56 orlando
and the fast-paced thrills of the Daytona International Speedway.
What’s new Attractions: Madame Tussauds Orlando
(
madametussauds.com/orlando), Sea Life Orlando Aquarium (
visitsealife.com/orlando) and the 400ft Orlando Eye (
officialorlandoeye.com) opened last month (May). Part of the I-Drive 360 entertainment complex, Do Something Different (
dosomethingdifferent.com) has introduced triple attraction tickets from £29 for adults and £25 for children. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
UK roadshow and had the opportunity to train more than 800 agents on the new developments across our destination.” The UK travel trade was set to see see for themselves the appeal of Orlando when convened in the city for the annual IPW (formerly Pow Wow) travel trade show (May 30-June 3).
Perfect ten Fun in the sun: The average temperature is 22C and Florida is mostly
dry from October to May. Twin-centres: Orlando’s central location between the Gulf and Atlantic
coasts makes it perfect for fl y-drives and two-centre holidays. Theme Parks: Orlando is the world’s theme park capital, with new attractions
usually added each year. Beaches: In a state surrounded by water there’s 825 miles of beaches Accessible: Flights to Orlando, Tampa, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Dining: From trademark burgers to local seafood to gourmet cuisine History: Culture-rich cities such as St Augustine offer an interesting contrast to
man-made attractions. Accommodation: Budget B&Bs, family-friendly resorts and classy
fi ve-star hotels suit all tastes and budgets. Natural beauty: Parks such as the Everglades show off Florida’s outdoors. Sports: Year-round events include baseball, ice hockey, American football
(
kennedyspacecenter.com) has the new Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction, including a Saturn V moon rocket, Shuttle Launch Experience, 3D IMAX space fi lms, astronaut encounter and a space memorabilia hall of fame. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
(
seaworldparksagents.co.uk) has introduced a new UK charity initiative. It is donating $2 for every in-park experience or SeaWorld Parks Extras booked at
“If your clients are travelling in September prepare them for the possibility of tropical afternoon rain showers, but they rarely last very long”
RUBY BRIGGS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, NORTH AMERICAN TRAVEL SERVICE
following a full refurbishment and a 250-room Hard Rock Hotel (
hardrockhotels.com) will be completed in 2016. Major hotel developments are underway in the neighbouring resorts of St Petersburg and Clearwater, including the 230-room beachfront Opal Sands Resort (
opalcollection.com/opal-sands-resort)
opening February 2016. Marketing: Daytona Beach (
daytonabeach.com), an hour from Orlando and famous for its racing heritage, has launched a UK tourism drive. The east coast destination, now represented in the UK by HAT Tourism Marketing, has undergone a $1 billion transformation with new attractions including a beachside rollercoaster and the One Daytona shopping, dining and entertainment
complex opening in 2016. Operators: North America Travel Service (
northamericatravelservice.co.uk) has added two new properties to its portfolio, the family-friendly Cabana Beach Resort at Universal and Four Seasons Resort Orlando, Central Florida’s only AAA Five Diamond Award resort. Virgin Holidays (
vhols4agents.co.uk) has launched Florida golf packages, including a 14-night twin-centre stay at Wyndham Orlando Resort International Drive and Pink Shell Beach Resort and Marina, Fort Myers, leading in at £1,949pp, including car hire, 11 rounds of golf and free air transportation of golf clubs. Twin-centre destinations, including the most popular resorts to twin with theme parks, are
Florida parks – which include SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa and Discovery Cove – to SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, which will go directly to UK conservation charities. New SeaWorld Parks Extras include additional in-park dining packages and quick queue tickets. A multimedia exhibition, Disney and Dali: Architects of the Imagination, charting the unlikely friendship between Walt Disney and surrealist artist Salvador Dali runs from January to June
2016 at St Petersburg’s Dali Museum (
thedali.org). Accommodation/Hotels: In Daytona the 143-room Hyatt Place Daytona has opened (
daytonabeach.place.hyatt.com), the Art Deco Streamline Hotel (
streamlinehotel.com) reopens later this year
Opening page: Downtown Orlando at night. This page (from left): Daytona Beach dunes; body surfi ng at the beach; friends eating ice cream; in the Everglades.
Merlin Entertainments Group is one of the world’s leading and largest theme park and attractions operators creating unique, memorable and rewarding visitor experiences in our unique portfolio of brands:
www.legoland.com www.madametussauds.com www.thedungeons.com www.visitsealife.com www.offi
cialorlandoeye.com
email: (trade only):
nigel.mcshinejones@
merlinentertainments.biz Merlin.indd 1 26/05/2015 16:36
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