Things To Do In SW Florida

Guests are launched at dusk on the Orlando SlingShot during the ride’s opening day at ICON Park in Orlando, Fla., Tuesday, December 28, 2021. The SlingShot is the tallest in the world, standing at 300 feet and capable of launching riders 450 feet straight up at 100 mph. The SlingShot is one of two new attractions opening at ICON Park, including the adjacent Orlando FreeFall. Orlando FreeFall is a tower drop that stands at 430 feet, making it also the world’s tallest. The two attractions join Orlando Starflyer and the ICON Wheel at the International Drive entertainment hub. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Orlando’s theme parks had a big year even while coping with a global crisis or two. Attractions debuted, returned from hiatus, celebrated birthdays and shifted the ways we experience them. Here are some big moments of 2021.

Gino celebrates his birthday with a bouquet of lettuce in his habitat at Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail in Disney’s Animal Kingdom on the eve of his 41st birthday, Wednesday, December 29, 2021. The silverback gorilla is the oldest of the troop at Walt Disney World and has resided at Animal Kingdom since the park’s opening in 1998. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Orlando Sentinel tourism reporter Dewayne Bevil and food writer Amy Drew Thompson discuss the party atmosphere at Mango’s Tropical Café on International Drive and the Latin American-inspired fare.

Ed Miles, a 43-year-veteran of Walt Disney World Holiday Services, leads a private tour of the resort’s legendary decorations warehouse backstage behind the Magic Kingdom, Thursday, December 9, 2021. The massive complex contains 45,000+ decorations for all occasions, serving a cornucopia of colorful ornamentation for all the Florida theme parks, resorts and cruise ships. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)