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Universal Studios is opening a fourth theme park, Disney’s Magic Kingdom is expanding and a new sports and entertainment district is being built in Orlando.
Andrea Doyle
There are some impressive projects underway in Orlando. The city, which has topped the Cvent destination rankings for the past seven editions, is about to receive a major upgrade.
It’s a good time for Visit Orlando’s new chief sales officer, Lisa Messina, who previously served as chief sales officer for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Resort and Hotel Updates
The 1,641-room Hyatt Regency Orlando has been sold to Ares Management and Rida Development for $1.02 billion. There are also plans to build a new Grand Hyatt Orlando hotel with approximately 2,500 rooms on an adjacent 45 acres. The two hotels will provide more than 4,000 rooms at the Orange County Convention Center.
Universal Orlando Resort’s fourth theme park, Universal Epic Universe, is about to open. At the center of the epic universe is Celestial Park, offering a gateway to four distinctly themed lands. The expansion doubled the size of the original theme park.
Three hotels will be built alongside the new project. Universal Stella Nova Resort will open on January 21, 2025. Operated by Loews Hotels & Co., it will have 1,500 rooms. The Helios Universal Hotel will have 500 rooms and a dedicated entrance to the new theme park.
Magic Kingdom, Disney’s flagship theme park in Florida and a popular venue for off-site events during the convention, will undergo the most significant expansion in its 53-year history. The park plans to add a brand new land – Tropical America. It is expected to open in 2027.
In other hotel news, the $1.5 billion Evermore Orlando Resort opened in January. It covers 1,100 acres and has 69 houses with a total of 2,013 bedrooms. Evermore includes 65,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, a 20-acre beach complex and two golf courses.
The first Conrad Orlando hotel opened that same month, with 433 rooms, including 51 suites.
Westcourt is known as Orlando’s “Town Square”
Westcourt, a new 8.5-acre downtown sports and entertainment complex across from Kia Center, is set to open in 2027. The hotel will have 261 guest rooms and more than 16,000 square feet of indoor meeting space.
In addition, Westcourt will include an on-site event venue with seating for 3,500 people, 120,000 square feet of entertainment, dining and retail space, multiple meeting areas and 1.5 acres of outdoor common areas.
