The nation’s No. 1 meetings destination is set to bring new meeting venues and experiences for groups coming in 2023 and beyond (pictured: Evermore Orlando Resort).
As Cvent’s No. 1 meeting destination in the country, Orlando continues to grow its offerings for groups of all sizes by always adding incredible new experiences, unique places to stay and diverse venues.
That trend continues in 2023 as Orlando unveils a wide range of new or expanded meeting options and experiences including the opening of several brand-new hotels, increased accessibility for business travelers to arrive in Orlando, and major new attractions debuting at the theme parks. Here’s what to expect in the year to come.
Discover: Orlando Virtual Tours
New Hotels & Resorts
Set to open fall of 2023, Conrad Orlando will debut with 433 rooms, including 51 regular suites and 10 spacious family suites. Other features include 40,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, a tranquil spa, numerous dining options and a signature rooftop experience. The hotel will be part of the massive, 10,000-bedroom resort complex, Evermore Orlando Resort, offering an array of stay experiences from single homes to villas, flats and hotel guestrooms.
Discover: Meeting & Convention Hotels in Orlando
Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando — Disney Springs® Area is the newest Official Disney Partner Hotel with 604 guestrooms and over 17,000 square feet of meeting space. Your attendees will be able to enjoy a resort-style pool, splash pad and poolside dining and refreshments, as well as an extensive marketplace, a cozy dining experience, complimentary hot breakfast, shuttle service to all four Walt Disney World® Resort theme parks, and evening snacks and beverages.
Opening in the fall, Aloft Lake Nona will be a six-story, 205-room, music-themed property featuring a 10,000-square-foot conference center and full-service restaurant. Its eclectic decor and design nods to the hotel’s music and technology roots gives each guestroom its own character.
Cambria Hotel Orlando Universal Boulevard will welcome meeting groups and other guests this winter. Located in the International Drive Resort area — near major attractions as well as local shopping and restaurants — this 118-room property offers flexible meeting spaces and amenities including a rooftop pool and lounge, state-of-the-art fitness center, the sophisticated Veer Kitchen & Bar restaurant, rooftop bar, and more.
Upgraded Hotels & Resorts
The Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando, in downtown Orlando, will complete a comprehensive renovation this year with new additions — like the upscale Altira Rooftop Pool Lounge where your attendees can savor seasonally influenced dishes and specialty cocktails — and reimagined spaces like the property’s signature restaurant, The Boheme, as well as the Bösendorfer Lounge and guestrooms. The hotel includes over 10,000 square feet of meeting space.
JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes completed several multimillion-dollar renovations just in time for 2023 travel. The property’s new amenities and offerings include: an expansive waterpark, refreshed guestrooms and suites, the introduction of inspired executive family suites, and a redesigned and upgraded lobby lounge. There is over 144,000 square feet of functional space for planners to incorporate into their events.
Set for completion in late 2023, Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek has commenced on elevating the meetings experience with the new Waterside expansion. This two-story addition of over 90,000 square feet of meeting space will be located directly adjacent to the existing meeting space, overlooking the Bonnet Creek waterways. The Waterside expansion includes one ballroom, a screened lanai with incredible views of the Walt Disney World® fireworks, an outdoor patio, event lawn, and seven additional meeting rooms.
The Alfond Inn at Rollins College, the award-winning boutique hotel in the heart of historic Winter Park, will renovate 112 existing rooms and suites and add an additional 71 luxury guestrooms and suites and a lobby cafe. The expansion, set to be completed in summer 2023, will also include a new meeting room and boardroom, providing an additional 2,400 square feet to the existing meeting and functions rooms. In addition, a new spa will feature seven treatment rooms, a new fitness area and added meeting space.
Caribe Royale Orlando completed a $125 million renovation, including a new lobby with an expansive skylight and a new 50,000 sq. ft. grand ballroom. The property now has 220,000 sq. ft. of total meeting space. The 1,215 one-bedroom suites and 120 two-bedroom villas feature spacious interiors.
Brightline High-Speed Rail Service
Brightline Orlando Station, conveniently located at Orlando International Airport’s (MCO’s) new Terminal C, will connect domestic and international visitors traveling between Orlando and Miami with stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Your group will enjoy touchless ticketing, premium in-station lounges, complimentary Wi-Fi, and topnotch bars and restaurants at every Brightline station.
New Dining & Nightlife
In 2023, Hyatt Regency Orlando will open its newest food and beverage concept: Descend 21. A dynamic, all-new lounge and entertainment venue that can host private events, Descend 21 will feature indoor and outdoor seating, communal tables, billiards, virtual golf and an expanded terrace with fire pits. The hotel has commissioned Central Florida mural artist, Maureen Hudas, to create a feature wall for the space.
Rosa Mexicano opens its first Orlando-area location in the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin in early 2023. The menu showcases a contemporary interpretation of authentic Mexican cuisine, including beloved classics and innovative dishes that pay tribute to Mexico’s richly varied culinary regions. The restaurant will feature an extensive beverage program boasting over 100 varieties of tequila and agave-based spirits. A private events team can host everything from small dinner parties of up to 12 guests to larger gatherings of 200 people.
Discover: Orlando Dining
Pointe Orlando’s newest restaurant addition KAVAS Tacos + Tequila, a restaurant concept by the owners of Tapa Toro Tapas Bar & Paella Pit and Taverna Opa, pays tribute to Mexico’s rich culinary history with savory comfort food, fresh tableside experiences and recipes hand-crafted from the freshest ingredients. The 7,000-square-foot venue can host groups as large as 500 people.
New Arts & Culture Venues
Orlando Fringe opened Fringe ArtSpace, a year-round performing arts venue, in downtown Orlando. The 9,100-square-foot space will include two performing theatre spaces: a main stage with 166 seats and a black box with 40 to 60 seats. The programing will feature a mix of traditional theater and concerts as well as a studio series with weekly, monthly and pop-up events like workshops, classes, readings, performances and artistic explorations.
Discover: Meeting and Convention Venues
Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando will open Judson’s in fall 2023. The dynamic music room will offer intimate cabaret-style seating for 150 for live performances. Judson’s joins Steinmetz Hall, Walt Disney Theater and Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater as the fourth performance space in the $613 million, 9-acre venue
Luminary Green Park is a new unique and special gathering space located in the Creative Village district near downtown Orlando. The 2.3-acre park has a large, welcoming lawn for everyone to gather, play and enjoy the outdoors. Soon, the lawn will host events for unorganized recreation and feature landscaped areas shaded with canopy trees.
New Theme Park Attractions
Walt Disney World® Resort
TRON Lightcycle / Run, scheduled to open at Magic Kingdom® Park on April 4, will be one of the fastest coasters at any Disney theme park in the world. Based on the Disney sci-fi film TRON: Legacy, the ride will invite your attendees to speed across a world with no horizons in a high-stakes race in their very own Lightcycle.
Discover: Theme Parks for Business Groups
Walt Disney World also announced an updated nighttime spectacular with the return of the “Happily Ever After” lighting up the skies at Magic Kingdom Park in 2023.
Journey of Water, inspired by Moana, opens in late-2023 within World Nature — the EPCOT® neighborhood dedicated to understanding and preserving the beauty, awe and balance of the natural world. The all-ages attraction will enable your group to explore and engage with water as it travels from the skies to the oceans and back again.
Universal Orlando Resort
Now open, Universal’s Great Movie Escape at Universal CityWalk is the first-ever escape room experience that features two rooms with interactive state-of-the-art missions, captivating storytelling and intricately detailed sets, inspired by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s blockbuster films Jurassic World and Back to the Future.
Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast — opening summer 2023 at Universal Studios Florida — will combine innovative screen technology, state-of-the-art gaming interactivity and elaborate physical sets to create a one-of-a-kind, game-based adventure where your attendees will encounter immersive environments, nefarious villains and tons of mischievous Minions from Illumination’s blockbuster film franchise. The new attraction will be part of a new Minion land, featuring the beloved Despicable Me Minion Mayhem attraction, a new Minion cafe and more.
SeaWorld® Orlando
Pipeline: The Surf Coaster, SeaWorld® Orlando’s seventh roller coaster, will debut in spring 2023. The attraction will be the world’s first “Surf Coaster,” offering immersive design elements, including a dynamic surfing launch and “wave jumping” motions, for a one-of-a-kind ocean adventure.
With so many new meeting options to fill any groups’ agenda, now is the perfect time to book your next meeting or event in Orlando.
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