Travel

Tony Clayton-Lea shows Orlando, Florida is the place to be for non-stop fun.

Orlando

Orlando might not seem an obvious destination to visit when you consider all the other major US cities that are within striking distance from Ireland. But seeing as it's at the geographic centre of Florida, surrounded by beaches and lakes and blessed with exceptional weather, you'd have to start thinking 'why not?' as opposed to 'why?'

It is best known for being hometo Walt Disney World and other theme parks, such as Universal Studios and SeaWorld. As the truly massive Disney area isn't even inside Orlando city limits there is clearly something else at play here. When you take into account that most of the attractions - fine though they are in their own right, with Disney and Universal in particular being reasons enough to book your flight - have little or no connection to the city's historic downtown area, natural lakefronts, leafy parks and dapper, brick-lined streets you slowly come to realise that there is life beyond Mickey, Goofy and Donald.

Orlando, then, as an area in which to get your thrill ride, theme park and outlet shopping kicks, is beyond reproach, yet the other Orlando as outlined above is a place that is regularly overlooked. But then, up until over 40 years ago, overlooked was an understatement.

Before Walt Disney came along and changed its local landscape forever, Orlando was merely a hub for Florida's citrus industry. It was a place that hardly registered on the travel schedules of Americans let alone international visitors.

When Disney World opened in 1971, the influx of tourists began, changing the regional capital forever. Today, Orlando, Florida, contains six out of the top 10 theme park attractions in the US. Here's a telling statistic: in 1970, tourist numbers for the Orlando region were more than 600,000. In 2005 the numbers topped 50 million.

There are very few reasons other than fun as to why people travel here. If you seek culture, history or urbane true Orlando, away from thrill-ride screams, then they are here. But what people come to Orlando for, and what they get in buckets and spades, is fun - there's nothing here to shake the brain. Except, that is, when you take your life into your hands and try one of the many thrill rides. Yet even with that, there's little to tax the mind. You'll arrive in Orlando reasonably tired, we can safely bet, yet exhilarated by the thought of not having to worry too much about having a great time. You'll leave Orlando, we can virtually guarantee, totally exhausted, wondering what you're going to see and experience on your next visit.

Aer Lingus operates direct flights to Orlando from October 27th. For further details visit www.aerlingus.com.