Best of ORL 2024: Fun & Leisure Winner Spotlights
Take a closer look at this year's first place winners in the fun and leisure categories.
Winner: Art Gallery | Mills Gallery
Artists of all backgrounds and generations are represented at Mills Gallery. Whether it be through an emerging or established artist, the gallery welcomes all to explore and experience art, creativity and our shared humanity. The gallery also connects people to art through art consulting and can help you through the process of buying and installing artwork for your home or office.
Winner: Private Golf Course | Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge
On a 1965 visit to Orlando, Arnold Palmer discovered Bay Hill, what was then a remote corner of the city on the edge of orange groves. Five years later, it would become the Bay Hill Club and Lodge; in 1979, it became part of the PGA Tour. The tournament, since christened The Arnold Palmer Invitational, still plays there today. The club’s amenities include a heated Olympic-size swimming pool, exquisite cuisine, a spa and more.
Winner: Museum | Orlando Science Center
An award-winning, hands-on science museum, Orlando Science Center’s mission is to inspire a life-long love of learning. There’s always something new in this four-floor facility; OSC’s largest renovation to date is the new Life exhibit, home to numerous native and exotic animals, found in the Swamp, Ocean and the Rainforest habitats. Be sure to make your way through it slowly—you won’t want to miss a thing.
Winner: Public Golf Course | Dubsdread Golf Course
Envisioned by Carl Dann in the early 1920s and designed by prominent golf course designer Tom Bendelow in 1924, Dubsdread is Orlando’s first public golf course. Its name comes from the intent to instill dread into “dubs,” or novice golfers. Among the famous names to play the course are Pete Dye, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Babe Zaharias. The City of Orlando purchased the course from the Dann family in 1978; it was redesigned in 2008.
Winner: Business Hotel | The Alfond Inn
For stylish stays in Winter Park, nothing beats The Alfond Inn. The hotel is a boon for business travelers, with easy navigation. A library—with plenty of spaces to work—leads to a lounge which leads to Hamilton’s, where you’ll want to get down to the business of eating a great steak. Next to the elevators, the ballroom provides an elegant space for any function.
Winner: Place to Get Married | Paradise Cove
Discover an exquisite, private beachside wedding venue in Paradise Cove. Tropical foliage and the glistening waters of Lake Bryan greet you as enter this property, which is entirely yours on your big day. Tiki torches and a fire pit line the waterfront, and the Groom’s Den has an estuary view. She’ll love the two-story lakefront bridal suite. Rainbow-hued Adirondack chairs and a palm-thatched cabana lend an island vibe.
Dan Ham Photography
Winner: Staycation Hotel or Resort | Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center
With a 3-acre water park, wildlife encounters, a destination spa and access to the Celebration Golf Club, Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center is a destination unto itself. Enjoy water slides, an “action” river, a water playground and premium cabanas at the Cypress Springs Water Park, then head inside to explore the animal habitats in the atrium. Gaylord Palms also offers a shuttle to Disney’s theme parks and Disney Springs.
Winner: Performing Arts Group | Orlando Ballet
The Orlando Ballet is Central Florida’s only fully residential ballet company. It was founded in 1974, and is known for its professional and artistic excellence, staging timeless masterpieces and world premieres of contemporary works. The ballet promotes dance education through community enrichment programs, performance lecture demonstrations, the Orlando Ballet Dance School and Orlando Ballet II, which trains and supports up-and-coming dancers.
Winner: Charity Gala | Hats & Heroes Ball
The annual fundraiser for Kids Beating Cancer, the 2023 Hats & Heroes Ball raised more than $2 million to provide access to lifesaving treatments for children diagnosed with cancer and funding research. This year’s ball takes place on October 5 at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando; the theme is “Welcome to the ‘60s,” and features the original cast of the Broadway smash, “Jersey Boys.”
Winner: Live Music Venue | House of Blues
From local bands rocking out on the Front Porch Stage in the Courtyard to acoustic acts playing inside on the Restaurant Stage, the House of Blues is your home for live music. The ability to get so close to the stage—and the prevalence of its bars—makes for a winning experience, and you just may make new friends as you angle to get the attention of your favorite performer. Want to make sure you get the best seat in the house? Ask about priority entry and other VIP upgrades.
Winner: Non-Theme Park Attraction | Gatorland
Love reptiles? You’ll be in heaven at Gatorland. Not only can you view thousands of alligators and crocodiles, but can feed giant tortoises, pet capybaras, and, for the most hardened thrill seeker, zipline over the alligator breeding marsh. Don’t miss Mystic, the only extremely rare white, leucitic alligator hatched in captivity; sweet Jawlene, a rescue missing part of her upper jaw; and the show that made Gatorland famous, the hilarious Gator Jumparoo.
Winner: Performing Arts Venue | Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
A hub for the best international, national and local artists, Dr. Phillips Center’s two-block downtown performing arts venue contains multiple theaters, concert halls and a school of the arts. Its acoustically superior Steinmetz Hall is known as one of the best acoustic spaces in the world. A smaller, more intimate space, Judson’s Live has a stage so close, “you could clink glasses with the headliner.”
Winner: Movie Theater | AMC Disney Springs 24
The AMC Disney Springs 24 is as magical as you’d expect a movie theater on Disney property to be. Picture quality is better than ever before in Laser, and in the Dolby Cinema, you’ll feel all the action. Discount matinees are available every day, and 10 auditoriums offer dine-in service that’s delivered right to your seat. There are also grab-and-go refreshment stands. You’ll have it all at your fingertips when you download the AMC app.
©The Escape Effect
Winner: Entertainment Experience | The Escape Effect
The Escape Effect has been voted the Best of ORL for five years in a row. It was also Orlando’s first to make the escape-room experience longer than an hour, so if you’re looking for a two-hour puzzle, this is the only place in Florida you can find it; a Medieval-style room splits your party between two parts of Stonebury Castle in “A Knight to Escape.” Unlimited hints (in all escape rooms), let you make the most of your experience.
