District Guide

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 Florida, SeaWorld Orlando 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.

Walt Disney World

You will find everything from hotels to shopping, restaurants, sports and nightlife within this huge park. Pebbles Restaurant and Fulton's Crab House are among the many fabulous restaurants. There are also thousands of hotel rooms to fit a wide range of budgets, and all provide shuttle transportation that gets you to its many theme parks. Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, Disney's Blizzard Beach, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot are all here. Visit the nearby Magic Kingdom. 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 refers to a long strip of 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 and moderately-priced hotels with reasonable rates. Here, too, are dozens of inexpensive restaurants, such as Black Angus Steak House and Golden China, grocery stores and discount shopping malls, like Osceola Square Mall.

Universal Studios

When Universal Studios moved in to compete ear-to-ear with the Mouse, a community of hotels, restaurants and all the rest grew up around it. Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, Emeril's Restaurant and the Citywalk attract visitors year-round. While Universal's parks do not yet begin to rival Walt Disney World in size, the surrounding area is growing fast.

Downtown Orlando

Yes, there is a downtown Orlando, although few who come to Orlando ever see much of it. Downtown is 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. An excellent meal can be had at Hue or Kres Chophouse. The History Center and the UCF Center are popular with visitors.

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