The international airport is nine miles south of downtown Orlando; collect brochures and discount coupons at the official information booth (daily 7am-11pm). Shuttle buses (24hr; best prices offered by Mears or Transtar) run to any hotel in the Orlando area for around $15, while a taxi to downtown, International Drive or the motels on Hwy-192 costs around $30. Buses and trains arrive downtown at the Greyhound terminal, 555 N John Young Parkway, and the Amtrak station, 1400 Sligh Blvd.

Pick up discount coupons and promotional offers at the efficient Visitor Information Center , 8723 International Drive (daily 8am-7pm; tel 407/363-5872 or 1-800/643-9492, ).

You have to be very determined to get to the theme parks without a car, but it can be done. Local Lynx buses (tel 407/841-8240, ) converge on the downtown Orlando terminal between Central and Pine streets; route #50 heads to Walt Disney World, but it's a somewhat patchy service and takes about an hour. The pricier Mears Transportation Service runs private shuttle buses (tel 407/423-5566) between the main accommodation areas, the airport and Walt Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios ($10-12 round-trip) - phone at least a day ahead to be picked up, or check at your hotel or hostel. Taxis are the best way to get around at night - try Yellow Cab Co. (tel 407/699-9999). Along International Drive, between Sea World Orlando and Universal Studios, the I-Ride trolley service (tel 407/354-5656) operates every few minutes daily from 7am to midnight, costing 75¢ one way. The immense convention center , several blocks in length, stretches along International Drive amid the attractions.

Though you'll probably be so exhausted from a long day at the parks that boozing and boogying with thousands of others will be the last thing on your mind, the Orlando area is just bursting with themed nightspots of every persuasion, from medieval banquets to piano bars and country and western clubs. It's all relentless good, clean fun, sanitized to the hilt.

From around 9pm, each Walt Disney World park holds some kind of closing-time bash, usually involving fireworks and fountains. There's also Pleasure Island , exit 26B off I-4 (in the Disney Village Marketplace), a remake of an abandoned island, whose pseudo-warehouses are the setting for shops, themed bars and nightclubs (daily 10am-7pm; after 7pm $21 gains access to all bars and clubs). The most enjoyable are the Comedy Warehouse and the Adventurers' Club , loosely based on a 1930s gentlemen's club. Take ID and a fat wallet.

In a similar vein, in downtown Orlando at 129 W Church St, the restored Victorian buildings of Church Street Station enclose a mall-like cluster of restaurants, bars, clubs and shows with a vaguely Old South theme (daily 11am-2am; after 6pm $19 gains access to all bars and clubs).