ORLANDO'S CONTRASTS:

DISNEY AND DOWNTOWN

By Lee Foster

On my last trip to Orlando I decided to examine the area from

its opposite sides: the theme park vs. downtown.

For a theme park, I chose the epitome of theme parks, Disney, which began the theme park phenomenon here by opening its Magic Kingdom in 1971. All the other theme parks could be seen as footnotes to this initial decision. I decided to explore what was interesting and new at Disney in the new millennium.

For the downtown, which would appeal to the traveler theme-parked to death, I stayed at an historic downtown lodging and analyzed what the "real city" of Orlando offered.

DISNEY--FOR ADULTS ALSO

Traveling without children on this occasion, I was more alert to the "adult" world now flourishing at Disney.

The Cirque du Soleil show known as La Nouba is an example. Having seen Cirque's two shows in Las Vegas, as well as the company's at-home tented performance in Montreal, I was delighted again to see a wondrous Cirque du Soleil. Any time you can see a Cirque du Soleil your life will be enhanced.

The Disney Cirque will appeal to all ages, but with special emphasis on adults. Cirque presents an imaginative evening of dance, acrobatics, and specialty acts. The Disney performance lacks the full staging sophistication of Las Vegas, but does present an urbane vision of life through dance. La Nouba, which means celebration in French, is a medley of metaphysical dancing, stunning acrobatics, and specialty acts wondrous in their execution. Cirque overdoes its interludes of pratfall clowns, to my taste, but this is perhaps inevitable, given its circus roots.

La Nouba is in the "downtown Disney" area known as Westside. I walked from La Nouba through Westside, noting my dining option at a Wolfgang Puck restaurant and the prospect of music at the House of Blues. I proceeded to the "adults only" Disney venue known as Pleasure Island, which is indeed an island. Everyone going onto the island must be affixed with a hospital-type wristband attesting to age. You can get onto Pleasures Island at 18 and you can drink alcohol there at 21. At 56, I was not sure if a wristband was necessary, but who was I to protest?

To access Pleasure Island you pay an entrance fee for a night of music at as many clubs as you are likely to want. Pleasure Island has a central stage with ongoing band music, performing swing while I was there. Beyond the central stage area is a curving street with the clubs.

I was pleased to pick up a "go" cup of chilled beer on this Disney street, knowing that there need be no restrictions on partying. The sophisticated Disney transport system was ready to take me by bus back to my lodging at the Disney Institute at any time, even into the wee hours.

I particularly enjoyed the boot-scooting western music at Wildhorse Saloon, the laid-back jazz at the Jazz Company, the futuristic techno music at the Mannequins Disco, and the more sedate disco at 8-Trax, for those who flourished in the 70s and 80s, but still like to dance.

Every night at Pleasure Island is New Year's Eve, complete with countdown and confetti. If some of your recent New Year's Eves were not that tantalizing, Pleasure Island affords an opportunity to catch up.

Disney does not fully provide the lust and sin that Pleasure Island needs. Visitors are required to bring those ingredients in their hearts.

On the following day I was ready to explore the various Disney parks, starting early in the morning so as to avoid any long lines that clobber late risers. I explored the four Disney theme parks with an eye for what was new and interesting in recent years.

Animal Kingdom is the newest Disney park, built circularly around an immense and amazing tree, called the Tree of Life. The tree idea is a tour de force of Disney's "imagineers," as they call their creative people. In the tree you can see over 325 animals represented on the trunk.

The major attraction in Animal Kingdom is a safari ride known as Kilimanjaro Safari, which simulates what one would see on a Kenya trip. The attraction succeeds in presenting all the major animals in a seamless natural environment. Anyone who has been to Kenya will appreciate the attention to detail, such as the extensive planting of thorn acacias and the huge termite mounds.

Part of the Disney safari is an ongoing drama to locate the poachers. This is a departure for Disney, allowing the problems in the real world to intrude here. Eventually the poachers are located and arrested. If you want to ponder real-world problems, Disney is not usually the place.

Disney goes out of its way to tiptoe through minefields of controversy. The Gays may have their self-proclaimed day at Disney, as could the Southern Baptists. Both the Israelis and the Saudis present a vision of their "Gifts to the World" in the Millennium Village at Epcot.

I particularly enjoyed some shows at Disney that appeal to all ages, given their genius at presenting the search for love, the fear of exclusion, and the hope for acceptance, all elements of the universal human predicament. The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Beauty and the Beast are examples. An energetic music and in-line skating review (Tarzan Rocks) and an amazing special effects performance (Honey, I Shrunk the Audience) rounded out my Disney show experience.

Each of the four theme parks at Disney has its appeal. The first park to be built, Magic Kingdom (1971), offers an entertaining mid-afternoon parade of Disney characters. Epcot (1982) presents some intriguing looks at the future in Innovention. I watched a Xerox spokesman talk about the company's development of reusable "electronic" paper. Disney-MGM Studios (1989) offers entertaining portraits of movie history, such as Journey Into the Movies. The recent Animal Kingdom (1998) includes a jungle walk through a South Asian rainforest, the Maharaja Jungle Trek.

I lodged at the Disney Institute, thinking that I might take some instructional course, maybe a cooking class. However, I learned that the Institute no longer serves individual travelers, only groups. My bungalow was a comfortable lodging, with a separate living room area, complete with microwave and refrigerator. I was surprised to learn that I could order basic groceries as well as regular roomservice food.

The evening fireworks and laser light show at Epcot, titled Illuminations 2000: Reflections of Earth, was quite a spectacle.

I found dining at Disney engaging, especially when it had a thematic tie-in. In the Disney-MGM park I tried a Cobb Salad at the Hollywood Brown Derby, a re-creation of the famous Los Angeles restaurant and its signature dish from 1929. For a fast-food lunch under $5 at Epcot, I sampled a tabbouleh wrap in the Morocco Pavilion, complete with a lentil salad, cucumber salad, as well as the bulgar wheat, parsley, and tomato salad in the wrap.

Disney presents the adult traveler or family on vacation with a clean, safe, and entertaining place. The price requested of consumers has not deterred visitors and has kept Disney profitable.

All employees are seen as "cast members" with strict performance and appearance guidelines. You won't see any visible tattoos or unusual pierced body parts. Men will not have long hair. Even the length of a woman's fingernails and the color range of possible nail polishes are subject to regulation. Iconoclasts need not apply for employment.

DOWNTOWN ORLANDO

After a couple of days of themepark immersion, I was ready to ask the opposite question: is there a "downtown" Orlando where "real people" live? For a traveler who doesn't have an affinity with theme parks, what is the Orlando alternative like?

For lodging in downtown Orlando I found an historic B&B known as the Courtyard at Lake Lucerne. Several historic buildings, including the Phillips House, the oldest house in Orlando, make up the complex. I was greeted with a carafe of wine and also enjoyed the elaborate breakfast. My room was in an Art-deco building and had a one-of-a-kind décor. The garden of palms, azaleas, and magnolias at the establishment was so lush that you could curl up here with a good book and forget about the outside world for awhile.

From the Courtyard at Lake Lucerne I walked into the downtown area. I strolled around the downtown lake, Lake Eola, and looked over the signature Centennial Fountain that is the main city landmark. I was not alone during the walk. Orlando residents were out jogging, walking, and biking amidst the mature oak trees and the lawns around the lake. Orlando has an accessible outdoor climate year round. Winters are mild. Summers can be hot, so I walked in the cool of the morning.

Then I ventured over to the Church Street Station, only a short walk from the Courtyard. Church Street Station was an actual rail station, but has evolved to become a dining, music, and retail area. In the evening you can catch jazz, country, rock n roll, and contemporary dance at various venues. I enjoyed a buffet lunch at Lili Marlene's Aviator Pub, an example of the lively restaurants here.

There is a growing arts emphasis in downtown Orlando and a sense that the city is on the move. I enjoyed seeing a huge mural on a parking garage at 132 E. Central, filled with pictures of indigenous animals of Florida. In another city this mundane structure would have been tedious. On the drawing boards are an arts college and a performing arts center.

Downtown Orlando shows much art vitality. A menagerie of 65 art lizards now inhabits the area. These five-foot-high gheckos, all done by artists after a sponsor has been located, show a range of artistic ingenuity. LizArt, as the project is known, will last for a year. Many observers hope that a large number of these lively creatures will remain on display. The lizards are part of a new "city identity" trend of adopting an animal and making art creations of it. New Orleans' fish and Chicago's cows are examples.

Downtown received a major cultural boost with the Orange County Regional History Center opening in the old county courthouse. On display are a number of Florida phenomena, ranging from a Seminole Indian village to the campaign to sell Florida orange juice as a breakfast beverage.

People are moving back into the downtown area, partly because commuting on the freeways takes time. The Thornton Park neighborhood is witnessing a renaissance with real estate values soaring as more people invest in fixer-uppers and restore the neighborhood.

It's easy to get around downtown, using a free public trolley called The Lymmo.

Typical of the fun of downtown Orlando is the Gallery at Avalon Island, on Magnolia Street. Avalon is an art gallery, a coffee house, a live music venue, and a place for high-speed internet access.

The lodging scene received an upscale boost with the opening of the Westin Grand Bohemian. Décor is a European Bohemian theme, emphasizing turn of the century opulence, with part of the owner's extensive art collection on display.

Among the new restaurants, try dining with a view of Lake Eola at the Lake Eola Yacht Club, where the crab cakes would be a good choice.

I drove my rental car a few miles north to the area known as Loch Haven to see the Harry P. Leu Gardens, a major amenity in the region. This 50-acre botanical garden is famous for many of its plant collections, including what is said to be the largest camellia collection in the Eastern U.S. Roses, wildflowers, herbs, and ancient oaks were some of the delights as I walked contemplatively on the paved paths of the gardens.

After Leu Gardens I perused the Antique Row district around the 1800 block of North Orange. I noted a dozen stores with various assortments of collectibles and paused for a salad lunch at the White Wolf Café.

Also in Loch Haven, I stopped at the Mennello Museum of American Folk Art to see the primitive paintings of Earl Cunningham, who projected a lyrical and carefree portrait of 20^th century America.

However, I knew that a world-class art experience was only a few miles north in the community of Winter Park. The museum in question is the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, focused almost entirely on the grand glass art of Louis Comfort Tiffany. I had deliberately saved the best for the last.

Tiffany glass became a symbol at the turn of the century for beauty and grace in an America emerging from the practicalities of industrialization. The Morse museum has the most comprehensive collection of Tiffany glass that you will find. Not only are the famous stained glass windows and lampshades well represented, but also the more affordable vases that Tiffany turned out in great numbers. There is even a full chapel that Tiffany decorated for the Chicago Exposition of 1893. Among the works, I particularly enjoyed the stained glass window "Feeding the Flamingoes" from 1892. For an appreciator of Americana, the Tiffany museum would be reason enough to visit Orlando.

Finally, I returned to the Courtyard at Lake Lucerne to find a glass of Chardonnay awaiting me. While sipping the wine in the gracious, bookish parlor at this B&B, I felt satisfied that I had made some Orlando discoveries. I had learned a little more about theme parks in a region that had helped invent the genre. And, when I wanted to leave the theme parks, there was something of a "real city" to explore in Orlando.

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IF YOU GO: ORLANDO

Walt Disney World is 23 miles from downtown Orlando. The contact is Walt Disney World, PO Box 10000, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830, 407/824-4321, www.disneyworld.com.

The overall Orlando area tourism information source is the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 6700 Forum Drive, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32821, 407/363-5872, 800/551-0181, www.go2orlando.com.

The entity focused on guiding the city's downtown is Downtown Orlando, 100 S. Orange Avenue, 9^th Floor, Orlando, FL 32801, 407/246-2555, www.downtownorlando.com.

One historic lodging in the downtown area is a B&B known as The Courtyard at Lake Lucerne, 211 N. Lucerne Circle East, Orlando, Fl 32801, 800/444-5289, www.orlandohistoricinn.com.

This article was written by Lee Foster of Foster Travel Publishing. Contact him at his website www.fostertravel.com or via email at lee@fostertravel.com. Copyright Lee Foster.

Lee Foster's most recent travel guidebooks are Northern California History Weekends (Globe Pequot), which won a Lowell Thomas Award, and Adventure Guide to Northern California (Hunter Publishing).

Lee Foster's new literary book is Travels in an American Imagination: The Spiritual Geography of Our Time.

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