9 New Venues in Orlando/Central Florida for Fall 2024 Meetings and Events

Moxy St. Petersburg Downtown is a stylishly retro, newly built 163-room hotel that opened in August as an anchor to the new EDGE Collective, a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use complex along St. Pete’s vibrant main drag. Murals by local artists cover walls throughout. The relaxed lobby with casual beach-type chairs has a podcast studio, work areas, and an entertainment stage. Two event rooms totaling 1,063 square feet welcome corporate and social groups. The visual centerpiece is a cheerful mural of a swimming pool with floating devices, and the floors resemble shuffleboard courts as a tribute to St. Pete’s shuffleboard club, the world’s oldest and largest. A courtyard, lobby, and rooftop pool deck and bar are also options for gatherings. Up to 177 guests can meet and greet in the event rooms combined theater-style, 35 with a U shape, and more than 130 can attend a cocktail reception or 96 a banquet. A 4,000-square-foot restaurant/nightspot called Sparrow will open and be available for buyouts for as many as 250 revelers in early 2025. The hotel staff provides all food and beverage for group functions. Amenities include a large-screen TV, a PA system, an LED board and projector, and a videoconferencing and film projector with a screen.

The three-level, upscale, open-air shopping mall Pointe Orlando has long been home to restaurants, bars, and other venues that lend themselves to group events, especially with the Orange County Convention Center next door. Now, the complex itself has created a Live! at the Pointe Orlando concept that invites groups to book one or more tenants together with common spaces for bashes of all sizes. Billed as “Orlando’s block party” since August, Live! offers indoor and outdoor spaces for private gatherings. Shark Bar, Sports & Social, and PBR Cowboy Bar are among the participants. Book the entire 37,000 square feet and invite 2,000 guests to enjoy five venues and covered patios. AV equipment, a mechanical bull, VIP sections, performance stages, and dance floors are all available. For smaller parties, consider the open-air Live! Plaza or any of the participating restaurants, bars, and clubs. The handsome Houndsmen English Lounge, for instance, accommodates up to 130 guests with its fireplace and plush seating, while the new Palm Tree Club is a bright, modern spot with four distinct party spaces of varying sizes.

Orlando’s edgy Mills 50 District was home to a retail lamp store for five decades. The space reemerged in May as the restaurant and bar Lamp & Shade Craft Kitchen and Cocktails, honoring the site’s iconic history. While modern and stylish in general, the upscale space incorporates a lighting theme, which includes playful lampshades in a back-wall mural. Its slogan is “Hang out and throw some shade in conversation.” The cocktails are handcrafted, while the cuisine leans toward Asian-influenced bites in small-plate sizes. Social and corporate groups can buy out part of the dining room or the entire interior, the turfed back patio alone, or a combination for events with curated food and cocktail menus. As many as 300 can meet up for an indoor-outdoor cocktail event or 185 seated at tables and existing seating. An indoor-only buyout accommodates 200 upright or 125 seated at a mix of high-tops, booths, sofas, traditional tables, and bar stools. Bluetooth TVs, a sound system, and adjustable lighting are all available for use, and groups can play music of their choosing.

In the heart of a new Orlando neighborhood known as The Packing District, The Great Southern Box Company Food Hall & Bar is a plush, elegant 13,000-square-foot food hall located within a longtime citrus packing facility. Booths, tables, and about a dozen local food vendors surround an oblong center bar in the 12,070-square-foot Main Hall, which alone accommodates 300 guests. Groups are invited to gather in five individual spaces or to buy out the interior and exterior areas—totaling 45,610 square feet—for a gathering of up to 1,200 attendees. Smaller venues include a 5,540-square-foot private room for as many as 200 to meet up reception-style, with flowing curtains and other lush decor touches. Conveniences include hydraulic garage doors that open to The Grand Lawn, two greenrooms, AV options including adjustable sound and lighting, and a catering kitchen. The Grand Lawn, a 27,000-square-foot expanse, welcomes as many as 500 celebrants with market lights and a mobile stage. A backyard deck for 75 people and two partially covered open-sided terraces for up to 100 are also available. Catering menus feature highlights from the mini restaurants on the premises, such as lamb momos from Dancing Yeti, surf-and-turf skewers from Braza, and Margherita pizza from Antica. Boxed lunches and bar packages are also available. Parking is free in the on-site 300-space garage.

Villatel Orlando Resort is a 77-acre villa resort with hotel-like amenities in the heart of Orlando’s tourist district. Opened in phases beginning November 2023—most amenities will be available by early 2025—it currently has 70 six- to nine-bedroom estates fitting up to 26 guests apiece and 200 four- to five-bedroom villas. By early 2025, 256 one- to three-bedroom apartments will join the lineup for 526 family-friendly lodging units total. Many accommodations have their own arcades, home theaters, or extensive theming, such as Gamers Paradise or Wizarding Wonderland. A pool, waterplay slides, a lazy river, sports courts, a golf simulator, a clubhouse, and a pool deck are all under development. Small groups can gather on the patio and in the living and dining rooms of villas and estates. Groups of up to 26 can lodge under the same roof, convenient for working, relaxing, and shared meals.

Friends, relatives, or colleagues can practice their golf swings at three simulator suites within Yeoman’s Topgolf Swing Suite. It’s part of the action at this English-style pub and event venue that opened on Kissimmee’s Sunset Walk entertainment strip in April. Rent out the entire 13,00-square-foot venue so up to 500 folks can play, dine, and drink together, or select only part of the space such as a breakout area, a private room, or an air-conditioned patio. Pairs of pool tables and shuffleboard setups invite genial competition too, along with a boxing machine and large-screen TVs. Bring your own DJ, band, or presentation gear; the AV equipment is ready. A full buyout reaps use of three private bars. Smaller rentals include a subset of the recreational equipment. Create-your-event menus are priced for three, four, or five food items per person plus soft drinks. Options include shepherd’s pie, banger sausage bites, and Philly-style mac ‘n’ cheese.

Orlando-based Quantum Leap Winery relocated in October to a 1928 waterfront building long used as an event venue called The Cottage on Lake Fairview. Now, the combo winery venue, within the historic College Park neighborhood, boasts 6,000 square feet indoors for weddings, family reunions, and corporate and holiday parties. Wine barrels dot the building and tanks will be added in the near future. An acre-size outdoor area fronting Lake Fairview is also available and especially popular at sunset. Up to 150 people can be seated indoors, or 250 outside with or without a tent. Yoga events, fundraisers, book signings, and small celebrations of life are popular here. Groups can rent individual rooms or the entire building, which has its own parking lot. Indoor options include tasting rooms, the warm WOW room with its 70-year-old hardwood floor, and the Speakeasy with conversational seating areas and tables. Closer to the lake, a one-time home called The Cottage can be used as a bridal suite, lakefront dining room, or tasting space. Preferred caterers and other vendors are available upon request.

Pickleball is all the rage across America, so team-building events are on trend at Crush Yard Orlando. Opening in November, the Kissimmee facility features 10 indoor pickleball courts in a 52,000-square-foot space. A restaurant, bar, and arcade are part of this “pickleballer’s dream.” Corporate, bridal, and other groups are welcome to buy out the entire facility. Before, during, or after competitions, up to 800 guests can hobnob over drinks and elevated comfort food served buffet-style. For seated meals, up to 240 colleagues or friends can get together. Groups are welcome to use Crush Yard’s sound system and monitors, including two video walls, for music and presentations. TV projectors are available too, and groups can change the lighting system to company or other custom colors. Groups can arrange for participants to use paddles and balls. Glow-in-the-dark pickleball, trivia sessions, and cornhole playoffs are other options.

Built 50 years ago as a two-screen movie theater, The Plaza Live is now a venue for an array of live performances and private events. Located in Orlando’s Milk District, the interior and exterior underwent a major revamp that concluded in August. Within its 40,000 square feet, groups can rent out the theater and other areas including the main hall, the main lobby, the main bar, and a VIP bar. Plan a seated theater-style presentation for an audience of 900 in Central Florida’s third-largest theater-style space. Standing gatherings for up to 1,330 are also welcome. Holiday parties, graduations, and corporate educational sessions are popular uses. Audio, lighting, and other elements of the in-house tech package are available for a fee. Staging and other performance add-ons can be arranged, bar needs are met in house, and preferred vendors can cater food.