Exhibitor guide · Kissimmee, Florida
Gaylord Palms: the exhibitor's guide
A 500,000 sq ft convention center under a four-acre glass atrium, ten minutes from Disney. One roof, one hotel, one exhibit hall the size of a small convention center, and hotel rules on the floor.
Gaylord Palms · 6000 W Osceola PkwyWhy this page exists
Gaylord Palms is where association and corporate meetings go when they want the whole event, the expo included, inside one building with one hotel. The upside is that nobody crosses a street for three days. The downside is that a hotel convention center runs on hotel rules: in-house AV and rigging, carpeted floors outside the exhibition hall, and a dock that serves banquets as well as booths.
This guide covers the Florida Exhibition Hall versus the ballrooms, what changes when your booth lands on carpet, and a converter that tells you in ten seconds. Purple ships to Gaylord Palms from Las Vegas and Fishkill and has built here for association expos since 2016.
The building
The exhibition hall and the ballrooms
More than half of the space is one bay. The rest is ballrooms and breakouts around the atrium, and the difference decides how you build.
| Space | What it is | Typical use | Booth planning note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Exhibition Hall | About 210,300 sq ft including prefunction, a column-light hall with concrete floors and direct dock access; exact clear heights are on the venue's hall plans. | Association expos, product shows | Real hall rules: islands, hanging signs and forklifts are fine. Rigging is in-house. |
| Osceola Ballroom | The largest ballroom at 48,505 sq ft, carpeted, divisible into sections. | General sessions, expos with tabletops | Carpet protection, no forklifts inside, lighter structures. |
| Sun and Coquina Ballrooms and 2021 expansion space | Mid-size carpeted ballrooms plus 90,000 sq ft added in 2021 with the new tower. | Breakouts, sponsor rows, meals | 10×10 and 10×20 sponsor booths; power ordered per room. |
| The atrium | Four and a half acres under glass, with the resort's restaurants and the Emerald Bay wing. | Receptions, activations | Activations need resort approval; nothing anchors to the atrium floor. |
Free tool
Hotel ballroom booth converter
If your booth is going in a ballroom rather than the Florida Exhibition Hall, tick what it has. The converter lists what changes on carpet under a hotel ceiling, and what Purple does about each one.
History
A Nashville idea planted in Kissimmee
Gaylord Entertainment opens the Opryland Hotel in Nashville and invents the self-contained convention resort: hotel, atrium and convention center under one roof.
Gaylord Palms opens in February in Kissimmee, the company's first resort outside Nashville, with 1,406 rooms and a 4.5-acre atrium themed on Key West, the Everglades and old St. Augustine.
Marriott takes over management when Gaylord Entertainment becomes Ryman Hospitality Properties, which still owns the building.
A $158 million expansion adds a 303-room tower and about 90,000 sq ft of meeting space, taking the resort to 1,718 rooms and roughly 500,000 sq ft of event space.
ICE! fills the exhibition hall every holiday season, and association expos fill it the rest of the year.
Rules of the floor
Labor, exclusives and hotel rules
Non-union, your staff can build
Florida right-to-work applies. Full-time employees may set up with their own tools. Outside labor comes through the show contractor or an approved EAC; Purple files as yours with the resort.
In-house AV, rigging and power
Encore is the in-house AV and rigging provider; electrical and internet are resort-exclusive. Order at early-bird pricing about three weeks out.
Concrete in the hall, carpet everywhere else
The Florida Exhibition Hall takes forklifts and floor-mounted structures. Ballrooms need carpet protection and hand-moved freight. Use the converter above.
One dock shared with banquets
The convention dock serves food and beverage as well as exhibitors. Target windows are tight; direct-to-show trucks wait. Ship advance warehouse.
Osceola County Fire Rescue
Covered and multilevel exhibits need review like the OCCC; thresholds are similar; confirm the current threshold when the fire plan is submitted. Purple prepares the package.
No storage in guest space
Empties go to the contractor. Product and samples can be received through the resort's business center for a fee.
Empties and the MHA
EMPTY stickers as you unpack; MHA turned in before you leave. Purple routes the booth back to storage or on to your next show.
Certificates
Certificate naming the organizer and the resort, typically $1M per occurrence. Purple's is on file.
Free tool
Gaylord Palms drayage estimator
Planning numbers for 2026; the show kit has the tariff. All-venue rates and a glossary are on the drayage rates page.
Deadlines
Freight countdown
The calendar
Events at Gaylord Palms
Gaylord Palms is a meetings resort more than a trade show hall. Most events are association annual meetings and corporate conferences with an expo attached; the exhibitor list changes every year.
| Event type | When | Space | Typical size | Purple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Association annual meetings with expo | Year round, peak Jan–May | Florida Exhibition Hall + ballrooms | 2,000–8,000 | 10×20 rentals |
| Corporate sales kickoffs and user conferences | Jan–Mar, Sep–Nov | Osceola Ballroom + breakouts | 1,000–5,000 | Booth rentals |
| Franchise, insurance and healthcare conventions | Spring and fall | Hall + ballrooms | 3,000–6,000 | Custom exhibits |
| ICE! and holiday events | Nov–Jan | Florida Exhibition Hall | Public | Hall is unavailable to shows in this window |
Logistics
Getting there and staying
- Airport: Orlando International is about 25 minutes; the resort runs no shuttle, so budget rideshare or the Mears bus.
- Stay: in the resort. The room block is the point of the venue; crews sometimes stay at the Kissimmee hotels on Osceola Parkway for less.
- Freight: the convention dock off Osceola Parkway, shared with banquets. Marshaling per the contractor.
- Theme parks: Disney is 10 minutes; client dinners at Disney Springs.
- Purple's shops: freight ships from Las Vegas or Fishkill. See Orlando booth rentals.
Resources
Free resources you can link to
Cite the numbers
One-page cheat sheet
Hall vs. ballroom rules, exclusives, dock and deadlines.
Kissimmee
The area around the atrium
Questions
Gaylord Palms FAQ
Is Gaylord Palms a convention center or a hotel?
Both. It is a resort with a 500,000 sq ft convention center attached and 1,718 rooms above it. The exhibition hall runs on hall rules; the ballrooms run on hotel rules.
Can I bring my own AV or rigger?
No. Encore is in-house for AV and rigging, and power and internet are resort-exclusive.
Is it union?
No. Florida is right-to-work and full-time staff can set up with their own tools.
How far is it from the OCCC?
About 20 minutes by car. Purple runs shows at both from the same Orlando schedule.
Do I have to stay in the resort?
No, but attendees will be there, and the room block usually carries the meeting rate. Crews often stay nearby on Osceola Parkway.
Can my usual trade show booth go in a ballroom here?
Usually with changes: carpet protection, lighter build, sign on Encore's rigging points. Run the converter above.
What about hurricane season?
June to November. Purple ships advance warehouse with extra margin and keeps a storm plan for freight in transit.
What does Purple do that the show contractor does not?
Designs, builds, ships, installs, supervises and stores the booth, prepares carpet-ready versions of hall booths, and files the EAC and MHA paperwork.
Exhibiting at Gaylord Palms?
Send us the event and space name. You get a hall-or-ballroom design brief, a drayage estimate and a build timeline within two business days.
Venue guides
Every venue we have a guide for
Same standard, every hall: the building, the rules, the tools and the calendar.