Allison Walker, Generation to Generation

In the late 1800s, even before the Model T Ford, tourists were traveling to Florida for the healing powers of the natural springs.

"It was health tourism," said Michael Perkins, with the Orange County Regional History Center, which recently opened a new permanent exhibit called "Destination Florida: Tourism Before Disney."

"People would come down here to take those waters, and of course, some would get better, because some of us would naturally recover from illnesses. So they'd report back, 'These waters are spectacular! They helped me get better.'"

When Roy Moye moved to Orlando in the 1960s, he said he went to the springs for another reason.

"I went for the girls," Moye said, reminiscing about what he used to do around the area. "We hunted dove over T.G. Lee's fields down by the airport, which are all covered by airport and hotels now."

Moye said tourists filtered in and filtered out, either with their fishing poles -- "They had darned good fishing back then," Moye recalled -- or heading to places like Rainbow Springs, Weeki Wachee Springs and Gatorland.

Then, in 1971, Walt Disney World arrived.

"I think I lost quite a bit," Moye admitted. "I lost the small town, the smaller town flavor."

But, Moye said, he is not going anywhere.

"I go to church here. I've been here a long time. I've got lots of friends," Moye said.

The History Center's curator of exhibits said about 100,000 tourists a year would come to Florida during the 1950s. Post-Disney, the number has jumped to about 36 million.

Next to water and beach tourism, the curator of exhibits said freshwater fishing was the No. 2 pre-Disney tourist attraction, followed by saltwater fishing.

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