{"id":13461,"date":"2025-10-21T05:17:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T05:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/13461\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T05:17:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T05:17:27","slug":"americas-no-1-attraction-is-in-central-florida-and-its-not-in-orlando","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/13461\/","title":{"rendered":"America\u2019s No. 1 attraction is in Central Florida \u2014 and it\u2019s not in Orlando"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this year, Tripadvisor released its list of the highest-rated attractions and experiences in the world<\/a> \u2014 and it turns out No. 3 is right here in the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n

The ranking examines Tripadvisor reviews covering a wide swath of places and activities, including museums, natural wonders, and other tourist destinations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith such a huge selection of travel activities and excursions available on the platform, Tripadvisor helps travelers find the experiences that turn a trip into a lifelong memory,\u201d Tripadvisor President Kristen Dalton said. \u201cWhether you crave adrenaline or prefer to take things slow, \u2018The Best of the Best Things to Do\u2019 showcases the world\u2019s top-rated experiences.<\/p>\n

[VIDEO: Experience a simulated full-sized rocket engine static test fire at The Gantry at LC-39]<\/p>\n

Overall, the top-ranked attraction globally turned out to be the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia<\/a>, an ornate church located in Barcelona, Spain.<\/p>\n

But in Florida, the most highly rated attraction was revealed to be the NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at Merritt Island.<\/p>\n

The renovated Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Space Shop opened Friday June 29, 2018 with hundreds of space memorabilia and NASA gear that every space nerd needs in their life including classic NASA t-shirts. (Photo: KSCVC)<\/p>\n

The space-based attraction also landed at No. 3 on the worldwide ranking, boasting over 15,000 five-star reviews.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s not the only Florida attraction to place high in the rankings.<\/p>\n

Nationwide, the Stetson Mansion<\/a> in DeLand (No. 5) and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park<\/a> in Key largo (No. 6) were also top contenders.<\/p>\n

[BELOW: Watch as News 6 explores the historic Stetson Mansion]<\/p>\n

As for experiences, the study lists a two-hour private boat tour in Miami<\/a> and a kayak tour of the Tampa Bay area<\/a> among the top 10 in the country.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the rest of the ranking is as follows:<\/p>\n

RankAttractionLocation1NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor ComplexMerritt Island, FL2Empire State BuildingNew York City, NY3Sun StudioMemphis, TN4Central ParkNew York City, NY5Stetson MansionDeLand, FL6John Pennekamp Coral Reef State ParkKey Largo, FL7Brooklyn BridgeNew York City, NY8National Museum of World War II AviationColorado Springs, CO9The Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York City, NY10Alcatraz IslandSan Francisco, CA11Iolani PalaceHonolulu, HI12Chihuly Garden and GlassSeattle, WA13Statue of LibertyNew York City, NY14Garden of the GodsColorado Springs, CO15The Art Institute of ChicagoChicago, IL16Antelope CanyonPage, AZ17Biltmore EstateAsheville, NC18Fountains of BellagioLas Vegas, NV19Golden Gate BridgeSan Francisco, CA20Diamond Head State MonumentHonolulu, HI21Mount Rushmore National MemorialKeystone, SD22Horseshoe BendPage, AZ23GracelandMemphis, TN24San Antonio River WalkSan Antonio, TX25Griffith ObservatoryLos Angeles, CARankExperienceLocation1Grand Tour Around Island<\/a>Honolulu, HI2Salem Guided Walking Tour<\/a>Salem, MA3Chicago Architecture River Cruise<\/a>Chicago, IL4Ground Zero Tour<\/a>New York City, NY5Secret Food Tour of Chinatown<\/a>New York City, NY6Miami Private Boat Tour<\/a>Miami, FL7Honolulu Xtreme Parasail<\/a>Oahu, HI8Kayak Tour of Tampa Bay Area<\/a>St. Pete Beach, FL9Grand Canyon Day Tour<\/a>Las Vegas, NV10Dark Philly Adult Night Tour<\/a>Philadelphia, PA11Pedal Bar Crawl of Old Town Scottsdale<\/a>Scottsdale, AZ12Juneau Wildlife Whale Watching<\/a>Juneau, AK13Group Tour of Pikes Peak<\/a>Denver, CO14Upper Pigeon Rafting Adventure<\/a>Hartford, TN15Freedom Trail History Walking Tour<\/a>Boston, MA16Historic Charleston Walking Tour<\/a>Charleston, SC17New Orleans Adult-Only Crime Walking Tour<\/a>New Orleans, LA18Traverse City Wine Tour<\/a>Traverse City, MI19Full-Day LA Tour<\/a>Los Angeles, CA20Iconic Sights of LA, Hollywood and More<\/a>Los Angeles, CA<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Earlier this year, Tripadvisor released its list of the highest-rated attractions and experiences in the world \u2014 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[315,2651,104,6919,28,11967,11968,123,11969,139,141,140,1769,135,2261],"class_list":{"0":"post-13461","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-brevard-county","9":"tag-deland","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-features","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-key-largo","14":"tag-merritt-island","15":"tag-miami","16":"tag-nasa","17":"tag-orlando","18":"tag-orlando-headlines","19":"tag-orlando-news","20":"tag-space","21":"tag-tampa","22":"tag-volusia-county"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}