Fodors Walt Disney World 2013

Once a thriving citrus-growing region, Orlando saw its tourism star rise soon after Disney opened the Magic Kingdom in 1971. In the decades since, Mickeys empire has ballooned, SeaWorld has made a splash with Shamu, and Universal Studios has brought big-screen thrills to life. Today Orlandos meeting and convention business thrives with resort hotel numbers second only to those of Las Vegas.

Visitors see Orlando as a shiny vacation kingdom bolstered by cartoon characters. Residents see it as a city on the rise, albeit one thats too reliant on a single industrynamely, tourism. Local officials have responded to these sentiments by courting and welcoming new industry to the area, and as a result, Orlando is becoming an increasingly sophisticated city.

... is evolving rapidly. Downtown Orlando is honing a hip edge, a growing high-tech corridor is attracting young professionals, and a new medical research center is springing up near Orlando International Airport. Sports fans and concertgoers line up for tickets to downtowns Amway Center, home of NBA team the Orlando Magic. And plans are under way for construction of a new performing arts center that would dwarf the aging Bob Carr Performing Arts Center.

... is enjoying a theme-park growth spurt. At Disney, the horizon is bright with a major Fantasyland expansion in the Magic Kingdom plus an overall 10-year growth plan that includes as many as 11,000-plus new hotel rooms and a possible fifth theme park. Disney collaborated with Best Friends Pet Care to open an on-site luxury pet resort with grooming, boarding, and a doggie day camp. Development is also under way near Disneys northeast border for construction of a 900-acre resort area with a Four Seasons property, family vacation homes, and a golf course to replace Disneys dormant Eagle Pines course. Finally, the new Disney Dream cruise ship set sail from Port Canaveral, Florida, in 2011, and a second mega-ship, the Fantasy, sailed its maiden voyage in March 2012.

SeaWorld and its sister, Discovery Cove, have added their own new attractions. The formers TurtleTrek takes you underwater via a 360-degree, 3-D film, and the latters SeaVenture takes you underwater more literally to walk through a tropical fishfilled reef with the help of a special diving helmet. Universal Orlando is undergoing its own changes, perhaps using the success of Islands of Adventures Wizarding World as a springboard for bringing Harry Potterbased attractions to Universal Studios.

Theme parks also are staying cutting edge with interactive exhibits and attractions. Verizon and Disney have even teamed up to offer phone services that update you on real-time attraction availability, Disney character locations, and other in-park breaking news.

... is a noshers paradise. Area restaurants are innovating. Truffle fries are hot at the Ravenous Pig in Winter Park; classics like foie gras are always in style at Le Coq au Vin. Orlando has three Master Sommeliersat this writing, thats just one fewer than New York City and Chicago.

Celebrity chefs, including Cat Cora, Todd English, Emeril Lagasse, and Norman Van Aken, have taken over numerous Orlando dining rooms. Disney chef Scott Hunnel makes dinner a royal occasion at Victoria & Alberts in Disneys Grand Floridian Resort, Central Floridas only AAA Five-Diamond restaurant. Even theme-park chefs are setting new standards, offering options that range from sushi at the counter-service Sunshine Seasons in Epcot to blueberry-and-pistachio-crusted grilled pork at Mythos restaurant in Islands of Adventure. As the owners of Le Coq au Vin aptly advise: Bon apptit, yall!