16 Fascinating Things Florida is Famous For

1. Theme Park Capital of the World

Let’s get this biggie out of the way first. Florida is known as the theme park capital of the world, specifically Orlando is, and rightfully so. We find most theme parks in Florida in the Orlando area (Orlando, Lake Buena Vista, and Kissimmee). Theme parks are among the most popular things to do in Florida.

Though many people think Disney World, Busch Gardens, Sea World, and Universal Studios when thinking theme park, there are several others scattered throughout Florida. Six of the top 21 theme parks are located outside of Orlando:

• Busch Gardens in Tampa
• Legoland in Winter Haven
• Race City in Panama City Beach
• Sam’s Fun City in Pensacola
• Weeki Wachee State Park in Spring Hill
• Silver Springs State Park in Ocala

The amusement park industry in Florida is a $6 billion industry that employs approximately 55,000 people. Roughly 78 million people visit Florida’s theme parks every year.

The 1950s and 1960s saw a lot of growth in the theme park industry. Gatorland in Orlando first opened in 1949, as did Paradise Park in Ocala. The latter was billed as the Silver Springs for African Americans. It closed in 1969. The 1960s marked the beginning of Florida’s reign as theme park capital of the world with these openings:

• Busch Gardens (Tampa) opened in 1959
• Miracle Strip (Panama City Beach) opened in 1963 and closed in 2006
• Six Gun Territory (Ocala) opened in 1963 and closed in 1984
• Aquatrium (St. Pete Beach) opened in 1964 and closed in 1977
• Floridaland (Sarasota) opened in 1964 and closed in 1971
• Tiki Gardens (Indian Shores) opened in 1964 and closed in the 19802
• Pioneer City (Davie) opened in 1966 and closed in 1968
• Pirates World (Dania) opened in 1967 and closed in 1975

2. Famous Florida Beaches

The other major thing Florida is famous for is its beaches. Beautiful, sandy, white, powdery beaches. Wide beaches lined with sand dunes. Spring Break, fishing, family-friendly, and romantic beaches.

Most famous of Florida’s beaches are Miami Beach, Daytona Beach, and Clearwater Beach. Clearwater Beach consistently earns “best beach” honors by TripAdvisor in its Travelers’ Choice Awards. Miami Beach and Daytona Beach, of course, have been famous for decades as Spring Break hotspots.

Florida has over 1,300 miles of coastline, second only to Alaska, and 663 miles of beaches. Many of Florida’s state parks have been built around pristine beaches, a move that has preserved their conditions close to their natural state. Visitors flock to the state parks, such as Caladesi Island or Anastasia Island. Many of the campgrounds on the beach in Florida are also found in state parks.

Public beaches welcome visitors and residents alike, places such as Sanibel/Captiva, Siesta Key Beach, and Cocoa Beach. Except for the Big Bend area, nearly every coastal area of Florida has access to a beautiful beach.

3. Oranges and Other Citrus

Christopher Columbus brought the first citrus to the New World in 1493. It was most likely Ponce de Leon, however, who planted the first citrus seeds in Florida nearly 50 years later.

Three hundred years after that, around the mid- to late-1800s, citrus farming was a viable commercial operation in Florida. The fruit liked the mild winters and the plentiful rain.

The citrus industry played a significant role in Florida’s early history as a major export. Its importance is seen in county names (Orange County), town names (Groveland and Orange Park), neighborhood names (Citrus Park), and the state flower — the orange blossom.

Today, Florida is the largest producer of orange juice and grapefruit in the United States. It is also the second largest producer of orange juice in the world behind Brazil and the largest producer of grapefruit in the world. The citrus industry employs more than 76,000 people and is a $9 billion industry.

4. Sunshine State

Florida is called “the sunshine state” because parts of it have an average of 361 days of sun a year. St. Petersburg in the Tampa Bay area earned the nickname “Sunshine City” because it holds the Guinness World Record for most consecutive days of sunshine — 768 days. That’s 25 months of sunshine and occurred from February 1967 to March 1969.

5. The Space Coast

Florida is home to the Kennedy Space Center on its central Atlantic coast, giving rise to the name “Space Coast” for this part of the state. KSC opened in 1962 and became NASA’s launch center for manned space flight in 1968.

Besides being the base of operations for space missions, Kennedy Space Center houses an extensive collection of rockets and memorabilia which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. KSC celebrates the country’s history in space, including several real rockets in the rocket garden, the Atlantis space shuttle on display, and displays from the Apollo missions.

We spent a delightful day at Kennedy Space Center as an end-of-summer trip and highly recommend visiting KSC. It’s an attraction unlike any other in Florida and one that will delight children and adults alike.

6. The Everglades

The Florida Everglades are an ecosystem found nowhere else in the world. At 3 million acres, the Everglades covers much of South Florida except a couple slivers of civilization on either coast.

Nicknamed the “River of Grass”, the Everglades is a watershed and natural filtration system, a land of slow-flowing water, swamp reeds, thick mud (several feet in some places), and the occasional hardwood hammock.

River of Grass

Ecologically, the Everglades supports thousands of plant and animal species, many found nowhere else in the world and some endangered. Its filtration system of plants, mud, and limestone substrate helps clean rainwater before collecting in our aquifers. It also cleans the runoff from farms and towns further north before that water flows into Florida Bay.

Much of Florida’s algae bloom issues come from man’s manipulation of the Everglades using canals and collection ponds. By doing so in the early 1900s, farmers could plant crops in the rich soil left by drying out parts of the swampland. Developers benefitted, too, and built hundreds of neighborhoods for northerners who wanted to live in paradise.

People in the Everglades

Historically, the Everglades became the place where persecuted Seminole and Miccosukee Indians finally found refuge. Many still live on reservations in the Everglades. The tribes own the Hard Rock and Miccosukee Casinos in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

The Everglades also serves a large recreational purpose. Anglers tackle bass fishing in the canals found throughout the Glades. Families camp at parks such as Everglades Holiday Park. Air boaters can run their watercraft through the reeds without many problems.

7. Fountain of Youth and St. Augustine

St. Augustine is the longest continually occupied European city in the New World. The history of St. Augustine wows visitors and provides a glimpse into Florida’s early importance to European countries and the United States.

The Old Town part of St. Augustine, in particular, boasts some of the oldest buildings in North America. Visitors to the city gawk at the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, built circa 1714, and admire the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, opened in 1797.

Nearby, the Fountain of Youth Archaeology Park claims to be the site of the famous, elusive Fountain of Youth. Juan Ponce de Leon first landed on this site in 1513.

The spring found at the site was recorded in a 17th century land grant and likely helped Ponce de Leon replenish his water supplies. The freshwater spring contains over 30 minerals like many of Florida’s mineral springs. Visitors to the Archaeology Park can take a sip from the spring.

8. Birthplace of NASCAR, Gatorade, and…

Florida is famous for many firsts and is the birthplace of household names such as NASCAR and Gatorade. Some Florida firsts may not surprise you, but some may surprise you.

NASCAR and the Daytona 500

Many people, even non-fans of auto racing, have heard of the Daytona 500 and NASCAR. The iconic race runs every year in February at Daytona and kicks off the NASCAR racing season.

What you may not know is that NASCAR formed in Daytona in 1948. They ran the first NASCAR race on the beach, as was tradition, on February 15, 1948. Construction finished on the Daytona Speedway in 1959, the same year the first Daytona 500 ran.

Gatorade

It took me several years to realize that Gatorade was developed at the University of Florida. Gator(ade)…UF Gators… Sometimes I’m slow. They created the popular drink in 1965 at the UF College of Medicine. Per request from the University’s football coach, researchers came up with a mixture of water, lemon juice, sodium, sugar, and other minerals to help the college athletes replenish their fluids and electrolytes.

Other Firsts from Florida

Florida is known for many things – some worth appreciation, others cringe-worthy. The firsts from the sunshine state include the first commercial flight which flew from St. Petersburg to Tampa on January 1, 1914; frozen concentrated orange juice also developed by the University of Florida in 1947; and a product beloved by auto detailers around the country, Bondo, which was developed in Miami in 1955.

9. Famous Florida Food

Every state has its unique food, and Florida is no different. We find some food choices all over the state, while we find others only in certain regions.

Favorites include the Cuban sandwich, most popular in Miami and Tampa, though also found throughout the state; key lime pie, originally from the Florida Keys and also found throughout Florida now; stone crab claws which are only available seasonally.

Joe’s Stone Crabs on Miami Beach is possibly the most iconic place to try stone crab. Grouper fingers and fish tacos can be found in nearly all seaside towns.

Orange juice, of course, is a must. Five official Florida Welcome Centers continue the 50-year-old tradition of giving a free cup of citrus juice to visitors.

10. Miami

Florida’s “Magic City”, Miami is South Florida’s cultural, economic, and financial center. It’s one of the most populous and popular cities in the world and one of the richest. It’s also one of the most beautiful, though I may be biased, as Miami is my hometown.

Miami claims the third tallest skyline in the United States. Culturally, the Miami metro area supports large arts and music scenes, history, and human diversity. The largest Cuban-American population in the US lives in Miami. The city is also home to thousands of people from many Latin American and Caribbean nations, giving it the nicknames “Capital of Latin America” and “The Gateway to the Americas”. In stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the dense city, farm land stretches south of Miami in an area known as The Redlands.

Sports also figure prominently in Miami’s image. It is the home to several professional sports teams, auto races, college sports, and recreational sports. In fact, the Miami metro area draws millions of sports fans each year just for these events.

11. Refreshing Freshwater Springs

Florida has more freshwater springs than any other place on Earth. We know of more than 1,000 springs. Some have dried up or are concrete over, like the one which gave the town of Zolfo Springs its name. Others have always been little more than a trickle.

Several are located just offshore, like the historic Spanish Well, which is now in the Anclote River. The most famous, however, are first magnitude springs and discharge millions of gallons of water each day. These include Silver Springs, Walkulla Springs, and Manatee Springs.

Florida is the perfect place for freshwater springs because of the state’s unique geology and aquifer. The rock which forms Florida is a porous limestone. This limestone created underwater caverns throughout Florida, as well as sinkholes.

The Florida Aquifer sits very near the surface, so when you combine that with the porous limestone, you get places on the surface through which water is pushed. These are the freshwater springs we enjoy in the summer.

Florida’s springs typically remain between 70 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit, a refreshing experience during our hot summers.

12. Air Conditioning Was Born Here

It’s probably not surprising that a state as hot as Florida helped jumpstart refrigeration principles which led to the invention of air conditioning.

In the 19th century, Florida hospitals and wealthy Florida families imported ice from up north to help stay cool and comfortable in the summer. The process was tedious and expensive.

In 1851, Dr. John Gorrie received the first patent for a mechanical refrigeration machine. Gorrie’s machine used principles still used today in air conditioning. Fifty-some years later, Willis Carrier took Gorrie’s ideas one step further to develop the first AC system for a publishing company.

13. Alligators

No list of the things Florida is famous for would be complete without alligators. The toothy animal is perhaps one of the most popular things to see when in Florida with Everglades airboat tours selling out regularly.

Florida’s alligator is the American alligator. Males can reach lengths of 15 feet while the female is slightly smaller, around 9 feet. Alligators hit the news at least once a month when a conflict arises with humans. Unfortunately for both, alligators are found in all 67 of Florida’s counties. The population explosion in the state all but guarantees that alligator attacks will continue.

Florida has approximately 1.25 million gators with about a 200,000 living in the Everglades. The alligator is such an iconic part of Florida that it is the mascot of the University of Florida in Gainesville and is the state reptile.

14. The Florida Keys

One of the most beautiful places in Florida, the Keys stretch 220 miles from Miami to the Dry Tortugas. There are approximately 1,700 islands in the Florida Keys alone, and more than 4,500 islands of 10+ acres throughout Florida.

The Florida Keys are a world-renowned destination. Boaters, anglers, and divers flock to the sun-soaked islands to enjoy their hobbies. Numerous state parks, like John Pennekamp and Bahia Honda, invite families, couples, and solo travelers to explore the islands’ unique characteristics.

The Upper and Lower Keys may look similar but geologically, they differ. Though all the islands are made of limestone, different processes led to the creation of each. The Upper Keys formed from the remains of coral reefs. The Lower Keys, however, are remnants of sand bars. These features mean their are many nooks and crannies for fish and other marine life to live in but not many beaches for people to enjoy.

15. Key West

Key West deserves its own mention for its quirky personality. Best known for its sunsets, bars, and southernmost point, Key West is a favorite vacation destination and one of the most romantic spots in Florida.

Key West is probably best known for Duval Street, named a “Great Street” in 2012. The mile-long road showcases bars and restaurants as well as the “conch” architecture Key West is known for. The historic mansions and bungalows have been restored and preserved through the efforts of the Key West residents.

When in Key West, be sure to visit the Southernmost Point, Mallory Square, Hemingway House, and Sloppy Joe’s. For a very unique, if risqué, experience, visit in October for Fantasy Fest.

16. Sport Fishing Capital of the World

Islamorada in the middle Keys is known as the Sport Fishing Capital of the World. Both backwater sport fishing and saltwater fly fishing were pioneered in Islamorada. The Gulf Stream flows just 10-20 miles offshore, bringing tournament fish like sailfish and marlin, and great-eating fish, such as mahi-mahi and tuna.