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Orlando Neighborhoods
Walt Disney World
If you're planning to settle into this huge theme park and spend all of your time there, you'll find everything from hotels to shopping, restaurants, sports and nightlife within the park. You can settle into a hotel and use Disneys bus, boat and monorail transportation to get anywhere you want to go inside the park. Often thats the easiest path to take, as it eliminates parking problems. Within the park are thousands of hotel rooms to fit a wide range of budgets, and all provide shuttle transportation that gets you to WDWs 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
That U.S. 192 refers to a long strip of multi-laned highway that streaks 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, which is usually under construction and sports more traffic lights than one would prefer, are dozens of budget- to moderate-price hotels, locked in competition so fierce that you'll often see signs advertising room rates in the $30-$40 range, 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. This was once all cow country, and you can still attend top ridin' and ropin' rodeos in Kissimmee Rodeo and Sports Arena.
I-4
This big interstate highway connects Tampa on the west and Daytona Beach in the east, streaking past exits leading to Orlandos 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 7am-9am and 4pm-6pm if you can.
International Drive
This long byway was once the way to Orlandos 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. An intriguing site here is the giant teddy bear and huge pair of pink high heels'they're Barbies?at FAO Schwartz, plunked down by a huge classical Greek temple structure...turned upside-down with its palm trees hanging, trunk-up, branches down. Whew!
Nevertheless, the Orlando Convention Center, which is about to double in size, lures a constant round of meetings?large and smallso 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 Universals two parks do not yet begin to rival WDW 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 manyshops, restaurants, lounges and entertainment areas.
Church Street Station, a cluster of themed dining, dancing and imbibing spots crowned by a steam-driven calliope, is the best known diversion in the downtown area and is, in fact, one of the most popular evening entertainment areas in Orlando. A number of other entertainment and shopping facilities have grown up around it.
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. Celebrations 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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