International Drive
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International Drive (often abbreviated I-Drive) is Orlando, Florida's main tourist strip, located southwest of downtown. Only the northern part is in Orlando; the rest is in unincorporated Orange County, and a recent extension (which doesn't connect to the rest yet), known as International Drive South, is partly in Osceola County.
International Drive is home to many hotels, small tourist attractions, restaurants, and other commercial properties, in addition to the major attractions of SeaWorld, the Orange County Convention Center and Universal Orlando (across I-4 from I-Drive). In recent years it has become a particularly popular place for British tourists to visit or stay. The I-Ride trolley (a fancy-looking bus) runs along most of I-Drive, and is marketed toward tourists. Several Lynx public bus routes also serve I-Drive.
The north end of I-Drive is a cul-de-sac at the Prime Markets Factory Outlet Mall (formerly Belz Factory Outlet Mall). It roughly parallels I-4 to the southeast, running south and southwest towards Walt Disney World. It gets less crowded with businesses and traffic as it continues south. Originally the name went west along what is now World Center Drive and SR 536, but the name was dropped there when the southern extension was built.
One of several McDonald's to call itself the nation's largest is at the intersection with Sand Lake Road.
History
The first section of I-Drive was laid out in the 1960s, heading north from Sand Lake Road (SR 482) to serve a Marriott Hotel. The land it was in was on the west edge of the 4,300-acre Orlando Central Park business park originally owned by Martin Marietta. After the opening of the Walt Disney World Resort in 1971, Martin decided to create an entire tourism corridor throughout the west side of the business park, roughly along Interstate 4. International Drive was eventually extended to its current north point (where Prime Outlets is now) and southward past the Bee Line Expressway.The International Drive Master Transit and Improvement District was created in 1992 to help Orlando, Orange County, and I-Drive businesses work together to plan a transit service for the corridor and help promote area tourism.
External links
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