Kissimmee

• The 1,406-room Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, with 400,000 square feet of meeting space, a 20,000-square-foot Canyon Ranch spa, and access to nearby Falcon's Fire Golf Club, has introduced an “Eco-Logical Package” for groups of 10 to 20, which focuses on earth-friendly amenities and healthy dining alternatives.

• The 400-unit Ginn Reunion Resort recently debuted a new outdoor group venue, a 5,000-square-foot tiled patio with views of nearby golf courses and wetlands than can accommodate up to 300 people.

• Icon Celebration, a 441-unit condo/hotel is expected to open in the town of Celebration in late 2010 with 14,000 square feet of meeting space.

• Opened in late 2008, the 240-unit Mona Lisa Suite Hotel, in the town of Celebration, features one- and two-bedroom accommodations and 5,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 45-seat Da Vinci Meeting and Boardroom. There's also access to the nearby Stetson University Conference Center in Celebration, which has 10,000 square feet of meeting space in 15 meeting rooms.

Tampa

• Slated to open this spring is the 221-room Crowne Plaza Tampa Westshore, with 9,000 square feet of meeting space.

• In December, the 717-room Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina. completed a $12 million renovation of 681 guest rooms and 36 suites.

• The new 255-room Westin Tampa Bay Airport Hotel offers 6,800 square feet of meeting space.

• About 20 miles east of Tampa Bay, in Plant City, an 87-room Fairfield Inn & Suites opened in January.

Trip Tips

• Florida Eco-Safaris at Forever Florida features its new Zipline Safari experience, taking guests on a treetop nature tour reaching heights of 55 feet and speeds up to 20 mph.

• Recently opened at Orlando International Airport is Solantic, a walk-in urgent care clinic that features cellphone pagers and lobby wait monitors.

• Walt Disney World Resort has introduced Disney's Online Check-In Service. Guests can register and check in to their hotel from home.

• The Orlando/Orange County CVB's 25th Anniversary Savings Celebration offers any meeting booked by May 1, 2009, and held by December 31, 2009, a 2.5% discount off the master account at any one of 30 participating Orlando area meetings hotels.

Ask The CVB

Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
(800) 544-0414
www.daytonabeachcvb.org

Kissimmee CVB
(800) 831-1844, ext. 42484www.floridakiss.com

Orlando/Orange County CVB
(407) 363-5872
www.orlandoinfo.com/meetings

Tampa Bay & Company
(813) 223-1111
www.visittampabay.com

Special Venues

• The municipal Kissimmee Gateway Airport offers three unique venues: Stallion 51, with 12,000 square feet of covered space and an additional 15,000 square feet of outdoor space; Ranger Jet Center, two hangars with 12,000 square feet of space each and two hangars with 18,000 square feet of space each; and Kissimmee Air Museum, a facility dedicated to Warbird fighters featuring a 10,500-square-foot hangar with a 400-square-foot meeting room. www.meetings.floridakiss.com; (407) 944-2484

• Walt Disney World Resort's recently opened, 70,000-square-foot Jostens Center at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex can host teambuilding activities as well as receptions for groups of up to 2,000. www.disneymeetings.com; (321) 939-7221

• The Capital Grille Orlando at The Pointe, which features an award-winning wine list with 5,000 bottles of wine and dry aged steaks, offers groups private dining in three separate rooms: The Boardroom (seats 10), Orlando Room (seats 24), and The Wine Room (seats 36). www.capitalgrille.com; (407) 370-4392

• The 35,000 square-foot Orlando Harley-Davidson Historic Factory Dealership regularly hosts indoor and outdoor events for 100 to 3,000 people. Events can start with a five-bike motorcade to escort motorcoaches to the dealership. Other popular event touches include biker bands, motorcycle stunt riders, tattoo artists, biker themed games, biker portraits of guests sitting on a bike, and biker-attired stilt walkers. www.orlandoharley.com; (407) 423-0346

• Safari Lodge at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo recently opened. It features an 11,000-square-foot grand hall and the Reilly Reserve, a 3,000-square-foot elevated annex with panoramic views of the park's African Safari, home to giraffes, elephants, zebras, and more. www.lowryparkzoo.com; (813) 935-8552

Attractions Update

• At Walt Disney World, Disney's Wide World of Sports will open a 100-lane bowling stadium in 2010; and Pleasure Island is closing all of its nightclubs to create a new family-friendly environment. A few venues, such as Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant and Sosa Family Cigars, are remaining open.

• Slated to open in spring at Universal Studios, Florida is Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit, a new roller coaster with multi-sensory special effects. The Wizardry World of Harry Potter, a theme park based on the hugely successful Harry Potter book series, will open late 2009 or early 2010 at Universal's Islands of Adventures theme park.

• This summer, SeaWorld Orlando will open Mana, a new roller coaster that transitions riders from air to sea. The marine theme park recently introduced a 30-minute theatrical production entitled “A'Lure, The Call of the Ocean.”

• The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Titusville recently debuted Eye on the Universe, which features powerful Hubble Space Telescope images.