Friday, June 21, 2019

What is that Upside Down Building in Orlando? Wonderworks

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions stated are genuine and my own.


The Wonderworks building looks strange, because as you can tell, it is upside down! I like the added touch of the express delivery box up there...makes me laugh. Smart thinking on the part of the designers. It's the little things sometimes, right?  It's also the BIG things, and this destination has the best of both.


The concept of the building is fun. Science lab experiments gone wrong sent the building in a flurry flight that landed it upside down smack dab in the middle of Orlando (or whichever location you are visiting). You can walk inside and see all of the experiments, right side up! 

We were all a little confused when we first saw the elevator. Since the building was upside down, would we hit the top floor if we selected the 'basement' button? Yep...that's exactly what we needed to do...but we didn't. We started from the 1st floor (walking up from the basement) because we didn't want to miss anything




The 1st floor had some weather phenoms to explore We sat in an earthquake room first, tested electricity with our hands in a glove, and then donned some safety glasses to head into the 'Hurricane Shack.' All of these areas emulated real storm features. Why on Earth we would voluntarily experience hurricane-force winds when we already live in south Florida and try to get away from them is beyond me, but that's exactly what we did. I guess it was because we knew in the controlled environment that we would be safe.


There were a lot of interactive things to do along the walls too. I liked the Theme Song Challenge. Going back to the decade of my youth, I slayed first note on so many of these...clearly a sign that I watched too much TV as a kid. Saturday mornings were my favorite! Not like today where you can find cartoons any time of the day or night, when I was a child, you had to wait for the weekend. It was a treat to sit and watch cartoons, and The Flintstones was my absolute favorite (in fact, it's the only cartoon from my childhood that I now own on DVD). :)


The shadow room was fun. You could stand in front of the white wall and have someone hit a button on the outside. Whatever shape you made would stick when you moved. I'll admit we stayed here a bit longer than most people probably do. We had a blast being absolute goofballs.


Honestly, it's hard to get a good picture to depict it, but you get the general idea. :)


A musical area of the 2nd floor was fun to explore. There was this piano you see above; it's groovy, right? And there was a HUGE floor piano to play on too. I noticed the adults could not resist going across the floor piano. Even the grandparents (ahem) were getting in on the action.


An astronaut trainin section with a simulator, photo opps and this ball where 2 people could sit and be spun around was super unique and very cool. 


Optical illusions and things that made you think were all over the walls inside of Wonderworks too. This photo was one of many, and it had a bunch of tiny pictures making up a larger one of a pretty dog.


The top floor had a bunch of life-sized video games you could play. You could collect tickets to exchange for prizes. There were laser tag games and a snack bar there too (the basement...the true basement, not the 'basement' on the elevator that would take you to this top floor) had a place to eat too, as well as a gift shop.


This floor also had a ropes course too. One thing to note, if you want to get on these ropes, is you cannot wear flip flops, or any type of open shoe, which so many of us do while we are visiting a warm place like Orlando. So, if you want to experience this section, be sure to wear closed toe shoes. Fortunately, my son had on his tennies, so he got to climb. I did not, but I did follow along underneath him while he walked. He's done this before in Daytona (at Daytona Lagoon), so he was familiar with the process. He said it was just as fun this time.


He did this a few times over the course of the night, in fact. Tip: in the middle of the day there are huge lines for this, but later in the evening the lines dissipate and you can get right on.


There was an XD Theater here too that was awesome. It was a short movie experience that made you feel like you were in the movie itself.. Air blew out at you, and it felt like an amusement park ride. I'm sure if you took our heartbeat rates they were going pretty fast during the event. It was great. Again, just like with the climbing area, the movie had a big line throughout the day, but if you waited until evening, you could get in fairly fast. 


Some areas were messier than others and had to be closed periodically for clean-up. Our third time passing this one, we finally got to go in and play. You could make bubbles as big as you could reach and if you folded them over, they were humongous human-consuming caterpillar bubbles. 


There was learning to be done (the best kind of learning is hands-on and entertaining).


And there were things to do that just seemed crazy, but you couldn't resist them even if you tried (see my Wordless Wednesday post here). :)


At the end of the day, you could purchase tickets to the Comedy Dinner Show (you may want to buy these ahead of time, as they do sometimes sell out) held in the basement. Here they brought salad, unlimited pizza (half pepperoni/half cheese) and drinks, and dessert to your table while you watched a magician/comedian on the stage. The show was interactive, with the star bringing people up on stage. Some of the jokes were a little risque, but fortunately, were over my son's head (and hopefully the other kids in the audience as well). If you're going to buy dinner anyway, but aren't ready to leave, why not just stay in the building to eat?

There were two different show times. We went to the late show, which turned out really great because when we were done, we scanned our original Wonder Works entry tickets (you need them if you're going back in, so don't throw them away) and went back inside to play. The great thing is, because it was so late (Wonder Works stays open until midnight) there were not a lot of people there, and we could get in and on everything lightening fast. We stayed for a little bit, doing the things we hadn't gotten a chance to do before because we didn't want to wait in lines. It was a cool way to end the night.


Our hotel was just up the road, so a quick drive had us brushing our teeth and getting ready for snoozeland. It had been an awesome day, and now we know what it in that upside down building called WonderWorks. There are several destinations across the USA, including Orlando, Branson, Myrtle Beach and more.

Learn more by visiting the WonderWorks website. You can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram.

45 comments:

  1. I would love to take my great granddaughter to this place. How fun.

    Your son is handsome.

    Have a fabulous day and weekend, my friend. ♥

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  2. We LOVE Wonderworks. We've been there a couple of times on trips to Florida, and the kids love it.

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  3. OK now this is such an awesome building! I love that they have made it so much fun inside and out!

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  4. Sure lots to do. That must make the lines a little bit shorter. Congrats to him for going with the big stinky monster players haha maybe he can try to go between their legs or something. The elevator button would be weird and take a little getting used to.

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  5. I love the Wonder Works building! I remember going years ago when my cousins lived in Orlando and we went to visit for a week during the summer. It's so much fun!!

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  6. Oh my goodness! This sounds like a place I would LOVE. (ahem) I mean it's a place my GRANDCHILDREN would love. Not me. I'm an old lady. With dignity out the wazoo. HA! Riiiiight. I'd love it!

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  7. What an exciting place! They sure do know how to get the kids up and moving as well as excited about learning.

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  8. Looks like there is a lot of fun activities there.

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  9. Holy Moley there's so much to do there! Good tip about wearing closed toe shoes. I always have flip flops on during warmer months (even in November and December when we were down that way a few years back). Congrats to Little Man getting to play with the big boys! I can't wait to hear more about that!

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  10. I am an Orlando resident and I have not visited Wonderworks thanks for the great review I am now inspired to head over International drive and have some fun!

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  11. This sounds like such a fun place to visit, with so much to do... my daughter would love it!

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  12. We always used to drive past this when we were in Orlando but I've never been inside. Now I finally know what it's all about.

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  13. This is the kind of fun that drives me crazy because not only does it entertain children, but adults too!

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  14. Buen fin de semana. Un saludo desde Almería

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  15. Oh my goodness that place looks so cool! I would love the opportunity to visit this place sometime!

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  16. Oh my, this would be paradise for my son! He absolutely loves this kind of places. And the upside down building is really fun too. Well, I guess we'll have to go to Orlando one of these days :)

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  17. Wow! This is the first time I have seen an Upside Down Building in Orlando! It looks so fascinating. I'm so eager to visit it.

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  18. I would like to visit the Upside down house as well, it looks like you and your son had a blast! I like that everything inside the house is so interactive and that you can spend a lot of time in there, just playing their games.

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  19. I love places like this. People's imaginations are pretty wild and it's nice to see if come together in such a unique way!

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  20. This looks like a fun place to visit. I would go and even I am an adult. Haha. I would love explore how things feel when they are upside down.

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  21. Wow this place looks so cool! My kids would love to check it out! So fun!!

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  22. The upside down building seems like a cool place to visit in Orlando. I would love to visit.

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  23. I went to Orlando but I didn't see this before! Love a unique entrance! Sounds like a fun family-friendly place!

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  24. This posts makes me realize that we should have took the rainy day while we were in Orlando and visited WonderWorks. Definitely on my list for next time, as it looks like a ton of fun and I believe my kids would really enjoy it.

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  25. Oh my goodness! This seems like an amazing place to visit with the family! I love all the different things you get to do. I remember loving weather rooms where you got to experience a bit of the storm. Those were so much fun!

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  26. I haven't seen anything like this before, an upside down building! Great to have learned it today and I bet kids and adults will surely enjoy a visit there and explore.

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  27. I've actually been to the Wonderworks in Myrtle Beach at Broadway! Such cool exhibits for people of all ages!

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  28. It looks like such a lot of fun. I know my daughter and I would be in the 3-D theater. We have such a lot of fun in them.

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  29. Kristine Nicole AlessandraJune 23, 2019 at 8:12 AM

    Oh my goodness, what an awesome place to visit! I have to keep note of this Upside Down Building and make sure we visit if we are in the area.

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  30. How fun! Looks like a great place to take families when visiting!

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  31. I've seen that building in Orlando but have never been inside. Thanks for the sneak peak.

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  32. One of my favorite places to visit. Need to take our little one back. He hasn't been in some time. I don't think he recalls going.

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  33. Wow this is sooo cool! My nieces and nephew will love this. Definitely going to explore when we visit Orlando next time.

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  34. This looks like so much fun! And a great way to spend a day in Orlando.

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  35. This looks so cool! I would absolutely love to visit next time I'm in Orlando!

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  36. I have never heard of this but it sounds pretty fun! So much to do in Orlando!

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  37. I am in Orlando often, but have never heard of WonderWorks. I guess I need to leave the Disney bubble more frequently!

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  38. Oh man, I didn't hit publish, but the comment box went away.

    The upside down feature looks like something that would be in a Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum. How fun!

    We just went to a science museum in Minneapolis. I haven't posted about it just yet. I didn't get a ton of photos because my best friend from preschool was there with her son.

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  39. What a cool building... I would love to visit and see it upclose. It is gravity defying.

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  40. That looks like a super fun, interactive place to visit. I think it's cool that they stay open till midnight.

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  41. I would love to take my niece and nephew!

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  42. This would be a great place to visit with my children! So much fun!

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  43. I would love to visit this place with my niece and nephews.

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