Live From PCMA CL 26: Orlando Keeps Growing
Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sat down with Lisa Messina, chief sales officer for Visit Orlando, and Mike Tester, executive director for the Orange County Convention Center, at PCMA Convening Leaders 2026 to discuss goings-ons in the nation's most popular meetings and leisure destination.
From a massive convention center expansion to big theme park news and a nearly $6 billion investment in Orlando International Airport, to the world's first and only "slotharium," discover how Orlando keeps growing and growing its meetings and events offerings.
Listen now:
Transcript
Tyler Davidson: Hello and welcome to this Meetings Today podcast. I'm Tyler Davidson, vice president and chief content director for Meetings Today and we're here on the floor at PCMA Convening Leaders in Philadelphia sitting down with a couple representatives from a great destination that is always perennial, the number one destination in the meetings and events world. Lisa Messina, the CSO, chief sales officer for Visit Orlando and then Mark Tester, who is the executive director of the Orange County Convention Center. Thank you for joining us.
Lisa Messina: Thanks for having us, Tyler.
Mark Tester: Thank you.
Tyler Davidson: And let's start with Lisa, what's new in Orlando? You know, I'm seeing a bunch of stuff, airport improvements, the convention center, of course theme park news. Why don't you fill our listeners in on what's new in Orlando?
Lisa Messina: Well, I'll start with the arrival experience and save the expansion for Mark, but we're about to spend $5.9 billion at the Orlando International Airport. It is part of the expansion of Terminal A and B. If you've been through Terminal C, which is where our international flights are housed, it's going to be an elevated experience, much like what our customers are experiencing at Terminal C. So we've got over 40, retail and dining options to elevate your experience while you're waiting for your flight to take off. And then we've got some infrastructure things that are happening that'll just make the experience coming to and from the airport, such as baggage handling systems that get you your bags faster so you're off and running into the destination quicker. We're going to accommodate our community growth by adding some more parking to get the locals off the road so that you can arrive even faster for your flights on the way home. And then we have our gate link, which is a primary investment that we are doing to get you around the airport terminals A, B, and C a little bit faster. So those are just a couple things we're doing with almost $6 billion.
Tyler Davidson: That's nice. And then over at the convention center, I understand you had the picture of you with the shovel in the ground, as everyone loves to see, with various other luminaries in the destination. A 100,000 square foot ballroom and lots of other stuff going on. Why don't you fill us in on that, Mark?
Mark Tester: Yeah, we had the groundbreaking on December 7th for our grand concourse expansion project, which will add 650,000 square feet of total space connected to our North-South building, which allows us to layer and add additional and different types of events to our calendar and help us continue to grow as a destination. As you said, it will have 100,000 square feet ballroom, connectivity between our two concourses and more meeting space, and a lot of casual gathering space, and then a new entryway in Cover Portochet that will be able to really take that building to its next step. We will be beginning construction in earnest in April of this year, and we'll be opening in late 2029. Because the building is built adjacent to our North-South, we'll be able to run, we're basically building a building against another building, we'll be able to run continuously without any business interruption.
Tyler Davidson: And what sorts of groups do you think that'll open up the destination to that maybe they couldn't consider it before?
Mark Tester: It will, A, allow us more and allow us to layer more because different types of events can now look at the North-South building, not just our West. It will also be good for corporate events that want to do large concerts and things and other unique types of events, as well as the SMERF market, such as the Elks or Lions or Presbyterians or other events that have large general sessions that need a space. And 100,000 is a very large ballroom that can really do up to 10,000 people.
[Related: Lisa Messina on the Latest Orlando Happenings for Meetings and Events]
Tyler Davidson: And you can really accommodate like any sort of group in Orlando too. And I know medical meetings have been a real target of yours for the last five or 10 years. And I think you just had the hematologist in with Bill Reed, who's a noted industry figure.
Mark Tester: An icon and a great guy and a mentor to me. And I'm glad that he's been in my life for 20 years. But they were with us early December with over 40,000 people. And about 100 hotels and 20,000 peak rooms, a great, great economic driver for our community.
Tyler Davidson: And I just know they probably put you through the test, right? Because I know they have a very robust virtual program I've talked to them about and they're probably firing all cylinders with them.
Tyler Davidson: That's a sophisticated event as they're there. And they will help you get better and help you accommodate any type of program. Certainly they're leading the way in technology and the way you use it in virtual technology and everything. We're there to learn from them and support and help them grow.
Tyler Davidson: Excellent. And how about with the theme parks? Always some theme park news going on, including the brand new one, right?
Lisa Messina: Yeah, absolutely. So Universal opened Epic Universe back in May. And so we've been talking about that, the first theme park to open in 25 years. But more exciting for your audience, Tyler, is the fact that they finally opened up to our group customer. So back in November, one of our annual conventions, IAPA, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, say that five times fast, they bought out the park for their member enthusiasts to experience it. We've got some additional events coming up here in February, and they can do everything from 10 to 10,000, and they also have, bite-sized events like the 500-person dine and ride experiences. And what customers are telling us they love the most about it is not just that it's the newest park, not that it's just the most technologically advanced theme park, but also the fact that it's five minutes outside of Mark's building. So, it's easy to get to and it just adds to that experience in Orlando.
Tyler Davidson: And, one thing that's really, I guess, new to Orlando or just really growing is its F&B scene, its dining scene. Why don't you tell people more about that? And it's just another facet of a destination that already has it all, but now you can get world-class dining too.
Lisa Messina: Yeah, for sure. We're not just corn dogs and popcorn. We've got a highly sophisticated culinary scene that continues to grow. We're very proud of it. For five years now, we have been a state that Michelin has come and spent time and we're very fortunate that specifically in Orlando, they've recognized 59 different restaurants. Some of them sit in our resorts. Some of them sit in our iconic community neighborhoods. And that's something that Visit Orlando is more than happy to help customers navigate and learn more about or through our website. But the dining scene is real. And what's encouraging is the more that dining scene thrives, it encourages new chefs and entrepreneurs to invest in the Orlando market and bring their restaurants forward for all of us to enjoy.
Tyler Davidson: And moving on to your fantastic hotel product, I know there's lots going on there, including the Swan and Dolphin, which is always one of my favorite properties. They do such a good job with their events there. Why don't you tell people about that?
Lisa Messina: Yeah, I mean, the Swan and Dolphin are an iconic hotel product, not only in Orlando, but certainly within the U.S. And as demand by their customers for growth and needing to get on that calendar, they invested to expand 250,000 square feet of space. So, they've been working on that expansion and that will open in summer of 2026. That's in addition to hotels like the Hilton Orlando Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency Orlando who are investing in renovating their rooms product. And then eventually we'll have some new hotels to share with you as well. So yes, always new hotel room product or renovation to talk about.
Tyler Davidson: And how about activities for groups, teambuilding and such? And one thing that in preparing for this, I love the term the Slotharium. And I just, I can't get beyond that. That sounds so fun. What can groups do there to get their teams bonding?
Lisa Messina: That's a great question. You know, we are known as the theme park capital of the world, and that is, you know, due in part to SeaWorld and Universal and Disney. But we have many more bite-sized attractions that you can enjoy. So again, whether you're, you know, a group of 10 or 10,000, we've got something for everyone. So, whether it's the Slotharium, whether it's the Ice Cream Museum, or, you know, frankly, any one of the bite-sized attractions that we have at Live! at the Pointe in Orlando, or Icon Park, which sit within minutes of the Orange County Convention Center. We definitely have something for everybody, Tyler.
Tyler Davidson: Well, excellent. I really appreciate you making some time for me. Anything to add, do you think planners should know about what's going on in Orlando?
Lisa Messina: I would just say, if you didn't hear something that sparked your interest today, or whether you did, contact Visit Orlando. We are the destination subject matter experts and we want to help whether we're matchmaking you with a resort facility or a venue that helps you with your needs or helping to navigate those theme parks and attractions for that team building, we can do that.
Tyler Davidson: Excellent. Well, thank you for joining us. And thank you, all of you out there in the audience, for joining us for this Meetings Today podcast. If you're interested in other Meetings Today podcast, head on over to our website at meetingstoday.com. Check out our podcast section for all sorts of interesting interviews with industry thought leaders. I'm Tyler Davidson, vice president and chief content director for Meetings Today. And thanks to Lisa Messina and Mark Tester for joining us at PCMA. And I'm sorry you couldn't be here. If you're not, but no matter what you're up to while you're listening to this with the rest of the day, go out and make it great. Thank you.
