Prevue March/April 2013 - (Page 96)

UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT Collaborate with the Simpsons & friends. [ON LOCATION] KAREN KUZSEL M y scavenger hunt teammates and I scanned the crowds jostling through Marvel Super Hero Island. We had managed to arrive first after race-walking through the Islands of Adventure theme park at Universal Orlando Resort in a record-setting two hours, posing for digital photos and scouting for clues during our gamification event. Behind us, in the main event space (200 max), chef-attended stations were sizzling up filet mignon sliders, Asian chicken lettuce wraps and seared diver sea scallops for our awards luncheon. From our scavenger hunt, we learned a lot about bringing meetings groups to Universal Orlando’s two theme parks and multiple Loews Hotels. It’s not what you see on the surface— luxury resorts, spectacular attractions and live shows—but how 250,000 sf of event space can be creatively utilized. “We do events for 20 to 20,000,” says Eric Marshall, vp of park sales. “Our environments are so heavily themed and packed with entertainment that there’s real opportunity for meeting planners to focus money on better menus and more creative, customized elements.” Even small add-ons deliver big impact, like food trucks at a New York-style street party, or inserting the group’s president into a customized 45-minute Blue Man Group show. The possibilities are endless with Universal’s wide range of production capabilities. A popular group event during 92 | prevue magazine Halloween Horror Nights is a behind-the-scenes haunted house tour. The first time through, the lights are on. “The second time, the lights are off and we bring in our scaractors (scary actors) for an experience they’ll never forget,” says Marshall. One teambuilding idea favored by smaller, executive groups is to star in a 13-minute film written around the company’s goals and produced by the Universal A/V team. It’s later screened at a group function. Sometimes it just takes adding themed food to an existing attraction venue to take the event to another level, such as combining the simulated Simpsons Ride with upscale versions of carnival food, like fried Snickers bars and fried Oreos or having butterbeer, fish n’ chips and cauldron cakes for a Wizarding World of Harry Potter event set along the cobbled Hogsmeade streets. Our group saw firsthand how a few tweaks upgraded the experience. One evening we had ringside seats on the wide verandah of Lombard’s Seafood Grille for to view the nightly Universal Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories. Sure, you can stand alongside the Universal Studios Lagoon to watch film clips from iconic film classics on three huge waterfall screens, but this new program includes dinner, a decadent dessert buffet and primo viewing. “Meeting planners are no longer interested in an off-theshelf proposal; they want collaboration,” says Marshall. “They

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue March/April 2013

Planner's Pick: Miami
Fresh Meets: Renaissance Hotels
Bureau Buzz: Austin
Good Business: Washington, DC
Sea Shores: Cruising Sweden
Feelin' Good About Incentives
Special Section: California
On Location: JW Marriott Desert Springs
Caribbean & The Bahamas
On Location: U.S. Virgin Islands
On Location: Aruba
On Location: Omni Amelia Island
The South: Best of Golf & Spa
On Location: Fairmont Scottsdale
On Location: W Singapore
Austria
Ireland
On Location: Mexico City
On Location: Starwood Los Cabos
On Location: Universal Orlando
On Location: Villas of Grand Cypress, Orlando
Check Out: Alpina Gstaad, Switzerland
Club Med

Prevue March/April 2013