10 New Orlando/Central Florida Venues for 2019 Fall Meetings and Events

Using interactive technology and plenty of hoops, the N.B.A. Experience opened in August offering a variety of challenges related to basketball. The entire two floors are available for buyouts and teambuilding activities. Hundreds of participants can spread out around the 44,000-square-foot play space to shoot individually to score against the clock, to answer trivia questions, to haul basketballs with a slingshot, and to step onto a court to the applause of a virtual audience. Disney can set up staging areas for speeches and informational panels and can provide audiovisual equipment as well as character meet-and-greets. Catering will be available at an adjacent restaurant.

Designed like a speakeasy, with dim lighting, brick walls, and cushy sofas, the Stockroom is the latest event venue at the Orlando World Center Marriott, which has 74 gathering spaces in its 338,000 square feet. This intimate Prohibition-style bar used exclusively for group buyouts debuted in May and fits 45 guests. Its specialty is craft cocktails, served as blues music plays. Props and floral arrangements can be ordered and set up upon request. Groups seeking a longer event can continue to the HyCube & Harvest Terrace venue for a seated meal.

Your guests can play like kids in Andy’s backyard in Toy Story Land, a playful area that resembles the Disney Pixar movie series at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort. The attraction, opened for private events as of June, a year after its debut, for after-hours gatherings. The venue is large, so the park can accommodate hundreds at once for cocktail-style events with buffet-style food and beverages, including sweets unique to the franchise. Dessert parties are especially popular. High-tech lighting and dramatic decor elements are included. Disney can also provide entertainment and character visits and access to rides such as the Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster.

Groups of as many as 250 are welcome at Stumpy’s Hatchet House, a 5,000-square-foot venue for competitive hatchet throwing. Participants can play in eight different throwing pits and network there and in common areas, some with club chairs and sofa seating. Outside catering is permitted, and the venue offers beer and wine. An outside tent can be used for extra seating or a more formal dinner setting. The venue has screens and a sound system for presentations, and allows groups to bring in stages.

H2O Live is an Orlando-area water park with a tech theme. Private events can take place in a dedicated 8,250-square-foot area called Virtual Village. Before and after enjoying the park’s slides, groups can gather in one of two 44- by 22-foot pavilions, one with a shade canopy, the other a shade sail. Each seats 80 guests at eight picnic tables, although the space can be modified to accommodate as many as 300 guests. Catering includes park fare such as wraps, cheeseburgers, or a pizza bar, as well as desserts. Virtual Village has built-in audio equipment and groups may bring in a sound system or stage.

Outdoor barbecues at a lakeside summer house are the idea behind Bigfire, a two-story restaurant opened by Universal Orlando’s culinary team in June. Located in the CityWalk entertainment complex, the 11,414-square-foot eatery features a central grill on which foods are cooked with specifically paired woods, as well as decor touches like plaids, camp lanterns, and twinkly lights. Two semiprivate rooms each seat 50, while buyouts are available for groups of as many as 275 guests. Most meals end with s’mores, prepared by each guest on a tabletop grill. Pre-dinner teambuilding activities, V.I.P. theme park access, and CityWalk Party Passes are optional add-ons.

A bright, contemporary property near Tampa’s business district, port, and convention center, the 222-room Hotel Alba Tampa, Tapestry Collection by Hilton opened in June with events in mind. Its 10,000 square feet of event space includes five event rooms, outdoor ceremony spots, and a terrace. At 5,307 square feet, the Art Deco-like Westshore Ballroom holds 600 guests for a reception or seats 420 at banquet rounds. There’s also the 12-seat Beach Park Boardroom and a pre-function foyer has original artworks by Savannah College of Art & Design students.

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort was designed to hold big events, but its Gran Destino Tower addition offers options for more intimate gatherings. Part of a reimagining of the entire resort, the 15-story tower added 3,000 square feet of event space, bringing the resort’s total to 223,000. The highlight is Lantana—a flexible meeting space with modern wood elements, bright hues, and round modern chandeliers—which holds 100 guests. An exhibition kitchen is located in the foyer, and a semiprivate patio is nearby. The rooftop restaurant Tolédo, with stained glass ceilings, and the more casual Three Bridges Bar & Grill, are available for group buyouts.

Two of Hilton’s limited-service brands opened as a dual-brand property in downtown Tampa in July. Hampton Inn and Home2 Suites by Hilton Tampa Downtown Channel District offer a shared event space, an outdoor rooftop pool, and fitness center. The Liberty Room, a 1,400-square-foot indoor venue on the sixth floor, has floor-to-ceiling windows and a modern feel with abstract art and warm European design elements. It seats 40 guests in a U shape, 50 in a hollow square, 80 classroom style, or 150 in a theater or reception setup. The hotel has 213 guest rooms.

Situated between Downtown Orlando’s Amway Center arena and soccer-focused Exploria Stadium, the District GastroBar has been serving New American fare in a cozy speakeasy-style space since June. The 2,100-square-foot dining room is available for group buyouts for 120 guests—88 seated with the remaining standing. There are plans to add a 100-person capacity patio this fall. Guests gather amid the original circa-1900 brick walls; an antique bronze tin ceiling hangs overhead.