USA: Orlando, Florida

March 2026

Although I had visited Disney several times in life (including the Space Coast) using greater-Orlando as a base, the hotels were always far out of downtown. I had never visited the city itself. Given the combination of a better-timed (cheaper) flight from San Juan, a reasonable (but still expensive) hotel, and proximity to Amtrak - I found myself staying for a couple of days in the city.

My first shock upon arriving was the cost of a taxi downtown. It was so expensive I flat out refused, so I decided to take the bus. That meant riding the shuttle train from the Jet Blue terminal to the main terminal and then locating the bus stop. For anyone wanting to do it, it is very easy - just terribly sign-marked (I believe on purpose). I had to keep asking people along the way - something I rarely need to do in my own country. I found the city bus stop and was in luck - one would be departing in about 10 minutes. For $2, a bus dropped me right in front of the hotel. That was very lucky!

The hotel was located next to the huge Orlando Regional Health Center (a massive campus) on a main street (Orange Avenue) with many restaurants and a lot of shopping. The district is called SoDo (south of downtown) - extremely suburban (more like a Los Angeles feel).

Winnie Palmer Building

Just on the other side of the health complex lies Orlando's little Amtrak Station. Church Street Station is downtown, but Amtrak uses the former Atlantic Coastline Station to the south, probably because it can accommodate longer trains more easily (and not tie up traffic as the rail line passes right through town at grade).

Orlando Station, is a train station in Orlando, Florida. It is served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system of the United States, and SunRail, the commuter rail service of Greater Orlando, as well as local and intercity buses. It serves Amtrak's Silver Meteor and Floridian lines. Built in 1926, the historic station is located in Downtown Orlando approximately one mile south of the central business district, near the campus of Orlando Health. Serving 160,442 passengers at last measure in 2013, The station is Amtrak's fifth busiest in the Southeastern United States; it is the second busiest Amtrak station in Florida, behind the Sanford station of the Auto Train. The station was built in 1926 by A.M. Griffin and W. T. Hadlow for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL). The building was designed in the Spanish Mission style.

(Wikipedia)

I found a great brew pub "near" the hotel (everything required a good walk), but after being on a cruise, I needed more exercise anyway. I always like to try local beer when possible and the place didn't disappoint (it was empty at 2pm in the afternoon).

After that, I relaxed back in the room and looked at the map. One thing I never realized about Orlando was that it is built on dozens of lakes! None of them are particularly large, but they provide "waterfront" locations all over the inland city. I went to explore a few later in the day closer to sunset. That really changed my view of Orlando.

If I were to judge Orlando on South Orange Street and the Health Center, I would say it is spread out, modern, and dull. However, a short walk of a few blocks let me discover little neighborhoods connected to lakes. Some of the homes were old, large, and beautiful. Spanish moss festooned trees added a lot of character, too. Those neighborhoods felt much more like the South than "the city of theme parks". The setting sun on the water (many lakes are local parks) was beautiful. A lot of residents were out walking, too. It felt idyllic and very alive.

Clearly, I knew little about Orlando.

The following morning I woke to sunny skies and wanted to visit downtown proper. Orlando's most famous downtown park encircles Lake Eola, so that was my first destination.

On the way I passed some great public art.

The lake and surrounding park are immaculate. Disney built a bandshell (rainbow colors) visible from all over the lake. I was incredibly impressed (except, the number of homeless was sadly staggering).

I came across this sculpture which I wanted to call "mornings before coffee".

Disney bandshell

I stopped for a coffee because it had clouded over (and I needed an energy boost). A light mist started to come down. My good morning weather had changed rapidly (not predicted in the forecast). The weather presaged my mood upon visiting old downtown.

Since it wasn't pouring, I left the cafe to explore more. I passed by the old court building and the square in front of it - now a museum and park. I noted a huge mural, Floral Odyssey, which I thought honored a female astronaut. Not really - just art.

I entered the heart of old downtown (filled with mostly modern buildings) with Church Street Station as my goal. In the 1990s the station and surrounding area were branded as an attraction to convince visitors to spend one more night in Orlando before or after one of the theme parks. These days, the street is almost completely shuttered and desolate. I asked one of the bartenders about it at the brew pub later that day and she said it failed about 20 years ago (even before COVID). She remembered going as a kid with her family - now it was a place of shootings and violence at night. Yikes! Church Street emphasized one overwhelming feeling walking around downtown Orlando: emptiness. On a working day just before noon I was literally the only person on the street everywhere. It was unnerving.

The last place I visited was the massive Dr. Philips Center for the Performing Arts. The building is enormous!

Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center in Downtown Orlando, Florida, United States. It joined the Bob Carr Theater, which originally opened as the Orlando Municipal Auditorium in 1927, to become Orlando's main performance venue. The center's grand opening was held on November 6, 2014. Barton Myers was the design architect with Artec Acoustic Consultants and Theatre Project Consultants co-designing the theaters. HKS Architects was the executive architect in association with Baker Barrios Architects, Inc. The venue was approved along with a new Kia Center and improvements to the Camping World Stadium after a series of hearings and votes, culminating in final votes in the Orange County Board of County Commissioners on July 26, 2007, and the Orlando City Council on August 6, 2007. The design for the new venue was revealed on August 21, 2008. The venue features a 2,700-seat amplified hall, Walt Disney Theater, for Broadway musicals and multi-genre concerts as well as a 300-seat venue, Alexis & Pugh Theater, for smaller shows and events. Steinmetz Hall, the center’s third performance venue, is a 1,700‑seat multiform theater that achieved an N1 acoustic rating. It can be configured as a symphony concert hall, a proscenium theater, or a banquet hall. Construction began on March 6, 2017, and the hall officially opened on January 14, 2022. The final space to debut was Judson’s Live, a cabaret‑style music room for intimate performances, which opened on January 21, 2024.

(Wikipedia)

Apparently, all those people whose homes I saw the previous day need a good place for shows (Disney shows, no less - they had sponsored one of the theatres), so the performing arts complex (with ample parking) was created for Orlando residents to come and enjoy performances (and leave). The building dominates the center of downtown.

My opinion of Orlando oscillated between very good and very bad - repeatedly. I arrived and thought it was a bad travel choice without much to do (with no car). Then I walked around some of its lovely neighborhoods and realized that the city holds beautiful parks and homes of which most people never heard. The visit to downtown Lake Eola was my introduction to the city center's beauty, emptiness, and homeless problem - but I still liked the lake and surrounding park. The real downtown, however, hit me hard. Orlando's center is not "rotting", it is just self-contained behind the panes of glass of modern buildings. People aren't out on the streets at all - downtown is for work (or a show), nothing more. The entire city is automobile based.

I wonder how much Orlando points to the future of mid-sized American cities. Even LA feels more "real" than downtown Orlando. For me it begs the question - do we even need cities any more?