Our fourth Friday Favorites topic, “Where is your favorite place to get wet in Orlando?”, leaves the door open for some creativity. After all, getting wet in this town is as easy as sitting in the splash zone at SeaWorld’s Believe or riding Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls at Islands of Adventure. You could also take a less-drenching approach and go for a sunset walk along the water’s edge on a white sandy beach^*.

Jennifer
By far my favorite place to get wet in Orlando is the spa at the Ritz-Carlton - Orlando Grand Lakes. With the cost of just one service or more, such as a facial, body treatment or massage, patrons get complimentary access to the facility’s fitness center, indoor/outdoor hot tubs and outdoor pool. The outdoor pool is huge and offers both a free swimming area and roped off lap lanes for swimmers. Even if your spa treatment only lasts 40-minutes, these included “extras” enable you to make a spa day out of it.

Amanda
There’s really no better way to get totally drenched than by splashing and swimming alongside a dolphin at Discovery Cove. You’ll have to don a bathing suit, not to mention a wet suit, for this venture, but the experience is one you’ll never forget. Grab onto the dorsal fin and go for ride. You’ll be amazed at how easily this mammal can pull you through the water with grace. Oh, and while you’re there be sure to snorkel with the tropical fish, drift along the lazy river and dry off in the free-flight aviary. And when you’re done with all that you can rinse the sand and salt water out of your hair using luscious bath products and surprisingly nice showers.

Chad
Being a native Orlandoan and having grown up on a lake, my favorite place to get wet is out on the Butler Chain of Lakes. The chain consists of 13 lakes, 3 of which are always busy with boaters, fishermen and watersports enthusiasts. The most popular of the lakes is Lake Butler, which used to be home to some of the cleanest water I’ve ever seen. While the water quality has deteriorated a little with all of the development in the area, the lakes are still prime for getting out on a jet ski or a boat to go wakeboarding, water-skiing, or tubing. For access to the lakes, there are public ramps available on Lake Down, Lake Isleworth and Lake Sheen, with additional private ramps throughout the chain.

If you are going out on any of the Central Florida lakes, be observant of the other boaters and of the No Wake Zone signs where posted. Please don’t pollute and feel free to report anyone that looks to be causing a problem. Unlike the water parks in the area, there’s not always someone around to clean up a mess that someone’s left behind. While the Butler Chain Conservation Association does a great job, we need to take care of these resources ourselves, first.

The question is …
Where is your favorite place to get wet in Orlando?

^* Grand Floridian beach, for example … the Gulf or Atlantic beaches would also be acceptable for our purposes.

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