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Orlando
City Information
Orlando is a major city in central Florida, USA and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida. It is also the principal city of Greater Orlando. The Orlando-Kissimmee MSA is Florida's third-largest metropolitan area, behind Miami and Tampa. Orlando is also home to the University of Central Florida, which is the second largest university in Florida in student enrollment and has the 6th largest enrollment in the nation.The city is well known for the many tourist attractions in the area, in particular the nearby Walt Disney World Resort, which is located in Lake Buena Vista about 20 miles (32 km) south of Orlando city limits via Interstate 4. Other notable area attractions include SeaWorld and Universal Orlando Resort. The region sees an estimated 52 million tourists a year. Orlando has the second largest number of hotel rooms in the country (after Las Vegas, Nevada), and is one of the busiest American cities for conferences and conventions with the Orange County Convention Center, the country's second largest in square footage. It is also known for its wide array of golf courses, with numerous courses available for any level of golfer. Despite being several miles away from the main tourist attractions, Downtown Orlando is undergoing major redevelopment with a number of residential and commercial towers. TOP
Climate
Orlando has a warm and humid subtropical climate, and there are two major seasons each year. One of those seasons is hot and rainy, lasting from May until October (roughly coinciding with the Atlantic hurricane season). The other is a cooler season (November through March) that brings more moderate temperatures and less frequent rainfall. The area's warm and humid climate is caused primarily by its low elevation and its position relatively close to the Tropic of Cancer, and much of its weather is affected by the movement of the Gulf Stream.During the height of Orlando's very humid summer season, temperatures rarely fall below 70 °F (21 °C), and daytime highs average in the 90s (32-37 °C). Although the city rarely records temperatures over 100 °F (38 °C), extreme humidity can push the heat index to over 110 °F (45 °C). The city's highest recorded temperature is 101 °F (39 °C), set July 2, 1998. During these months, strong afternoon thunderstorms occur almost daily. These storms are caused by air masses from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean colliding over Central Florida. They are highlighted by intense lightning and can also bring heavy rainfall (sometimes several inches per hour) and powerful winds as well as occasional damaging hail.
During the winter season, humidity is lower and temperatures are more moderate, and can fluctuate more readily. Average nighttime lows in January are around 50 °F (10 °C), and average daytime highs are about 72 °F (22 °C). Temperatures rarely reach below 32 °F (0 °C), though the city can drop below freezing once or twice a year. Because the winter season is dry and most freezing temperatures occur after cold fronts (and their accompanying precipitation) have passed, Orlando experiences no significant snowfall (no measurable snow has fallen since recording began at the airport in 1948). Very rarely the ingredients come together for flurries to occur, commonly ocean effect snow. The area west of Orlando recorded up to 2" in 1977, and reports of flurries in the Central Florida area include December 23, 1989 and January 24, 2003.
The average annual rainfall in Orlando is 50.1 in. (128 cm), most of it occurring in the period from June to September. The months of December through May are Orlando's driest season. During this period (especially in its later months), there is often a wildfire hazard. During some years, fires have been severe. In 1998, an El Niño condition caused a usually wet January and February, followed by drought throughout the spring and early summer, causing a record wildfire season that created numerous air quality alerts in Orlando.
Orlando has a considerable hurricane risk, although it is not as high as it is in South Florida's urban corridor or other coastal regions. Since the city is located 42 miles (68 km) inland from the Atlantic and 77 miles (124 km) inland from the Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes usually weaken before arriving. Storm surges are not a concern since the region is 100 ft (30 m) above sea level. Despite its location, the city does see strong hurricanes. During the notorious 2004 hurricane season, Orlando was hit by three hurricanes that caused significant damage, with Hurricane Charley the worst of these. The city also experienced widespread damage during Hurricane Donna in 1960. TOP
Entertainment and Performing Arts
The hip hop music scene, metal scene, rock music scene, Reggaeton and Latino scene, are all active within the city, which is largely home to the Florida Breakbeat movement. Orlando has also been called Hollywood East because of numerous cinematic enterprises in the area.The Universal Studios Globe
Until recently, Walt Disney Feature Animation operated a studio out of Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort. Feature Animation-Florida was primarily responsible for the films Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and the early stages of Brother Bear and contributed on various other projects. Universal Studios's Soundstage 21 is home to The TNA Impact Zone, but Nickelodeon Studios, which through the 90s produced hundreds of hours of GAK-filled game shows targeted at children, no longer operates out of Universal Studios Florida. The Florida Film Festival in nearby Maitland is one of the most respected regional film festivals in the country and attracts budding filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the implosion of Orlando's previous City Hall was filmed for the movie Lethal Weapon 3. Orlando's indie film scene has been picking back up since Haxan Film's The Blair Witch Project (1999) and a few years later with Charlize Theron winning her Academy Award for Monster (2003). A Florida state film incentive has also helped increase the amount of films being produced in Orlando and the rest of the state.
The Orlando Metropolitan Area is also home to a substantial theatre population. Several professional and semi-professional houses and many community theaters dot the area including Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Repertory Theatre (Central Florida's only Professional Theatre for Young Audiences), Orlando Theatre Project, Starlight Dinner Theatre, Mad Cow Theatre, Theatre Downtown, The Osceola Center for the Arts, Winter Park Playhouse, Theatre Winter Haven, IceHouse Theatre, and Seaside Music Theatre. Orlando also hosts the Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival every summer. Disney also a cast theater company known as S.T.A.G.E. as well as Encore, a cast choir and orchestra whose annual charity concerts have raised thousands of dollars. In addition, the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center brings national tours through town on a regular basis. Each spring, local theaters and downtown venues play host to the Orlando International Fringe Festival, which draws touring companies from all around the world as well as readings and fully staged productions of new and unknown plays by local artists. Also in the spring, Darden Restaurants sponsors a Festival of New Plays, hosted by Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival.
Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort.
Orlando's Culture Coast consists of Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach and includes many cultural attractions including the Museum of Arts and Sciences, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Southeast Museum of Photography, Ormond Beach Art Museum, plus numerous galleries and shops located in the quaint downtown districts of Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach and New Smyrna Beach. This area really is like Orlando's cultural district on the beach. TOP
