Sunshine State Of Mind

Gatorland turned 70 years old this week! To help celebrate Gatorpalooza we learn some fun and interesting facts about Florida's official state reptile in a game of Alligator trivia.  Listen and play along! In this Episode: Gatorland turns 70 years old. https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2019/05/17/classic-florida-attraction-gatorland-celebrates-70th-anniversary-with-gatorpalooza-on-saturday Gatorpalooza alligator trivia Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

This weekend we stopped by a great little hidden gem of a restaurant in small town Florida, and went to see the new Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy show at Disney's Hollywood Studios.   Also, news about Orlando's record breaking tourist numbers and new attractions on the way. In this Episode: Review of Kafe Kokopelli in Dade City https://www.kafekokopelli.com Yummy Chicken & Waffles  Review of The Burg in St. Petersburg https://theburgbar.com/ Review of the new Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy show at Disney's Hollywood Studios Orlando sets new tourism record in 2018 Two new record breaking thrills rides coming to ICON Park in Orlando http://sunshinestatepodcast.com/two-big-new-attractions-coming-to-orlandos-icon-park/ Free electric vehicle rides in South Florida. https://tinyurl.com/SF-freeEV-services Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com

Disney's Hollywood Studios celebrated their 30 year anniversary this week, so we thought it would be fun to explore some fun facts and secrets about Disney's third park in a fun game of trivia.    In this Episode: Welcome to our new listeners from Podcoin! Use referral code "SUNSHINE" for 300 bonus points - https://www.podcoin.com A visit to the 47th Annual Amateur Sand Sculpture Contest at Siesta Key Beach. http://sunshinestatepodcast.com/siesta-key-sand-sculpture-contest/ Listener call from Brandon from the Florida Focus podcast http://www.floridafocuspodcast.com/ Disney's Hollywood Studios turns 30. Hollywood Studios Trivia Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

Florida is full of wild places, from the Panhandle to the Keys, with critter encounters and locally famous animals you can see in person.  In this episode we talk about some of the best places around the state to find some of Florida's favorite fantastic beasts. In this Episode: Historic birth of a baby rhino at Zoo Miami https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/24/us/rhino-born-artificial-insemination-trnd/index.html Florida couple catches enourmous, record swordfish https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article229534754.html We talk about some Florida animal encounter experiences and famous Florida animals Seacrest Wolf Preserve - https://www.seacrestwolfpreserve.org Big Cat Rescue - https://bigcatrescue.org Winter the Dolphin - https://www.seewinter.com Chester & Pearl - https://www.gatorland.com Scarface the Tarpon - https://robbies.com Skunkape Research Headquarters - http://www.skunkape.info/ Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Websit

We're back and with a lot of new stuff on the way to talk about this week.  A new roller coaster, a new waterpark, and a new cruise ship will soon be sailing from Florida.  And then let's talk about some quick service Disney dining tips. In this Episode: Tigris, the tallest launch coaster in Florida, opens at Busch Gardens New waterpark opening at Margaritaville Resort Huge new cruise ship, the Carnival Mardis Gras, announced and on the way to Port Canaveral Quick service Disney dining tips Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay just celebrated their 60th birthday this past week, so let's learn some history and some things you might not have known about this iconic Florida attraction by playing along with us in game of Busch Gardens trivia.   In this Episode: Summer is back (already) and it's hot!  Busch Gardens turns 60 and announces new roller coaster, Tigris. Busch Gardens trivia and discussion Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

This week Shannon talks about her worst fear in the world, we go pin trading at Magic Kingdom, then we talk about a full week of news coming out of the Central Florida theme park scene.  New stuff at Legoland, Sea World, Busch Gardens, and some controversial rule changes at Disney World. In this Episode: How we feel about spiders, snakes, and palmetto bugs Cheap fun playing Disc Golf  Pin trading and riding the Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom Florida theme park news - Busch Gardens turns 60, new lands open at Legoland & SeaWorld, and new rules at Disney have angered some. http://sunshinestatepodcast.com/three-new-rule-changes-for-guests-coming-to-walt-disney-world/ Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

This week we enjoyed a week of "Staycation" in the Sunshine State for Spring Break.  We rundown and review everything we did this week, and take the Florida Man Challenge for ourselves. In this Episode: The Florida Man Challenge Florida Man headbutted by Alligator Florida Man Dressed as Fred Flintstone Stopped By Deputy Florida man accused of throwing samurai sword at police Listener Mail We recap and review what we did on our Spring Break "Staycation". Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

With so much to do aimed at tourists, it turns out Florida is a great place for a "Staycation" for those of us who live here.  This week we run down a list of things to do that you might not have thought of. In this Episode: Florida Spring Break "Staycation" Ideas discussion Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

Every now and then we all have those fleeing moments we'll never forget that that make us say "wow!".  In this episode we each list and talk about some of those moments that could only happen in Florida. In this Episode: Busch Gardens announces new coaster for 2020 - the tallest, steepest, and fastest hybrid coaster in North America. http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/busch-gardens-says-next-roller-coaster-will-be-world-s-steepest-fastest-hybrid Hidden gem recommendation: Happy Hangar Cafe http://www.thehappyhangar.com/ Florida "Wow!" moments list and discussion Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

We talk about some great new stuff that's on the way to Epcot and Islands of Adventure, then take a look at the new Trip Advisor list that ranks the best beaches in the country.  A lot of them are right here in Florida, but does the their number one beach deserve the top slot? In this Episode: "Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure” to open at Islands of Adventure on June 13, 2019. https://insidethemagic.net/2019/02/fan-made-video-1st-look-hagrids-magical-creatures-motorbike-adventure-mg1/ A new pavilion and a lot of improvements are coming to Epcot. https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201902/6620/ Trip Advisor's "Top 25 Beaches in America for 2019" https://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Beaches-cTop-g191 4Ocean beach cleanup at Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota. https://4ocean.com/ Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Ema

This week Universal Studios unveiled the name opening date of the new Harry Potter themed roller coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure.  So we thought we'd take a look at both Harry Potter themed areas and compare them in another edition of Florida Face-off! In this Episode: Florida Face-off - Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter; Hogsmeade vs. Diagon Alley Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

This week we stumbled across an article from Travel & Leisure Magazine that ranked each and every Walt Disney World attraction, and thought we'd take a crack at ranking ours.  In this episode we discuss that list, and each of us rank and talk about our Top 25 attractions at Walt Disney World. In this Episode: We'll be at Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota on February 23 to volunteer for a 4Ocean beach cleanup.  Here's the link if you're interested in joining one near you. https://4ocean.com/pages/cleanups-event-calendar We rank and talk about our Top 25 attractions at Walt Disney World. https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/disney-vacations/best-worst-disney-world-rides Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

It's that time of year again!  Time to eat some deep fried food on a stick and test your endurance on rides designed by madmen. The 2019 Florida State Fair is on!   In this Episode: We talk about our weekend trip to the Florida State Fair in Tampa, the foods we tried, the rides we rode, and the stuff we saw. http://www.floridastatefair.com/ Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

Nearly 18 years ago, one of us decided to make the move from the Midwest to warm and sunny Florida.  With this winters brutal temperatures and snow across much of the northern part of the country, a lot of others might be thinking of doing the same.  In this episode we talk about what it's like to move to and live in Florida, and cover some of the misconceptions and realities of living here.    In this Episode: We are now part of the Podcast Florida Network. https://podcastfl.com/ Some insights and things to know about moving to and living in Florida. Florida Man! https://www.good.is/articles/florida-man-sunshine-laws-transparency Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron

This week we talk about our trip to the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, where we did an "around the world" scavenger hunt that forced us to explore deep into all of the countries pavilions at World Showcase.  We also found out more details on the recently announced Jurassic World roller coaster at Islands of Adventure, the upcoming Millennium Falcon ride at Hollywood Studios, and a possible look at what might be coming to Animal Kingdom in the future. In this Episode: More details on the just announced Jurassic World roller coaster coming to Universal's Islands of Adventure https://www.wftv.com/news/local/new-jurassic-park-roller-coaster-headed-to-islands-of-adventure-documents-show/906446496 Zootopialand coming to Disneyland Shangai.  Maybe a preview of what's to come at Animal Kingdom? https://variety.com/2019/biz/asia/zootopia-land-shanghai-disneyland-1203115032/ We talk about our trip to the  Epcot International Festival of the Arts. Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and

This weekend we took a day trip up to Crystal River to a part of Florida dubbed "the Nature Coast" that is world famous for it's manatees.  We visited the Florida Manatee Festival, then headed over to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park to see wild manatees, a famous hippo, and other Florida wildlife up close. In this Episode: New Jurassic World roller coaster coming to Universal's Islands of Adventure https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201901/6554/ We stop by the Florida Manatee Festival in Crystal River And we visit Homossassa Springs Wildlife State Park for encounters with manatees and the oldest hippo in North America https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/ellie-schiller-homosassa-springs-wildlife-state-park Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a

We were recently invited by the great folks at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa to come check out their new exhibit "Waves of Wonder", have a penguin encounter, and go out on a wild dolphin sightseeing boat tour.  We also interviewed Kari Goetz, the Florida Aquarium's VP of Marketing, who told us all about the Florida Aquarium's mission and the idea behind "Waves of Wonder" that focuses the aquariums efforts on conservation and animal welfare. In this Episode: Florida Aquarium penguin encounter Wild dolphin boat tour Interview with Kari Goetz, the VP of Marketing at the Florida Aquarium We walk through and review the Florida Aquarium https://www.flaquarium.org Contact Us! We want to hear your own reviews and Florida trip reports! Website: http://www.sunshinestatepodcast.com Twitter: @FloridaPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floridapodcast Email: Contact@sunshinestatepodcast.com How to support the show Become a Sunshine State of Mind Patron