What makes Florida attractions so attractive to visitors? Variety, for one thing. Where else can you go from the far reaches of outer space to the bottom of the ocean, all in one day? Or travel from the prehistoric era to the Renaissance and back to the future in less than a week?
In the Sunshine State, of course, whose versatility extends far beyond the ocean and beaches into an unlimited funscape of attractions that also set the stage for great off-site group events and experiences.
“Florida’s many attractions provide a universe of meeting settings, from the thick jungles of Busch Gardens to buildings set in the land of tomorrow at Walt Disney World,” says Eileen Forrow, vice president of sales for Visit Florida. “To stir your group’s creative juices, there are art museums, while the state’s many multicultural attractions will take you around the world with unique settings.”
So instead of starting and finishing the day within the four walls of a meeting room, why not create a theme, enhance a theme or just add a little fun to your gathering at Florida’s many attractions and theme parks?
Space and Speed
Inspire your group to reach new heights of progress—professional or personal—at the country’s headquarters for space exploration, the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) east of Orlando, where attendees can gather at the Debus Conference Facility, the Apollo/Saturn V Center and the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Tours into actual working areas of the center are included with all event packages, and guests are free to roam authentic spacecraft displays during breaks or pre-function receptions. Planners may also include a day of team building with the Astronaut Training Experience, which can be customized for groups and made into a memorable three-day corporate retreat.
Just up the road from KSC is the race-centric town of Daytona Beach, whose signature attraction is the Daytona 500 Experience, a 60,000-square-foot interactive motorsports facility where groups will change tires in a timed pit-stop competition, design and video-test their own cars, broadcast a race finish, and take a spin in one of three racing simulators.
The racing theme continues in a number of on-site meeting and reception facilities.
Also pushing the boundaries of speed and space is the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, home to more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard aviation. Guests can fly an F/A-18 mission in Desert Storm aboard a 15-passenger flight simulator and catch the Blue Angles on a seven-story IMAX film screen. Meanwhile, group events take flight in venues like the 10,000-square-foot Blue Angel Atrium, hosting up to 1,200, and the USS Cabot Flight Deck, which accommodates up to 500 (available to civilians after hours).
Vintage aircraft are the picturesque backdrop for group events at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, where more than 40 rare planes have been restored to flying condition while flight simulators take advantage of modern technology to re-create the excitement of an air battle over the Pacific. The museum offers more than 100,000 square feet of combined meeting space, accommodating up to 5,000 people in venues that include aircraft hangars and an officer’s club.
Artistic Productions
Attendees may also be inspired to new levels of creativity when you book space for meetings and receptions at one of the many incredible art museums around the Sunshine State.
In St. Petersburg, the Salvador Dali Museum is touted as housing the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by the legendary Spanish surrealist, and it has facilities that can accommodate up to 350 for receptions or 150 for dinners. The museum recently broke ground on an expansion to double its size.
Also due for a major expansion is the Tampa Museum of Art, which is moving to a 68,000-square-foot facility in fall 2009. Like the current facility, the new museum will offer space for group functions.
South of Tampa/St. Pete, your event might just become “the greatest show on earth” at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. Created by circus entrepreneur, art collector and financier John Ringling, the 66-acre estate includes the Museum of Art; the Ca d’Zan, winter residence of the Ringlings; the historic grounds and gardens; the 18th century Historic Asolo Theater; and the world’s largest miniature circus at the Tibbals Learning Center. Within these already magnificent settings are such equally impressive gathering spaces as the art museum’s elegant courtyard and loggia, and the Ca d’Zan’s terrace overlooking Sarasota Bay.
Another famous Floridian left his legacy within a museum (though originally it was a hotel)—oil magnate Henry Flagler, whose Hotel Alcazar in St. Augustine is today the Lightner Museum, where lavish facilities for group functions include an immense former indoor swimming pool now used for large dinners and dances, and a recently restored third-floor ballroom.
At the other end of the state and at the turn of 20th century, industrialist James Deering created a pocket of Renaissance Europe in tropical Miami, filling a coral and marble bayside palace with art and furnishings from 15th to 19th century Europe. Today, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a National Historic Landmark and a favorite spot for day and evening events.
In addition to those mentioned, a host of other museums around the state welcome groups, including the Orlando Museum of Art, Jacksonville’s Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, and the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach; while a variety of historic venues provide picturesque settings for group events, including the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers and magnificently restored theaters like the Tampa Theatre and Miami’s Gusman Center for the Performing Arts.
Theme Parks
Of course, when it comes to themed events, many planners look to the theme parks to set the stage for gatherings filled with entertainment, food and fun.
At Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, your group’s adventure in one of the exotic lands of Africa might be accompanied by a lavish buffet and a musical performance by the high-stepping Mystic Sheiks of Morocco.
Universal Orlando’s incredible event options include access to open-air arenas, production soundstages, back-lot movie sets, nightclubs, restaurants and themed areas ranging from a medieval village to a tropical jungle and a comic book city. To make it easier for delegates to fit the park into their meeting schedule, Universal’s Resort Meetings & Events division recently introduced an Afternoon Convention Ticket, a one-day, two-park admission ticket that can be used after 12 p.m. to accommodate those with morning sessions.
SeaWorld Orlando, which just unveiled the new Aquatica waterpark, hosts about 400 groups a year, with sizes ranging from 50 to 10,000 people. Attendees can gather at the park’s primary banquet complex, Ports of Call, or meet within one of its animal attractions, including Wild Arctic and Penguin Encounter. At nearby Discovery Cove, animal interactions are the main attraction, as groups of up to 400 attend corporate receptions or casual company dinners.
At the Walt Disney World Resort, the choices for groups just get bigger and better. In addition to two new boating adventures launched for groups—a 52-foot yacht and a seven-passenger speedboat—the park will unveil Toy Story Mania this summer. The interactive, 3-D ride will be located in Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park, and can be used as the centerpiece of a wide array of event options, including the popular Coast-to-Coast, which includes a “Big Apple” street party.
Finally, though they might not be as high-profile as the Orlando attractions firmament, the following parks should definitely be on your off-site venue radar: Silver Springs near Ocala, which calls itself “nature’s theme park”; Cypress Gardens Adventure Park in Winter Haven, a blend of elegant gardens, Southern belles and thrill rides; and Weeki Wachee Springs near Tampa, home of legendary mermaid shows and a new waterpark.
