What else is there in terms of theater, culture, and the arts?
"Even though Orlando is in the South, it's like the pseudo-South. It's this bubble of theme park, nightlife, and arts. The arts are really, really well-respected there. The Civic Theatre is there. That's where I cut my teeth growing up. I did every show from the time I was 16 to 20 there. The Orlando Ballet, I believe, is still there. The Orlando Symphony is great. The arts district is down on Church Street. They have a bunch of little hole-in-the-wall theaters and coffee clubs and kind of beatnik places, where people do stage readings and write original songs. Orlando is definitely a city to look up. At first, I think it surprised people years ago … Orlando? 'NSync? Orlando? Wayne? All these people. I think folks are going to see a lot more come out of Orlando."

Where's a great place to go shopping?
"Belz Factory Outlet. You can find pretty much anything you need at Belz. 'Oh, you need two-tone shoes? Sure, we got 'em. And not only do we have 'em, but we have 'em half price.' "
     
Any other non-Disney recommendations?
"There's Gator Land, where you see people feed gators. That was a really big thing. Everyone had to go to Gator Land to see these guys feed gators and wrestle with 'em."

What about places to hear great music?
"The House of Blues is a really cool venue for smaller bands. The Hard Rock is for bigger bands. It's huge. From the outside it looks like a coliseum."

When did you first realize that you were living in a very special place?