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Facts about Orlando
Located in Central Florida, the city is the hub of the Orlando metropolitan area, the sixth largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States.
Orlando is nicknamed "The City Beautiful" and its symbol is the fountain at Lake Eola. It is also called "The Theme Park Capital of the World" due to the millions of tourists who visit the city each year.
Below are my top 20 facts about Orlando, Florida.
1. With over 50 million visitors each year, Orlando is one of the most visited destinations in the U.S.A. with only Las Vegas rivaling it for the top spot.
2. The city is popular with both American and non-American travelers. According to 2010 statistics, 47.78 million of visitors to Orlando are domestic and 3.68 million are international.
3. Orlando is the 79th largest city in the U.S. and the 5th largest in Florida.
4. The city has a population of 238,300 people, according to the 2010 census.
5. The city’s nickname is “The City Beautiful”. It is also called “O-Town” by some people.
6. Orlando is internationally famous for the Walt Disney Resort, which was founded in 1971, and situated in the Lake Buena Vista area.
7. As well as the Disney Resort, the city also has the Universal Orlando Resort, and Sea World.
I have a home in Orlando. That's kind of my default 'getaway' city.
— Carrot Top8. The city has the most hotels in the USA and the 2nd most hotel rooms (after Las Vegas).
9. Orlando International Airport (MCO) is the 13th busiest airport in the U.S. and the 29th busiest in the world.
10. The city is the county seat of Orange County, which is named after all the citrus groves that used to be common in the area. Before oranges, the area was famous for cattle ranching.
11. The area occupied by Orlando was previously inhabited by the Creek and other Native American tribes.
12. Orlando was previously known as Jernigan, after Aaron Jernigan, the first permanent European settler and didn’t become known as Orlando until 1857.
Once I went to bed in Orlando and I woke up in Atlanta. I have no idea how that happened.
— A. J. McLean13. Famous residents of the city include Beat Generation author, Jack Kerouac, who lived in the College Park neighborhood in the late 1950s and wrote his novel The Dharma Bums there.
Famous People From Orlando
Lance Bass – singer
Carrot Top – comedian
Kerlin Blaise - NFL player
Jack Kerouac – author
John Watts Young – astronaut
Amare Stoudamire- Professional Basketball Player
Wesley Snipes – movie actor and producer
Sean O'Neal - actor
Marshall Warren Nirenberg – biochemist and geneticist
Sally Hogshead - author
14. The city has 71 completed skyscrapers including the Sun Trust Center, which is the tallest building in Central Florida.
15. According to a news report from 2011, an FBI study assesses the city to be the 3rd most dangerous in the USA.
16. The city has the largest Puerto Rican population in Florida and the also the fastest growing.
Being down in Orlando, Florida, where we filmed the movie, I learned how to bass fish. Jerry Reed, who plays the villain in the movie, taught me how to bass fish.
— Henry Winkler17. According to a Pew Research Center study from 2009, Orlando ranks as the 4th most popular city, based on where people want to live.
18. The largest shopping mall in the city is the Florida Mall, which is also one of the biggest single-storey malls in the US, covering an area of 1,849,000 sq ft (171,800 m2).
19. In terms of sports teams, the city has Orlando Magic NBA team, the Orlando Predators Arena Football League team, the Orlando City USL Pro soccer team, and the UCF Knights college athletics teams.
20. Top golfers, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and Mark O'Meara are all from Orlando.
I represent Orlando, Florida, the world's number one vacation destination.
— Ric KellerHave you been to Orlando?
© 2012 Paul Goodman
