here wasn't much to Orlando until a famous little man living in California started buying up property at the city's southwestern edge in the 1960s. That famous man was Walt Disney, and the property he bought became Disney World in 1971. Since then, waterslides, rollercoasters, fairy tale palaces and costumed characters have made Disney World one of the world's most visited tourist attractions.

Before Orlando became an extension of Disney Corp's expansionist dreams, it was known as the 'city built on the peel of an orange.' In other words, citrus was at the turn of the century what mouse ears are today. The citrus boom straddled railroad and real estate booms, but none of these compare to the well-honed tourist boom in full swing today.

Orlando is the fifth-ranking US destination of overseas travelers - after San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles and New York City - and it claims the second highest number of hotel rooms in the US, lagging just behind Las Vegas in the bedroom stakes. The city has also established itself as part of Florida's high-tech corridor, boasting not only the space technology industries focused on the Florida Space Coast (also keen on 'booms'), but a healthy dose of bits and bytes makers as well.

The biggest city in central Florida, Orlando is dominated by Lake Eola in its northeastern downtown quadrant. The most famous downtown icon is Church Street Station, a collection of restaurants, bars and shops located between I-4 and the railroad tracks. Orlando is 4 miles (6km) from Universal Studios; 10 miles (16km) from Sea World; and 20 miles (32km) from Walt Disney World, all located southwest of downtown along International Drive (I-Drive) in an area appropriately known as the Tourist Quarter.

Orlando International Airport is in the far southeastern corner of the city, 9 miles (14km) from downtown. The Greyhound bus station is in the middle of downtown Orlando, off Central Ave; the Amtrak station is 1 mile (1.6km) south of Central. The Lynx Bus Center is one block east of Orange Ave.