Where We Are - Orlando, Florida.
There wasn't much to Orlando until a famous little man living
in California started buying up property at the city's southwestern
edge in the 1960's. That man was Walt Disney, and the property he
bought became Disney World in 1971.
 Since
then, waterslides, rollercoasters, fairy tale palaces and costumed
characters have made Disney World one of the most visited tourist
attractions the world has ever seen.
Click on the Map to the right for a Larger Version.
Before Orlando became an extension of Disney Corp's expansionist
dreams, it was known as the 'city built on the peel of an orange'.
In other words, citrus was at the turn of the century what mouse
ears are today.
The citrus boom straddled railroad and real estate booms, but none
of these compare to the well-honed tourist boom in full swing today.
Orlando is the fifth-ranking US destination of overseas travellers
- after San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles and New York City - and
it claims the second highest number of hotel rooms in the US, lagging
just behind Las Vegas in the bedroom stakes.
The city has also established itself as part of Florida's high-tech
corridor, boasting not only space technology industries focused
on the Florida Space Coast (also keen on 'booms'), but a healthy
dose of bits and bytes makers as well.
The biggest city in central Florida, Orlando is dominated by Lake
Eola in its northeastern downtown quadrant. The most famous downtown
icon is Church Street Station, a collection of restaurants, bars
and shops located between 1-4 and the railroad tracks. Orlando is
4 miles (6km) from Universal Studios; 10 miles (16km) from Sea World;
and 20 miles (32km) from Walt Disney World, all located southwest
of downtown along International Drive (I-Drive) in an area appropriately
known as the Tourist Quarter.
Orlando International Airport is in the far southeastern corner
of the city, 9 miles (14km) from downtown. The Greyhound bus station
is in the middle of downtown Orlando, off Central Ave; the Amtrak
station is 1 mile (2km) south of Central. The Lynx Bus Centre is
one block east of Orange Ave.
Orlando Fact at a Glance
- Area: 67 sq mi (174 sq km)
- Population: 174,000
- Elevation: 120ft (36m)
- State: Florida
- Time: Atlantic Time (GMT/UTC minus 5 hours)
- Telephone area code: 407
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