Orlando beyond its Disney and Universal Studios theme parks: food, history and culture in the city in Florida

Orlando may be known for its theme parks but there is much else to keep visitors busy, from hip breweries and bars to restaurants serving Insta-worthy food

For arts lovers there is historic architecture set amid parkland, a notable outdoor sculpture collection, Cirque du Soleil and a state-of-the-art concert hall

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The Lake Nona Wave Hotel in Orlando, Florida, has a sculpture garden featuring, among other artworks, one of Arturo Di Modica’s four bronze Charging Bulls, the most famous of which can be found on New York’s Wall Street. Photo: Tamara Hinson

Published: 4:15am, 27 Mar 2023

It is a muggy day in Florida’s capital of fun, Orlando – home to the largest of the American state’s many theme parks, as well as water parks operated by Disney World, Universal Orlando and Seaworld – and the city I first experienced as a thrill-ride-loving tween is a distant memory.

Thirty years ago, my drink of choice would have been something fizzy, sticky and available in shades of neon that would probably have burned my retinas had it not been for the Mickey Mouse shades I had glued to my face.

Today, I am perched on a bar stool at the Ivanhoe Park Brewing Company, sipping a Toboggan Ale – a nod to the brewery’s location.

The bar’s exposed brick walls are covered with faded photos of the theme park that once stood on the banks of nearby Lake Ivanhoe, a fun palace that opened in the early 1900s, long before Walt Disney arrived, in 1971 – and long before health and safety bores laid down the law, judging by the images of the ride that inspired my ale.

Drinks at the Ivanhoe Park Brewing Company. Photo: Tamara Hinson

The hip Ivanhoe Park neighbourhood, to the north of downtown Orlando, is one of several busting the myth that the city has little to offer beyond its theme parks.

It is a foodie hotspot, and the brewery’s neighbours include The Hall on the Yard, an upmarket take on the traditional food hall – think chandeliers dangling above slabs of marble repurposed as tables – in which diners order from their seats.