Hi Dov,
Welcome to Florida... I thought you were never going to fly to the US again?
The International Drive (I Drive) area is a good place to stay, just like all cities, you have to be aware of your surroundings. It's an area of restaurants, shops and touristy gimmick attractions (not all bad). You probably do want a car unless you want to stay in just one area, like I-Drive, Disney, etc.
Another thing to do in Orlando that no one has yet mentioned is Outlet Mall Shopping, there are 2 big outlet malls near that area. There are also 2 other big malls nearby - Mall of Millenia near Ikea and the Florida Mall, this area starts to get dicey but I go there during the day.
Why don't you set up a small do/meet or mention it in the Community Forums? As someone else mentioned there are a bunch of FT'ers from the area and maybe we can get together? I am not yet sure if I am here that weekend, but if I am I'd love to get together although I'm not too keen on visiting at Universal Studios only because I've been there a few times recently.
Places to be aware of are:
Pine Hills
Kirkman Drive North of Universal (I used to live in this area and it was lovely at one time)
The Cirtus Bowl area
South Orange Blossom Trail (OBT)