Tell a group you’re meeting in Central Florida, and you can almost see the wheels start turning. To thoughts of theme parks and waterslides. Of tee times and princess tea parties. Of mice and X-Men.
And who could blame them? There’s just something about Central Florida’s
“funscape” that seems to reverse the aging process.
Meanwhile, the process of meeting in Central Florida just gets better and easier, as a seemingly endless parade of new developments keeps the region fresh and infused with new vitality.
Orlando
In Orlando, as the theme parks keep dreaming up new ways to thrill visitors—from a new waterpark at SeaWorld in March 2008 to a new Harry Potter-themed environment at Universal Orlando in late 2009—the hotel scene continues its upward ascent with additional brands moving in and older properties moving on with major renovations.
“It’s like they’re constantly trying to improve,” notes Dee Collier, event coordinator for Illinois-based Heartland Dental Care, who schedules a number of meetings and conferences in Orlando every year. “There’s always somebody trying to outdo somebody else. It gives you a lot of variety to choose from.”
This year and next will be no exception, as 3,000 new hotel rooms join the lodgings line-up in 2007 and more than 6,200 rooms open in 2008.
And watch out for 2009, when Hilton Hotels will unveil two major developments: a 1,400-room hotel connected to the Orange County Convention Center via skybridge and featuring 130,000 square feet of meeting space, and a 480-acre resort complex that will include the first Waldorf=Astoria property outside New York City as well as a 1,000-room Hilton hotel. Adjacent to the Walt Disney World Resort, the new complex also will include a Rees Jones championship golf course and 114,000 square feet of meeting space.
Greater Orlando also offers new ways for your group to bond, from new gathering space at Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament to new restaurants with group dining areas, including the Oceanaire Seafood Room at Pointe Orlando and the Porterhouse Restaurant, which recently opened at the Orlando Airport Marriott. At the Walt Disney World Resort, three new golf events designed especially for groups are in full swing: Putters of the Caribbean, in which each foursome becomes a pirate crew and each green an island to be captured; Around the World in 18 Holes, an international “tour” that leads golfers to Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas; and Disney’s Pro Golf Tour Event, which imitates a true, televised pro tournament, complete with an ESPN Club announcer and fans clamoring for players’ autographs.
Golf is also the major focus at a sprawling retreat 35 miles northwest of Orlando—the Mission Inn Resort—a 1,000-acre oasis featuring 36 holes of signature golf and 30,000 square feet of function space. Mission Inn blends seamlessly into the bucolic countryside of Lake County, which lives up to its name with more than 1,000 lakes within its 1,200-square-mile border.
Kissimmee
Part of Greater Orlando but offering a laid-back pace that appeals to many groups, Kissimmee offers a relaxing panorama of bass-filled lakes, horseback riding trails and scenic golf courses tied to spectacular resorts, including the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate and the area’s newest meeting place, Ginn Reunion Resort.
Set right at Disney’s front door, this longtime leisure destination has had a strong focus on meetings as well—adding such convention venues as Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center and Osceola Heritage Park—but that focus is about to become more concentrated, says Maria Grulich, interim director of the Kissimmee CVB, which recently became a division of Osceola County’s Economic Development Department (also headed by Grulich).
“We do a fabulous job of attracting the leisure trade, but we’ve realized we need to go after more of the business, group and sports-related markets,” Grulich says. “Leisure will never go away, but we need to focus on those groups that will bring more to the table.”
Grulich says a new CVB director will be in place shortly, along with a possible CVB liaison to network with industry partners.
“There are partners out there who want to expand their convention space,” Grulich says. “We’re doing an internal strategic plan so we’ll know where we want to go.”
In the meantime, the CVB is busy upgrading services, launching a new Spanish-language website (www.floridakiss.com/espanol) and offering such perks as specially priced theme park tickets for convention attendees that are good for half-day visits, allowing for a morning of sessions followed by an afternoon at the parks.
Seminole County
Orlando’s mellow neighbor to the north is only 15 minutes away but offers another dimension in recreational options, from canoeing, fishing and boating on more than 2,000 lakes and waterways to antiquing through the historic districts of Sanford, Longwood and Oviedo, and discovering the past at sites that include original Native American shell mounds and churches built by Swedish homesteaders.
Specializing in smaller meetings and corporate retreats, the county’s 4,700 hotel rooms are housed at a variety of properties, including the Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs, offering 18,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Orlando Marriott Lake Mary, with 11,500 square feet.
The Comfort Inn & Conference Center, the Embassy Suites Orlando North and the Hilton Garden Inn Lake Mary are other choices in Seminole County.
Ocala
Heading into north-central Florida, groups will find themselves in the heart of Ocala’s horse country, where hundreds of horse farms—some open daily to visitors—breed and train championship thoroughbreds. Trail riding, carriage tours and events like Horse Shows in the Sun, attended by 3,300 horses and 7,000 horsemen each year, make the equine industry a strong attraction for groups of all kinds.
Other options include hiking, biking and horseback riding in Ocala National Forest, canoeing or kayaking the Rainbow, Ocklawaha or Withlacoochee rivers, and stopping in at Silver Springs, a 350-acre nature park where glass-bottom boats rides show off the crystal-clear purity of what is called the largest artesian spring formation in the world.
If they can stand to leave the great outdoors, your group can gather at the Hilton Ocala, with 196 rooms and 6,500 square feet of meeting space; Central Florida Community College, where venues include the Webber Conference Center and the Fine Arts Auditorium; and a host of one-of-a-kind settings like Horseshoe Lake Cabin Retreat and Conference Center in Orange Springs.
Gainesville
Still basking in the glow of its recent football and basketball national championships, Gainesville’s University of Florida is pretty much the center of attention right now, and that sense of accomplishment might rub off on your group should you decide to take advantage of the university’s meeting facilities, which include the expansive O’Connell Center—featuring a 12,000-seat main arena—and the picturesque Emerson Alumni Hall.
You’ll also find ample meeting space at nearby hotels, including the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center, with 248 rooms and 25,000 square feet of meeting space; the 152-room Best Western Gateway Grand, offering 6,000 square feet of flexible function space; and the 197-room Paramount Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, where facilities range from a grand ballroom down to an intimate boardroom.
Heavily forested, with an Old Florida Cracker charm to be found in still-standing historic sites like the rustic homestead where author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings once lived, the Gainesville area is also remarkable for its wealth of freshwater springs, gin-clear rivers and lakes, and unspoiled wilderness parks where visitors bicycle, hike, camp, bird watch, and fish.
Lakeland
The landscape levels out into gentle hills and orange groves in the charming hamlet of Lakeland, south of Orlando, where meeting facilities rival the area’s mix of parks, museums and historic landmarks, including the largest collection of Frank Lloyd architecture in the world, gracing the Florida Southern College campus.
Aviation is a popular theme in this part of the state, which hosts the Sun ’n’ Fun Fly-In, a week-long event drawing tens of thousands of aviation enthusiasts to Lakeland Linder Regional Airport every year.
Your event can take off as well at the Fantasy of Flight aviation museum, whose collection includes more than 70 beautifully restored rare and vintage aircraft as well as World War II flight simulators and multi-sensory immersion experiences. The museum welcomes groups with 100,000 square feet of event space, including two aircraft hangars and an officers’ club.
If it’s trade show space you’re looking for, try the Lakeland Center, offering 100,000 square feet of convention and exhibition space along with a 2,300-seat theater, a 10,000-seat arena, a grand ballroom, in-house catering, and an on-site hotel: the Hyatt Place Lakeland Center.
Several years ago, the Lakeland Center was considering an expansion; it’s on the back burner, “but still in the kitchen,” is how the center’s director, Michael LaPan puts it. “We have spent some time improving our facilities on a smaller level,” he says..
For More Info
Central Florida VCB 863.298.7565
www.sunsational.org
Gainesville/Alachua County VCB 352.374.5260
www.visitgainesville.net
Kissimmee CVB 407.944.2484
www.meetings.floridakiss.com
Lakeland Area COC 863.688.8551
www.lakelandchamber.com
Ocala/Marion County VCB 352.291.9169
www.ocalamarion.com
Orlando/Orange County CVB 407.363.5847
www.orlandoconventions.com
Seminole County CVB 407.665.2900
www.visitseminole.com
