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On the Hunt for Treasure in Kissimmee
The Gaylord Palms Resort puts a new face on family fun with its Summer Treasure Hunt Challenge
By Mari Robyn Jones

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Florida-themed fun can pay off in the Gaylord Palms Resort's Summer Treasure Hunt Challenge

don't have to look very hard to find family fun in Central Florida. But thoughtful searching and seeking are exactly what the folks at the Gaylord Palms Resort had in mind when they dreamed up the Summer Treasure Hunt Challenge. This fun-loving game involves the whole family and puts a clever spin on your typical in-state getaway.

For your treasure hunt expedition, take an easy drive to Central Florida and explore the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee. Test your knowledge of Florida as you peek into every corner of the resort, piecing together 15 different clues that could lead you to some serious treasure of the monetary kind. There will be no dull moments once you arrive at this luxe resort that showcases the natural beauty of Florida under its 4.5-acre glass-domed atrium.

Calling all explorers

Signing up for the Gaylord Palms' Summer Treasure Hunt Challenge is one surefire way to beat the boredom this summer. Your family can form a team to participate in this one-of-a-kind skill contest, which runs from May 2 to August 28. Kids 10 and under can also participate in their own smaller-scale scavenger hunt. (Participants must purchase the Summer Treasure Hunt Challenge package with a minimum two-night stay to compete.)

Located just minutes from Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld Orlando, the Gaylord Palms packs some of Florida's best highlights into one world-class resort. You'll be looking for clues among colorful incarnations of St. Augustine, Key West and the Everglades, which are brought to life here under a soaring glass atrium that keeps the weather a comfortable 72 degrees and sunny.

The rules are simple: Solve 14 clues and a final challenge. The clues are assigned a point value depending on difficulty, and at the end of the summer, whichever team has the most points will win the $10,000 bounty. (Just think of all the theme park fun and big-city pampering you could partake in with that!)

Your clues may be anywhere at the resort. Perhaps there's one outside of Sunset Sam's Fish Camp restaurant, where a 60-foot schooner and jumping tarpon reside inside the Key West atrium. Or maybe another near the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, which has a scaled-down replica of the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort


Hunt for clues among colorful re-creations of St. Augustine, Key West and the Everglades

in North America.

Everything you'll need to solve the clues will be in plain sight, but you and your family will have to put your heads together to creatively uncover the answers.

As you explore the resort, you'll discover 500,000 vibrant and colorful plants and trees and learn how baby gators and turtles live together in the Gator Springs exhibit.

After the hunt

Take a break from your treasure map and walk the rustic boardwalks in the Everglades atrium. Or treat yourself to an aromatherapy massage or a deep-cleansing facial at the resort's award-winning Canyon Ranch SpaClub, a 20,000-square-foot facility with 25 treatment rooms.

Cool off from the summer sun by taking a dip in the adults-only South Beach pool, or take the whole family to the newly developed Clearwater Cove Water Activities Playground, where sea horses shoot water at the kids and a toy turtle playfully splashes water.

A day-trip to any one of the area's popular theme parks is only a hop away on the Gaylord Palms' complimentary shuttle. Check out SeaWorld's new water park Aquatica, where the kids can ride on slides while catching glimpses of dolphins.

After your foray into the theme parks, celebrate your vacation back at the resort at Sunset Sam's, where a conch shell blows as night falls (and you might catch a performance from a fire-breather or juggler). Feast on an assortment of Mediterranean dishes at the resort's Villa de Flora or, if your kids are older with a tad more sophistication, nosh on snapper flown in from Japan at the high-end Asian fusion restaurant Sora.

No matter what you do during your family getaway to the Gaylord Palms, you're likely to uncover more than you expected.

For more information on the Summer Treasure Hunt Challenge or the Gaylord Palms Resort, call 407-586-HUNT or visit www.SummerTreasureHuntChallenge.com. Resort package rates start at $219 per night, with a two-night minimum stay, beginning May 2 and ending August 28.

Mari Robyn Jones is a freelance writer based in Orlando.


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