Welcome to Orlando!
Orlando deserves its reputation as the theme park capital of the world. The Greater Orlando area teems with an energetic spirit that almost never slows, and with an estimated 52 million visitors a year, how could it? Of course, many of those tourists are coming for the two pillars that gift the area its reputation: Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando (though Disney is not within the Orlando city limits). But Orlando holds a lot to offer besides those two amusement meccas. Of course, the International Drive area near Universal contains a multitude of independent attractions and smaller theme parks as well as hotels and restaurants galore. Beyond that, however, lies much to be explored. Expansive areas of untouched wilderness, world-class museums, and theaters, and unique dining and nightlife downtown are a few of the things that await the traveler who ventures outside of the constructed worlds of the theme parks.
At the center of the state of Florida, in Orange County, Orlando is about an hour from each coast. The majority of the area attractions are southwest of the city, in Lake Buena Vista (where Disney World is), Kissimmee, Bay Lake, Celebration, and other nearby communities.
Orlando is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released in July 2017, making it the 23rd-largest metropolitan area in the United States, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the third-largest metropolitan area in Florida behind Miami and Tampa. Orlando had a population of 307,573 in the 2020 census, making it the 67th-largest city in the United States, the fourth-largest city in Florida, and the state's largest inland city.
The City of Orlando is nicknamed "the City Beautiful", and its symbol is the Linton E. Allen Memorial Fountain, commonly referred to as simply the "Lake Eola fountain" at Lake Eola Park. The Orlando International Airport (MCO) is the 13th-busiest airport in the United States and the 29th-busiest in the world. Orlando is one of the most-visited cities in the world primarily due to tourism, major events, and convention traffic, in 2018, the city drew more than 75 million visitors. The two largest and most internationally renowned tourist attractions in the Orlando area are the Walt Disney World Resort, opened by the Walt Disney Company in 1971, and located about 21 miles (34 km) southwest of downtown Orlando in Bay Lake, and the Universal Orlando Resort, opened in 1990 as a major expansion of Universal Studios Florida and the only theme park inside Orlando city limits.
With the exception of the theme parks, most major cultural sites like the Orlando Museum of Art and Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and world-renowned nightlife, bars and clubs are located in Downtown Orlando while most attractions are located along International Drive like the Wheel at ICON Park Orlando. The city is also one of the busiest American cities for conferences and conventions, the Orange County Convention Center is the second-largest convention facility in the United States.
Like other major cities in the Sun Belt, Orlando grew rapidly from the 1970s into the first decade of the 21st century. Orlando is home to the University of Central Florida, which is the largest university campus in the United States in terms of enrollment as of 2015. In 2010, Orlando was listed as a "Gamma +" level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.