Orlando ushers in a year of meetings innovation and excitement with new experiences and venues for planners to include in their agendas in 2025 and beyond.
“Orlando is unmatched as a meetings destination where imagination and business come together in exciting new ways each year,” said Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando. “In 2025, our destination’s continued focus to invest in creating new innovative meeting experience can be seen in our world-class theme parks, award-winning culinary scene, and luxury resorts and hotels.”
THEME PARKS
Universal Orlando Resort’s highly anticipated theme park, Universal Epic Universe, will open May 22. This expansive park features over 50 attractions across five immersive worlds, such as Celestial Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, and Dark Universe.
Universal Helios Grand Hotel, with a dedicated entrance into the new Universal Epic Universe, will open May 2025. This Loews hotel, already available for booking meetings and events, will offer 4,648 square feet of versatile space, 500 rooms and 35 suites, and feature tablets for guests to digitally control elements of the room from lighting to room service.
Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Luna Resort will add 1,500 guest rooms to Universal Orlando Resort’s hotel portfolio, raising the total to 11,000 rooms across 11 hotels. The new properties feature 750 double-queen guest rooms with spaceship-styled windows and a variety of dining options and amenities.
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin is adding 120,000 square feet of event space to its current meeting and convention floorplan along with a new, modern look. All guest rooms in the Walt Disney World Swan have undergone remodeling and are available for bookings.
Disney Meetings & Events is unveiling new meeting products and resources including signature team building and networking sessions, general-session openers and a creative studio at Walt Disney World Resort where meeting professionals can collaborate with Disney and Disney Meetings & Events experts.
Debuting at EPCOT, Test Track presented by Chevrolet will feature new scenes that highlight technological advances.
Two new Walt Disney World lounges will make their debut including an all-new Pirates of the Caribbean-themed lounge at the Magic Kingdom and a lounge inspired by Spaceship Earth at EPCOT.
This spring, SeaWorld Orlando unveils the all-new Immersive Experience, the world’s first fully immersive Arctic flying theater, which will soar guests over icy landscapes, dive beneath frozen waters and encounter Arctic wildlife.
THE CONVENTION DISTRICT
The Orange County Convention Center is targeting to break ground by 2026 with enhancements to the North-South Building which will include an additional 44,000 square feet of meeting space and a 100,000-square-foot ballroom, along with a new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way.
Blue Man Group return to Orlando April 3 with a new residency show at ICON Park featuring its signature mix of art, live music, comedy and non-verbal storytelling.
NEW DINING EXPERIENCES
Epilogue, a new adult-only speakeasy is now open at Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort. Available for private events, the new intimate lounge features a library-inspired theme and offers a variety of specialty, on-theme cocktails.
The Downtown Orlando Food & Art Tour, hosted by Wandering Palm Adventures and available for corporate groups, incentive travel, client engagement, and team building, offers a guided journey through Orlando’s vibrant art scene top local eateries.
The Lake Nona Wave Hotel introduced Garni Café, an all-day French bistro, and the upscale Nectar Room as the newest offerings to the hotel’s award-winning food and beverage scene.
