Orlando for the Mouse Averse: Seeing the Sights While Avoiding the Traps

One of the cleverer moves on the part of Orlando's municipal tourism bureau was to select a swampy wasteland about fifteen miles away from the city, transform it into a semi-developed strip of condescending kitsch, and tell everyone who happened to wander down it unawares that they had discovered "Orlando." We locals call it International Drive, where most of what typically brings people to Orlando can be found, and so most people spend a lot of time and money there. Then they leave, thinking they have seen everything, feeling vaguely dissatisfied on the drive home.

I'm not saying that the parks aren't fun. If you've never been, they're worth the trip, but know that the crowds will make you sweat to get your money's worth in a single day, especially if you're visiting during the summer or winter months. Beware: you can only ride the teacups so many times. For this reason the typical local goes there rarely. They and more self-aware travelers tend to congregate either in Downtown Orlando (the real one) or in the Maitland/Winter Park region, which make up for their lack of roller-coasting teacups with several traits that are uncommon to the state of Florida: sophistication and not costing a thousand dollars.

Of course, there are other reasons why taking the quieter route in O-Town can be advantageous, especially if you're coming during the fall or winter months. While peak season for the theme parks is summer, the wintertime comes in close second. The weather is more temperate, usually resembling a continental fall, so people come in droves to take advantage of the climate. The "Winter Wonderlands" of Central Florida - Winter Park, Winter Springs, Winter Garden and so on - are so named to attract some of the tourism that Disney and company draw from up north. Despite this, it is rare to find travelers outside of International Drive - a shame, given what the metropolitan and residential areas of Orlando have to offer.

If you are a hip young professional, then Downtown Orlando can be a fun diversion. Lake Eola serves as the epicenter of an array of bars, restaurants and clubs, but also lights up in its own right during the daytime hours with frequent free concerts and festivals in its Social Pavilion. Points of interest include Church Street Station, I-Bar, and The Social for indie rockers, plus Club Antigua for the Santa Monica crowd. Or for a little bit of culture, try the Carr Performing Arts Centre or the Church Street Metro Gallery. Last but not least, you can catch sporting events and big-ticket concerts at the O-rena, home to the Orlando Magic and, once upon a time, the Solar Bears. Adjoining Downtown is College Park, composed mostly of neighborhoods and small shops except for two noteworthy attractions: the Mark Two Dinner Theatre and Orlando Science Center, the latter of which contains four stories of exhibits and a state-of-the-art planetarium.

Maitland/Winter Park is a fashionable and affluent subdivision five to ten minutes northeast of Orlando. Unexplored by most tourists and therefore never crowded, it is a treasure trove of culture and quirk, if you can learn to tolerate the soap-operatic tendencies of its residents. Movie buffs will make a point of visiting The Enzian for the best in independent and avant-garde cinema, but be careful not to neglect smaller venues like Stardust Coffee & Video and Austin's, not to mention Park Avenue, a posh region of shops and a continuous public park that features sculpture, music festivals, and outdoor movie showings. Adjacent to all of this is the Farmer's Market, where small vendors from all around Central Florida meet every Saturday morning to sell their wares and stick it to The Man.

The best part about either of these scenes is that, compared to the theme parks, they are virtually uninhabited by tourists. Most of us will assume that you're from around here, unless you make a point of saying otherwise. Believe it or not, you can find a little bit of home here if you look for it.

So do yourself a favor and step away from the teacups.