At IMEX America 2025, Visit Orlando will showcase transformational expansions and the debut of major attractions and experiences, from the first new theme park to open in 25 years to the highly anticipated expansion of the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC).
“Orlando’s continued investment in new and enhanced venues, experiences and services helps ensure our destination remains aligned with our customers’ ever-changing meetings goals,” said Casandra Matej, president and CEO, Visit Orlando, in a media statement. “The destination accolades and record-attendance shattering trade shows exemplifies Orlando’s dedication to offer unmatched meeting experiences.”
Convention Center Expansion and Enhanced Meeting Service
Set to start construction in 2026, the Orange County Convention Center’s Grand Concourse Expansion will bring an additional 44,000 sf of meeting space and a 100,000-sf ballroom to the OCCC’s North-South Building. The project is expected to finish in 2029.
The OCCC also received approval to design the second phase of the expansion project. This phase would bring an additional 200,000 sf of contiguous multipurpose exhibit space to the building, while also incorporating connectivity between the North and South Concourses. When completed, both phases will provide a grand total of 1.15 million sf of exhibit space in the North-South Building.
In addition, Visit Orlando has expanded its live virtual site inspection platform, Orlando Virtual Tours, with 14 neighborhoods that encompass the Orlando area, 14 new or upgraded hotels and six attractions and venues. Utilizing authentic location imagery, Orlando Virtual Tours offers planners the convenience to travel to more than 1,100 Orlando locations either on their own or with a pre-scheduled Visit Orlando destination expert. Each location also includes detailed site information such as square feet. For more information, planners can visit OrlandoMeeting.com.
Orlando: Recognition Speaks Volumes
- Cvent, the industry-leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider named Orlando as the No. 1 Top Meeting Destination in North America.
Sorekara, Orlando’s first MICHELIN Two-Star restaurant. - The MICHELIN Guide Florida recognized Orlando’s evolving dining scene yet again as inspectors announced two new MICHELIN-starred Orlando restaurants for 2025, including the destination’s first Two-Star venue, Sorekara.
- Conrad Orlando at Evermore became the 12th property in Florida to receive AAA’s Five-Diamond designation.
- In 2024, Orlando welcomed more than 75 million visitors, including more than 5.6 million business travelers, to remain the most visited destination in the U.S.
- Universal Epic Universe, one of the most innovative and immersive theme parks ever created, opened on May 22. As the first major theme park to open in Orlando in 25 years, Epic offers planners another large-scale location in Orlando to host off-site events.
- Disney Meetings & Events unveiled the reimagined Disney Creative Studio as an epicenter where meeting professionals collaborate with Disney Event Architects to design unique conventions, meetings and incentives.
- Opening in 2026 at SeaWorld Orlando, SEAQuest: Legends of the Deep, the world’s first-of-its-kind suspended dark ride, will take riders on an awe-inspiring voyage into the ocean’s most extraordinary realms.
During IMEX America 2025, Visit Orlando will exhibit at stand #C3717.
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