11 Surprising Facts About Orlando

Posted on by Aspen Woolf

When you think of Orlando, Florida, you’ll probably have a picture in your mind of a sun-drenched tourist haven packed with theme parks and attractions. While this is certainly the case, there are one or two other things that you may not know about The City Beautiful. Let’s take a look at some

1. Disney World isn’t in Orlando!

Wait a minute – are you sure? Yep, despite many people thinking to the contrary – largely thanks to spurious marketing claims – the theme park Disney World is actually in Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake, not Orlando itself.

2. The old City Hall was a movie star

Orlando’s previous city hall was featured in the blockbuster Lethal Weapon 3 – where it was demolished! City planners needed to make way for the new City Hall so they thought they may as well make use of the demolition while they did so. Who knew!

3. Orlando wasn’t always Orlando

Back in the mid-1800s, a settler by the name of Aaron Jernigan decided to put down some roots here and gave the area the name of, what else, Jernigan.

4. All you can eat

Orlando has more than its fair share of restaurants. Actually, it has so many that you could eat out at a different establishment three times a day for a whole year and you’d still need a further five years to visit them all! Choice is not a problem in Orlando.

5. Orlando lies right in the middle of Florida

Orlando lies at the geographical heart of the state of Florida, right at its centre. It can be found at the crossroads of State Road 408 and Interstate 4.

6. Hotel rooms aplenty

Orlando has lots of places to stay if you decide to visit. In fact, the city has the second most hotel rooms in the whole of the United States, being beaten to the top spot only by Las Vegas.

7. It’s where waterparks were born

Wet n´Wild was the world’s first ever waterpark when it opened its gates back in 1977. Not only that, it’s also one of the few waterparks across the world that is able to stay open 365 days a year thanks to the amazing climate in Orlando.

8. It’s home to a mighty Marriott

Hotel giant Marriott chose Orlando as the city in which to build their largest ever hotel – an astonishing 2,000-room behemoth.

9. Orlando has the largest Tiffany glass collection in the world

If it’s a more cultural fact you’re after, then the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art will gladly oblige. This museum is home to the largest collection of Tiffany glass on the planet, well worth a visit if you are in the city.

10. Orlando has over 100 lakes

Orlando is essentially swampland and the flat terrain holds over 100 lakes within the city’s borders. The largest of these is Lake Apopka which is fed by a natural spring and flows into the Apopka-Beauclair Canal. The bedrock in Orlando is very porous and the area is extremely susceptible to sinkholes. In fact, Lake Eola, in downtown Orlando, is actually just an enormous sinkhole, stretching down to around 80 feet at its deepest point.

11. It takes over two months to see it all

There’s no shortage of fun things to do in Orlando. Actually, according to a recent study, it’d take the average traveller 67 days to take everything in!

As you can see, not only is Orlando a fantastic, family-friendly, and fun vacation destination, it’s also got quite a few surprising facts, too. Residents love life here and it was recently voted as one of the top 100 cities to live in by livability.com. So, if you are thinking about spending time here, or maybe even buying property, you certainly won’t be disappointed.