One of the nicest resorts we have been to in a long time, the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center was a vacation all in itself. With lovely rooms, several restaurants and dining options right on site, as well as shopping available, and it’s own pool and water park, you won’t need to leave the campus to have a great time. Beautiful gardens with running rivers and waterfalls, fish (including mangrove snappers, redfish, snook, stingrays and tarpon) and koi fish, alligators, turtles, and other aquatica abound in over 360,000 gallons of water, you may forget you are indoors as you stroll around the atrium.

You and your family can stroll through the Castillo de San Marcos in the St. Augustine atrium features this small-scale replica of the oldest fort in North America. The original was built by Spain in 1672 in what is now St. Augustine. It is a great place to hold events as well, which I’m guessing is why a wedding was held there during our stay, how romantic! You can also see gator feedings and turtles in this area- less romantic, but interesting

Designed to inspire you to travel and see more of Florida, the atriums (like the St. Augustine) are definitely enough to whet your appetite. We were also lucky enough to meet and greet some fun Dreamworks characters, like Po (Kung Fu Panda), Puss in Boots (Shrek, Puss in Boots), King Julian (Madagascar), and Shrek (Shrek). My son loves hugging characters, as previously mentioned, so this was a huge hit for [Read more…]