About Orlando Metro Area

Mention “Orlando” and people immediately think mouse ears, Shamu and Epcot. Not surprisingly, Orlando's theme parks draw over 50 million tourists from around the world each year. The theme park mania isn't limited to the big ones, like Disney World, Universal Studios or Sea World. The city is fairly blanketed in smaller amusement parks, kitschy mini golf courses, water parks, outlet malls and even those attractions that specialize in live entertainment while you eat (think greasy drumsticks while knights in armor pummel each other with lances in a coliseum below you). In addition, it's possible to race a stock car around a track at the Richard Petty Driving Experience, swim arm to dorsal fin with dolphins at Discovery Cove and have a face-to-snout encounter with thousands of Florida's most famous residents at Gatorland. The possibilities for entertainment are literally endless.

With all of this glitz and excitement, it's easy for people to overlook the other activities offered by Orlando and the surrounding cities of Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Winter Haven and Sanford. Over a hundred lakes can be found in and around Orlando, a number only exceeded by the Twin Cities of Minneapolis. As a result, boating is one of the most popular (non-theme park) ways visitors spend their time. Golfing is another popular pasttime, as it is throughout much of Florida. Literature lovers should visit nearby Eatonville, which hosts the annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, named for the Harlem Renaissance author whose most famous book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, was set in Florida.