First season of tourism-driving content on Netflix; this season will appear on Amazon Prime
Experience Kissimmee, the tourism marketing arm for our area, has taken the essence of living an experience in Kissimmee to the screen.
After a successful first season, the agency debut Season 2 of The Kissimmee Experience, a series of digital episodes that highlight what the area has to offer beyond theme parks.
Experience Kissimmee invited tourism industry and media members last week for a sneak peek screening of three of the Season 2 episodes.
Ashley Eckstein, most known for the voice of Ashoka Tano in the Star Wars Series, is also an Orlando area native, and realizes that many tourists who want to come to Central Florida do so for the theme parks, and their awareness of Kissimmee may only be as “Disney’s front porch.”
Eckstein was a part of the Aug. 18 premiere—as she’s in one of the episodes that highlights, appropriately, space, with visits to Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, then a related trip to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
“I grew up visiting Kissimmee, but (the series) is a really nice reminder not to take for granted that this is a great place to stay,” she said. “It’s so close to the parks, the beaches and so many sights. Going to space makes coming here a place to dream.”
You’ll likely recognize some of the other talent in the series. Chandler Riggs, most known for Carl in The Walking Dead, took in some axe throwing, VR and adventure rooms in his episodes.
The unscripted travel series shows are hosted by Jen Bonner, who lived in Central Florida for 19 years and got to connect with Kissimmee— almost from an early age on a family trip when she lived in Maryland as a child.
“It was always my wish to go see an alligator, so I wanted to go to Gatorland, but our plans changed,” she said. “I had to wait almost 20 years to see my alligator.”
Luckily, Season 1 brought Bonner to Gatorland. That episode, and the rest, are available on YouTube. Experience Kissimmee President/CEO D.T. Minnich said Season 2 will appear on Amazon Prime as well.
“It’s not something you see all the time in destination marketing, but it’s a very highend production,” he said. “It’s a big deal for us, and it was great to have some of these celebrities appear and talk about the destination. When you’re selling a destination, it’s all about content these days, and showing people what they can expect to experience on vacation.
“Each episode highlight different aspects of traveling here—families, couples, showcasing all the different ways to experience a vacation in Kissimmee.”
Experience Kissimmee’s Content Studio team produced the second season of six episodes. No stranger to developing content to showcase the hidden (and not-so-hidden) gems of Osceola County, EK took on this production, its largest ever, with Director Nick Floyd using just a bit of outside help. But the sound, videography and such is all EK.
“This series aims to elevate global awareness of Kissimmee as a premier destination, boosting tourism and positively impacting the local economy in Osceola County,” an EK release said.
