WHEN IT COMES TO MIXING business with pleasure, it’s easy in the Central Florida city filled with theme parks, magic and wizards — Orlando. In addition to thrilling rides, warm weather year-round and a thriving arts and culture scene, there are 141 meeting hotels offering a combined 4.5 million square feet of meeting space to fit any meeting size and type. Add to that the more than 118,000 hotel rooms found throughout the city, and it’s easy to see why Orlando is as popular a business destination as it is for leisure.

Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek fireworks © WYNDHAM GRAND ORLANDO RESORT BONNET CREEK

At the heart of Orlando’s meeting space sits the Orange County Convention Center with its 2.1 million square feet of exhibition space and 480,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. To enhance that space, the OCCC developed a new 7,000-square-foot Destination Lounge in the South Building that opened in late 2016. The lounge features a video wall; LED systems and lighting to support branding and displays; and is available for meetings, corporate functions and presentations.

To add some fun to its function, the OCCC recently debuted its Center-to-Table Gardens, which at 2,000 square feet is currently the largest aeroponic garden in a public space in the United States. The center’s catering department incorporates the 783 plants grown in the gardens each week, including greens, chard, bok choy, celery, herbs and microgreens.

In addition to the Orange County Convention Center, meeting spaces at a number of Orlando-area hotels have been renovated or are undergoing renovations.

In summer 2016 Loews Sapphire Falls Resort opened in the midst of Universal Orlando Resort, becoming the fifth hotel on the theme park’s grounds. In addition to 1,000 hotel rooms, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort features 114,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 41,000-square-foot ballroom divisible into 12 sections; a 31,000-square-foot hall; 16 breakout rooms; and 27,000 square feet of pre-function space. Outside, in the warm Florida air, another 16,000 square feet of beautifully landscaped space accommodates outdoor functions. For even more meeting space flexibility, the resort links to Loews Royal Pacific Resort to create the Loews Meeting Complex for a total of 2,000 hotel rooms and more than 247,000 square feet of meeting space between both resorts.

Also in 2016, in October, the Buena Vista Palace Resort & Spa became the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace (located in the Disney Springs area). With its name change the resort also unveiled its large-scale remodeling project, including renovations to the 92,000 square feet of meeting space; a new guestroom design; Letterpress, the resort’s new signature restaurant; and Citrus 28, the new grab-and-go market. When it’s time to play, cares float away in the new Float Lagoon, pools and cabanas.

Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek meeting room © WYNDHAM GRAND ORLANDO RESORT BONNET CREEK

The $5 million budget for renovations at the 400-room Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek included a 2,155-square-foot meeting room and a new 3,500-square-foot ballroom that can accommodate up to 360 people.

Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort, Orlando’s iconic convention hotel, is undergoing a $125 million, multiyear redesign project to all 2,267 guestrooms, with a completion date in 2017. And the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld is implementing multimillion-dollar upgrades that include an additional 40,000 square feet of meeting and event space, featuring a new 20,000-square-foot ballroom and enhanced indoor and outdoor space. This is in addition to the existing 60,000 square feet of meeting space.

Westgate Lakes Resort & Spa recently underwent $20 million in renovations to add 20,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space to bring the total meeting space to 36,000 square feet at the luxury condominium resort. Adding to the allure, the flexible meeting space overlooks the Orange County Convention Center; and when the sun goes down, the theme parks’ nightly fireworks light up the sky.

To help ease travel into the area, Orlando International Airport — the second-busiest airport in Florida — is embarking upon a series of capital improvements valued at more than $3.1 billion and has approved designing a new South Terminal project.

To navigate their way from meetings to restaurants to theme parks and much more, visitors are invited to download the new Visit Orlando App (in beta) to make getting around that much easier.

UNIQUE VENUES

Go on — mix business and pleasure in Orlando. It’s easy!

Theme parks are adding attractions at warp speed. Opening this summer, Volcano Bay Water Theme Park at Universal Orlando Resort offers thrilling aqua coaster rides along with a peaceful escape to the warm waters of a lagoon. Also at Universal Orlando, the Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon 3D attraction will open in the spring, putting guests right into Studio 6B where Jimmy will challenge them on an adventure through The Big Apple.
universalorlando.com

Pandora – The World of AVATAR, the largest expansion in the history of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, opens this summer, and Miss Fortune Falls, a family-style raft ride, opens in the spring at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon.
disneyworld.disney.go.com

This fall the new 65,000-square-foot Topgolf facility will open at Orlando’s Convention Way and Universal Boulevard. Offering great food, full-service bars and upscale facilities, it makes an ideal venue for a corporate event with a little competitive fun in the mix.
topgolf.com/us/orlando

Take a quick 45-minute drive on the Beachline from Orlando to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Your team can spend the day marveling at rockets and a shuttle that returned from outer space, enjoying the interactive exhibits and walking through its newest attraction, Heroes & Legends. It features the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, presented by Boeing, which opened in November 2016. It’s out of this world! The visitor center caters to corporate outings and events as well.
kennedyspacecenter.com