliness of the plane’s Garmin G1000 flight deck, which synthesizes relevant flight data into one easy-to-read format, information such as air traffic or whether there is a very large gorilla clinging to the control tower.

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.

Spun sugar crystals float by spinning horses and pools of docile magnetic sharks beneath the glittering midway lights of Carol Stream Amusements' lively traveling carnival. The nearly 110-year-old fair company's third-generation of stewards bring rides, games, and snacks to states such as Florida, North Carolina, and New York, where it operates the state fair in Syracuse. A 65-foot century wheel soars above the bustle of the music-filled midway, where LED lights twinkle in patterns of white, green, blue, and red around its gondola cars. A merry-go-round sends fantastical steeds cantering around in a stately circle, while bumper cars careen around their nearby enclosure. Carnival games such as squirt-gun races and fishing for magnetized sharks yield prizes such as stuffed animals and inflatable Scooby-Doo, SpongeBob, and Henry VIII dolls, while flurries of corn dogs, cotton candy, popcorn, and taffy apples fall constantly on hungry fair-goers.

In 1976, busy California mother Joan Barnes wanted nothing more than to find a play place where she and her kids could enjoy age-appropriate, educational activities. Finding none, she developed her own innovative play environment within a developmental-based program structure now known as Gymboree Play & Music. Today, kids tumble and learn in more than 650 locations in 33 countries around the world, engaging in open play and classes designed to build cognitive and motor skills. As parents participate in their children's development, their kids learn to paint, play music, and interact socially outside of their preschool knitting circles.

Yolonda Tyler loved spending time with her daughter Amaya, but she found it near impossible to find a place with age-appropriate equipment and an inviting atmosphere for grownups. Undeterred, Yolonda took matters into her own finger-paint-covered hands and opened Amaya Papaya, a business dedicated to and named after her daughter. Here, she and her staff help kids from birth to 5 years old bond with their parents, interact socially, and build cognitive skills.

Wrapped in bright-green walls, the play lounge sets the stage for laughter and fun activities. Seven themed areas fend off boredom, with a creativity corner allowing kids to color and a construction corner letting them design cost-effective skyscrapers out of wooden blocks. Comfy seats relax parents as their children play with toys that help build skills such as spatial awareness.

Yolonda's staff also leads classes for both parents and adults, such as story time and CPR training. To keep things fresh, they constantly rotate toys and pull out their etch-a-sketches to plan special events such as meetings with children's authors.