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.
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 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.
History
The first section of I-Drive was laid out in the 1960s, heading north from Sand Lake Road (SR 482) to serve the Marriott Hotel.
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
International Drive Master Transit and Improvement District (http://www.internationaldriveorlando.com/home.html)
But InternationalDrive today is on the brink of its most significant change in two decades.
Today's InternationalDrive is 14.5 miles long and stretches from Belz Factory Outlet World along Oak Ridge Road near I-4 and Florida's Turnpike south to U.S. Highway 192 near Kissimmee.
In 2004, the Ponderosa Steakhouse on north InternationalDrive owned by the family of Jesse Maali was the No. 1-ranked worldwide in the chain, with $6 million in sales.
InternationalDrive (often abbreviated I-Drive) is Orlando, Florida's main tourist strip, located southwest of downtown.
InternationalDrive 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).
The section of I-Drive from Universal Blvd. to Sand Lake Road has no median or center turn lane, and is frequently ground zero for gridlock in the evenings in the tourism corridor, affecting Carrier Dr. and Sand Lake Road.
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