Sea Side Cove from Hurricane Ryan is based on three real world locations in Orlando: Discovery Cove, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, and Margaritaville Orlando. Fun fact, I’ve worked at two of those. I’ll let you guess which ones.
Discovery Cove was the inspiration for the general experience of Sea Side Cove, and the dolphin swim aspect of the book. If you’re looking for the most relaxing thing to do in Orlando, I highly recommend it.
Typhoon Lagoon inspired the giant wave pool and beach experience. It’s home to the largest wave pool in North America, though Sea Side’s is much bigger.
Margaritaville inspired the resort style of Sea Side with the private condos for rent.
I’m not an artist, but I am a visual person. I drew Sea Side Cove for my own reference while writing, and while the art isn’t high quality enough to put in the book, I figured I could post it here.
Another inspiration for Sea Side Cove was the show Baywatch. Yeah, I said it, the ridiculous slow motion running over the top drama about lifeguards. There was an episode I vaguely remembered from when I was a child that I couldn’t remember the details of, and I went on a rabbit hole trying to find it. I wound up watching the series while working on other projects, and while it is a silly 1990s TV show, and the idea for a story about lifeguards was born.