Things to do in Orlando besides visit theme parks

WHEN you are done with the queues, the rides and wearing mouse ears there are some unexpected things to do in Orlando.

Orlando is famous for its theme parks and rides but there is life beyond the roller-coasters. Picture: Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images

WITH his slicked-back hair and sharp suit, Ciro Troncoso reminds me of a character from a Scorsese film — although I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Troncoso is food and beverage director at Mathers Social Gathering, which opened in downtown Orlando earlier this year. It’s one of the city’s classiest venues, with the feel of a late nineteenth-century saloon.

“We wanted to give adults another option — a television-free atmosphere where they can talk,” Troncoso explains. House rules ask guests to “dress sharply” and baseball caps and sandals are banned. In other words, leave the Mickey Mouse ears at home.

In a city famous for its theme parks, this is a big call.

At Mathers, staff wear braces and bow ties, and there are enormous leather couches and vast expanses of exposed brickwork. “We found it behind some drywall,” Troncoso says. “It dates back to 1884 and inspired the bar’s decor.”

Even the cocktails are authentic. “Mixers weren’t really used back then, which is why our cocktails are stronger,” he adds.

Mathers Social Gathering is one of several businesses putting Orlando’s downtown on the map.

Growing numbers of visitors are venturing beyond the theme park-filled International Drive, 11 kilometres to the south of the city centre, to discover an area which has become a destination in its own right.

Later this year The Delaney, downtown’s first boutique hotel, will open.

Fantasy and reality. When you are finished visiting the The Wizarding World of Harry Potters Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando you could head to the real downtown. Picture: James Kilby/Universal Orlando Resort/ Getty Images)

STICKING WITH THE THEME

The city is not completely ditching its ‘toon traditions with venues still catering to those partial to some themed fun.

At nearby Frosty’s Christmastime Lounge, flurries of snow regularly fall from the ceiling. Animatronic Santas wiggle to a soundtrack of Christmas anthems and there’s a stocking-adorned log fire — despite the fact that outside, the mercury’s pushing 36C.

East Pine Street’s Joysticks Arcade Lounge, which opened in January, is a spectacular labour of love created by Addie Hassel and her partner Jeff, former theme park prop designers with a

penchant for video games and eighties films.

Step inside and you’ll find a supersized version of the Piranha Plant from Nintendo’s Mario Bros, a purple patent leather Barbie sofa and vintage arcade games. Behind the bar, bottles are displayed on shelves resembling the platforms from a King Kong video game.

BEYOND THE RIDES

The growing popularity of Orlando’s city centre has breathed new life into once neglected areas. Take the nearby street art filled Milk District. It’s one of several areas to benefit from Orlando’s Main Streets scheme, which aims to promote lesser-known neighbourhoods.

Trina Gregory-Propst is one of its newest tenants. Se7en Bites Bakery is Orlando’s largest independent, full-service bakery — and possibly the quirkiest. Outside, a mural implores passers-by to “let us fill your pie hole” — and the most popular item is the 7th Trimester; a buttermilk biscuit topped with bacon and smothered with Trina’s famous mac n’cheese. It made it onto the menu following a dream.

“I dreamt I was in a doctor’s surgery, waiting to deliver a baby while clutching a tray of

mac n’ cheese,” explains head chef, owner and Elvis fan Trina, who moved to the Milk District after outgrowing her previous property. “It’s such a welcoming area, with a great community which embraces small businesses.”

Another shining light in Orlando’s culinary scene is the East End Market in downtown’s Audubon Park, which has also benefited from the Main Streets scheme. Retail spaces are rented out, at rock-bottom prices, to start-ups with a passion for locally-sourced produce. Tenants include a bar serving locally-brewed beer, and farm stores piled with jars of homemade honey and farm-fresh eggs.

The market is a short drive from Winter Park, a beautiful — but exclusive — neighbourhood north of downtown Orlando. Another area successfully luring visitors away from the theme park bubble, it’s home to Florida’s largest homes, including one previously owned by Tom Hanks. The plushest properties line the banks of Winter Park’s lakes, which are connected via waterways. The daily boat tours are popular with architecture buffs — many houses were designed by James Gamble Rogers II and properties range from plantation-style affairs to sleek glass cubes.

My guide points to a sprawling mansion, explaining that it’s being refurbished. The interior had been custom-designed to suit the requirements of the previous resident — a seven-foot NBA

basketball player. The new owners couldn’t see over the kitchen counters.

Winter Park’s also a great alternative for those keen to avoid Orlando’s crowded outlet malls. Its pretty high street is lined with independent boutiques, cafes and the Morse Museum, which has the world’s largest collection of stained glass produced by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

The Morse Museum. Picture: Supplied/The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Winter Park, Florida.

The highlight is the mosaic-covered chapel interior he created for 1893’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It was reassembled at the museum, piece by piece.

The Tiffany Chapel. Picture: Supplied/The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Winter Park, Florida.

When hunger strikes, head to the nearby Ravenous Pig pub. The menu is a hearty tribute to all things Floridian — brisket, grits and devilled eggs. As for drinks? I recommend the Ravenous Pig Old Fashioned, garnished with a bacon rasher. “Infusing bourbon with bacon is a Southern thing, but it’s only become popular in the past decade,” explains the local who spots me dubiously eyeing my tipple. Weirdly, it works.

Cheers, Orlando.