What city am I in?
I'll give you two hints:
It starts with an "O" and it ends with an "O."
[laughs]
Do you know where-where-where Orlando is?
-If not, watch this video.
[music]
-Hello from Florida, new home for us.
In this video, I'm going to give you a detailed overview of Orlando.
I've been coming here since the 1990s
when I was still very young,
and we love this place so much.
So much so that we realized that when we're not traveling the world,
this is where we wanna be.
So from now on, you can expect more videos here from Florida
in between the various countries.
Orlando is the top tourist destination in the entire United States.
Not now, now everything is pretty quiet,
almost no tourists here.
But normally, it's not like this.
Only last year, 75 million people came here,
and this is more than New York, LA, and Miami.
You're probably imagining that there's a lot to do here,
and you're right, don't travel to Orlando without planning.
That's why I'm here creating this video.
I'll help you understand and get familiar with the city.
You'll see how everything will start making sense.
-Stop. There's a gator.
There's a gator.
-You're kidding me? -No.
If you're new here to this channel, nice to meet you.
I'm Renata. I'm a journalist.
And I create travel videos here on YouTube
together with my husband, Gordon, who can be a character sometimes.
[laughs]
What character?
Well, people say that you don't speak much or that you're funny.
[laughs]
What do people call you sometimes?
Dr. Brown? -Doc.
-Doc. Brown. -People are creative.
We publish new videos every single week and we'd love to see you back here.
So activate the notifications to know when we have a new video.
Whenever we publish, we're always online answering questions.
If you have a question for us, even if it's related to a previous video,
it's the best moment to catch us.
Now, let's talk about parks.
Here, this is the reason why so many people come here to Orlando.
Orlando is the theme park capital of the world.
I see many people saying that when they come here,
they want to see all the theme parks.
But actually, there are about 15 major theme parks and water parks
in this entire region here.
Not counting the smaller amusement parks,
it is really a lot.
And you have to make some choices,
you can't see everything there is to see in one trip.
Okay, baby, explain to me all this here. What do you see?
-A big green splotch.
-Yes, which is Disney.
-Where is Mickey and Minnie?
-They're right here, Magic Kingdom.
-I don't see them. -[laughs]
But you can also see them in different parks.
So Epcot is right here, Hollywood Studios,
Animal Kingdom.
This is Disney,
all the four theme parks and the two water parks.
You see Disney's Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon are here, too.
And this is Disney Springs.
Oh, this is huge.
You look at the map like this, it looks like everything is close,
you can simply walk from one place to the other,
you can't, forget it.
We're gonna drive there and you'll see.
Next, Universal.
And here, all the three Universal parks.
You got Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure,
and Volcano Bay.
They are all in the same area as well.
Just like Disney, it's enormous.
Universal is more centrally located compared to other attractions
and compared to the city of Orlando itself.
Disney is really more towards the edge of the city.
And the other theme park here, SeaWorld with Discovery Cove and Aquatica.
They're promoting Aquatica here as the number one water park in Orlando.
Interesting. I don't know this one yet.
All SeaWorld parks are also in the same region.
Well, guess what, I'm the map person today,
and I got another one.
So this is to explain that there is one main freeway in Orlando.
It's the I-4, this one.
-International Drive, the red.
-Yes. You know it all, huh?
-Disney is here.
-No, Disney is more over here. -Universal is up here.
-And SeaWorld. -SeaWorld is right here.
-You're good. You're getting good.
-I'll be the map person.
[laughs]
Yeah, Gordon is right.
These are two main guides - if you'd say like this - in Orlando.
A lot of the attractions here are located along this corridor.
You see the I-4,
almost in parallel with International Drive, the red.
I got an entire video on International Drive
showing it in details,
and I'm linking it here if you want to see more.
Oh, the upside-down house.
I found another map here that will give you even a better idea
of everything that I'm talking about.
So this is Orlando, the entire region of Orlando.
Downtown is here somewhere.
All the main attractions are located from here
to the south.
More towards like southwest.
So you got Universal Studio , SeaWorld,
everything very close and along the I-4 and International Drive.
And all this is Disney.
Look at how big this is.
And the airport is right here, opposite side.
Along here, this is a great place for you to stay.
If you want to enjoy a mix of parks, do some shopping,
there are shopping malls here, too,
two outlet malls: one in the beginning and another one in the end.
So if you want to do a little bit of everything,
it's a great place to stay.
But if you're here for Disney specifically,
stay towards the south because you're closer.
Also, if you're in the south here of Orlando,
you see Orlando here,
this area around Kissimmee, this is the south.
It's also closer if you want to visit other theme parks in the region
like Legoland,
which is right here, Winter Haven,
and Busch Gardens, it's in Tampa right here.
So see? It will be closer.
And a drive between Orlando and Tampa, Busch Gardens,
is about 90 minutes.
Renata, it's an alligator
-Alligator, no. -No, it's coming.
-No. You're kidding me. No, no.
-No, I'm serious. Right there, you see it moved?
Oh, yeah, it is alligator right there.
-Should I get my... -Yes, yes.
There are alligators here in Florida.
Holy baby.
-It was like the Loch Ness monster
crossing the water.
-No, it is not that big. -It looked like it.
-Seriously, here in Florida, you really got to be careful
when you're close to a lake like this.
There are lakes everywhere and gators everywhere.
-It was like a horror film.
I saw it coming.
[music]
-We're now gonna drive from south to north here in the Orlando area,
to show you in detail everything that I just mentioned.
We were in an area called Celebration.
It's a charming community planned by Disney to look like Disney.
And people can live there. It is so cool.
And talking about Disney, that's where we're headed now.
That's Mickey, baby.
-Not Minnie?
-Not Minnie. That's Mickey.
[laughs]
Have you ever imagined seeing Disney this empty?
-No. -It's incredible, right?
And the parks are already open.
Everything is really spread out here.
See, just to go from one place to another, that should be very close,
but look at the...
That's all right. You like being at Disney, right?
-Yes. -Yay!
[chuckles]
Unfortunately when you drive, this is all you see.
You don't see the parks
There's no street parking here either, just so that you know.
Look at the gondola, baby, the new transport system here.
That's so cool, huh? -Yeah.
It might be nice to come to Disney by gondola.
Also good that you have a nice view of the parks
from high up there.
So...
Good to know the gondolas are working normally.
Skyliner is working normally.
Want to come to Disney by gondola?
-Yeah -Yeah, yeah?
Do you know what we need? -I don't know.
A ticket. -We need to be at a Disney Resort.
[laughs]
But actually anyone can go for a gondola ride.
Right now, it's complicated with the pandemic.
You need to be in one of the four resorts that have the Skyliner service
or you need a reservation for one of the restaurants.
But when all this is over, it'll be much easier for anyone
to just go for a gondola ride if you want.
[music]
We're now on our way to International Drive,
the most touristy area in Orlando.
[music]
Even the Visitor Center is closed.
Look at that.
Not much is open here on I-Drive.
[music]
Free parking. This is what we like, right?
-Yes. -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-Also I like free burgers, free pop...
-Except that you don't get that.
[laughs]
-Anything with "free".
-Anything with "free", yeah.
This is Icon Park, a nice entertainment area here.
It's where you got the Ferris wheel.
There's that other ride over there, too.
Lots of restaurants.
It's a nice option for the day you don't want to go to a theme park.
I have another video here where I went for a ride.
It is really cool.
Here inside, in addition to the entrance to the Ferris wheel,
you got the aquarium, SeaLife,
and also Madame Tussauds.
Things are open here.
It's quiet still, right?
-No one around. -No one around, yeah.
Now, take a closer look at the Florida map right here
And where Orlando is located specifically.
Right here. You see? Right in the middle,
Central Florida.
What does that mean?
We're very close to both coasts of the state,
and you can easily spend a day at the beach.
The closest is Cocoa Beach.
It's about an hour from Orlando.
If you look at the map, right here, very close.
Actually, this entire coast here is known as Space Coast.
Why? Because that's where Cape Canaveral is located.
You can even see rocket launches from there
like we did in a previous trip.
[crowd cheering]
And you can combine a visit to the area with a visit to Kennedy Space Center.
If you're into NASA and space things,
this is absolutely a must.
And, of course, don't forget the other side of Florida.
If you drive an hour and a half to two hours,
you arrive at the west coast here,
and you can see the beach that is considered
the number one beach in the entire United States.
Clearwater, it's right there.
And, again, you can combine a visit to this area
with a visit to Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay.
If you're into roller coasters, that's your itinerary.
There are many other nice beaches here on both coasts in Florida.
I'm actually planning to do another video here showing these beaches.
Let me know if you'd like.
How does the heat here compare to Southeast Asia?
-It's hotter there.
-Hotter there? -Yeah.
I think it's more humid there.
-It's humid here, too. Hot is hot.
-Hot is hot. [laughs]
-Hot is hot. -Hot is hot, yeah.
But here, it's not this hot all year round.
It is just really, really bad for three, four months during summer.
For the rest of the year, it should be comfortable.
-It's not bad, it's just hot. -It is just hot.
-You need water, you need shade. That's all.
-And you need to get used to. -Yeah.
-Smile. -I am.
[laughs]
Universal Studios.
Universal is more centrally located compared to Disney.
Oh, this here, this is Volcano Bay,
the water park.
Here's an outlet mall, very close to Universal.
Orlando Premium Outlets.
We're now arriving Downtown Orlando.
And if you're a sports fan, you might want to stay in this area here.
Look at that, that's Amway Center,
home to Orlando Magic, NBA team.
But they're not playing here, right?
Right now. -No.
-They're playing at ESPN...
-Wide World of Sports. -Wide World of Sports
Yes, that's their home.
They also have arena football over there,
ice hockey.
-Ice hockey, baby.
-Really? -It's for you, yeah.
All NBA matches are happening right here in Orlando.
It's a shame that no one can go see,
you know? Only TV.
And here is the stadium, Exploria Stadium.
Downtown is just 15 minutes from Universal.
What are the two soccer teams here in Orlando?
Let's see if you know.
-Orlando Orange
-Orlando City. -Orlando Gators.
-No. [laughs]
Orlando City and Orlando Pride.
-They have two teams? -Yes.
-For what? -Men and women.
[music]
Lake Eola!
This is a really nice park here
for you to exercise, relax.
And that's about how far most tourists will fo in Orlando
I mean, if they even visit downtown
[music]
As I explained before, all the most famous attractions
are located south of downtown, right?
More like southwest of downtown.
But now I want to show you a little bit of this area here,
north of Orlando.
Not many tourists come here because there are no theme parks,
no outlet malls here,
but it is worth coming here if you want to see something
totally different and really charming.
driving through Baldwin Park.
You like it, baby. I can see it.
-Just designed nice, right? -It is.
-It is a community. -Very nice.
Look at this big park, very Disney-like,
it'd be very Celebration-like.
-Very Celebration-like.
It's very British-like, right? London.
-Totally. It's so charming.
-So we'll drive down Baldwin Park, main avenue
There are all the restaurants
And then we'll go to Winter Park. Winter Park in summertime.
-Winter Park in summertime. [laughs]
-I'm at the Winter Park in summertime
is still a good place to go.
-I'll have fun at any park. -Yeah, I know you.
[music]
This here is already Winter Park.
- ♪ Winter Park in the summertime ♪
-Very charming.
[music]
Now, this is another favorite here, Winter Park.
Let's see how smart you are.
Why Winter Park? Why winter, the word "winter"?
-Try me. -Charming?
-Try me. -I'm trying you.
-What is it? What's the question?
[laughs]
-Why the word "winter" in Winter Park?
-Because all the northerners came here for the winter because it's warm.
-Oh, you're so smart.
-I try to be. I try. -You're so smart!
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. -We call them snowbirds.
-Yeah, yeah. You have Winter Park,
Winter Garden, Winter Haven, all in Central Florida.
-Do they have Winter Winter? -No.
-Winter Beer? -Not Winter Beer.
Here, they even have their own Central Park.
This is really the name, just like in New York.
[music]
-Look at that house. Look at all that yard.
-Oh, yes.
-Oh, baby. This is where I want to live.
-Here you can come for a boat tour.
One hour boat tour, on top of the hour,
and you see Venice of America.
You supposedly see a lot of beautiful houses here
and the canals.
Last tour is at 4 p.m. and it's... Where's the price?
Right here, $14 for adults or $7 for kids.
[music]
This tour is probably so nice and I'd really like to do it.
But we'll be back
We'll be back when it's a little safer to spend an hour
with a lot of unknown people.
Not far from here, you also find some of those places you see on Instagram
and wonder, "Where on earth is that?"
There are some natural springs here in Central Florida,
also in northern Florida.
And close to here, there's one called Wekiwa Springs State Park.
You won't believe the color of the water.
But that's the kind of place that you got to go to spend the whole day,
or let's say a whole afternoon.
So I'll do another video there showing this in detail.
Just keep in mind that Orlando has more than theme parks.
Now that you have a pretty good idea what to do in Orlando
and where things are located,
you also need to know about weather and high and low seasons
to properly plan your vacation here.
Summer tends to be busy, of course, because of school vacation.
2020 will forever be an exception.
That's why it is so empty everywhere you go.
But in my experience, there are busier times to come here,
like Spring Break, March and April,
and the week between Christmas and New Years.
Avoid that at all costs.
There are lines for everything here.
It is so charming that they maintain the train station
right in the middle of downtown.
Look at the train station and historic downtown is right here.
[laughs]
Like the old days.
So you can come here by train.
PA: Arriving in two minutes
Hurricanes!
The hurricane season goes from July to November.
But Orlando is located inland,
so it is less likely to be terribly affected by a hurricane.
No wonder, Disney chose this area here to open the parks.
It was not a coincidence.
During summer, it rains almost every day.
Not just a drizzle, it is a thunderstorm.
Look, the clouds are coming already,
and I'll soon be leaving here.
So whenever you go out, always bring an umbrella,
no matter how beautiful the day is.
And it's like heavy thunderstorm for 30 minutes,
then it is a beautiful day again.
It may rain again and it's a beautiful day again.
It is crazy.
If you have more questions, let me know here in the comments.
If you learned something new here with this video,
give me a like.
And most importantly,
if you're close to the water here in Florida,
keep an eye on alligators.
Hey, Crocodile Dundee,
you saw your friend today, the Gator.
[laughs]
But you're not Crocodile Dundee today,
you got no hat [laughs]
I don't know what she's saying.
-Oh. -Can you help me?
Didn't the Indonesians call you Crocodile Dundee?
-Yes, yes.
-So, crocodile, gator
you're friends, like cousins.
-Oh.
Okay. [laughs]
Someone needs a drink.
-I need some water, it's too hot
[laughs]
So many words I use. Yes.
-All the time, huh? -All the time.
-You really like speaking, don't you?
[laughs]
Sometimes people don't understand you.
-Okay.
-I don't understand myself.
-Either... [laughs]
You don't understand yourself either.
Tower of Terror, baby. Remember us in Japan?
[laughs]
Remember your face?
You should see your face in the picture. You're the best.
-Yeah? -You're the most scared there.
-They got a Subway here. -Yeah.
-I wonder where it goes.
-Planet Smoothie. They got smoothie...
I wonder where it goes! [laughs]
-Delayed reaction.
My Intel CPU still faster than her AMD.
-Oh. [laughs]