Serious Fun in Central Florida

 

There are many great places to hold a meeting, special event, or incentive program in Central Florida, from the stunning Gulf Coast beaches to Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. But the theme parks are what it is famous for, and the sheer volume of venues, teambuilding activities, and educational opportunities in them makes Central Florida a planner’s paradise. 

Orlando has the lion’s share: Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal Orlando. Then there’s Tampa’s African-themed Busch Gardens, which offers close proximity to the 35 miles of white-sand beaches in nearby St. Petersburg/Clearwater, including Caladesi Island State Park, Fort De Soto Park, and Clearwater Beach, all of which have, at one time or another, been called the best beach in America.

Tell a Story

Last year, Marty McLaughlin had to produce the meeting of his career. Really it was two meetings. The first was the biennial partners meeting of Belgium-based BDO International, the world’s fifth-largest network of accounting firms, bringing together some 500 top partners from around the world as well as about 50 from America. That ended on a Friday. On Sunday, the rest of BDO USA’s 300 partners would arrive for the firm’s 100th annual partner meeting, the culmination of a year-long celebration of the firm’s centennial. 

Working with the firm’s director of meetings and event services, Mary Anastas, he chose Disney World. “I’ve been producing partner meetings for BDO for over a dozen years,” says McLaughlin, BDO USA’s national director. “This was our centennial. The partner meeting really had to be special. So we worked with Disney Entertainment Group (DEG) to tell the BDO story, if you will.”

But first, they impressed BDO’s worldwide leadership by turning the ballroom of the Disney Beach and Yacht Club into a Mt. Everest base camp to match the meeting theme, “Achieving New Heights.”  

McLaughlin provided Disney’s creative team with a history of BDO USA and told them, “We want to tell the story of the firm, but we want to make it inspiring. That’s all we had to tell DEG. Their creativity is just unsurpassed.”

The result was Monday morning’s opening general session. “It was nothing short of a Broadway production,” says McLaughlin. “They produced a two-hour meeting, with a cast of nearly 60—singers, dancers, actors—they brought the story of BDO to life.” Original music was developed and used over the next two days. “At the end of the morning event, there was a standing ovation like you’ve never seen.” 

The next day was the business meeting, with activities for family members. That was followed by a closing gala with fireworks in Epcot’s world showcase. Evaluation comments “ranged from ‘the best we’ve ever seen,’ to ‘we really didn’t realize the impact this firm has had on the growth of this country,’ ” McLaughlin says. “We wanted the partners to take pride in the firm, we wanted them to be enthused and energized to take it into the next century. And it achieved every one of those goals.” The 20-plus-year BDO veteran added: “This was the highlight of my career and I don’t say that lightly. Even though it was the most elaborate program I’ve ever done, it was also the least stressful.” 

SeaWorld Orlando tries to incorporate some type of animal interaction into group affairs, says Susan Dahle, the park’s senior manager of group and event sales. That doesn’t necessarily mean a private Shamu show, she says. “Fifty people in a 5,000-seat stadium would not have the energy you want for this type of event.” 

Smaller groups will often start the evening with a reserved block of seats at the last public show before being led to dinner as the park closes, perhaps at Sharks Underwater Grill, seating 30 to 200, set in the center of an aquarium whose denizens might consider you a tasty snack. There, a knowledgeable trainer/speaker will bring an animal like a hawk or penguin to your group.  

For larger groups of up to 10,000, SeaWorld Orlando will open several parts of the park, selecting a central area to set up dinner for the group. “If it’s a young group that likes excitement, thrills, high energy, we’ll anchor the food in the penguin encounter area, then open rides around it, like Manta, Kraken, and Journey to Atlantis,” Dahle says. “Then depending on how large the group is, we’ll add in other areas, like Key West with dolphins, and either a kickoff or big finale at Shamu.”

Two years ago, the park added Discovery University, a speakers program drawing on in-house experts like SeaWorld Animal Ambassador and television personality Jack Hanna, who can talk about topics such as  teambuilding and conservation. St. Louis-based meeting and incentive firm Maritz Travel brought in a group of top clients to hear Brian Morrow, SeaWorld’s corporate director of creative development, discuss taking a project from the creative process through development, using the example of the popular Manta coaster.