Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek

Type: Venue Review

Orlando, FL

Overview: Hilton Bonnet Creek has primarily taken over as the go to event venue at Disney. 

Ballrooms: There are two very large ballroom spaces.  The Bonnet Creek Ballroom and the Floridian Ballroom.  Both ballrooms share a side foyer so there needs to be attention given to audience flow if you have the Floridian Ballroom.  When we have worked in the entire Floridian, we have used the side foyer for entrances which works out well.  Some clients have used the connected foyer as an audience lounge area or vendor booths.

Event Space: Multiple breakout rooms are directly below the ballrooms and the dock is workable but is a shared space so coordination is key.  The hotel is connected to the Waldorf Astoria which also has ballroom and breakout space.

Challenge: The walk to the Floridian ballroom is a little far from the attendee elevators and you pass through the Bonnet Creek foyer. 

Solution: We have done some interesting displays (demonstrated above) to brand the Floridian space which we would be happy to share.

Producer’s Notes: Bonnet Creek is definitely a hotel that should be on your site visit list for larger events in Orlando.

KI Convention Center

Type: Venue Review

Overview:  There are not a lot of good options in the Green Bay market but the KI convention center is one to consider.

Ballrooms:  The property has a wide variety of ballroom space.  The original footprint includes a couple of good size ballrooms which can be divided into smaller breakout space as well as a large expo hall.  A recent renovation added a large upstairs ballroom with additional breakout space.

AV Staff and Equipment:  In house is currently PSAV and they are exclusive for rigging but we have never had an issue bringing in outside av to the venue

Location:  The convention center has two attached hotels which works well in the colder months.  The onsite restaurant is the basic bar/restaurant however, there are multiple good restaurants very close.  Lambeau Field (the Packers stadium) is a short drive away and is a highlight for attendees to visit.

Con:  The rigging in the upstairs ballroom has a few holes so any larger set-up needs to take into account the rigging options.  The expo hall on the first floor can get cold.  Load in is also something that needs to be coordinated as the dock is small and the push upstairs is not short.  We often will coordinate a load in using the expo hall and pull our trucks into the hall for load and unload.

Diplomat Beach Resort Hollywood

Type: Venue Review

Location: Hollywood, FL

Overview: This is a very busy hotel with lots of meeting space and a great location.  There are lots of ballrooms with different levels of features and challenges. The hotel is also split into two areas, the convention center with all of the large ballrooms and the main hotel with the majority of the breakout space.

Ballrooms: The main ballroom is the Great Hall on the third floor.   This is a very flexible space that allows for even the largest stage design and production.  Rigging is ample here and the space works great.

The next largest ballroom is the Grand on the second floor.  This room features windows that run the complete length of the east section (a drape can close them off for sessions).  The biggest challenge with this ballroom is that rigging is very limited.  We have done some very creative stage designs in this space but it can be a challenge.

The remaining ballrooms are mostly used for large breakout rooms and they work well.

The Grand ballroom also features a nice registration area and a nice foyer.

Power and Rigging:  This hotel is constantly booked, and their rigging and power rates reflect the demand.  You will want to price out both power and rigging at the beginning of the budget process so as not to get sticker shock.

Power is handled by an outside vendor and needs to be ordered well in advance of the event.

Entrance to the Ballroom:  The Grand ballroom is accessed by taking an escalator that exits directly into the foyer.  We have done a really interesting LED arch unit at the entrance to the space.  See this blog post for more details.

Producer’s Notes: This is a very large property with lots to offer mid to large size meetings.