A new photo in the Disney Dreams Portrait Series by Annie Leibovitz was released today. In addition to the photo, a “behind-the-scenes” video was also made available.

The video can be found on PRNewswire.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Looking back on the history of Central Florida, there are a few common threads. American Indians, the growth of the citrus industry, the great freeze of 1894-1895, the two World Wars and the explosion of the tourist industry all shaped the area into the towns and cities we know today. But while there are many commonalities, no two places are exactly alike. Many of these unique details are quite interesting.

For example, after the civil war, the area around Kissimmee was included in a purchase of four million acres by Hamilton Disston, the owner of Disston Saw Company in Philadelphia, for the sale price of $1 million (25 cents an acre). Prior to Apopka’s incorporation in 1882, the Freemasons constructed The Lodge, which was completed in 1859 as the home to Orlando Lodge #36 (where it still stands today). Dr. Phillips, an unincorporated suburb of Orlando, was named after citrus magnate Dr. Phillip Phillips, who owned orange groves that stretched across 9 counties in the early 20th century.

To make it easy, here are links to the histories of the areas around Central Florida. The Winter Park site is especially detailed, and the history of Conway includes some letters written by the daughter of one of Orlando’s earliest settlers.

• History of Orlando (City of Orlando)
• History of Orlando (Orlando: A Visual History)
• History of Winter Park
• History of Apopka
• History of Ocoee
• History of Winter Garden
• History of Dr. Phillips
• History of Kissimmee
• History of Oviedo
• History of Conway
• History of Casselberry
• History of Lake Mary
• History of Sanford (Sanford Historical Society)

Popularity: 8% [?]

On Saturday, my wife and I spent a full 8 hours out at SeaWorld, taking in the stingrays, dolphins, manatees, sea lions, sharks, and, of course, whales. We even managed to see 3 shows (Blue Horizons, Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island, and Shamu Rocks!) and ride two rides (Kraken and Wild Arctic). While the park was busy, I was amazed that we didn’t have to deal with many crowds (other than after the Shamu Rocks! show).

Whenever I visit a theme park, I find myself putting together a mental list of things that the park does well and another of what could be improved. Here are my lists from yesterday …

Things SeaWorld does well
- The animals and show performers are always on their “A” game
- Animal education is a top priority
- New shows sacrifice animal “face-time” for better entertainment
- Excellent variety of food selections

Things SeaWorld could improve upon
- Too many employees don’t care about the guest experience
- Second-class attractions are treated as an after thought

Just to expand on these “areas of improvement”, of the 10 or so non-performing, non-educational employees we interacted with, only 2 of them seemed to care about their job. The team members at Kraken were involved in a non guest-related dispute of sorts, making for a very inefficient load-unload of the park’s best attraction.

The “second-class” attractions I’m speaking of are “Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island” and “Wild Arctic”. The performance of “Clyde and Seamore” seemed more like a pre-hours rehearsal, with the cast members joking around and improvising on an already poor script. “Wild Arctic” was abysmal, as the entire pre-show was skipped and the overview/security film was presented in a “let’s just get this over with” manner. The ride was then interrupted mid-way through with the end-of-show security message about waiting for the doors to open before unbuckling our seat belts.

With all of that said, I still think SeaWorld does an excellent job of providing a fantastic overall guest experience and it’s a park that I always enjoy visiting. I’m really excited to see how their newly announced thrill ride comes together and am also looking forward to my first visit to Aquatica.

For some pictures of SeaWorld, check the out the newly updated photo gallery.

Popularity: 9% [?]

If you missed out on the Great Public Art Challenge, here’s a video that has been posted on YouTube. Below the video is a press release regarding the event.

Last Saturday, April 12, downtown professionals, young urban dwellers, families and art enthusiasts gathered together to participate in The Great Public Art Challenge. The event was hosted by Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs office and gave the community the opportunity to enjoy some of the public art in downtown Orlando.

Participants met outside of the Orange County Administration Center next to the Leaper statue, one of Central Florida’s more famous pieces of public art. The event was kicked-off by Orange County’s Arts & Cultural Affairs Director Terry Olson and Orange County Commissioner Bill Segal. Both spoke about the benefits of public art and encouraged participants to take time to enjoy other art throughout Orange County.

Participants were given two hours to search downtown Orlando for seven pieces of public art. A map was provided with clues, each leading to a different piece of art.

Every art location included a different challenge that required participants to perform various art-related tasks, including reciting Shakespeare to drawing sidewalk chalk art outside of Orlando City Hall.

At the end, participants gathered near the Leaper statue and waited to hear their name called for the chance to win one of the many donated prizes being given away. The prizes included hotel stays, free entertainment tickets and restaurant gift certificates, and the grand prize was a package for two that included tickets to SeaWorld, a custom carved piece of art from SeaWorld, a one-night stay at the Grand Bohemian Hotel and a gift certificate to Orlando’s Citrus Restaurant.
“My goal is to have people leave this event with a better understanding of public art and become more aware of all the public art that surrounds them,” said Olson.

After the fun ended, participants walked away covered in paint, chalk and sweat laughing about the challenges they faced during their journey. But, most importantly they all walked away with a better appreciation and understanding of public art.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Have you ever heard of the Red Chair Project?

If you don’t live in Orlando, probably not. And even if you do, it’s not very likely.

The Red Chair Project is a public service designed to increase participation in the Central Florida arts and cultural community by providing methods to increase ticket sales, increase arts education opportunities and promote arts and cultural philanthropy. They’re basically an agent of change, putting culture in the minds of people that may not realize all of the opportunities that Orlando has to offer.

In our second look into the “America’s Favorite Cities” survey, we’re going to take a closer look at Orlando’s cultural side. Like the Red Chair Project, we’re hear to tell you that there’s a lot more to Orlando than theme parks, outlet malls and chain restaurants.

Previous articles:
Is Orlando America’s Favorite City?
Orlando Food / Dining

Classical music
The two best options for classical music in Orlando are the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bach Festival Society. Featuring more than 80 professional musicians from around the globe, the Orlando Philharmonic appears in more than 115 performances each year. Their flagship series, Phil at Carr, brings classical compositions by Mozart, Verdi, Berlioz and Gershwin to the downtown performing arts center.

The Bach Festival Society is Central Florida’s oldest operating performing arts organization. Since its inception in 1935, the Society has expanded its offerings to include the annual Winter Park Bach Festival, Visiting Artist Concert Series, Choral Masterworks Concert Series, Fred Rogers Family Series, and a variety of educational and community outreach programs to encourage youth participation in music at all levels. Unlike the Orlando Philharmonic, the Bach Festival’s performances are held in Winter Park, on the campus of Rollins College.

In addition these world-class organizations, programs like the Young Composer’s Challenge ensure that the future of Orlando’s classical music scene will only get better.
My rating: 3

Live music / bands
Live music can be heard at numerous clubs and bars throughout the Orlando area. Most notably, the Social in downtown Orlando has been bringing in major bands and underground rock artists for a number of years. In addition to these smaller locations, Orlando regularly hosts top artists at the major performance venues around town. Bruce Springsteen, Tim McGraw and P. Diddy are just a few of headliners with an upcoming concert.

As for local bands, Orlando used to be home to many pop groups and artists, although those days have long passed by. I’m sure there’s still a number of great local bands, but I’ll need the readers of Living Orlando to help me identify the best.
My rating: 3

Theater
If I only had space to list the number of local theaters around town. There’s the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Orlando Repertory Theater, Mad Cow Theater and Winter Park Playhouse, just to name the easy ones. For the past 17 years, the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival has offered uncensored, accessible theatre, music, dance, art and madness to all types and ages.

To top it all off, the Broadway Across America Tour brings broadway shows to the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre. This year’s tour featured Wicked, Monty Python’s Spamalot and Jesus Christ Superstar. I should also probably mention the live entertainment available out at the theme parks. This is especially true for the world-class entertainment that can be found at Disney.
My rating:4

Museums / galleries
Big museums are not the norm in Orlando. Even the Orlando Museum of Art is relatively small compared to museums in other major cities. What Orlando lacks in size, it more than makes up for in number. Little museums are peppered all over greater Orlando. For example, the Museum of Florida Art in DeLand has hosted exhibitions such as Ansel Adams, Icons of the Twentieth Century: Portraits by Yousuf Karsh, The Spirit of Africa, Audubon in Florida, and Audubon Treasures, and It’s a Dog’s Life: Photographs by William Wegman from the Polaroid Corporation.

My favorite museum in Orlando is the Orange County Regional History Center (the “History Center”). Just take a look at this recent post on the Toys and Video games exhibits, for example.
My rating: 3

Historical sites / monuments
There are 38 listings on the National Register of Historic Places in Orange County. Among the more famous of these are Knowles Memorial Chapel on the Rollins campus, Dr. Phillips House in downtown Orlando and Tinker Field next to the Citrus Bowl. Not exactly the Statue of Liberty or the Golden Gate Bridge, but we do have Cinderella’s Castle.
My rating: 2

Popularity: 10% [?]

Today, I’m going to dive into the first category of the “America’s Favorite Cities” survey. As I mentioned yesterday, I’m hoping to help pull Orlando out of the bottom ranks in categories other than “family vacation” and “weather”. In that goal, there’s no better place to start than today’s category, “Food / Dining”.

Destination restaurants
Big-name restaurants can be found all over Orlando. One of my favorite high-density areas is “Restaurant Row” in Dr. Phillips, which features Roy’s, Seasons 52, Ruth’s Chris, Mortons, Timpano, Bonefish Grill, Christini’s and numerous others. You could also head over to Pointe Orlando on International Drive, downtown Winter Park, downtown Orlando, most of the theme park resorts and resort hotels to find a potentially award-winning restaurant. We’ve even got celebrity chefs like Emeril Lagasse (Tchoup Chop and Emeril’s), Todd English (Bluezoo) and Roy Yamaguchi (Roy’s) bringing their culinary mastery to town.

In addition to these high-end options, we’ve also got themed restaurants like Rainforest Cafe, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., NBA City, Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood that are so much fun. Basically, there’s “must visit” restaurant for every cuisine and every personality on the planet.
My rating: 5 (out of 5)

Ethnic food / cheap eats
Orlando’s got a pretty good mix of ethnic cuisines. Some of the better options include Vietnemese, Thai, Indian, Italian and Mexican. My favorite Thai restaurant, Red Bamboo, is a surprisingly quiet little place on the corner of Kirkman and International Drive. For mexican, try Taquito’s Jalisco in Winter Garden or Metrowest. Some great ideas can always be found in the Orlando Sentinel’s yearly “Foodie Awards”.

When it comes to cheap eats in Orlando, finding uniquely good food can be tough. My favorite chain restaurant is Panera Bread and the tex-mex stops like Tijuana Flats are great, too. As for independently owned restaurants, Johnny’s Fillin’ Station has the best burgers in town and Lee & Rick’s can’t be beat for oyster lovers.
My rating: 3

Cafe’s / coffee bars
I’m not a coffee drinker, so I can’t comment too definitively on Orlando’s coffee bar scene. There are, however, a great number of Starbucks, Volcano’s and independent coffee spots around town that always seem to be busy. More interesting to me are all of the wine bars, with The Wine Room in Winter Park being my favorite for a relaxing glass of red.

I’m not sure if they’re true cafes, but Press 101, Toojay’s and Yellow Dog Eats provide that relaxing, informal environment that everyone enjoys. The ultimate cafe in Orlando is The Dessert Lady, near the intersection of Kirkman and Conroy. The Zuccotto cake with its chocolate and raspberry is to die for.
My rating: 3

Farmer’s and specialty food markets
As far as I know, there are only three consistent farmer’s markets in Orlando - Winter Park Farmer’s Market, Orlando Farmer’s Market at Lake Eola and the Farmer’s Market of Downtown Kissimmee. There may be others that operate more like everyday grocery stores, but not many.

The specialty food stores I’ve seen tend to focus on Latin American flavors, and places like World Market offer a tiny selection of items for Indian and Chinese cuisine. Orlando does have a handful of The Fresh Market and Whole Foods stores, but they’re hardly in every town. The most recent addition to this category is the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, of which there are four in the greater Orlando area.
My rating: 2

Overall, the food scene in Orlando is above average, but not unique enough to beat out cities like New York, Chicago and New Orleans. We could use a few more locally-based restaurants and a clearer identity of the food that defines our city. To be sure, we are leap years better than the Orlando I grew up in 20 years ago.

Popularity: 9% [?]