Adrian F.
Yelp
The building is upside down, but the fun's right side up.
WonderWorks is that giant upside-down building on International Drive that looks like it crash-landed after EPCOT sneezed too hard. Every tourist drives by and asks, "What the heck is that?" Spoiler: it's part science museum, part arcade, part carnival ride, and part fever dream.
History check: WonderWorks opened in Orlando in 1998, with the story that it was once a top-secret lab lifted by a tornado and dropped upside down in the middle of I-Drive. That's right -- Disney gives you immersive Imagineering, WonderWorks gives you a B-movie backstory that sounds like it was written on a cocktail napkin. And honestly? I love it.
Inside, it's a mash-up of interactive exhibits: lie on a bed of nails, feel hurricane-force winds, test your reflexes, play in a giant bubble lab, and basically prove once and for all that science museums are way more fun when they're loud, chaotic, and smell faintly of funnel cake. The ropes course and laser tag add to the "yes, we'll wear your kids out" factor, which is basically the holy grail for Orlando parents.
Is it high-brow? Nope. Is it fun? Absolutely. It's like Ripley's Believe It or Not had a kid with a science fair and raised it in an arcade. You'll roll your eyes at some of the cheesy theming, but then you'll catch yourself giggling on the upside-down inversion tunnel and think, "Okay, this place has me."
I walked in, sighed at the spectacle, then ended up grinning while kids screamed on the ropes course, muttering: "It's ridiculous... but ridiculous is kind of the point."
Bottom line: WonderWorks is touristy, goofy, and unapologetically weird. But it's also a genuinely fun way to spend a few hours learning, laughing, and maybe questioning gravity.