ABOUT DAVENPORT 

Davenport: A Small Town Feel

Davenport, Florida, located just minutes south of  Disney World, may be the best spot for a vacation in the Orlando area. The  town of Davenport is just two square miles in size, but the Davenport area stretches out over the region that follows Highway 17, and east of Highway  27. Davenport is a small town nestled amid the booming growth of the  Orlando/Kissimmee area. If you want to have a quiet spot away from Disney, Epcot, Universal, and Sea World, Davenport is the place to be!

Orlando: Home of Fun and Fantasy!

Orlando, Florida, the  world's biggest playground, was named in honour of Orlando Reeves, an army sentry killed during the first Seminole War. What began in the 1830´s as an army outpost grew into an  agricultural supply line with the expansion of The South Florida Railroad.  Orlando became a centre for cattle, cotton, and citrus plantations.

Very secretly, beginning in the early 60´s, an anonymous investor bought thousands of acres of what was then farmland, orange groves,  and swamp marshes. News of this activity reached the press, and he was forced to divulge his plan to build a one hundred million dollar resort and  theme park. He envisioned an oasis where travellers could take their families  and live out the kind of fantasies he had as a child. Walt Disney's secret  was out, and the hysteria surrounding the possibility of a tourism centre in  Central Florida caused civic leaders to grant special zoning laws to help bring his dream to fruition. In 1971 Disney World opened its doors, and  Orlando has never been the same.

Today, at Disney World, Epcot, and rival theme  parks such as Sea World and Universal Studios, it is possible to swim with sharks, battle pirates, be chased by a T-Rex, fight villains  with Spiderman, journey to the moon, and even watch the filming of a major  motion picture. Walt's dreams draw more than forty million visitors a year.

Golf is also a favourite retreat for visitors to the Orlando area. With over 80 courses catering to every skill level, duffers and low handicappers can play loops designed by famous golf architects like  Tom Fazio, Robert Trent Jones, and Jack Nicklaus. The gem of the bunch is Arnold Palmer´s Bay Hill Country Club, a private course that is home of  the Bay Hill Invitational PGA event each year.

For those who thrive in the great outdoors, Orlando, Florida is home to some of the best bass fishing in the entire United States. Additionally, lakes like the 1700 acre Lake Conway offer boating, water-skiing, diving, wind surfing and parasailing.

If you want a bit of nationalism during your vacation, take a day and head east, approximately fifty miles, to Cape Canaveral,  home of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and  the John F. Kennedy Space Centre. Follow a history of how the space  program began and its successes and failures that brought it to its current  status as one of the most advanced research centres in the world. Talk to an  active astronaut and find out what it's like to leave the security of Earth  and frolic in outer space.

Florida may be known as "The Sunshine State", but for  people seeking an active vacation with a little bit of adventure, Orlando,  "The City Beautiful", just may be the brightest spot.

[ABOUT DAVENPORT Copyright © 1998-2003

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