During my childhood being born and raised in New York, the Orlando area and Florida became a second home to me. With my parents’ careers that often had them traveling on business trips, I was able to frequently accompany them (and due to the fact they owned a vacation home in Florida), we often came to the Central Florida area annually. I became quite familiar with all of the major theme parks, International Drive, the Orlando Convention Center, many of the local attractions. I have countless memories and pictures of my family and I going to dinner shows, participating in interactive performances, and being able to enjoy so many of the conveniently located amenities of the Orlando area. As a wife, mother, and business owner now living in the Orlando Central Florida area, it is a new feeling to be visit some of those same childhood attractions but now with my own family and experience it as a resident as well.
Recently, we had the opportunity to partner with Visit Orlando, (the Orlando Tourism Bureau and the only officially recognized sales and marketing organization for the Orlando and Orange County area) to experience some of Orlando firsthand on the #MOMVisitOrlando weekend. A fun and exhilarating attraction for all is the Arabian Nights Dinner Attraction located at 3081 Arabian Nights Blvd in Kissimmee.
On February 29th, 1988, Arabian Nights Dinner Attraction opened for business, fulfilling a dream for Owner and CEO Mark Miller. Bazy Tankersley, Miller’s mother, established Al-Marah Arabian Horse Farm in 1940, where Miller grew up with a deep love and respect for horses. As an adult, Miller envisioned a place where the world’s greatest horses and riders could come together under one roof.
He wanted to keep the art of Equestrian performance alive, as horses are seen less and less in circuses and other performance venues because of poor footing or other logistics. Since it’s opening, Arabian Nights has become the most honored dinner show in the world, with nearly 9,000 performances. The show is ever-evolving, incorporating new generations and ideas. It is Central Florida’s largest family owned and operated attraction, and has been continually praised for setting and exceeding industry standards in the care and training of its horses. Arabian Nights is also proud to preserve dying equestrian arts, such as bareback acrobatics, training future generations of performers in these spectacular techniques.
Over the years, the show may have grown and the story may have changed, but one thing remains the same: Arabian Nights’ commitment to bringing quality equestrian entertainment to audiences of all ages.
I can remember visiting the Arabian Nights Dinner Attraction as child and being fascinated by the show, death-defying stunts, and the beautiful horses. The new and current featured production is, The American Princess, and is equally as fascinating and breathtaking as I remembered. The story follows a young woman on her 21st birthday, an all-American girl, and champion rider who discovers that she is actually the Princess Scheherazade. Along with her genie Abracadabra, Princess Scheherazade takes the audience on a journey around the world (Europe to see the famous military-style quadrilles and Latin America for the romance of the garrocha are among some of the highlights) to find her prince – who must love horses as much as she does.
The acrobatic stunts and performances are amazing – leaping through a ring of fire while horseback riding – jumps, flips, and twirls on a moving horse – dancing in sync with the horses – are all sights to be seen regardless of age.
Recommendations
- Buy tickets on Arabian Nights website: Buying tickets at http://www.arabian-nights.com/tickets.html can provide a 25% discount off of ticket prices. Arrive at least 45 minutes before the showtime begins.
- Upgrade to VIP Experience: The arena has stadium seating so there is a good view from any seat but with the VIP Sneak Peek Stable Tour, guests are invited to meet and interact with many of the beautiful horses in the Arabian Nights stables when the arena opens: approximately one hour before show time. Watch performers prepare the horses for performance, and visit with the horses while they rest up for the show. Guests under the age of 18 are also invited to sit on one of the large draft horses for a photo opportunity. VIP guests also enjoy Sultan Seats: guaranteed seating assignments in the first three rows. Guests under 18 also get a free souvenir poster to collect autographs. $15 for Adults and $12 for Children. (There are many upgrade packages available, especially for the horse enthusiats, which can be viewed by clicking: HERE).
- See the Menu before visiting: Check out the family-friendly menu – which has a selections for kids and special diets – at http://www.arabian-nights.com/the-menu.html. Guests are can also enjoy the complimentary appetizer buffet before the arena opens.
- Learn more about the Horses: Kids will undoubtedly want to know more about the horses, their care, and breeds that will perform at the show so have them look at http://www.arabian-nights.com/our-horses.html to learn more information.
- Discounts: There a wide variety of discounts available, including Florida resident and military discounts. Discounts change on a monthly basis so for detailed information about discounts, call the reservations agents at 1-800-553-6116 or visit the box office in person. Via Facebook, sign up to receive free news, updates, and promotions to your email by clicking: HERE.
Whether you are tourist or resident, the Arabian Nights Dinner Attraction, is a must-see for the entire family to enjoy together.
For more information, visit http://www.arabian-nights.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ArabianNightsFL
Twitter: http://twitter.com/arabiannightsfl
Enjoy the Show!
How fun! We are planning a trip to Orlando at the end of this year for the holidays so we will be checking this out – my kids love horses.
I am glad to find this review on twitter because we are actually wanted to attend Arabian Nights in 2 weeks when we are visiting my parents. I can recall being there when I was kid one summer and we were wondering if it was even still open. Thanks for the informative article.