TORONTO — There’s plenty of demand for vacation homes in Florida – and Kissimmee, known as the ‘Vacation Home Capital of the World’, is only too happy to oblige.

“We’re continuing to add product on the vacation home side with many being built in the past 12 months with more to come. Over 50% of our inventory is in vacation homes with approximately 30,000 of them, ranging from two-bedroom to 18-bedroom,” explained DT Minich, President & CEO of Experience Kissimmee, in a new interview with Travelweek.

All of the vacation homes are professionally managed and operated, and 100% commissionable to travel advisors.

The Vacation Homes section on the Experience Kissimmee website has links to the property management companies for booking. Clients can request all types of add-ons through their travel agent, to customize their vacation home experience.

DT Minich

“More and more of these neighbourhoods that are 100% vacation homes are being built, like Encore which has 800 vacation homes. As the popularity of vacation homes continues to grow, especially with families and multi-generational travel, we’re building to meet the demand,” Minich continued.

Most of the product is within 15 minutes of Walt Disney World Resort, and within 30 minutes of Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando, and Orlando International Airport.

Many of the neighbourhoods, like Encore, offer free transportation to the theme parks and outlet malls, so it’s possible to avoid renting a car.

One rather unique vacation home called ‘Morlando’ just opened this spring. This 18,000-square-foot mansion has 12 ensuite bedrooms, a full-sized bowling alley, an arcade with Topgolf, an elevator and a private, two-storey grotto and swimming pool in the backyard. The centrepiece of the home is the room that contains a three-storey rocket ship that has 20 bunk beds inside. “They spent over US$800,000 on just the technology in this rocket ship which was designed by some former Disney folks. The room itself is painted like you’re up in the stars with man-made asteroids mounted in the room. It’s pretty amazing and there are several more homes of this size under construction,” said Minich.

NEW HOTELS TOO

In addition to the vacation homes, some new hotel products have opened, for example Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando Sunset Walk, which began welcoming guests in May with one- and two-bedroom, full-service condominiums.

A new Nickelodeon hotel is currently under construction at Everest Place, a 250-acre site with a 20-acre lagoon. A second new hotel will be coming to Everest Place by five-star, UAE-brand Mysk that will be operated by Kempinski, plus a third hotel yet to be named. The Nickelodeon and Mysk properties are both slated to open in late 2025 or early 2026.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Two Kissimmee events to catch coming soon: Country Thunder Music Festival from Oct. 18-20, and the first-ever Margaritaville Run marathon happening Sept. 28.

Also, the new drone show at Disney Springs has been a huge hit this summer with over 800 drones in the air every night.

NATURAL BEAUTY

Kissimmee’s abundance of nature is a pleasant surprise to many visitors.

Visitors can kayak the headwaters of the Everglades in the shadows of 300- to 400-year-old cypress trees, catch a glimpse of the country’s largest population of American bald eagles outside of Alaska, or take an airboat ride to see alligators, among numerous other adventures.

“We have the best of both worlds. In the morning you can be standing in the shadow of the World’s most famous castle and, in the afternoon, experience amazing nature in a variety of stunning landscapes and settings,” said Minich.

There are also plenty of golf options, with 12 golf courses within Kissimmee itself. Within a 15- to 20-minute radius there are 22 public or semi-public courses.

“The product in Kissimmee is evolving and becoming more upscale, but we also have the affordability,” Minich added.

Themed rooms abound at vacation homes in Bear’s Den Resort Orlando

MESSAGE FOR TRAVEL AGENTS

DT Minich had a message for Canadian travel agents.

“Canada is such an important market for us, and we really appreciate the Canadian agents and what they do to help sell Kissimmee,” he said. “They’re a very important part of our marketing mix.”

For more information, visit ExperienceKissimmee.com.