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Once upon a time, Orlando was a small town surrounded by cow pastures and citrus fields. With the development of Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, SeaWorld and a host of smaller attractions, those cow pastures turned into planned communities that house a wide range of residents, from Disney's 55,000 "cast members" to sports celebrities and millionaires. Now, virtually all of Central Florida defines itself by its distance from Orlando, while Orlando defines itself by its distance from Disney World. Towns that once had identities of their own now fight to retain that identity, succeeding in varying degrees.
Getting there and getting around Every major commercial airline and many charter aircraft fly into burgeoning Orlando International Airport or the much smaller Sanford International Airport. Amtrak trains connect the city with cities along the U.S. east coast with stops in Kissimmee, Winter Park and Orlando, while Amtrak's Auto Train boards both passengers and their cars for the trip between Lorton, Virginia near Washington D.C. to Sanford, a small town just north of Orlando. Greyhound buses bring people here from every corner of the nation.
An automobile is the best way to get around this sprawling area. You will also need to allow more travel time than the distance would suggest. Even central Florida's main interstate artery, I-4, is slow at peak traffic hours from 7-9am and from 4-6pm, and very busy at almost any other time.
Every national rental car chain operates here, along with some smaller ones. Local rental agencies are accustomed to tourists renting a car in one Florida city and dropping it off here or vice versa, although they charge an additional fee to do so. Get as current a map as you can find. Roads are being built even as you read this, and highway signs often assume you know much more than you do. Because Central Florida was once sparsely populated and there are vast amounts of acreage up this way, there was plenty of room to build roads, so even the most remote routes are four- or six-lane highways, easy to negotiate.
A look at Orlando's "neighborhoods"
Walt Disney World You will find everything from hotels to shopping, restaurants, sports and nightlife within the huge park. Within the park are thousands of hotel rooms to fit a wide range of budgets, and all provide shuttle transportation that gets you to WDW's four theme parks, three water parks and sundry other diversions. A monorail zips passengers to many destinations; boats and buses serve all the others, and the wait is rarely more than a few minutes.
Kissimmee/U.S. 192 U.S. 192 refers to a long strip of multi-laned highway along an east-west route from the small but sprawling towns of Kissimmee and St. Cloud to Walt Disney World and beyond. This busy artery isn't much to look at, but it is the epicenter of moderately priced accommodations located outside the Walt Disney World park grounds.
On this highway there are dozens of budget- to moderate-price hotels with rates in the $30-40 range and even less in really slow seasons. Here, too, are dozens of inexpensive restaurants ranging from fast food to ethnic options, grocery stores, discount shopping malls and dinner show entertainment.
U.S. 192, also called Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, stretches from downtown Kissimmee past the main entry gate to Walt Disney World and to U.S. 27, which is roughly the western edge of Orlando. Heading north from a point about midway along the main stretch of U.S. 192 is S.R. 535, which also leads to I-4 and International Drive.
I-4 This big interstate highway connects Tampa on the west and Daytona Beach in the east, streaking past exits leading to Orlando's theme park and hotel districts. It is vital to remember that although the road is actually heading north at many points, everything along it is keyed to the "west" direction of Tampa and the "east" direction of Daytona Beach. All the theme parks and hundreds of hotels are accessible from this interstate highway. Avoid rush hour from 7-9am and 4-6pm if you can.
International Drive This long byway was once the way to Orlando's Convention Center, a few hotels and precious little else. Today, you can barely find the street sign, so jammed is this byway with shopping malls, attractions, towering hotels and restaurants.
The Orlando Convention Center lures a constant round of meetings—large and small—so for conventioneers particularly, this boulevard is a vital cog in the Orlando machine. For everyone else, there are some very nice hotels here, and you can often find some very attractive rates on weekends and between conventions.
Universal Studios When Universal Studios moved in to compete ear-to-ears with the Mouse, a community of hotels, restaurants and all the rest grew up around it. While Universal's two parks do not yet begin to rival Walt Disney World in size, the surrounding area is growing fast. You'll find a Universal Studios exit off I-4.
Downtown Orlando Yes, there is a downtown Orlando, although few who come to Orlando ever see much of it. Downtown Orlando is, in fact, one of the prettiest parts of the city, blessed with tree-lined neighborhoods, attractive older homes and its fair share of—but not too many—shops, restaurants, lounges and entertainment areas.
Celebration This small but rapidly growing town was created—lock, stock and barrel-shaped water tower—by the Disney corporation, intent on creating a picture-perfect community, using the latest views on neighborhood socialization. Rimmed by white fencing, Celebration is a cluster of Victorian-style homes on neat streets, with townhouses on a crescent-shaped street, courtesy of Olde England. Celebration's homes, many of which are in the $350,000-700,000 range, circle a central shopping, dining and entertainment area with attractive shops and cafes. It now has a pleasant, small hotel as well.
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