Blue Springs State Park, which is the winter home of large numbers of Florida Manatees that come upstream from the St. Johns River to bask in the warm 72°F waters of the springs. Canoeing, swimming and fishing are popular activities at Blue Springs.
SeaWorld Orlando is a large adventure park that features numerous zoological displays and marine animals alongside an amusement park with roller coasters and water park. Universal Orlando, like Walt Disney World, is a multi-faceted resort comprised of Universal Studios Florida, CityWalk, and Islands of Adventure theme park.
The years between the Spanish American War and World War I saw Orlando become a popular resort, as Florida's largest inland city.
The city is best known for the tourist attractions in the area, particularly the nearby Walt Disney World Resort, which is in the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Other area attractions include SeaWorld and the Universal Orlando Resort, the latter of which is in Orlando proper. Downtown Orlando has recently seen much redevelopment, despite being far from the main tourist attractions.
The land within Walt Disney World is part of the Reedy Creek Improvement District which allows the Disney Corporation to exercise quasi-governmental powers over the area.
Two large tracts totalling $1.5 million were sold, and smaller tracts of flatlands and cattle pastures were purchased by exotic-sounding companies such as the Latin-American Development and Management Corporation and the Reedy Creek Ranch Corporation. In addition to three huge parcels of land were many smaller parcels, referred to as "outs".
The Walt Disney World Resort opened on October 1, 1971. It is the largest theme park resort in the world, although Dubai Land, twice its size, is planned to open in 2006.
The Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League also play at the TD Waterhouse Centre. Since joining the league in 1991, they have become one of the legendary franchises in the young league, having a historic rivalry with the Tampa Bay Storm, two ArenaBowl titles (1998 and 2000), and several historic moments including the league's only shutout to date and a procession called the Miracle Minute where they scored two touchdowns with two-point conversions and forced a safety to come from behind in the final minute of a game to win.
On opening day, Roy Disney gave an opening dedication, after which he asked Walt's widow Lillian what she thought of Walt Disney World. She replied, "I think Walt would have approved."