Planners have plenty of options to accommodate groups at Florida’s theme parks, where dozens of hotels and resorts are as intriguing as the park attractions.
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A safari lodge in Africa. An island retreat. A Victorian enclave. The Great Northwest. The colorful Southwest. Places that are continents—and centuries—apart meet at 24 Disney-owned and-operated resorts—soon to be 25, once Disney’s Art of Animation Resort opens in late 2012. Included in the Walt Disney World Resort collection are six dedicated convention hotels: Disney’s Boardwalk Resort, Contemporary Resort, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Yacht & Beach Club Resorts and Coronado Springs, the largest of the six and boasting one of the biggest hotel ballrooms in the Southeast.
And then there are the perks, which include complimentary bus, boat and monorail transportation all across the resort, plus early entrance or late departure at select theme parks. Thanks to the complimentary "Magical Express," onsite guests can also bypass baggage claim at Orlando International Airport and go straight to their hotel rooms via Disney motorcoach, where their bags will be waiting for them.
Also on-property and sharing many of the same perks are the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, offering a combined 329,000 square feet of meeting space, including four ballrooms and 84 total meeting rooms.
- Of the three on-site hotels at Universal Orlando, the Loews Royal Pacific Resort checks in with the most meeting space (over 85,000 square feet), while the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel has more than 42,000 square feet and the Hard Rock Hotel more than 6,000. In addition, these top-of-the-line resorts can get you to the front of the line at the parks. Just show your room key and bypass the lines at most rides and attractions at both Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
Other advantages of staying on-site include priority seating at select Universal Orlando theme park restaurants and complimentary water taxis to both theme parks.
- SeaWorld Orlando’s new on-site partner hotel is the Doubletree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld. Guest benefits include early entry to the park on select days, front-of-the-line access to rides, discounts on select food and gift purchases, and exclusive access to the SeaWorld Rescue Tour.
The hotel also offers 60,000 square feet of meeting space and complimentary transportation not only to SeaWorld but Universal Orlando and the Walt Disney World Resort.
