TORONTO — There’s always something new happening in the Sunshine State, and that’s especially true in Kissimmee, often described as the gateway to central Florida.

At last week’s Discover America Day-Canada event in Toronto, Travelweek caught up with Keri Woody, media relations specialist with Experience Kissimmee, to find out more.

Travelweek: What’s new and exciting in Kissimmee these days?

 Woody: “There’s continued excitement for our vacation homes, we are the Vacation Home Capital of the World. We have over 30,000 vacation homes, from two-bedroom condos to 15-bedroom mansions. They’re not like your traditional timeshare places, they go above and beyond, with game rooms, with two-storey tree houses, with themed rooms – you can have a Harry Potter-themed room, a Star Wars-themed room. It’s almost like the vacation home is a vacation itself.

“We love putting in the itinerary ‘spend a day and afternoon at the vacation home’, because sometimes you need that time apart from the busy theme parks, to just chill and have that family time in the home, to go to the pool at the house. We want to bring the family together.”
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Travelweek: Can you explain to our readers why Kissimmee makes such a great home base for all the theme parks?

Woody: “I heard Kissimmee once described as ‘the gateway to central Florida.’ We’re 25 miles from Orlando airport. And that translates to a 30-minute drive to the theme parks. So we’re super close to the theme parks. We also have the new Brightline train that comes up from Miami, and we just opened the station in Orlando (MCO).

“We’re also close to outdoor adventures. We’re at the headwaters of the Everglades. All of the basins of water around us in Kissimmee flow out through to the Everglades. So that’s kind of unique and that’s actually what Kissimmee means, ‘long waters’, that’s where it all got started. And we’ve got the culinary scene too.”
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Travelweek: Are there any times of year that are better to go than others?

Woody: “From the end of summer to just before Christmas is ideal. I would recommend that before-Christmas time. I’d say September to November, that’s our shoulder season, and then February to May.”

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Travelweek: What’s recently opened in Kissimmee, that people should be aware of?

Woody: “We have a couple of new restaurants opening up. One is called the Lazy Dog Restaurant and Bar. It’s all about nostalgia, all those TV dinners that we used to eat growing up, they’ve taken those and they’ve made it into chef-made food, so it’s good quality food, it tastes phenomenal. It’s a restaurant you’ve got to go see. Also Pinstripes Orlando, with games and bowling and you can eat with the family.”

“SeaWorld is opening their new penguin track. That will be in 2024. And the Journey of Water, inspired by Moana, just opened at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT.

“And of course we’re gearing up for the Christmas season. We’ve got ICE! coming back to Gaylord Palms. It’s an enclosure that they chill to nine degrees Fahrenheit, with ice sculptures, so you get to walk in and around ice sculptures, this year’s theme is ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’. So that’s a neat little adventure, dress warmly, they do provide parkas but bring your extra gloves and hats.”
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Travelweek: How does Experience Kissimmee entice couples, groups of friends, adults to the destination?

Woody: “Definitely we want groups and couples. We have tons of hotels that you can stay at as a couple, and then all these restaurants that you can go to. There are so many good spas. Margaritaville Resort Orlando is huge for us. It’s a big draw with the resort and then they also have their own cottages. They have a spa experience, and the pool.

“There’s fun little neat things that you can do if you want to get your girlfriends to come with you, you can have a spa day and then go eat at one of our restaurants on Sunset Walk.

“For couples, they can do anything, they can go kayaking together, we’ve got the Paddling Centre at Shingle Creek. You can do an airboat ride. You can explore Gatorland or Wild Florida. It’s not really much different from what families would do. The difference is the restaurants, we have things like Estefan Kitchen Orlando, owned and operated by Gloria Estefan and her husband. I highly recommend it.

“The Sunset Walk Promenade is one of our entertainment districts. Another entertaining entertainment district is Old Town. And of course you can always go to Disney Springs, you can go to Universal CityWalk Orlando, it’s all within that one area. We work a lot with Orlando, to help build that entire central Florida area.”

For more information about travel to Kissimmee, see ExperienceKissimmee.com.