Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is to go to Wannado City.

Love, Virginia

It's no wonder that Virginia wants to go to Wannado City. It has been transformed into Santa's Snow Village for the holidays, with special activities for Kidizens (what they call the temporary kid citizens of Wannado City). Whether your child wants to make a candy treat or make cupcakes, sing karaoke or star in the Santa Saves Christmas production, all that and more is possible at Wannado City this holiday season. It's great fun for the youngsters! Santa's Snow Village highlights include:

• Santa's Candy Factory is where Kidizens, under the direction of Santa's little helpers, create jolly Twist Pops or Rockin' Christmas Trees using Wonka's sweet treats!
• Mrs. Clause's Kitchen at The Cookery is the scene of some serious cupcake decorating. Kidizens will wear holiday aprons while they make their own reindeer cupcakes using pretzels, marshmallows and M&Ms!
• HO HO HO Karaoke at the Wannado City Radio Station allows Kidizens to accomplish their dream of being a karaoke pop star. The props make the experience come to life.
• Santa Saves Christmas performance at the center of town is a real show stopper! As Santa and his elves are performing to celebrate the holidays, the grouchy Scrooge stops the celebration... until Santa and his elves convince him to join in... and the show goes on!
• The Skating Rink provides the perfect holiday activity for active Kidizens!
• Photos with Santa are available every day for one hour before and after each show at the center of town.
• 12 Days of Christmas plus Hanukkah is playing at the theater and the audience is called upon to participate in the play with fun props and acting.

Wannado City is located at the Sawgrass Mall where parking is free and shopping is plentiful!

^{Photo © Wannado City}

Downtown Pensacola from Historic Seville to the Palafox Business District is glimmering with holiday lights and performances, tours and tasty treats fill the streets with holiday cheer for Pensacola's biggest holiday celebration — Winterfest.

The Plaza Wonderland features the entertaining Rudolph's Revue, Santa's Choo Choo, photos with Santa and enjoy dinner or dessert at the Gingerbread House. Holiday memory tours include Cinderella carriage rides, the tram Performance Tour and Rudolph's Holiday Stroll walking tour. Dates are December 11, 18-24 and 26-27. Tickets may be purchased online.

In South Florida for the holidays? Visit the 1930s Wray Home at Flamingo Gardens & Wildlife Sanctuary every day from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day through December 31, 2009.

Voted the best place to take out-of-town guests for the past several years, Flamingo Gardens is also a great place to take children while they're on winter break. Enjoy the botanical gardens, native animal and bird exhibits, including the free-flight aviary, and see a life Wildlife Encounter show. You can even do some holiday shopping. The Gift Shop, Garden Shop and Tropical Marketplace offer a wide variety of shopping experiences, including shipping delectable Florida fruit and gourmet food items.

Flamingo Gardens is open daily, except Christmas Day. Admission is $17 for ages 12 and up, $8.50 for children 4-11. Children under age 4 are admitted free.

^{Photo © Flamingo Gardens}

Celebrate the holidays with oceans of fun at SeaWorld Orlando with three all-new shows — A Sesame Street Christmas, Clyde and Seamore's Countdown to Christmas and Winter Wonderland on Ice — and the return of The Polar Express Experience.

The holiday celebration doesn't stop there. Shamu Stadium comes alive with bright lights and glowing candles as Christmas carols abound and Shamu splashes to celebrate the holiday season. Special decorations throughout the park will certainly put you in the holiday spirit; and, special holiday dining opportunities, include Elmo and Friends Christmas Breakfast and Makahiki Christmas Luau.

All holiday experiences and shows are included with regular SeaWorld Orlando park admission. Special dining experiences require park admission and an additional charge.

More about Holidays at SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando and a SeaWorld Orlando Photo Tour.

^{Photo © SeaWorld Orlando}

At the end of another perfect winter day in Florida, follow millions of sparkling lights through a maze of illuminated gardens, twinkling topiaries and dozens of animated holiday scenes that come to life to delight the young and old alike. It's Silver Springs' biggest special event of the year, with more than a million twinkling lights and neon displays. Nightly activities will include:

• Miss Molly's Storytelling in the Silver River Theatre

• Strolling carolers
• Live entertainment on weekends
• Lighted Boat Parade
• Shopping in specialty stores
• Visit with Santa Claus (through December 24)

• What: Festival of Lights

• Where: Silver Springs
• When: November 27-28, December 4-5, 11-12, 18-19, 20-24 & 26-31, 2009 and January 2-3, 2010 - Dusk to 8:30 p.m.

^{Photo © Silver Springs}

The Sunshine State showcases its 1200 miles of coastline as well as the vast intercoastal and intracoastal waterways during the holiday season with a myriad of boat parades — from the Panhandle to the Keys and every place in between. These unique parades feature vessels of all sizes decorated and illuminated from bow to stern... and, of course, Santa is usually on board!

Friday, December 11

• The annual Boyton/Delray Holiday Boat Parade begins at the Boynton Inlet promptly at 6:30 p.m. and sails south through Boynton and Delray to the C-15 canal south of Delray.

Saturday, December 12

• The Holiday Regatta of Lights reflects the maritime roots of the "Oldest City" — St. Augustine. The 6:00 p.m. event is best seen from the city's downtown waterfront area.
• "Hooray for Hollywood" is the theme for the Key Largo Boat Parade that is held at Blackwater Sound (Mile Marker 104) at 7:30 p.m.
• Key West Lighted Boat Parade cruises through Key West Harbor and the waters of the historic seaport beginning at 6:00 p.m.
• Seminole Hard Rock's Winterfest Boat Parade 2009 theme is "That's Entertainment". The 38th annual event begins at 6:00 p.m. in Downtown Fort Lauderdale, starting on the New River and sails east to the Intracoastal Waterway and northward to Lake Santa Barbara in Pompano Beach.
• The Bonita Springs Boat Parade will set sail between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. by the Fish House restaurant on Bonita Beach Road and travel up the Imperial River to U.S. 41 before turning around. Public viewing is available from the Imperial River boat launching ramp on U.S. 41.

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For 12 special nights, the Miami Metrozoo will open from 7:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. with a holiday display of bright animal shaped lights and Flore de Lisa's Winter Wonderland with the Festival of Trees. Families can enjoy holiday favorites like hot chocolate, holiday music and more. Admission is $7.95 (plus tax) for adults and $5.95 (plus tax) for children, ages 3-12. Purchase tickets online and save $1 per ticket.

While Holiday Nights with Wild Lights is just for 12 special nights, enjoy Flore de Lisa's Winter Wonderland with the Festival of Trees 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. every day through January 3, 2010. It's easy to get into the holiday spirit with the festive displays, holiday entertainment and photos with Santa. The Festival of Trees is a spectacular display of 12 custom-designer trees at Dr. Wilde's World. The themed trees will be raffled, with the winners showcasing the tree in their home or office. Winter Wonderland is included with zoo admission.

• What: Holiday Nights with Wild Lights
• Where: Miami Metrozoo
• When: Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays -
  December 4-6, 11-13 & 18-20

• What: Flore de Lisa's Winter Wonderland & Festival of Trees
• Where: Miami Metrozoo
• When: Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. thru January 3, 2010

Do reindeer really play games? Apparently. At least the six that are on their way from Santa's workshop in the North Pole to Tampa's sunny Lowry Park Zoo for Wild Wonderland do. Play reindeer games, that is. They even have their own Wild Wonderland Web site. You can go there to track the reindeer and read postcards from their travels, play reindeer games, have some holiday fun and preview Wild Wonderland opening tonight.

What is Wild Wonderland? It's Lowry Park Zoo's annual holiday event with millions of twinkling lights and glimmering animated holiday displays, plus loads of wild wintery family fun. Frolic in Frosty's Foam Factory, where Frosty and his pals have created a bubble (foam) snow, see a dazzling Frozen Forest with crystal animals, trees and dancing fountains set to the sounds of festive music... and, of course, see Santa and his real reindeer, plus much, much more!

Take a walk on the wild side at Wild Wonderland on December 4-5, 10-13, 17-23 and 26-30 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. General admission for the after regular zoo hours event is $13 for adults (ages 12 and over), $11 for children (ages 3-11) and free for children age two and under. Annual Zoo Pass holders receive discounted admission. Admission includes free unlimited rides, except for the Jingle Bells horse drawn carriage ride, which is $4 per person. Tickets are on sale now at LowryParkZoo.com.

• What: Wild Wonderland
• Where: Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa
• When: December 4-5, 10-13, 17-23 and 26-30, 2009 - 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The Grinch has not stolen Christmas from Universal Orlando. This year's holiday celebration kicks off Saturday, December 5, with more entertainment than ever, adding a brand-new Holiday Concert Series to the already popular Macy's Holiday Parade and Grinchmas celebration.

The Holiday Concert Series features three chart-topping musical acts — Mannheim Steamroller (Dec 5), Chris Isaak (Dec 12) and Natalie Cole (Dec 19). Macy's Holiday Parade features the world-renowned balloons and floats from Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City; and, at Islands of Adventure, the popular Dr. Seuss book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" is brought to life in Grinchmas, a live stage show featuring an original recorded musical score by Mannheim Steamroller.

The festivities don't end at the theme parks. At Universal's CityWalk live music will be featured on the plaza stage and strolling performers will entertain guests on select dates throughout the holidays. Universal's three on-site hotels — Hard Rock Hotel, Portofino Bay Hotel and Royal Pacific Resort — will sparkle with holiday decorations. Holiday guests will be treated to special musical performances, special dining events, tree-lighting ceremonies and holiday "dive-in" movie presentations.

The festivities run through January 1, 2010. Florida residents can take advantage of the special 2-Park Holiday Pass. All entertainment is included int he price of regular admission. Concerts on Saturdays, December 5, 12 & 19, begin at 7:00 p.m.

• Universal Orlando Holiday Celebrations
• Universal Orlando
  
• Universal Orlando Hotels

Photo © Universal Orlando

For 24 years, Collier County has celebrated winter. What started in 1985 with just five tons of snow and a few hundred people has turned into 70 tons of snow attracting over 15,000 people. Although the event has many attractions, it's the snow that is the main attraction. Amazingly, 900 blocks of ice are trucked in and put through an ice chipper transforming it magically into snow.

Snowfest is great family fun — attracting all ages, from infants to grandparents — and would be a wonderful way of kicking off the holiday season. Activities include an ice skating rink, Mrs. Claus' Kitchen (refreshment area), Music Wonderland (live entertainment), Claus' Petting Zoo featuring Rudolph's friends, pony rides, bounce houses and inflatable slides, carnival games and rides, a climbing "snow" rock and much more!

• What: Snowfest
• When: Saturday, December 5, 2009 - 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Where: Golden Gate Community Park, Naples, FL