According to the comments on our blog post about the report, I would have to agree!

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I would have thought that Miami was more angry than Orlando – just from personal experience. Still, can’t argue with the facts.

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It’s somewhat of a surprise to me that Orlando has won this dubious accolade. I can’t understand why anyone would get angry living where the sun shines so much.

But Orlando is a very different place to Kissimme/Clermont/Celebration etc where the theme parks rule. Downtown Orlando is a typical city with a large financial and business quarter, as well as an industrial side AND a rush hour and all the frustrations that brings. Yes, there are upmarket shops and restaurants as in any city.

Maybe the people there are just angy they can’t live like the thousands of vacationers who pour in every day, and wish they didn’t have to work in a city.

St Pete’s really does surprise me ‘cos it’s got the sun, sand and sea along with the working environment. I’d swap someof our British cities any day.

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St. Pete doesn’t surprise me at all. The thought that it’s all sugar sand and sun is a fallacy. The centre portion is all minority, and very poor in some places. Many parts, if you’re driving there after dark, you roll up your windows, turn off your stereo, and slink as low as you can in your seat to avoid meing carjacked or shot at. It ain’t all the beach!

Orlando though, gave me a giggle – the ‘Fascist Wonderland’ must get to be a little too much, eh? But rush hour there is even worse than Tampa – it would be enough to put me in the loony bin (probably singing ‘It’s A Small World’).

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Anyone who drives on I-4 every day in Orlando will understand why the city ranks first! And it’s not so much the theme parks themselves that contribute to the attention – it’s the tourists who populate them that makes us all angry!

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Surely not all tourists are that bad! What do they do that winds you up Maureen?

Rush hour anywhere in the world makes people angry – but are Orlando people angry all the time, or only in rush hour?

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Having moved from New York to Orlando, and lived here for 7 years, I can tell you for sure that Orlando is a smoldering powder keg of deep resentments and anger. The locals have always resented the theme parks. The “rednecks” resent the wealthy entertainers and sports celebrities who come here to live in cheap mansions and avoid paying state income tax somewhere else. Orlando has one of the highest high school drop out rates putting lots of poor and angry kids on the street with nothing but time on their hands. The “nice” people live in gated communities with high walls and lots of security. The nice people are not so nice, there is a heavy fundamentalist rancor among the “nice” who are intolerant of any cultural or racial diversity. It is true that I-4 mixes all of these elements together and the road rage is rampant. Why do you think Mickey and Minnie live in a castle surrounded by a moat where you have to pay $65 to get through the gate?

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Wow Randy,

You sure paint a different picture to the one the tourists see, but I guess that’s true of any big city in the world.

What a pity there is so much anger and resentment in the world – I know it’s idealistic to wish for world peace, but it’s ironic that the very place chosen by Walt Disney to allow people to forget their problems and just chill out, ends up being the angriest place of all.

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I have to agree with you Darren, I have been visiting Florida (and Orlando in particular) for many years, and have always found residents to be great people, with a down-to-earth approach to whatever life throws at them.

This is not just my experience as a tourist to the Parks, but whenever and wherever we have been, be it downtown, or in some of the less affluent neighborhoods. Why else would we buy a house there, and keep coming back – it isn’t just for the sunshine!

In my experience Americans in general have something we seem to lack here in the UK, and that is a huge sense of patriotism – they are proud to be American citizens! What a pity this feeling isn’t echoed across the world.

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I think the anger comes from a number of critical factors. Florida ranks 4th in the nation for total population (17m) and is growing by 600,000 per year. Orlando is experiencing a booming economy with unbridled growth and urban sprawl. Add to this mix 55 million tourists a year coming to visit Disney, and Orlando does not even have a rail system. This means tens of millions of tourists from all over the world converge onto the Orlando roads and I-4 interstate every year. I-4 is also the only highway that connects the cities of Tampa, Orlando and Daytona, some of Florida’s most populous towns. In addition, because of it’s central location in the state, Orlando is a major trucking and distribution center. Orlando also has a high number of unskilled entry level workers coming here for the low paying hotel and rest. jobs. This makes Orlando the youngest median age city in the state, so there are lots of inexperienced juveniles driving on the roads as well as manning the checkouts at many stores. That’s why customer service always appears to be poor or lacking. There are many more factors involved, but these are just a few off the top of my head.

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You make some good points here Frank, and this does in some way explain the anger and resentment that apparently is simmering away in Orlando. I hadn’t thought about the idea of a rail system for Orlando – why has no-one pursued this idea do you think. It could make a huge difference, and create more jobs.

In my experience though customer service is pretty good. I could name you a good few European cities where the service is much worse. If you show an interest in people they usually respond well.

Teenagers the world over can be surly and unpleasant one minute and really caring the next -this is an age thing. At least they have jobs – unemployment is much lower here than in many places.

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Sandy,
We had light rail on the ballot here in Orlando, but the people voted it down. It was a billion dollar investment and people were affraid local government would misuse the new tax needed to pay for it. Look at Boston! Also, it was supposed to be a commuter rail and not really for tourists which is a total waste anyway.

We also voted for a statewide high speed rail system to connect the major cities of Florida and it passed overwhelmingly. Gov. Bush put it back on the ballot the following voting cycle and had it overturned. Boy I was angry. Though Jeb has been a pretty good Gov, this was the one issue I was really upset over. What is wrong with tourists buying a rail ticket and actually enjoying the view on a clean and fast transportation system during their vacation? (They won’t be buying gas). It would’ve also spread the tourist dollars more broadly across the state, and the roads would be aleviated of the swelling burden of cars and trucks. Also, we have a delicate eco system here in Florida (Everglades, Ocala National Forest and Coastal Regions) and a clean maglev rail would have gone a long way to preserve these natural resources. Florida still is a beautiful place to live and visit, it’s just gets upsetting to see minority special interests impact the lives of the majority of people.

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Frank,

Thanks for letting us in on this. What a shame the high speed rail system was shelved. I think many tourists would have appreciated this, and it would sure have taken the pressure off a lot of the roads.

I know many tourists who spend their vacation in Orlando/Kissimmee like to take a trip to the coast for a day, and they’d probably choose the train if it were there. Also to be able to reach all the major cities without using the car would encourage tourists to visit some other places – this quite apart from the use Floridians would make of it.

Too true Florida is a great place to live and visit, but the delicate ecology must be struggling with all the construction now going on. My own house was only allowed to be built if we preserved 1/3 of the garden as scrub jay habitat. We adjoined a reserve where these birds nested. And the minute our house is finished what do they do, but allow a developer to buy the reserve and give him planning permission for 10 new properties. This is an area where all properties were on one-acre lots, and as of this year permission is given for 2.5 properties to the acre, so everyone sells the back yard and builds, and builds, and builds.

As for the development round Disney, well what can I say……………..??

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Yes I’ve been to Orlando, Florida like 2 times. It’s really nice there. The weather can be all sunny and cheery (when it doesn’t rain) but it can be really sweaty and humid at times. I love the sun and getting a nice tan. When I’m in Florida all I want to do is walk around and go swimming, go to the beach, go shopping, dance around the sidewalks of busy streets, and explore everything. Orlando is the first place where I heard the song “A Public Affair” by Jessica Simpson which is my all-time favorite song, it reminds m of Orlando. I’m going to Los Angeles this summer and can’t wait cuz I’m gunna live there sumday.

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But I never really noticed if locals in Orlando are angry, never thought about it. The tourists are pretty freindly though. But I’ve never ever experienced any rudeness there.

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Los Angeles I can tell people are friendly and nice too. Have been there for many month. Its probably different to Florida but wether I think is similiar. From my visits to America I can just tell the best too and have to agree with Darren that nobody would go there and it would be bad media reports every day if people would be so unfriendly. I think Americans generally are more friendly than Europeans. Read recently at another issue at this web site Americans are so unbeloved because they don´t follow some rules if they come to other countries. As example they sit and smile always. They try to be friendly and people in Europe believe than they love about them. Man they try to be friendly too you be glad about. I am always so amazed when I see how friendly, loving,…. people in America what I miss so much in my country. A little bit more sense of humor and good mood wouldn´t be bad for Europeans either. Like mentionend by Sandy with the lack there is also a lack of friendlyness,good mood and smiling when you greet people. A thing many europeans could take an example of Americans. also it was stated that Americans should put there feet at the coffe table when they are in a restaurant. I have never seen an american put his feet at coffe tables at the restaurants – has anyone of you? I made the expirience this is also just an exaggerated story about Americans love putting feet at the table.

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