Places to Take Teens

Tom

Florida-Beginner
Homestead Miami Speedway
1 Speedway Boulevard
Homestead, FL 33035
305-230-7223

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NASCAR racing made its debut in the Miami area in November 1995 with the grand opening of Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead. The ultra-modern facility, located south of Miami, drew a sellout crowd of 60,000 race fans to its first event, the season finale for the 1995 NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division season. In addition to the NASCAR Busch Series, the track annually hosts a variety of events, including the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Florida Dodge Dealers 400 and the CART Fed-Ex Indy Car Series season opener. The track has a $100 million annual impact on the local economy and draws more than 300,000 racing enthusiasts annually to the area. --
www.nascar.com
 

Tom

Florida-Beginner
Key West Shipwreck Historeum
1 Whitehead St.
Mallory Square
Key West, FL 33040
305-292-8990

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During the mid-1850s, thousands of people came to settle the tiny island of Key West for one reason: the wrecking industry. The waters surrounding the Keys are treacherous and of the hundreds of ships that would pass by the island each week, at least one would run aground in the shallow waters and coral reefs. Men would stand on high towers to watch for such wrecks to take place. When one was sighted, the famous "wreck ashore" would be shouted and the many wreckers in the town would race for their boats in an attempt to be the first ones to reach the disabled ship. Whoever reached it first would be responsible for salvaging the goods which would later be sold at auction, 20 to 50 percent of the proceeds going to the wreckers. It's rumored that many of the wrecks were actually caused by the wreckers themselves. This was an excellent business venture, and many residents amassed great fortunes during the height of the shipping industry, making Key West the wealthiest city per capita in America during mid-1800s. The Key West Shipwreck Historeum is dedicated to preserving the history of this time period. Visitors watch dramatic re-enactments of a typical salvaging mission and listen to stories depicting life during the height of the industry. The historeum is open daily with shows starting every 30 minutes.
 

Tom

Florida-Beginner
Gameworks
2608 Sawgrass Mills Cir
Sunrise, FL 33323
954-845-8740

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Gameworks is an arcade on steroids. Full of games and simulation rides that entertain the entire family, Gameworks is the place to go for fun. You'll forget your worries while blasting away at enemies and racing against time to be a conquering hero. Gameworks' two biggest features are the virtual reality simulations: Sky Pirates VR, a "vertical" reality game by Steven Spielberg that raises and lowers its players up to 24 feet in the air as they battle for control of the sky; and the Ford Racing Zone, a VR-enhanced ride that gives its players the rush of hitting the road at more than 100 mph. With these rides and an immense selection of other video hits, Gameworks has easily become a favorite among youngsters. Famous for its spectacular parties, don't be surprised if your children request that their next birthday extravaganza be here.
 

Tom

Florida-Beginner
Boomers
1801 NW 1st St
Dania, FL 33004
954-921-1411

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Start out by racing around in the go-carts, Naskarts and bumper cars, then take a bungee plunge from the Skycoaster or a stomach-lurching ride on the Hurricane roller coaster. Feel the need to calm down? Challenge your friends to a game of miniature golf, or enter a battle in the laser tag arena. And when you're done with that, you can still chase away boredom with the more than 1,100 video games in Race-o-Rama's 24-hour arcade. Unfortunately, all this fun doesn't come cheap, so be sure to bring extra cash if you want to play the night away. -- Stacy Noyes

The Big Thrills: This small park can't compete with the megaparks, but it offers fast rides at low pay-as-you-go prices.

Must-Have Admission Info: Look for discount coupons on the park's Web site. On weekends, the park is open until the early-morning hours.

Tips and Hints: In April 2002, a couple was married on the 100-foot drop of the Hurricane roller coaster.
 
Oben