Fun Facts about the city of Orlando
According to Carlson Wagonlit Travel's Trends Survey,
Orlando is the second most popular
domestic travel destination in the country (Las Vegas placed first).
- Out of the estimated 50 million tourists who visit Orlando each year, over 2
million are international visitors, with the majority of foreign tourists coming
from the United Kingdom.
There are now 20,000 to
vacation homes, villas and rental
properties in Central Florida, mostly located near the theme parks.
- The official nickname of the city of Orlando is “The City Beautiful,”
although it is also known as “O-Town.”
- Ever wonder why there are so many Olive Gardens and Red Lobsters in town?
Orlando is the corporate headquarters of Darden Restaurants, which also runs the
Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52 restaurants on
International Drive .
- Even though few people outside of Florida knew where Orlando was before
Walt Disney World opened in
1971, the city of Orlando had been around for more than century before that; it
was incorporated in 1875.
- Orlando is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, although the vast
citrus groves for which the county was named no longer exist.
- Before there was Disney
World, there was also a considerable amount of cattle ranching in Central
Florida; you can still see cattle grazing along certain stretches of the 417
- Although many of Orlando’s citizens (especially the most famous ones) are
originally from somewhere else, there are a few celebrities who were born and
raised in Orlando, including Wayne Brady and Delta Burke.
- Beat generation icon Jack Kerouac lived in the College Park neighborhood of
Orlando during the time his novel On the Road was published in 1957.