ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite images in the media of
storm damage throughout Florida, many areas of the state remain unaffected by
recent hurricanes. In fact, Orlando, Tampa and St. Petersburg/Clearwater were
spared the full effects of all four recent hurricanes and, as a result,
sustained no substantial or lasting damage.
According to the convention and visitors bureaus representing Orlando,
Tampa and St. Petersburg/Clearwater, all attractions, beaches and event
facilities in these three tourist destinations are open as they were prior to
the storms and are welcoming visitors. In addition, all airports, cruise
terminals and roadways are open and operating as normal.
According to recent informal visitor surveys regarding the status of these
areas, most visitors report that they would not have known that a hurricane
had passed near these central Florida vacation areas had they not seen the
news reports on television. "All the tourist destinations that I've seen have
been perfectly fine like there was no hurricane," said AAA counselor Sandra
Hughes. Tourist Chris Vanniekerk remarked, "Everything was open, fine, normal
like always, great. I don't think it has affected anything over here, not at
all."
With no damage to tourism infrastructure, visitation to these areas of
Florida continues and events and festivals scheduled for the fall and winter
are going on as planned.
Orlando
Throughout the recent storms, Orlando's "Open for Business" sign for
visitors never blew down. As a matter of fact, all of the theme parks,
attractions, restaurants, retail outlets and cultural venues, as well as most
of the hotels (2 out of 435 properties are closed) that have made Orlando a
top destination for vacationers from around the world are open and
entertaining visitors -- and the sun is still shining!
Orlando is a perennial favorite when the holiday season rolls around and
this year will be no exception when the destination offers a full slate of
holiday activities.
A frightfully good time is planned throughout Orlando as ghosts and
goblins haunt the area in October. There will be tricks and treats for
visitors of all ages at the theme parks, including Halloween Horror Nights at
Universal Orlando October 1-2, 8-10, 13-17, 21-24 and 28-31; SeaWorld
Orlando's Halloween Spooktacular which runs the weekends of October 16-17,
23-24 and 30-31; and Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney
World's Magic Kingdom.
Thanksgiving weekend is always a special time in Orlando as families and
friends visit to spend quality time together enjoying the fun, excitement,
great weather and the Thanksgiving feasts offered at restaurants and dinners
shows throughout the destination.
A trip to Orlando at Christmas is increasingly becoming the gift of choice
for many who want to spend the special holiday time away from the worries of
the world. The destination shines with holiday spirit and special events at
the theme parks, attractions, hotels and restaurants.
Orlando. A little bad weather can't rain on our parade of vacation
enjoyment for our visitors. Check out http://www.orlandoinfo.com to plan your
vacation today.
Tampa
Tampa has been fortunate to come through recent storms virtually
unscathed. Major attractions like Busch Gardens, The Florida Aquarium, Lowry
Park Zoo, Museum of Science & Industry and historic Ybor City suffered no
damage. Life has returned to normal for Tampa residents, and vacationers and
meeting delegates are arriving in Tampa to find very little evidence of recent
weather events.
Tampa swings into the fall this year with a full slate of Halloween
events. Howl-O-Scream comes to Busch Gardens for 16 nights in October with six
haunted houses, four scare zones and six adrenaline-loaded coasters in the
dark. Zoo Boo at Lowry Park Zoo offers "spooktacular" adventures for the whole
family in October while the annual Latin-style Halloween celebration Guavaween
will bring the seven deadly sins to Tampa's historic Ybor City with its "Sin
in the City" theme.
New to Tampa this year are a variety of family-friendly attractions. Busch
Gardens offers a new Broadway-style show called KaTonga and a "cat-and-mouse
style" roller coaster for youngsters. The Florida Aquarium's new outdoor water
play area for kids, Explore-A-Shore, has quickly become one of the waterfront
attraction's top draws with its cool water slides and cannons. Lowry Park Zoo,
just named the "#1 zoo in the U.S. for kids" by Child Magazine, opened Safari
Africa, a new African-themed area featuring habitats for giraffes, elephants,
bongo and other wildlife.
Tampa also offers a few new playgrounds that appeal to a more grown-up
crowd. The upscale Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has a sleek rock 'n roll
edge and features a casino with gaming machines and poker tables, a full-
service spa and a pool area with authentic Seminole "chickee" huts for VIP
lounging. Adjacent to the Hard Rock is the Ford Amphitheatre, a new outdoor
concert venue, where some of the music industry's top performers have already
played to sold-out crowds.
For more information of what's new and what's going on in Tampa, log on to
http://www.VisitTampaBay.com .
St. Petersburg/Clearwater
The St. Petersburg/Clearwater area weathered the storms with little
erosion to its award-winning beaches. If you don't believe us, go to
http://www.floridasbeach.com/news/storminfo.aspx for a page of images shot
after the last hurricane passed. Here are some of the major events happening
this winter. For more information on winter events, go to
http://www.floridasbeach.com/departments/media/pressreleasekit .
Dali and Disney: Mickey Mouse meets Salvador Dali in St. Petersburg this
winter. The Salvador Dali Museum features the never-before released short film
Destino that Dali created with Walt Disney nearly 60 years ago. It is part of
the Dali and Mass Culture exhibit celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the
artist's birth. Making its American debut will be the paintings and drawings
Dali created for Destino -- his collaboration with Disney and Disney
animators. The film will be shown throughout the exhibit, which runs
Oct. 1 - Jan. 12, 2005. The St. Petersburg museum showcases the most
comprehensive collection of Dali works in the world. 727-823-3767
http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org
Our Wildest Place: Visitors can explore a window to the area's wildest
place - the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center. The
$9 million center opened this summer featuring an object theater where
holographic residents from the county's past step off the screen to teach
about the area's history and a gopher tortoise burrow that kids -- and adults
-- can climb through. 727-453-6900
http://www.friendsofbrookercreekpreserve.org
Trolley Traverses All Beaches: The area's beach trolley service has
expanded to include all the area's Gulf of Mexico beaches from Pass-A-Grille
to downtown Clearwater. The air-conditioned, natural gas-operated trolleys
also take visitors from Treasure Island on the beaches to downtown
St. Petersburg. Trolleys operate every day 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and later on the
weekends. Cost is $1.50 per ride or $3 for the day. 727-530-9911
http://www.psta.net/beachtrolley.htm
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