Orlando Places

Kissimmee

Although Kissimmee is primarily known as the gateway to Disney (technically, the park is in both Osceola and Orange counties), its non-WDW attractions just might tickle your fancy. They range from throwbacks to old-time Florida or to dinner shows for you and 2,000 of your closest friends. Orlando used to be prime cattle country, and the best sampling of what life was like is here during the Silver Springs Rodeo in February and October.

With at least 100,000 acres of freshwater lakes, the Kissimmee area brings anglers and boaters to national fishing tournaments and speedboat races. A 50-mi-long series of lakes, the Kissimmee Waterway, connects Lake Tohopekaliga—a Native American name that means "Sleeping Tiger"; locals call it Lake Toho—with huge Lake Ocheechobee in south Florida, and, from there, to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.