With more than 6.5 million feet of convention and meeting space, the second largest convention center in the United States, hundreds of hotels, this city is the ideal location to hold an annual meeting, tradeshow or convention.
Orlando is a world-class meetings destination that hosts more than 3 million delegates each year, and offers a variety of facilities that accommodate small groups as well as large citywide conventions and trade shows. The Orange County Convention Center is ranked second in the United States in terms of exhibition space with more than 2.1 million square feet. The Center also offers 479,190 square feet of meeting rooms. There are more than 11,000 hotel rooms within walking distance of the center. An additional 4.6 million square feet of meeting space is available in the area's hotels and cultural venues.
Exterior of North/South Building at the Orange County Convention Center
© 2012 Visit Orlando
A SUSTAINABLE, SMART MEETING DESTINATION
More and more of Orlando is going green. The area’s attractions, hotels, restaurants, corporations and civic leaders are all engaged in ongoing efforts to develop sustainable practices and programs to transform Orlando into a leading environmentally-conscious city.
Central Florida offers an impressive – and growing – array of accommodation options certified by Florida’s Green Lodging program. More than 100 Orlando-area hotels have become designated properties in this program managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. To achieve this recognition, the facilities must follow certain eco-friendly practices including water conservation measures through low-flow plumbing fixtures; linen reuse programs; energy efficiency and programmable thermostats; waste reduction programs such as recycling, purchasing items in bulk and purchasing recycled materials; as well as the use of green cleaners, high-efficiency air filters and clean air handler units.
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort
© Loews Hotels
Among the convention center hotels to achieve this distinction are the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort, Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes, Orlando World Center Marriott Resort & Convention Center, Rosen Centre Hotel, Rosen Plaza Hotel, Rosen Shingle Creek and the Peabody Orlando. A comprehensive listing of Orlando green-certified hotels can be found at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection website.
Peabody Orlando King Suite
©2012 Peabody Hotel Group
NEW AND EXCITING VENUES
Along with Orlando’s theme parks and world-class hotels, the city’s collection of unique venues for teambuilding activities, cocktail receptions and other special events keeps on growing.
Eco-minded groups will love Forever Florida, a 4,700-acre ranch and wildlife conservation area in the heart of Central Florida. The ranch debuted a new Zip-line Safari Experience, which includes a hike on Florida’s Trail (one of only eleven National Scenic Trails in the country) to the zip-line course where participants can speed over treetops 55 feet above the ground at 25 mph. Indoor event facilities include the Cypress Restaurant and Visitor Center for groups as large as 200 people. Planners with corporate responsibility on the brain will appreciate that thirty percent of tour revenues go directly back to Forever Florida’s conservation efforts.
Eco-minded groups will love Forever Florida, a 4,700-acre ranch and wildlife conservation area in the heart of Central Florida. The ranch debuted a new Zip-line Safari Experience, which includes a hike on Florida’s Trail (one of only eleven National Scenic Trails in the country) to the zip-line course where participants can speed over treetops 55 feet above the ground at 25 mph. Indoor event facilities include the Cypress Restaurant and Visitor Center for groups as large as 200 people. Planners with corporate responsibility on the brain will appreciate that thirty percent of tour revenues go directly back to Forever Florida’s conservation efforts.
Grand arrival at Grande Lakes Orlando Resort
Photo courtesy of Grande Lakes Orlando Resort.
Another new outdoor teambuilding option is available at the popular Grande Lakes Orlando Resort, which includes the 584-room Ritz-Carlton, Orlando and 1,000-room JW Marriott. The resort opened The Grande Lakes Adventure Course for groups up to 30 people. The course offers a playground of high wire experiences including aerial walkways, dueling zip-lines, a 40-foot swing and a ropes course for teambuilding challenges. Cubicle dwelling attendees can breathe easy - the course is built for children as young as eight.
Break out of the boardroom with a rousing round of healthy competition at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex, which was re-named the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in February 2010. The 220-acre complex encompasses a multitude of venues for meeting and event options including a 271-seat restaurant, a 9,500-seat Major League Baseball park and the 70,000-square-foot Milk House, an indoor sporting facility. Newly introduced teambuilding and special event options include an ESPN Poker Club Challenge, tailgate parties with truckloads (literally) of food for up to 1,000 guests, sporting tournaments (choose from softball, volleyball, soccer, or flag-football) complete with cheerleaders and announcers, team challenge scavenger hunts and Sports Central, a “sports bar meets television studio” event where sportscasters joke and jab with guests.
Sak Comedy Lab, Orlando’s popular improv comedy theater, is housed in an 8,000-square-foot space at the CityArts Factory. The downtown theater offers private shows and interactive teambuilding seminars for groups up to 200 people. The venue’s newest offering, “Cocktails & Comedy,” starts off with a round of drinks and follows with a live improv performance by Sak’s world-famous comedians. Sak’s unique approach of gathering information about a group beforehand makes for a hilarious and personalized experience. And if a group is stuck in the boardroom, the Sak team will travel. At Pointe Orlando within walking distance of the Orange County Convention Center, the Improv Orlando is both a comedy club and the Fat Fish Blue restaurant under one roof. The comedy club accommodates seated functions up to 350 guests, and the Mardi Gras-themed Fat Fish Blue seats up to 300 for private events.
The Amway Center, Orlando’s new arena opened in October 2010, is steps from downtown Orlando and serves as the home of the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team. The 875,000-square-foot center features the largest high-definition scoreboard in NBA history, 20,000 spectator seats and a slew of new amenities including 70 suites at three levels. For private events, the center offers a hospitality room overlooking downtown Orlando, the rooftop Sky Club bar, a full-sized practice court seating 500 for events, and five banquet rooms and one boardroom on the club level floor. The 31,000-square-foot arena floor is also available for exhibitions, meetings and events.
Riders on Manta, SeaWorld Orlando’s new attraction, get ready to drop over 100 feet
and find out what it’s like to spin, glide, skim and fly like a giant ray as they experience
the only flying roller coaster of its kind in the world.
Photo by – Jason Collier, SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld’s Manta roller coaster attraction can be used for special events during the park’s after hours. The hybrid attraction is part rollercoaster, part animal encounter with more than ten aquariums holding about 3,000 fish and rays. Cocktail receptions and dinners can be held inside the aquarium exhibit area for groups up to 600 and can include use of the 60-mph coaster.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™
© 2012 Universal Studios
Universal Orlando Resort’s famed land, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Islands of Adventure theme park is also a themed wonderland for meeting events. Inspired by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter book series, the park includes shops, dining, rides and attractions that bring the book’s setting, the world of Hogsmeade, to life. Groups can enjoy an exclusive performance by the Frog Choir - a group of Hogwarts students who sing along with their croaking frogs, or cheer on the Hogwarts students as they march from Hogswarts castle to the Triwizard Tournament.
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
It’s a breeze getting to and from Orlando. Orlando International Airport (MCO) has more than 30 scheduled airlines, four charters and five cargo companies provide non-stop service to 88 destinations in the United States and 24 international cities. The airport is located about 15 miles from the Orange County Convention Center.
For ground transportation and parking information click here.
The city is also services by Orlando Sanford International Airport with eight airlines serving 31 U.S. and 17 international destinations, and Orlando Executive Airport.
Train service is available to Orlando as well. Amtrak serves Florida with the daily Silver Star and Silver Meteor trains from Orlando, Winter Park and Kissimmee and south to Miami or north to New York, making connections with Amtrak trains from the Midwest and Canada. Nearby in Sanford, Amtrak also operates the daily Auto Train overnight without scheduled stops to Lorton, Va., a Washington D.C suburb, carrying passengers and their cars, minivans, SUV’s and motorcycles. More information is available atAmtrak.com.
LYNX, Central Florida's public transportation system, provides economical and dependable bus service in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. LYNX bus stops are marked with a pink "bus'' or "paw" print and include the route numbers served at that stop. Buses run in 15, 30 and 60-minute intervals, depending on location. Complete schedules are available online at golynx.com. LYNX also operates LYMMO, a free circulator bus in downtown Orlando with 21 stops reaching from the Amway Arena to City Hall. LYMMO buses run every five to 10 minutes.
For more information about holding a meeting in Orlando, visit orlandomeeting.com, call the Visit Orlando Convention Sales department at 800-662-2825 or 407-363-5847 or email Visit Orlando at sales@orlandocvb.com.
With appreciation to Visit Orlando for their support with this post.
