Our final Meetings Today LIVE! event of the year welcomed attendees to the sunny city of Orlando, which has ranked No. 1 on Cvent’s list of the top 10 meetings destinations in North America seven years in a row.
A fully hosted-buyer event, Meetings Today LIVE! South took place Nov. 17-20 and gave attendees the chance to experience the best of Orlando, from being hosted at the brand-new Evermore Orlando Resort and touring some of the top meetings-friendly properties in the area to networking one-on-one with industry suppliers and even getting a sprinkle of some Disney Meetings & Events magic.
Discover the highlights of Meetings Today LIVE! South in Orlando—the perfect wrap-up event to a successful and productive 2024!
Opening Reception
After attendees arrived one by one at Evermore Orlando Resort on Sunday, November 17, Meetings Today LIVE! South officially kicked off with a tour of the 1,100-acre property, “Orlando’s first and only beach paradise” offering world-class golf, a variety of dining outlets and accommodations including 41 villas, 206 flats and 69 homes surrounding the crystal-clear blue waters of Evermore Bay.
Attendees each stayed in their own flat, which are four-bedroom, four-bath units from 1,800-1,950 square feet in five-story towers or two-story walk-up buildings.
In the center of the resort sits Evermore Bay, comprised of eight acres of water surrounded by 20 acres of tropical white-sand beaches. Around the water, visitors can find plentiful seating including hammocks, lounge chairs and swings as well as nighttime firepits.
Evermore Orlando Resort also gives visitors the opportunity to rent kayaks, paddleboards and floats to enjoy the water during their stay, which groups can utilize for outdoor teambuilding activities guided by the resort’s onsite expert recreation team.
The view may have distracted us for a bit, but 13,600 square feet of indoor function space was waiting to be toured. The Boathouse at Evermore features a 2,300-square-foot ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Evermore Bay, while the 10,000-square-foot Evermore Meeting Center offers a 3,100-square-foot ballroom with a private terrace and event lawn.
For our evening welcome reception, Meetings Today utilized one of the property’s 15-plus event-capable beaches and lawns. Evermore Orlando Resort, with the help of a local destination management company (DMC), organized a reception that showcased the group-related possibilities at the resort while giving attendees a chance to enjoy Orlando’s year-round perfect weather.
We gathered for the evening on Barbara Ann’s Beach, where women dressed as flowers greeted us and a retro Volkswagen van-turned-beachfront-bar served drinks in pineapples and coconuts. Colorful lanterns hung overhead as attendees dined on made-to-order poke bowls, huli huli chicken skewers and macadamia nut bread pudding.
We all walked back to our rooms with hand-painted postcards and sandy feet.
Day One
Once attendees were awake and caffeinated, the first full day of Meetings Today LIVE! South in Orlando started with an engaging education session led by Jessie States, vice president of MPI Academy and one of our Meetings Trendsetters, that was sponsored by Experience Columbia SC.
States’ session, “Meetings Unbound: A Catalogue of Inspiration to Fuel Creativity for Next-Era Events,” shared insights from a new catalogue of unique experiences created by MPI in partnership with Radisson Hotels. States asked attendees to consider how they can use new experience formats to help participants exchange knowledge through personal conversations and connections.
She took attendees through a variety of common event experiences, such as teambuilding, experiential learning and network building, and had them share some activities they’ve participated in before that stood out and gave them the opportunity to try something a little different.
One attendee said she’d experienced a “live-action Angry Birds” teambuilding activity, while another shared her “Walk & Talk” experience at MPI’s 2024 World Education Congress, where a group would gather, be assigned a topic, take a walk and discuss the topic at hand to help one another solve problems and brainstorm new ideas.
Thanks to Our Sponsors
- Evermore Orlando Resort
- Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek
- Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort
- Conrad Orlando
- Disney Meetings & Events
- The BrandIt Agency
- Eventive
- Grand Wayne Convention Center
- Experience Columbia SC
- Wandering Maverick Photo & Film
- Visit Orlando
- Global Gifting
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