It’s all about growth in Central Florida nowadays. With new projects and expansions in accommodations, attractions, air service, meeting facilities and the arts, the region’s reign as the state’s vacation kingdom seems destined to continue.
Orlando
Somewhere along the line, Orlando stopped being just for kids. True, the theme parks are bigger and better than ever, but so is the dining and nightlife. There are more attractions targeting higher age ranges. The airport has improved and expanded to the tune of $31 million in 2011, as both international and domestic traffic continued to climb. And the meeting facilities? Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center is second in size only to Chicago’s McCormick Place, the new downtown Amway Center boasts a 31,000-square-foot arena floor, and hotels and resorts catering to groups stretch to a horizon lined by golf greens.
Meanwhile, 2011 was a record-breaking year in terms of visitation, with 55.1 visitors descending on Orlando, an increase of 7.2 percent over the previous year according to figures released by the CVB, Visit Orlando. And groups were a significant chunk of the business, a trend that has continued into 2012.
“So many of our meetings and conventions have had record-breaking attendance,” says Danielle Courtenay, the bureau’s chief marketing officer. “There have been times when we’ve had to add rooms.”
Courtenay credits the increases to the city’s ever-evolving tourism infrastructure and variety of new experiences, including recent additions at the theme parks.
“Planners want to know that we are going to reinvest in the future,” Courtenay says. “They want to know that they’re coming to a fresh destination.”
SeaWorld, for one, unveiled TurtleTrek this spring, showcasing underwater habitats for sea turtles, manatees and freshwater and saltwater fish, while Universal’s Islands of Adventure revamped its Spiderman attraction and added two movie-themed miniature golf courses.
At Walt Disney World, the Magic Kingdom is undergoing an expansion that will double its size, but Disney has also unveiled new treats for older visitors, including the Exotic Driving Experience at the Walt Disney World Speedway, which invites guests behind the wheel of supercars by Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi and Porsche. Also on a roll is the Downtown Disney nighttime entertainment complex, where the new Splitsville retro bowling alley will open this fall.
In fact, nighttime entertainment is the focus of a marketing push by the CVB to call attention to Orlando’s “After Five” offerings, with a new microsite, OrlandoDistricts.com, highlighting such hotspots as Winter Park, the Convention Area, Downtown Orlando and Universal/CityWalk, among others. In addition to clubs and lounges, the site focuses on the city’s renowned restaurants, helmed by celebrity and home-grown chefs alike.
“We’re talking about award-winning master chefs, sommeliers and brew masters, and educating people about the evolution of the culinary scene in Orlando,” Courtenay says.
Also in a state of constant evolution are the city’s accommodations, with new additions like Disney’s Art of Animation Resort joining a hotel lineup that ranges from the Caribe Royale All-Suite Hotel & Convention Center, boasting 150,000 square feet of meeting space, to the Westin Imagine Orlando, the Embassy Suites Orlando-Lake Buena Vista and the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort, which has expanded its meeting space to 20,000 square feet. On the horizon: The Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World, touted as the world’s largest Four Seasons property, and Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, operated by Loews Hotels & Resorts. Both are due to open in 2014.
Kissimmee
Perennial favorite among those bound for the theme parks, Orlando’s southern neighbor gives new meaning to the term “breakout space,” as the entire county expands into a world of shimmering lakes, deep forests and off-the-beaten-path attractions that offer everything from safaris on horseback to manning the controls of a Cessna plane.
“Planners are saying, ‘Okay, we’ve done the golf tournaments, what else can we do?’ and I think we have a lot to offer in that regard,” notes Shelley Maccini, director of the Kissimmee CVB. “Why not have a fishing tournament? Take those breakout sessions on the road, get the delegates out and really have a team-building experience.
“‘Value’ is such an overused word, and it doesn’t always refer to price,” she adds. “There has to be value to the corporation and to the delegates, and part of that value is providing a different experience.”
To that end, planners can send attendees soaring on a hot-air balloon ride with the Kissimmee-based Orlando Balloon Rides, which recently launched an 11-story balloon that carries 24 passengers. If attendees want to do the piloting, Mauiva Air Tours can take three at a time on aerial tours above the Central Florida landscape, while the Kissimmee Air Museum combines actual flights in vintage planes and helicopters with team-building events, meetings and receptions in its two cavernous hangars.
Meanwhile, flying through the air is one of many experiences at the Forever Florida eco-ranch, whose above-ground adventures include cypress canopy cycling and zip line safaris.
“We’re becoming ‘zipline central,’” Maccini says. “We certainly don’t want to stand still in that race, and Forever Florida has a great product out there.”
Speaking of flying, Kissimmee, already a sports meetings mecca, is set to welcome the 2013 Quidditch World Cup VI. Inspired by the Harry Potter books—whose Quidditch players flew on broomsticks—this “Muggle” version uses broomsticks as well, though players keep both feet on the ground as they play a game similar to rugby but with aspects of soccer, dodgeball and basketball.
In the race for convention facilities, Kissimmee properties are on the move as well, with a new 300-room Embassy Suites opening this fall, offering 40,000 square feet of meeting space, while the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate will add a new 55,000-square-foot conference center in spring 2013. On the heels of a room remodeling project, Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center recently unveiled a 10,000-square-foot event lawn for outdoor functions along with a new sports bar, a South Beach-themed pool and an Everglades-inspired waterpark, while the Radisson Resort Orlando-Celebration also completed recent upgrades. If a golf getaway is desired, check out the Reunion Wyndham Grand Resort and its acclaimed Tom Watson Independence Course.
Seminole County
Nature does the talking—and walking—in Orlando’s neighbor to the north, Seminole County, featuring a trail system that runs right by a number of hotels, including the Westin Lake Mary, the Marriott Orlando/Lake Mary, the Residence Inn Altamonte and the Hyatt Place in Lake Mary.
“Depending on how athletic you are, you can walk, run or bike, and there are plenty of opportunities to see wildlife,” says Sharon Sears, executive director of the Seminole County CVB. “There are several areas on the trails where you don’t even have to cross the road. We’ve actually built a tunnel that goes under the roads.”
It’s just that easy to commune with nature here, as parks and preserves are scattered throughout the county, including Wekiwa Springs State Park, with kayak rentals and off-road bicycling trails as well as a Recreation and Dining Hall available for groups, and the Geneva Wilderness Area, whose habitats are home to white-tailed deer, gopher tortoises, grey foxes and a variety of wading birds, while a nature center also serves as a meeting facility complete with audiovisual equipment and a kitchen.
Another popular eco-option is the 116-acre Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, featuring its own zip line adventure and two expansive event spaces: the Wayne M. Densch Discovery Center, featuring a Safari Room that can host 466, and the Rainforest Pavilion, with seating for up to 300.
Meanwhile, it’s easier than ever to get to Seminole County, as service from Allegiant Air to Orlando Sanford International Airport has grown exponentially over the past few months. Since January, new cities have included Bloomington, Ill.; Chicago; Salisbury, Md.; and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa.
“It’s amazing what they’ve added recently,” Sears says. “We’ve had more service here in Sanford than the Vegas Allegiant hub.”
Polk County
With the city of Lakeland as its main convention hub, Polk County offers a mix of traditional and unexpected meeting locales. In the former category, the 100,000-square-foot Lakeland Center is home to a variety of venues, including an arena, exhibit hall and meeting rooms, while the adjacent 128-room Hyatt Place offers 1,000 square feet of its own, along with a newly refurbished pool deck for outdoor events.
“We’re the only preferred hotel partner with Legoland,” says Michael Franck, the property’s director of sales, referring to one of Central Florida’s newest attractions. “We offer packages with them and sell discounted tickets on-property.”
Billed as the largest Legoland in the world, the new park and its colorful gardens are available for receptions and other events, while unique group settings also await at tranquil Bok Tower Gardens as well as at the Fantasy of Flight vintage aircraft attraction, a spectacular Art Deco facility boasting more than 100,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
Set 25 miles east of Lake Wales and surrounded by a nature preserve, Westgate River Ranch offers an authentic “dude ranch” experience, with horseback rides, guided nature hikes, airboat and swamp boat rides, hayrides, a weekly rodeo and, of course, regular games of horseshoes, while 8,000 square feet of meeting space and a variety of accommodations, including inn rooms and cabins, serve meeting attendees.
“If you’re talking about a meeting or retreat, once people get here, they’re a captive audience. The nearest town is about 28 miles away,” notes Bob Mount, resort manager. “We hosted NASA a few years ago, and the director of operations said he got more business done around the campfire than he did during the meetings.”
Marion County
In the spring-and-pine-tree heartland north of Orlando, Marion County is known as the “Horse Capital of the World,” and for good reason; it’s home to hundreds of horse farms, many turning out Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Triple Crown champions. You can immerse yourself in the equine experience on a tour with Ocala Carriage & Tours, ride the trails at Young’s Paso Fino Ranch, or check out the thrilling equestrian competitions at Florida Horse Park in Ocala, which also recently became available for group events with venues including 350 acres of manicured grass fields and several grass arenas of various sizes.
More spectacular settings await groups in Marion County, home to one of the state’s oldest gated attractions: Silver Springs, where majestic oaks and botanical gardens surround events of up to 5,000 people. The county is also home to a number of convention-minded properties, including the Hilton Ocala, with more than 10,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Ramada Conference Center Ocala, offering a variety of meeting and banquet rooms.
Gainesville
The Deep South seems to start north of Marion County in the leafy landscape surrounding Gainesville, home to the University of Florida, quaint small towns and quiet streets lined with dogwood, maple, hickory and live oak trees. The Florida frontier lives on here at historic sites that include the 1857 Matheson homestead, home to a pioneering family from South Carolina; Cross Creek, the rustic plantation once owned by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (now a state park); and Paynes Prairie, a treasure trove of natural history and home to wild horses descended from those left behind by the Spanish conquistadors.
Set in the forested heart of North Florida, the many parks surrounding Gainesville offer a variety of ways to connect with nature, from hiking or biking the 17-mile Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail to taking in the spectacular wildflower display at Morningside Nature Center or discovering the state’s largest public display of bamboos at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens.
Within these lovely surroundings are a host of meeting locales, including down-to-business hotels like the recently renovated Hilton UF Conference Center, offering 25,000 square feet of meeting space, along with such one-of-a-kind venues as the Thomas Center, the 1910 home of an early Gainesville family, and the Hippodrome, a professional theater housed in the restored 1912 Federal Building.
Meetings in Gainesville are also enhanced by the VCB’s twice-yearly conference grant, offered in the spring and fall to qualified meeting planners who conduct their programs in Gainesville/Alachua County. Individual grants cap at $10,000 and are available to corporate, association or non-profit, public or privately funded planners.
“It encourages planners to choose Gainesville, and it gets the word out about what we have to offer,” says Nancy Fischer, director of sales for VisitGainesville.
