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Orlando Attractions
Bus and Van Tours
Guided tours are a good way to make the best use of time in Orlando. Gator Tours, (407) 522-5911 or (800) 537-0917, offers day and overnight narrated tours, with pickup at your lodging.
Spectator Sports
From downtown Orlando to Walt Disney World Resort, fans have several venues to choose from when it comes to the city's various professional sports offerings. Orlando's premier sports arena, T.D. Waterhouse Centre, 600 W. Amelia St., hosts arena football, basketball and hockey games.
Baseball
Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex, Osceola Parkway and Victory Way, is the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves. For game schedules and ticket information phone (407) 939-1500.
Osceola County Stadium, 1000 Bill Beck Blvd. in Kissimmee, is the site of the Houston Astros spring training camp.
Basketball
Orlando basketball enthusiasts root for their home team, the NBA's Orlando Magic. Fans can attend games at T.D. Waterhouse Centre. The city's two colleges also have basketball teams. For schedule and ticket information phone the Orlando Magic, (407) 896-2442; Rollins College, (407) 646-2663, in Winter Park; and the University of Central Florida Arena, (407) 823-6006, in Orlando.
Football
The Florida Citrus Bowl hosts college football games, including the annual Capital One Bowl, the Camp Sports Bowl and home games for the Division I UCF Knights. The city has an arena football team, the Orlando Predators, who were league champions in 1998 and 2000; games are played in the T.D. Waterhouse Centre downtown.
Greyhound Racing
Dog racing is a year-round diversion. Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club, (407) 831-1600, at 301 Dog Track Rd. in Longwood, holds matinee and evening races.
Note: Policies concerning admittance of children to pari-mutuel betting facilities vary. Phone for information.
Hockey
The Florida Seals, members of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League, play in the Kissimmee's Silver Spurs Arena. For schedule and ticket information phone (321) 939-2465.
Jai-Alai
Played in only a few states, jai-alai is one of Orlando's most unusual offerings. The game is similar to handball, except the athletes field the ball not with their bare hands, but with a curved basket worn on one arm. Pari-mutuel betting adds to the excitement of this fast-paced sport at Orlando-Seminole Jai-Alai Fronton, (407) 339-6221, in Fern Park on US 17/92. The live jai-alai season in Orlando is January through March, although the facility is open year-round for televised jai-alai and racing events.
Recreation
Lengthy summers and mild winters create ideal recreation conditions in central Florida year-round, and locals make the most of it. The area's many waterways host a wide variety of activities, and drier pastimes abound as well. Phone the Orange County Parks & Recreation Department 24-Hour Parks InfoLine, (407) 836-6280, for more information.
Shopping
With an influx of tourists from all over the world, Orlando's shopping areas must satisfy a variety of tastes and styles. From high fashion and international selections to famous labels at bargain-hunter prices, Orlando has them. Weather-related items such as lightweight sportswear and swimsuits are stocked all year, and area citrus products are sold at many roadside stands.
Performing Arts
The strength of Orlando's appeal lies mainly with its family-oriented attractions and entertainment. While this is good news for the folks at Disney and Universal, it has detracted some focus from the city's cultural scene. Arts enthusiasts need not despair, though--local arts groups have begun to expand their presence. Theater offers the most varied slate, with dance and music filling in the gaps. As the film industry gains a foothold in the area, it is likely that the fine arts will enjoy even greater success, attracting new artists to practice their crafts in the City Beautiful.
Special Events
On New Year's Day two top college football teams test their skills during the Capital One Bowl Football Classic. A parade and other related activities precede the big game.
In late January the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of Arts and Humanities celebrates the life of the noted interpreter of Southern rural African-American culture. This culture is celebrated further throughout February at varied events during the Black History Month Festival.
Orlando's moderate temperatures are ideal for art festivals. Most popular are the Mount Dora Arts Festival in early February; the Downtown Orlando Arts Festival in early March; the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival on the third weekend in March; and the Maitland Arts & Fine Crafts Festival in mid-April. A pair of Fiesta in the Park celebrations take place in April and November on the shores of Lake Eola.
For 10 days in mid-May, entertainers from around the world converge on downtown Orlando, treating theatergoers to a variety of unusual and cutting edge performances as part of the International Fringe Festival. Later in May more than 200,000 ears of corn are eaten during the Zellwood Sweet Corn Festival, also a showcase for big-name country musicians.
Two PGA golf tournaments are on Orlando's calendar of events. In March the Arnold Palmer Invitational is held at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge, while the Funai Classic at Walt Disney World is held at the Palm and Magnolia courses at Walt Disney World in October.
In early November the Walt Disney World Festival of the Masters is held at Downtown Disney Marketplace. During this 3-day event, major American artists display their works. The city of Winter Park rings in the holiday season with Christmas in the Park, which combines a concert by the Bach Festival Choir and stunning outdoor displays of lighted Tiffany windows on loan from the nearby Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art.
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