A few days before it officially opens to the public, the folks at I-Drive 360 opened the doors to Madame Tussauds Orlando for members of the press. Located in the same complex that features the Orlando Eye and Sea Life Aquarium, Madame Tussauds will be one of three attractions in the area owned by parent company Merlin Entertainment.
Since this is their only Florida location, Madame Tussauds Orlando features a few nods to the state’s history such as this figure of Ponce de Leon.
Shaquille O’Neill is represented wearing his Orlando Magic jersey, which he hasn’t worn in many years. As a Floridian, he was also wearing a Miami Heat jersey for a few years.
Tiger Woods, another hometown hero, is featured perfecting his golf swing.
As featured on a previous article here at Theme Park University, here is one of five new Jimmy Fallon figures featured at Madame Tussauds Orlando. Each one is unique and were all unveiled simultaneously.
Each figure is incredibly lifelike and the details are stunning, but what really struck me was the amount of interactivity throughout the attraction.
For example, right next to Thomas Edison is a wire game you could find at carnivals, but this one is themed to light bulbs.
Just like the classic game, the idea is to keep the metal instrument steady without touching the metal from one end to the other. It’s a small touch, but nearly every single figure has some sort of interactivity.
Another example is this up-charge option where guests can create their own wax hand and color it however they want.
One wax hand costs $15, but you can buy more and it becomes cheaper per hand. A very cool experience if you’ve never done it before.
If there isn’t some sort of interactive game or quiz, many photo opportunities feature a chance to wear a costume or hold a prop themed to that celebrity or character.
In the selfie generation, there are dozens of opportunities throughout Madame Tussauds Orlando.
Mark my words: this will be the premier attraction of I-Drive 360, if not all of International Drive. It will easily sell more tickets than Sea Life Aquarium of the Orlando Eye.
Considering I attended a media event with a bunch of fellow theme park nerds, what everyone was buzzing about was not Taylor Swift…
Or Sofia Vergara….
Or even Johnny Depp…
What we all freaked out over was this wax figure of Walt Disney.
I have seen wax figures of Walt before, but this seems to capture his likeness and his spirit like nothing else I have ever seen.
Surrounding Walt’s figure was an animator’s work bench. 
To his left is a bookshelf filled with books that inspired many of Disney’s films. However, it was the attention to detail on Walt that I loved.
They recreated his wedding band, this one on his right hand is an Irish “Claddagh” ring.
He bought it while on a trip to Ireland with his wife, Lillian who also had a matching one.
On his left hand was his original wedding ring.
If the opportunity to take a photo like this doesn’t make you want to visit Madame Tussauds Orlando, I don’t know what will.
For more information visit www.madametussauds.com/Orlando!
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Photos copyright Theme Park University, Getty Images