Meet the Morelandos: Orlando’s Next Great Characters

What if all of Orlando could feel as iconic as its famous theme parks?

Background

Orlando is famous for its theme parks—and the characters who bring them to life. But beyond the park gates, there’s a whole city filled with experiences worth discovering: natural springs, restaurants, arts centers, and more. These places deserve the same spotlight but often lack the scale or resources to compete.

So how could Visit Orlando give every corner of the city the marketing magic of its biggest attractions?

We started with real Google reviews of these amazing places, written by travelers describing the experiences in their own words. Then, in partnership with the Google Gemini team, we transformed those words into the Morelandos: a new cast of characters inspired by real stories. Using AI, we turned everyday moments into icons, expanding Orlando’s map and giving new life to its Unbelievably Real creative platform, which celebrates the incredible, the emotional, and the truly memorable sides of the city.

Journey

Introducing the Morelandos, a cast of characters inspired by real traveler stories and brought to life through Google AI to champion the hidden gems that make Orlando Unbelievably Real.

A custom Vertex agentic system (a.k.a. the dot-connector) scraped key phrases from thousands of real reviews and prompt-chained between Gemini and Imagen to turn those words into vivid character concepts.
Veo 2 (the magical AI visualizer) animated those characters for paid placements on YouTube and other social channels, giving every story cinematic presence.
Gemini, Imagen, and Veo 2 (the all-things-visual AI tools) powered an interactive digital experience on VisitOrlando.com, inviting visitors to find the Morelandos out in the world.
AR asset geofencing (the “put it here” pin) placed the Morelandos into the real world, where creators and everyday travelers could find, film, and share them—bridging physical and digital storytelling.