U.S. 192 merchants: We’ve lived off Disney’s crumbs for too long
Featured, News — By Jason Garcia on January 20, 2010 at 10:22 am
The newly formed 192 Business Alliance is trying to revive the U.S. Highway 192 tourist strip west of Kissimmee. (Orlando Sentinel file)
By Sara K. Clarke, Orlando Sentinel
In an increasingly competitve market, merchants along U.S. Highway 192 east of Disney World are hoping to carve out a separate identity for their tourist corridor with an orange-themed motif they hope will set them apart from other Orlando-area destinations.
The proposed fix is fast and easy by design: Transform a 5-mile-long strip of 192 east of Interstate 4 into “Orange Central” by painting the curbs or sidewalks orange. The theme would continue with a new public-transportation option consisting of two orange-colored shuttle buses. A new Web site would promote the area, and businesses would support the initiative with things like orange mints in their lobbies.
The merchants also want Osceola County to choose the area for a proposed sports complex that could attract amateur athletes for competitions.
“For too long we have lived off of the crumbs of what Walt Disney World left us,” said Mark Brisson, marketing director for Fun Spot of Florida Inc. “We need to make this area unique.”
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33 Comments
Tourists are more concerned about making the area safe and free of crime more than orange sidewalks and buses.
How awesome is this!?! Orange Sidewalks/curbs and purple peeling light poles! Can’t wait!
These places do realize that they wouldn’t exist at all if it weren’t for Disney? They can do what they want and make the place Orange, but I don’t think that will change anything. I don’t see anyone booking their central florida vacation to enjoy the beautiful sites of orange 192 and not spend time in Disney because of it.
Remember when the proposed Orange area was called Tacky Town in the Florida Trend magazine in the early 1980’s that led to the current
Hwy 192 Road design to Kissimmee ? Mark Bission has forgotten that
Disney’s Sports Venue is in Osceola county so why should the county
go into debt for another government owned venue ? They should be glad
they are getting “the crumbs” and stop blaming Disney for their problems.
Instead of wasting the money to pursue this orange concept, use the money to form a “West 192 Merchant’s Association” and work together to get rid of the shoddy used ticket booths, unkept rows of “free news” publication boxes, and beef up safety/security for the area…THEN you can worry about your appearance.
Unless you fix the problems that make West 192 a place with quality businesses and none of the “trash” that currently camps out on the lawns of legitimate businesses, it’s not going to matter what color your curbs are.
Put some money into maintaining what the taxpayers already paid for, the purple lamp posts and mile marker signs, which are in a sad state of disrepair in some areas. The area still has so much potential as it already is.
If you show us that you are really willing to maintain what the taxpayers have already paid you for, they may be willing to give you some more…but you’d have to make the effort to show them that you really WANT to make it better…not just make it appear that it is.
They say that they are “living off the crumbs that Disney left for us?” That’s one of the most convoluted things I’ve ever heard. Speaking as if Disney has only left them crumbs shows an very envious and warped view of things to the point of mental illness. Rather, Disney, who incidently was there first, has been providing these people with their bread and butter for years. They should be thankful because without Disney they might be starving.
Without DISNEY none of these businesses would be here. I agree that Disney is the main attraction and people pay a pretty penny to go there. Ive been to the shops on 192 and they AREN’T cheap. I’m really not sure what they are complaining about. Make it a little more safe, improve the tourists transportation (considering most don’t rent a car, they shuttle to Disney from the airport) and use your OWN money on constructive advertising for your own business. If you build it, they will come. Try working on your own business concepts instead of waiting for Disney to bail out your failed Orange street tourist trap.
Tacky for sure. Half the stores closed, abandoned restaurants, tourist attractions that closed five years ago , illegal ticket vendors everywhere and motels charging $19 per room this week. It is effortless to rent a cheap hotel room for $149 a week. According to the local school board hundreds of families use highway 192 as affordable housing and you can see that every day . near my home I once prominent Ramada now is the home for over 300 children. What’s the solution when the entire area is so run down? That’s not easy but I have a few suggestions. Lynx bus routes are not practical if you want to head to Disney from the east or west 192. You have to get to Celebration, transfer and then take another bus to get to the Disney ticket centre at the MK. Has anyone ever gave it a thought to getting rid of those dozens of antiquated shuttles used by hotels to Disney in favor of an actual Lynx shuttle that heads to the logical transfer points such as the Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney. Better yet to approach the hotel managers along the 192 offering them discounted bus rates so their guests will have access to the parks using public transportation. Lynx will argue that they can’t compete with private enterprise but that is ridiculous. While Lynx busses stay empty those hotels shuttles belch black smoke as they maneuver highway 192. if hotel guests can get to Disney at a reasonable cost the need for those millions of cars will reduce highway 192 to a nice road.
Another thing that irks me is seeing cheap ticket vendors on every corner The county and Disney closing their eyes to illegal ticket vendors and seeing another fake hot air balloon announcing “Cheap Disney “ tickets has to be dealt with. There are local laws and many of them violate them every day. The main problem is no one is willing to enforce those laws. I wouldn’t walk the 192 on most nights as it has become a haven for petty criminals including prostitutes and bag ladies.
The county needs to take a whole new approach and offer incentives to stay in affordable hotels along the 192. Tourists need to feel safe. Clients bring dollars and they can be spent in stores. Unless corporate highway 192 is willing to take the lead and encourage Osceola county to smarten up all we will see for the next decade is a further decline in the appearance along that highway.
First thing that needs to be done on 192 is to bulldoze the several thousand business signs (many of which are still showing significant damage from the 2004 hurricanes) that have turned the road into an ugly Vegas-wannabe. Kissimmee and the County need to develop new standards for these types of signs – - size limits, height limits, minimum setback from the road, illumination standards, etc. – - and then enforce them. And while the bulldozers are there, scoop up all the ugly free newspaper/brochure/ad boxes. When they’re done, somebody please take a broom to the entire stretch of road.
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you! You can start by doing something about the insane timing of the stoplights. I avoid that area to eat because I just don’t want to sit at long red lights and look at empty intersections. It is run down and inconvenient. The mayor needs to get a clue and fix the traffic mess first.
The last several times I’ve visited 192, I had money to spend but never found a compelling reason to stop at many stores. Orange curbs aren’t going to change that. There are enough crappy stores at the Crossroads that I don’t need to venture all the way to 192. There are plenty of people with money to spend but no places attractive enough to spend it. I don’t need anymore low-quality knockoff T-shirts and shell necklaces. Frankly the T-shirts at Walmart are better quality. 192 needs to reinvent themselves as a destination for Disney tourists to go for something a little different.
ONE THING I NOTICE IS EVERYTHING CLOSES EARLY !? EXAMPLE YOUR A DISNEY ALL DAY OR ANY MAJOR THEME PARK WHEN YOU GET OUT AT 8 – 11PM SAY YOU WANT A SANDWICH OR SOME EXTRA LATE HOUR SHOPPING SNACK ENTERTAINMENT? WELL EVERYTHING IS CLOSED ? WANT A LATE NIGHT DINNER AFTER HITTING THE PARK ALL DAY FORGET IT MAYBE IHOP TOPS !? EVERYTHING SHOULD BE OPEN TO AT LEAST 1AM ?
As a regular tourist from the UK for the last twenty years I have seen the decline of the 192 strip as new roads into Disney have been built. Staying in places on both the east and west side of the I4 and south of the parks we always had to travel along the 192 to get into Disney or to the I-drive area. Now there is no need with the Osceola Parkway and Dan Webster Highway making the 192 a slow and redundant route with no attractions or major shopping venue to make a detour to visit worthwhile. Painting the sidewalk orange and turning the area into a cartoon town will do nothing but make it a laughing stock, some sort of tax break needs to be given to so a vast Discount Outlet Centre can be built to bring back the tourists.
Making the area uglier and painting it all orange will not make me stop anywhere there for sure.
I know! They can call it ‘THIRD WORLD!!’ They can have abandoned buildings, grimey streets and crappy little shops run by immigrants who don’t speak English. They can have corrupt bosses that own the properties and charge outlandish prices for rent to illegals who live one room to a family, gouge visitors in the price for water, toothpaste and cheap tee shirts that say ‘FLORIDA’. You could enjoy the ‘TAKE MY CAR AND MONEY’ ride where a Columbian on a ’student visa’ steals your car AND your wallet!, or eat at filthy eateries that sell falafal and rice and cat meat, pay exorbitant gas prices, and finally SOUVENIR STORES!! Lots of SOUVENIR STORES!!
Oh, wait…that’s 192 already.
You are an ignorant, everything that you said is a lie.
192 has been living off Disney’s crumbs since 1971.192 and Disney were able to get credit to repair after Huricane Charlie in 2004.The next disaster will leave 192 bankrupt without credit then the real decline will occur.This orange zone is a warning like Homeland Security color codes.Celebration refinanced bonds to repair hurricane damage the next time it will refinance to build a ten meter high wall.
Good luck with that. Biting the hand that feeds you rarely works.
Many tourists will be able to bypass Disney, Universal, and Seaworld just to be able to go to Hightway 192. They will have such fun.
Kissimmee officials, did you hear that Leggoland is coming to the area? WAKE UP over there, why didn’t you guys snag this GREAT attraction. You just have to stay awake to play the game. You blew it again folks!!!!
Hey Nerdly }}} Cypress Gardens is in Winter Haven not Kissimmee.
Precisely my point! You can’t tell me that with some persuasion, creative pitching and maybe some tax incentives that MAYBE Leggoland could have found a closer place in Kissimmee. There is plenty of undeveloped land and large area of 192 are even available. Think outside the box or bury yourself in you sandbox. The choices is theirs to make.
Nerdy-There is only one Cypress Gardens property that is zoned and has elements in place for Leggoland to improve
on in this area. They would have had to start from scratch in Osceola county.
They would have had to start from scratch in Osceola county.
Exactly! Just the kind of improvement project required to rejuvenate 192 corridor. You aren’t on the Mayors staff by any chance are you???? Please put away the paint buckets and start thinking big!
For those wondering: Leggoland is not affiliated with Eggoland.
Legoland is the new park that will occupy the former Cypress Gardens.
I agree with the points that most of the people are attempting to make here. When I travel to the Orlando area with my wife, we always stay along 192. We have found the Comfort Suites to be our favorite, mostly because it is the closest to Old Towne, but I do not think that this “Orange Idea” is going to help. While I enjoy my stays here, I do see where there are points for improvement to the area.
We will be back, and we will almost certainly stay along 192, but ideas such as this will not be the reason why. I am sure that the city can find a much better use for the money than this idea.
OMG! It’s orange! I’ve gotta go! It will make my life complete with it’s orangeness!
Bulldoze. It doesn’t need an orange paint job. It needs to have all the junk and abandoned buildings taken out, replaced with beautiful landscaping and natural parks. The signs and visual clutter are a disaster. The areas where trees have been destroyed need to be replanted. They have turned it into a wasteland. Painting it orange will just serve as a warning of how bad things really are here because of the tacky businesses that beg for scraps from Disney instead of building something real and true of their own. Take care of the environment so people will actually want to stay.
Hello,
it requires using more than just a bucket of paint! I have been to several times in this corner, and up to 2 full of attractions appealing to tourists (+ Oldtown Shopping Center), there is nothing nice there. it changes nothing out there that can stay for very cheap. no thanks, I would never sleep there at night with the fear of not being able to leave the hotel room. if then change it right! it will be even if invistiert the street for tourists so that they formed rooms, a new attraction for Orlando / Kissimmee is. reader love you excuse my bad English, I come from Germany.
Regards Toto
What an idiot this Brisson is an idiot no one cares about Kissimmee and his crap go carts Disney is why his company is there to begin with what a joke he is.
They are lucky to have those crumbs….after all, if Disney did nto open here in FL, they would not have a business. They have shot themselves in the foot by sell junky tee shirts…big deal…Frankly I NEVER go over to 192 becuase of these stores…
The Amateur Sports Capital of the World and Orange Side Walks. Seems the only amateurs are the people in charge. Osceola County just does not get it. Osceola County/Orange County is the number one tourist destination in the world and I cannot for the life of me understand why 192 is in the shape that it is right now. The place is crap. I know because I live in Osceola County. I moved here hoping things would improve, not only for tourists, but also for the people who live in Osceola County. The county has abandoned 192 in lieu of the Loop which is on the Osceola County/Orange County Line on John Young Parkway. The loop isnt even that great, but it least it has some better restaurants (not the best) and a movie theatre, and some smaller shops that add some value to the people who live here. However, the Loop is 7 miles from my house, and about 3-4 miles off the 192 corridor. 192 is now used mainly by tourists, as people who live in Osceola County stay clear of this road because there is nothing of value on this road, except for fast food.
What they should do is make 192 a shopping and entertainment megaplex for both tourists and residents. Upscale shopping, night time entertainment, additional movie theaters, good restaurants, and a safe, aesthetically pleasing environment. Disney dropped the ball by closing Pleasure Island leaving a huge void for tourists to go out at night.
There are plenty of communities that have undergone such transitions. (San Antonio- River Walk, South Beach, Baltimore, Maryland-Harbor Place, Downtown- Miami – Bayside and the arts district, just to name a few. Its time for the Osceola County Commissioners, The City of Kissimmee and the 192 Merchants to get their heads of of the cows ass. It is no longer 1972 when 192 was the only road that led to the magic kingdom. Stop thinking small, stop thinking cheap, and start revitalizing 192 and the area with projects that will actually draw tourists to the area and book hotel rooms. Start thinking also of your residents and future residents as if it werent for the latest housing downturn I and many other people who live in this county would sell our homes and live elsewhere.
And for those of you who think Osceola County Does not have a theme park, you are wrong. We have two – 192 which is modeled after BERUIT and Tacky Town- AKA Kissimmee !!