On June 12, 2016, forty-nine people were killed and fifty-three others were injured by a lone gunman at Pulse, a gay bar and nightclub in Orlando. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in United States history. After the shooting, the city held numerous vigils, and the nightclub owners promised to build a permanent memorial for the 49 victims.

Orlando was known as Jernigan until 1857. It was named after Aaron Jernigan, who moved some 700 head of cattle down from the Tallahassee area with his wife Mary and his brother Isaac. Jernigan's settlement quickly grew and he was elected a county representative in 1846. By 1850, his home had been designated a post office. He died in 1891 and was buried at Lake Hill Cemetery in Orlo Vista. A memorial plaque placed at his grave in 1971 honors him as "Orlando's first settler."

During the notorious 2004 hurricane season, Orlando was hit by three hurricanes that caused significant damage. The worst of these was Hurricane Charley, which passed through the central and eastern parts of the Orlando metropolitan area with sustained winds of 85 mph (135 km/h) and gusts up to 106 mph (171 km/h).

You may think you're just stopping by for a delicious burger and entertaining drag show, but this Hamburger Mary's has a few more tricks up its sleeve. Located on Church Street in one of downtown Orlando's oldest districts, locals say this burger joint is home to the ghost of a young girl from the 1800s. She is known to tap on windows, wave at guests, and skip down the street late at night.

In 1875, when Orlando was formally incorporated, William Jackson Brack was elected its first mayor. He was later re-elected to a second one-year term. After leaving office, the former mayor stayed in the Orlando area as a farmer and fruit grower until at least 1881, when he married his third wife, Eliza Alpha Tyson.

In Ernest Saves Christmas (1988), Santa arrives in Orlando to name the host of a long-running local children's program as his successor. But when Santa loses his magic bag, it's up to taxicab driver Ernest P. Worrell to save the holidays. It was the first major feature production filmed almost entirely in Orlando at the then-unfinished Disney-MGM Studios.