On The Eleventh Day of Christmas, Central Florida Gave To Me: 11 Annual Highlights!

A Message From The Central Florida Tourism Collective

DECEMBER 23, 2020.- It’s almost time for the Big Man to start warming up his sleigh and set his reindeer on fast forward, but first we have to look back in our 12 Days of Central Florida Christmas to some of the best moments of our tourist year in the region.

Yes, 2020 will certainly not go down in the annals of history as one of our most memorable years thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic that has caused immense damage to our travel industry and left thousands out of work. 

But there have still been some genuine highlights that have provided comfort and proved Central Florida’s community spirit is alive and well, and that we can all pull together collectively when the needs arise.

So, with that in mind, here are 11 of those major high points from The Year That Was 2020:

Gatorland’s School of Croc: they may have had to close for several months, but those clever folks at the Alligator Capital of the World (aka Gatorland) really came up trumps with their neat alternative school idea that kept interest in the park going while also providing entertaining educational content.

Raglan Road Live ‘At Home’: this was another way to provide a taste of ‘the craic’ from Central Florida’s favorite Irish pub/restaurant, with Raglan Road offering live online sessions from some of their performers even while the whole of Disney Springs was shut down.

Takeout with Scott: local restaurant critic and all-round foodie Scott Joseph was forced to look at new ways to evaluate the region’s dining outlets, and he did it expertly by highlighting all the best takeout options, with full evaluations of the “new normal” for many restaurants.

Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining: again, despite the pandemic, Visit Orlando staged their annual Magical Dining season with a huge effort to highlight participating restaurants AND support this year’s charity, Feed The Need Florida – to the tune of a RECORD $345,378.

Wild Florida Drive-Thru Safari: in these socially-distanced times, finding ways to attract visitors while also keeping them safe was the big challenge, and Wild Florida met it beautifully by promoting their drive-through safari attraction, where visitors never had to leave their cars.

Kenney Communications’ Drive-Through Donations Drive: when the virus was at its height, we saw many worthy collections for those in need, and Kenney Communications put in a memorable Cinco De Mayo effort in conjunction with E2 Destination & Event Management, GMF Consulting Incorporated, Wildly Different Team Building, Two Left Feet DJ Services, Matt Jylha Photography, and Florida Event Décor.

Winter Park’s Curbside To Go: if there was ever a time we needed the takeout process to be made easier (and properly socially distanced), it was 2020. And Winter Park Chamber of Commerce came up with a truly clever system to make their area's restaurants more appealing in this area. Edible Orlando had the full story of this initiative: www.edibleorlando.com/curbside-pickup-in-winter-park/.

Experiencing Central Florida, Differently: we all had to adapt and change for the demands of this year, and Kevin Chippindale, of Graft Marketing and OrlandoAttractions.com, summed it up for us with his special column for the Collective in May: www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/122640502748929.

Harris Rosen Saves The Y: talking of great philanthropic actions this year, Rosen Hotels supremo Harris Rosen upped his own track record of help in the community with a full buy-out of the struggling YMCA Aquatic Center on I-Drive to ensure it stays a much-needed local asset.

Free Orlando Balloon Rides: after being grounded for several months, the area’s top balloon company decided there was one thing they HAD to do – and that was give something back to the essential workers who had risked their health and safety to take care of the rest of us (www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/125158822497097).

Orlando City Foundation’s #KickingItBack Club: our region's Major League soccer team has already made an indelible mark on our region with its charity-minded Orlando City Foundation, but they out-did themselves with the fund-raising effort for their new Kicking It Back Club on Giving Tuesday earlier this December.

They are, in every sense, a true community champion, and one of our undoubted Highlights of 2020: www.orlandocityfoundation.org.

To see more of the Collective’s 12 Days of Central Florida Christmas, click on these links:

Day One: Barnie’s Coffee - https://www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/206148591064786

Day Two: Rosen Hotels - https://www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/206840054328973

Day Three: Downtown Orlando –https://www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/207504964262482

Day Four: Marlow’s Tavern restaurants –

https://www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/209531277393184

Day Five: Revolution Adventures –

https://www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/210243930655252

Day Six: Caribe Royal Resort –

https://www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/210887963924182

Day Seven: ICON Park –

https://www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/211524697193842

Day Eight: Veness Travel Media –

https://www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/212210227125289

Day Nine: Orlando hotel deals –

https://www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/214132890266356

Day Ten: Dine Around the District –

https://www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/posts/214857346860577

· The Central Florida Tourism Collective is a group of like-minded tourism interests united in wanting to give our followers & visitors a reassuring message of life here in the heart of the Sunshine State: https://www.facebook.com/CentralFloridaTourismCollective/

#SupportCFLTourism