{"id":215971,"date":"2026-04-02T12:33:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/215971\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T12:33:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:33:06","slug":"history-center-takes-on-titanic-survivors-90s-true-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/215971\/","title":{"rendered":"History center takes on Titanic survivors, ’90s true crime"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orange County Regional History Center<\/a> is hopping all over the timeline in April. Its events range from a Central Florida spin on a famous shipwreck to a true crime of the 1990s.<\/p>\n

First up is Friday\u2019s Lunch & Learn session dubbed \u201cTales of RMS Titanic.\u201d Speaker Emily Coughlan will recap the dramatic 1912 sinking of the oceanliner and tell stories of survivors who eventually made it to Central Florida. Admission is $5 ($17 with lunch) and free for history center members, who pay $12 for the lunch option.<\/p>\n

For Saturday\u2019s \u201cHistory Alive\u201d programming, the museum harkens back to Orlando\u2019s so-called Hollywood East era, when Disney and Universal were producing movies and animated feature films here. The day\u2019s activities will dabble in stop-motion animation and the multiplane camera technique devised by Walt Disney and made famous with \u201cSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs.\u201d Also on tap: Design your own retro citrus label plus guided museum tours. The history center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

The related \u201cAnimationland\u201d<\/a> exhibit, which remains in place at the downtown Orlando museum through May 3, delves more into Central Florida\u2019s experience with the animation industry.<\/p>\n

History center spotlights animation process, Disney productions<\/a><\/p>\n

But wait, there\u2019s more \u201890s. On April 17, it\u2019s After Dark: \u201890s Nights. Expect true crime \u2014 participants act as jury and sometimes judge in courtroom re-enactments \u2014 mixed with throwback games, photo ops, trivia, boy-band poster crafting, retro drinks and assorted nostalgic activities.<\/p>\n

The museum lists this as an \u201cadults-focused\u201d event. Admission is $20 ($15 for history center members, $10 for students).<\/p>\n

Winding up the month is the continuing Brechner Speaker Series. On April 26, author Leslie Kemp Poole<\/a> will talk about her book \u201cTracing Florida Journeys: Explorers, Travelers and Landscapes Then and Now\u201d and her thoughts after tracing the Florida path of 18th-century naturalist William Bartram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more details, tickets and registration, go to thehistorycenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ripley purchases \u2018Ace Ventura\u2019 rhino that birthed Jim Carrey<\/a><\/p>\n

News, notes, nuggets<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Easter Bunny Garden Experience again is operating at Icon Park<\/a> in space beneath the Orlando Eye. Photo packages featuring the costumed character include free carousel rides for children younger than age 13, plus discounts to the Eye, Madame Tussauds and Sea Life Aquarium. It\u2019s available until 7 p.m. daily, but reservations are recommended. Details: easterbunnygardenexperience.square.site<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 An Easter sunrise service, organized by Z88.3<\/a> Radio, will again be held at SeaWorld Orlando\u2019s<\/a> Bayside Stadium on Sunday. Longtime Central Florida pastor Joel Hunter<\/a> will deliver an Easter message with music by Jeremy Rosado<\/a> (\u201cAmerican Idol,\u201d \u201cThe Voice\u201d). The parking lot becomes available at 4:15 a.m., gates open at 5 a.m. and the service begins at 6:30 a.m. The event and parking are free. Registration and more details: ZRadio.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Island H2O Water Park announced that its after-dark \u201cIslands Night Live!\u201d series returns May 16, featuring rap artist Rick Ross<\/a>. The event includes live music, DJs, a \u201cglow foam\u201d party and the attraction\u2019s lineup of water slides. Tickets are $49.99. Fat Joe has been booked for the Aug. 15 edition with more artists to be announced. Details: IslandH20waterpark.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Museum of Illusions Orlando will hold its first \u201csensory friendly\u201d day on April 18, 10 a.m.-noon. The Icon Park attraction will limit capacity, dim lighting, lower the music and disable stimulating exhibits. The museum plans to add monthly sensory hours later. Advance tickets are $19.99. Details: MOIOrlando.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com<\/a>. BlueSky: @themeparksdb. Threads account: @dbevil. X account: @themeparks. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com\/newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Orange County Regional History Center is hopping all over the timeline in April. Its events range from a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[558,104,1563,28,29,2889,114,266,5077,115,1335,139,141,140,14291,109,76687,76688,76689,2411,106,1316,107],"class_list":["post-215971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-business","tag-entertainment","tag-environment","tag-florida","tag-florida-news","tag-holiday","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-movies","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-parenting-and-family","tag-social","tag-social-entertainment","tag-social-theme-parks","tag-social-travel","tag-theme-parks","tag-things-to-do","tag-tourism","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215971","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=215971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}