If you’re in the meeting planning business, chances are Orlando is on your radar.
For the 10th year running, Cvent named Orlando the No. 1 meetings destination in North America. The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) is a large piece of this draw—it’s the second-largest convention center in North America, averaging nearly 200 events in recent years, including 115 conventions and tradeshows that attract more than 1.5 million attendees to the region.
The possibilities at the facility are only growing. OCCC will embark on a $560 million expansion project in 2026 that will bring an additional 44,000 square feet of meeting space and a 100,000-square-foot ballroom to the North-South Building, and plans for the second phase have been approved for 200,000 square feet of contiguous multipurpose/exhibit space to be added to the building.
The other draw is indisputably Orlando’s theme parks. They make Orlando a bucket list destination, and they can incentivize registration for meetings and conventions taking place there, with the attendees hoping they can squeeze in a visit to one of the parks.
But not every planner coordinating a massive event at OCCC may have time to thoughtfully weave a theme park experience into a program. Enter the Gold Key program, where the convention center facilitates the connection between the meeting planners and the parks, making it easier than ever to orchestrate memorable moments for their attendees that are quintessentially Orlando. It’s a shining example of how a destination can simultaneously leverage its biggest tourist attractions and convention venue prowess.
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Gold Key Program Possibilities
OCCC’s Gold Key partners include Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World. The partnership gives planners full access to resources and creative teams at each of the parks to help create special events either at the parks or at the convention center.
As an example, the Disney team shared that for the last few years, they’ve hosted a large tech company during its world exhibitor conference at OCCC. As part of the week-long programming, the company did a complete park buyout at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for more than 12,000 attendees. The night included themed buffet stations scattered around the park, full access to park attractions and a live concert experience from a renowned musical group.
Another popular experience is themed dessert receptions and fireworks viewings at EPCOT at one of the private viewing areas around World Showcase Lagoon.
SeaWorld is the only theme park in the I-Drive Convention Center District, and just one mile back from OCCC, making shuttling back and forth for experiences easy. For CSR-minded groups, working with the park fund’s efforts to rescue, rehabilitate and return animals to their natural worlds (it has rescued more than 40,000 animals) is a popular option. Park buyouts, animal experiences and rollercoasters round out some of the key offerings.
At Universal Orlando Resort, CityWalk block parties or private events in the immersive worlds of Marvel, Harry Potter and more are popular. Having one of the Minions or Optimus Prime introduce a speaker isn’t a bad way to kick off an event, either.
If a group simply doesn’t have time to get offsite during a program, themed receptions and special events can be brought into the convention center instead. The planning and coordination of this is made seamless through the Gold Key partnership.
Additionally, planners might be able to arrange specially priced theme park tickets for their attendees to enjoy the parks before or after their meetings, an alluring perk for attendees on the fence about traveling for the event.
