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Ahh yes, but that poster was first having to deal with the pervasive, and ridiculous, false perception that Orlando is automatically less of a city than these others because of the attractions located here.
While I agree that these other cities might have similar lists like the one you gave for KC, the answer to the "more" question is simply Disney World and all the other world class attractions that make us the most visited city in the country.
See our point, which was clearly lost on you, was that Orlando often has just as much as similar sized places, with all the added benefits of being THE top destination.
How do you like them examples?
Lost on me? YOU DON'T GET IT OR CAN'T READ.
People were asking for exaples BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM that makes Orlando stand out from the crowd.
You guys said there was "More than most of the cities on this list." BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM
I asked for examples of the "More things than most of the cities on this list BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM"
And I got a list of sup-par to average things that ALL cities have.
So good for you, you guys still have ONE thing that makes you stand out, that most people do not care about as evidenced by the poll. Again, BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM, what makes you guys stand out?
Most of the cities on the list can point to one unique feature of their city too.
Maybe the overt use of caps, underlines, bolds, italics, etc... will make sure the point that people are trying to make isn't "lost on you".
People were asking for exaples BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM that makes Orlando stand out from the crowd.
You guys said there was "More than most of the cities on this list." BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM
I asked for examples of the "More things than most of the cities on this list BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM"
And I got a list of sup-par to average things that ALL cities have.
So good for you, you guys still have ONE thing that makes you stand out, that most people do not care about as evidenced by the poll. Again, BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM, what makes you guys stand out?
Most of the cities on the list can point to one unique feature of their city too.
Maybe the overt use of caps, underlines, bolds, italics, etc... will make sure the point that people are trying to make isn't "lost on you".
Have to agree. ^
Not knocking Orlando by any means, I mean, I did include it on this list as a viable option. Having never visited the city I am not overly familiar with it besides its renown for having Universal Studios, Disney World, Sea World, and some other theme park. Now that alone makes Orlando pretty unique and stand out from most other cities. I've also heard that Orlando has more hotel rooms than any other city in the country, and also has one of the highest levels of international traffic, probably mostly because of its major attractions.
However, outside of its major theme parks, it doesn't seem like there is much else that makes Orlando special or unique. Not unusual, I mean most cities are only known for a few things. Are there some special national parks? Geographic sites? Major or prestigious universities?
Not knocking Orlando by any means, I mean, I did include it on this list as a viable option. Having never visited the city I am not overly familiar with it besides its renown for having Universal Studios, Disney World, Sea World, and some other theme park. Now that alone makes Orlando pretty unique and stand out from most other cities. I've also heard that Orlando has more hotel rooms than any other city in the country, and also has one of the highest levels of international traffic, probably mostly because of its major attractions.
However, outside of its major theme parks, it doesn't seem like there is much else that makes Orlando special or unique. Not unusual, I mean most cities are only known for a few things. Are there some special national parks? Geographic sites? Major or prestigious universities?
Lets look back at the original purpose of this thread, the OPs intent was to compare a "Battle of the 2 million metro Cities" with Orlando being one of those 2+ million metros, none of these "2 million metro cities" are an NYC or an LA and thats what makes them all unique and comparable, they are all mid-sized metros in different geographic regions around the country. With that being said, as you stated, I also believe that many of the cities listed have comparable attributes to Orlando as you mentioned, however, I also believe that there are many attributes of Orlando that make the city more competitive and more well positioned than others, this is besides the obvious fact and clear advantage that Orlando is already one of the top tourist destinations in the world and is home to 7+ world-class internationally-renowned theme parks including the single most visited theme park in the WORLD. Here are some of those attributes that I am referring to since you are looking for specifics:
Orlando has the 2nd Largest convention center in the country which has consistently ranked Orlando as one of the Top 5 convention-destination cities in America, in many cases Orlando has won bids for major international conventions over other major legacy cities like Chicago, NYC, DC, and Las Vegas. Conventions brings $$$$ to the city, boost the local economy, and secure citywide hotel occupancy numbers during non-tourism periods, this means more jobs, more hotel and hospitality business development, and more income to local tax resources, overall this is a major benefit to the city, its residents, and the entire state region. Meeting planners choose Orlando because its an ATTRACTIVE destination, it has the infrastructure/facilities in place to handle large conventions and events, and it has a obvious plethora of leisure amenities to entertain convention attendee, and I dont just mean the theme parks, I am talking top of the line golf courses, beaches (45 minute drive away), nightlife/clubs/bars, dining, luxury resorts, spas, etc...
Orlando will soon be home to the newest and most advanced state-of-the-art performing arts center in the Southeast, The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts will open this fall and will make strides in the region and put up some competition to comparable venues in cities like Miami, Atlanta, and Tampa.
Orlando currently has one of the largest and most state-of-the-art NBA arenas in the country, the Amway Center opened in 2010 and has already turned heads in the sports entertainment industry. Orlando hosted the NBA All Star Game in 2012 and is in line to host additional major events in the future with this new massive facility as a huge selling point that blows away other comparable arenas around the country. The new facility has also brought a plethora of major concerts and events to the Orlando area that are now skipping other cities in the state and leaving nearby metros such as Tampa in the dust..
Orlando has one of the largest airports in the Southeast, is the 2nd busiest airport in the state of Florida (only second to Miami), and has consistently won JD Power awards year over year as one of the best operated and most traveler-friendly airports in the country, this led JetBlue as selecting Orlando as its Florida base of operations and home of its nationwide corporate training center. This means transportation infrastructure, aviation industry jobs, gateways to international destinations, and numerous flight options and competitive fare pricing to get both locals and visitors to/from Orlando and the Mid Florida region.
Orlando has a variety of thriving industries in addition to the obvious hospitality and tourism, up and coming industries in Orlando include Biotech Research, Digital Media Arts, Military Contracting, and Healthcare Research just to name a few. This means jobs and innovation.
Orlando is home to the University of Central Florida (UCF) which is the SECOND LARGEST university in the country by undergraduate enrollment. Not to mention, UCF has an up and coming athletics program which is turning heads and is drawing top high school talent recruits from around the country. 2014 BCS Fiesta Bowl Champions! Go KNIGHTS! In addition to UCF, Orlando is also home to Rollins College which is one of the top rated Part Time MBA program in the Southeast and one of the top rated Liberal Arts Colleges in the country.
Orlando has a laundry list of major projects and developments in the pipeline and under construction that will literally revolutionize the cityscape Orlando and its status as a major American city, this is in addition to major venue developments such as the new MLS soccer stadium currently under construction. One example of such projects is the following: Orlando City Council Green Lights Magic Development | Orlando Magic.. Essentially the East Coast version of LA Live in LA, it is even being designed by the same architectural firm that built LA Live.
Orlando has the tremendous benefit of being within comfortable driving proximity to pristine Florida beaches on both the Atlantic and Gulf Coast, within proximity to the Kennedy Space Center, and within proximity to Port Canaveral. It is literally the best of both worlds.
I would really like to see how the other metro listed can compete with Orlando in any of the categories above, the only exception is the airport category in which only ONE city outperforms Orlando's airport and thats Charlotte which is a hub airport for US Airways (now AA).
People were asking for exaples BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM that makes Orlando stand out from the crowd.
You guys said there was "More than most of the cities on this list." BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM
I asked for examples of the "More things than most of the cities on this list BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM"
And I got a list of sup-par to average things that ALL cities have.
So good for you, you guys still have ONE thing that makes you stand out, that most people do not care about as evidenced by the poll. Again, BESIDES THEME-PARK RELATED TOURISM, what makes you guys stand out?
Most of the cities on the list can point to one unique feature of their city too.
Maybe the overt use of caps, underlines, bolds, italics, etc... will make sure the point that people are trying to make isn't "lost on you".
So should we just say all the cities in this thread are about equal, even though you once again prove my point that Orlando has about the same "average" amenities as any other city on this list, as well as having all the benefits related to being the top destination in the United States??
Oh wait, "besides that" was your reply.
You: Examples??!!!
Me and other Orlando Poster: Orlando has all the things the other metros have, and also has world class attractions that most city's could only dream of.
You: Oh ya well, besides that bro, besides that!!!
And for the record you never once said the "more than most cities" couldn't have been our attractions. You simply asked for an example of what Orlando has beyond these other cities (after another poster showed you how it basically has the so called normal stuff of these other metros) and I responded with the most accurate answer. I mean it's pretty great having the parks here, but I tend to forget about them with so much else going on in the actual, real Orlando.
EDIT: I just looked back at the list of cities and now I can officially say there is something I forgot, and that's beachy/tropical culture by which I mean spending lots of time surfing, SUPing, wakeboarding, skiing, etc, year freakin' round. Add that to the list of advantages that the other cities don't have.
Lets look back at the original purpose of this thread, the OPs intent was to compare a "Battle of the 2 million metro Cities" with Orlando being one of those 2+ million metros, none of these "2 million metro cities" are an NYC or an LA and thats what makes them all unique and comparable, they are all mid-sized metros in different geographic regions around the country. With that being said, as you stated, I also believe that many of the cities listed have comparable attributes to Orlando as you mentioned, however, I also believe that there are many attributes of Orlando that make the city more competitive and more well positioned than others, this is besides the obvious fact and clear advantage that Orlando is already one of the top tourist destinations in the world and is home to 7+ world-class internationally-renowned theme parks including the single most visited theme park in the WORLD. Here are some of those attributes that I am referring to since you are looking for specifics:
Orlando has the 2nd Largest convention center in the country which has consistently ranked Orlando as one of the Top 5 convention-destination cities in America, in many cases Orlando has won bids for major international conventions over other major legacy cities like Chicago, NYC, DC, and Las Vegas. Conventions brings $$$$ to the city, boost the local economy, and secure citywide hotel occupancy numbers during non-tourism periods, this means more jobs, more hotel and hospitality business development, and more income to local tax resources, overall this is a major benefit to the city, its residents, and the entire state region. Meeting planners choose Orlando because its an ATTRACTIVE destination, it has the infrastructure/facilities in place to handle large conventions and events, and it has a obvious plethora of leisure amenities to entertain convention attendee, and I dont just mean the theme parks, I am talking top of the line golf courses, beaches (45 minute drive away), nightlife/clubs/bars, dining, luxury resorts, spas, etc...
Orlando will soon be home to the newest and most advanced state-of-the-art performing arts center in the Southeast, The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts will open this fall and will make strides in the region and put up some competition to comparable venues in cities like Miami, Atlanta, and Tampa.
Orlando currently has one of the largest and most state-of-the-art NBA arenas in the country, the Amway Center opened in 2010 and has already turned heads in the sports entertainment industry. Orlando hosted the NBA All Star Game in 2012 and is in line to host additional major events in the future with this new massive facility as a huge selling point that blows away other comparable arenas around the country. The new facility has also brought a plethora of major concerts and events to the Orlando area that are now skipping other cities in the state and leaving nearby metros such as Tampa in the dust..
Orlando has one of the largest airports in the Southeast, is the 2nd busiest airport in the state of Florida (only second to Miami), and has consistently won JD Power awards year over year as one of the best operated and most traveler-friendly airports in the country, this led JetBlue as selecting Orlando as its Florida base of operations and home of its nationwide corporate training center. This means transportation infrastructure, aviation industry jobs, gateways to international destinations, and numerous flight options and competitive fare pricing to get both locals and visitors to/from Orlando and the Mid Florida region.
Orlando has a variety of thriving industries in addition to the obvious hospitality and tourism, up and coming industries in Orlando include Biotech Research, Digital Media Arts, Military Contracting, and Healthcare Research just to name a few. This means jobs and innovation.
Orlando is home to the University of Central Florida (UCF) which is the SECOND LARGEST university in the country by undergraduate enrollment. Not to mention, UCF has an up and coming athletics program which is turning heads and is drawing top high school talent recruits from around the country. 2014 BCS Fiesta Bowl Champions! Go KNIGHTS! In addition to UCF, Orlando is also home to Rollins College which is one of the top rated Part Time MBA program in the Southeast and one of the top rated Liberal Arts Colleges in the country.
Orlando has a laundry list of major projects and developments in the pipeline and under construction that will literally revolutionize the cityscape Orlando and its status as a major American city, this is in addition to major venue developments such as the new MLS soccer stadium currently under construction. One example of such projects is the following: Orlando City Council Green Lights Magic Development | Orlando Magic.. Essentially the East Coast version of LA Live in LA, it is even being designed by the same architectural firm that built LA Live.
Orlando has the tremendous benefit of being within comfortable driving proximity to pristine Florida beaches on both the Atlantic and Gulf Coast, within proximity to the Kennedy Space Center, and within proximity to Port Canaveral. It is literally the best of both worlds.
I would really like to see how the other metro listed can compete with Orlando in any of the categories above, the only exception is the airport category in which only ONE city outperforms Orlando's airport and thats Charlotte which is a hub airport for US Airways (now AA).
And only on volume. It's cheaper to fly in and out of MCO for both locals and visitors, plus being a hub simply means people are just passing through.
OIA is one of the country's busiest O&D airports period. That means the traffic is originating and terminating at MCO and not just connecting, so that actually is a positive for us over CLT.
Plus MCO is a more impressive and higher ranked airport so the million or so extra passengers Charlotte can keep. Ha, the only other transportation advantage Charlotte had over us (IMO) is gone now too, as our rail system dwarfed thiers on opening day, and our expansion will bring our system to over 60 miles vs theirs which is like 9 miles or something and is only light rail at that.
So should we just say all the cities in this thread are about equal, even though you once again prove my point that Orlando has about the same "average" amenities as any other city on this list, as well as having all the benefits related to being the top destination in the United States??
Oh wait, "besides that" was your reply.
You: Examples??!!!
Me and other Orlando Poster: Orlando has all the things the other metros have, and also has world class attractions that most city's could only dream of.
You: Oh ya well, besides that bro, besides that!!!
And for the record you never once said the "more than most cities" couldn't have been our attractions. You simply asked for an example of what Orlando has beyond these other cities (after another poster showed you how it basically has the so called normal stuff of these other metros) and I responded with the most accurate answer. I mean it's pretty great having the parks here, but I tend to forget about them with so much else going on in the actual, real Orlando.
EDIT: I just looked back at the list of cities and now I can officially say there is something I forgot, and that's beachy/tropical culture by which I mean spending lots of time surfing, SUPing, wakeboarding, skiing, etc, year freakin' round. Add that to the list of advantages that the other cities don't have.
DURRR, the ORIGINAL question was BESIDES theme parks, duh. To which you guys said you have a ton of things other cities don't... and you can't list one.
The best part, is despite the obvious boosterism, Orlando is tied for third worst in the poll, LOL!
That doesn't make it a bad city though. A poll on C-D doesn't mean much, considering Orlando is the city on the list with the most visitors a year, by far.
Besides, we all know the cities with the most votes have multiple duplicate accounts
Aren't most of the visitors in Orlando there to visit the theme parks and the city benefits by default? As someone without a dog in this fight I know the case can be made for Orlando. I just feel like the argument of it having more visitors than any other city on the list is disingenuous since almost none of the visitors are there to visit the city. I mean if Walt would have picked a field near Jacksonville you'd be making that argument about the redneck riviera and we'd be like where's Orlando?
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