There are a lot of reasons to make Orlando your holiday destination of choice, and a lot of them are centred on Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort etc. This is rightly the Theme Park Capital of the World for an extremely good reason.
But you don’t need to dig too deep beyond that relatively simply reputation these days to discover it’s only the start of your Sunshine State adventure.
True, when Simon first visited Orlando on holiday back in 1993 (and discovered the perfect place for a new guidebook!), the region boasted only six theme parks and three water parks, and come 2025, there will be nine and six respectively, plus a wealth of smaller attractions. The last 31 years have also seen the city itself grow exponentially and develop its own arts and cultural scene, as well as additional expansions in high-speed rail (to Miami), airport capacity and social activity, the latter of which makes Orlando a proud major centre of LGBTQ+ culture, as well as a destination highlighted by the famous Michelin Guide for its culinary profile.
It has a surprising amount of history – dating back to the first European settlements of the 16th century, before Florida was even a state – and it has inspired a forthcoming new book from us called 111 Places In Orlando That You Mustn’t Miss, which highlights this ‘other’ side of the city.
It includes the back-stories of downtown Orlando in the 1880s, when it was still a cattle town, the vibrant African-American culture, its many unique facets for dining and nature (including the best place to see alligators for free!), and the places that reward the casual wanderer in city suburbs like Winter Park, Clermont, Mount Dora and Winter Garden. Writing the book has really energised us and challenged us to see Orlando in a new light, from both the residential and visitor’s point of view, hence we thought it was worthwhile to revisit our semi-regular blog topic of what makes this iconic place so special.
Orlando International Airport
It starts, of course, with Orlando International Airport, the gateway for most international visitors (and 90 per cent of our British tourists). The seventh-busiest airport in America, has long been our favourite airport anywhere in the world for its sense of excitement and feeling “at home” the minute you set foot in its spacious confines. The tram ride to the main terminal and the audio welcome from our Mayor, Buddy Dyer, are the first hallmarks of arriving somewhere special and experiencing that sense of awe and wonder which the theme parks generate.
Accommodation
Then there is the world’s greatest collection of accommodations waiting to welcome you and set you on the path to supreme holiday enjoyment. From the five-star luxury of places like the Four Seasons Orlando, Ritz-Carlton and Waldorf Astoria to the budget hotels of International Drive and Highway 192 in Kissimmee, and our unequalled array of holiday villas and chic Air BnB options, this is a destination absolutely packed with choice and quality. And we know there is nothing quite like sitting with a cup of tea on the lanai of your villa’s pool deck in the morning for starting the day in the ideal way!
Theme Parks
The Theme Parks themselves also figure prominently in this line-up of holiday delectation, of course. From the moment Walt Disney World Resort opened its gates in October 1971, this has been the hub of enormous creativity and imagination, and that will take on a new dimension next year with the opening of Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe, complete with a truly original selection of rides and attractions. Disney has yet to openly respond to this “challenge” from their largest theme park neighbour, but you can be sure there will be a LOT more to come from the House of Mouse in future, too.
Shopping
Shopping is also high on the priority list for most visitors these days, and that now extends to the areas beyond mere tourist territory. Centres like the Altamonte Mall, Mall at Millenia, the Antiques District in downtown Orlando, downtown Mount Dora, Plant Street Market in Winter Garden and Park Avenue in Winter Park are all well worth exploring to discover one-off gems like the eye-popping Washburn Imports (Antiques District), the Crooked Can Brewery (Winter Garden), Renninger’s Flea Market & Antiques (Mount Dora) and Peterbrooke Chocolatier (Winter Park).
Arts and Culture
While this may not be the main reason people visit, Orlando now boasts a superb choice in Arts and Culture, a diverse array of galleries, museums and historic centres that challenge our world view and introduce new experiences that richly reward the open-minded and inquisitive traveller. You might want to sample the acoustic perfection of the Steinmetz Hall at the Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the intimate style of the Timucua Arts Foundation or the sheer beauty of the world-class Tiffany glass collection at the Morse Museum of American Art. Or hit the very walkable areas of downtown, where you’ll come across artistic highlights such as The Muse of Discovery and Global Convergence, or even the Ghost Dog of Lake Eola Park!
Downtown Orlando
Head into Orlando’s many Downtown Districts and you might encounter Freddie Mercury’s Hairy Armpit in the Mills 50 district, the “alien” men’s loo at Maxine’s On Shine in Colonialtown, the sad history of Gertrude’s Walk, the botanical glory of Leu Gardens and the humble house where famous novelist Jack Kerouac lived and wrote as the icon of the Beat Generation.
Local Culture
And finally, this is America, a country that lives life in wide-screen technicolour, offering different sights and sounds that many have only seen on TV or in the cinema, but which are all here as large as life and twice as interesting. Here, even the supermarkets can be an attraction in their own right, and the dining choice runs the gamut of immigrant flavours from Cuba, Vietnam and South America to brilliant barbecue and sensational seafood. This is all part of Our Orlando, and why we think it is a truly special place to be.
What is YOUR ‘Welcome to Orlando” moment? Tell us about it on the friendly AttractionTickets.com Community Facebook page, on X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram.
