Visit Orlando 在 IMEX America 2026 介绍奥兰多会展中心扩建与新增会议空间

*Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin. Credit: Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin*

Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson caught up with Visit Orlando President & CEO Casandra Matej at IMEX America 2026 to learn about what’s new in the biggest meetings destination in North America. From a half-billion-dollar expansion of Orange County Convention Center to a major meeting space addition at Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin—and major news on the group dining front—this Central Florida standout is always shining.

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Transcript:

Editor's note: The following transcription was facilitated by AI and proofed by our editors. Although it is fairly accurate, there inevitably will be some mistakes, so please consider that when reading. Thank you.

Tyler Davidson: Hello and welcome to this Meetings Today podcast. We’re here on the tradeshow floor at IMEX America 2026 in Las Vegas, and we’re with Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando. There’s always stuff going on in Orlando, probably too much to cover in our podcast, but a couple of major things are a $560 million Grand Concourse expansion at the Orange County Convention Center, and also 100,000 square feet of new meeting space at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin. I guess those are a couple of the biggest things, but why don’t you fill our audience in on what’s going on there, Casandra?

Casandra Matej: It’s very important to Orlando to be here, getting to see people like you as well as our customers, and to tell them what’s going on in Orlando. And you’re right. One of the things we’re very proud of: for the 11th year in a row, we were named the number one meetings destination by Cvent. And that is very important to us. But we want to make sure we’re always advancing and really looking at our infrastructure and what is going to be that next level.

And so, as you mentioned, we are investing over $560 million in the Orange County Convention Center, which is really completing the north-south side of the building. And we’re going to have a 100,000-square-foot ballroom that is divisible in many ways. And then we’re adding 44,000 square feet of space, and we’re anticipating that to open [unclear]. So we’re already booking that space, and in fact, a perfect fit for that space are group sizes with peak rooms right around 2,000 to 3,500, and we’ll be able to [unclear] you in your own flexible space at the building.

But of course, the reason why we’re investing is we’ve got other events that take the entire campus, and so we needed to expand with them. But we also saw that there were needs for some smaller-type events, and we’re going to be able to cater to them. So right now, we’re open. We’re excited to book into that new space, but it’ll be completed by the end of 2029.

Tyler Davidson: And what are some, like, design highlights? I’m always curious, you know, when you have a major new convention center expansion or a new one coming online, what are things that you hear from the meeting planner community that they will implement there?

Casandra Matej: We’re looking at where they want to be able to have a true ballroom for their general sessions. And this will be able to accommodate up to 10,000 to 11,000, if not more.

Tyler Davidson: And also, your dining scene continues to make strides, right? What’s some of the news surrounding that?

Casandra Matej: Well, so we’re excited that this last year, Michelin recognized over 60 of our restaurants. And why I think that’s important is I think not only it highlights the quality of restaurants, but think about it from a meeting professional standpoint [unclear]. These exhibitors are wanting to host and do buyouts, whether it’s of restaurants or entertainment venues, and we’ve got a wide variety [unclear] their events and experiences. And so we’re delighted.

And really, I think the big story about Orlando is whether it is our leadership—meaning our city leadership, county leadership—or the owners of our hotels, they are reinvesting in almost all of our products because we want to be the best choice that these organizations can make when they’re selecting their meetings and conventions host.

So always contact Visit Orlando because we’re here to serve you. We’re here to be an extension of your team and really keep you up to date with what’s going on in our city. We get it’s a very complex destination, but I think because of our service, we can make sure that we guide you [unclear] through the flexible destination, what’s new, what venues you can buy out.

For example, last year—or in May—we had our year anniversary of the new Epic Universe, which is part of Universal. Well, they now are opening up for groups and doing buyouts, doing different things. And that is just footsteps from the convention center. Very excited that there’s just a lot to offer. So if you haven’t been to Orlando, please contact us because we’d love to talk to you.

Tyler Davidson: Well, thank you, and thank you for your time.

Casandra Matej: Absolutely.

Tyler Davidson: And that was Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando. I’m Tyler Davidson, vice president and chief content director of Meetings Today. Thank you for joining us for this podcast, recorded on the floor at IMEX America 2026. If you’re interested in other Meetings Today podcasts, head on over to meetingstoday.com and check out our podcast section with other interviews with meetings and events thought leaders. Thank you for joining us today, and no matter what you’re up to with the rest of it, go out and make it great.

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