For Americans that love to travel, but were being squeezed by an ever tightening economy, the word of the year in Florida was FREE. Throughout the year, special deals that included something for free were dangled in front of money-strapped travelers as an incentive to book getaways and vacations — Florida Space Coast hotels offered free tickets to Kennedy Space Center; Orlando's 50 Free-for-Fall offers and packages included some pretty amazing free theme park admissions; Universal offered a kids free package; Flamingo Gardens offered free admission to their neighbors; Disney World served up a free dining plan offer as well as their free admission on your birthday; and, in a hats-off to those who serve our country, many attractions continued their free admission to military personnel.
While "freebies" might have lured some travelers, it wasn't enough to hold the number of visitors steady from the previous year. The number of visitors to Florida through the first nine months of 2009 decreased slightly — 2.3 percent — compared to the same period the year before. While overall travel numbers were down, the number of Florida residents traveling within the state actually increased by 1.3 million, equaling 5.25 million. This reinforces the notion that more and more travelers will still take a vacation, but not venture as far away from home as they might in a more stable economy.
Besides an abundance of "deals," there was little that would especially impress visitors. Let's take a look...
Best New Attractions
It was a sweet attraction opening — on Valentine's Day — that brought Disney's Hollywood Studios (formerly Disney-MGM Studios) to the attention of fans of the reality hit American Idol with the opening of the American Idol Experience.
Universal Orlando's highly anticipated opening of Rip Ride Rocket was delayed several months, opening late in the summer. The roller coaster features three first-ever maneuvers: the Double Take, the world's largest non-inverted loop; the Treble Clef, where riders burst through a building facade on a track shaped like the music symbol; and the Jump Cut, a spiraling, negative-gravity move. The ride also uses ground-breaking technology to deliver a unique experience where everyone makes a personal music selection from their favorite genre — Classic Rock/Metal, Rap/Hip-Hop, Club/Electronica, Pop/Disco or Country — that will become the soundtrack to a video of their ride experience. The videos may be purchased as soon as riders get off the roller coaster.
Best Values
The Fun Card continues to rank as the very best attraction deal in Florida. It doesn't get much better than this... enjoy unlimited visits to either Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or SeaWorld Orlando for the entire year. And, the best news yet. It will not only be back by popular demand for 2010, but it is back better than ever with new guest savings and no blackout dates!
The newest ticket at Disney World allows Florida residents to put a little magic into their weekdays with the Disney Weekday Select Pass. Now Florida residents can visit all four Disney World theme parks on weekdays — Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays — for less than a dollar a day.
Best Beaches
Dr. Beach again waved his magical sand shovel and named two of Florida's beaches to his America's Best Beaches list — Siesta Beach and Cape Florida State Park.
Best (and Worst) News
This is the second year that there wasn't a lot of good news for travel. Despite the number of travel "deals," it was difficult to see the savings taking into account gasoline prices steadily climbing and theme parks raising everything from parking to the price of admission. Still, while there was some disappointing news, there also was a number of significant milestones and awards that brought the state recognition:
Cypress Gardens closed permanently September 23 after six years of troubles. The historic family-owned park first opened in 1936 and would become one of the most popular Florida tourist attractions and movie-making backdrops. The park fell on hard times in recent years through a string of unfortunate events — hurricane damage; multiple ownerships; poor attendance; temporary closings; bankruptcy; and, misguided management — making a piece of Florida's history just a memory.
Bok Tower Gardens commemorated its 80th anniversary with free admission on January 31.
Florida is hosting back-to-back Super Bowls! Super Bowl XLIII (No. 43) was played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on February 1, 2009 and Super Bowl XLIV (No. 44) will be played in Miami on February 7, 2010.
The Florida Keys Highway is named All-American Road at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The Overseas Highway is unique in the fact that it incorporates 42 bridges spanning the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
Florida scored no. 1 in dog-friendly beaches by Petside.com. Cape San Blas in Port St. Joe took top honors, while Fort DeSoto Park's Paw Playground in St. Petersburg finished fifth in the best places for two- and four-legged friends.
Florida's "Click It or Ticket" becomes law in June. Plan on driving in Florida? You better learn about the Click It or Ticket and Move Over laws... or plan to get a ticket!
