Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center

Gaylord Palms is Florida resort theater: a vast, climate-controlled garden of palm trees, waterfalls and winding walkways where conventions, holiday spectacles and family chaos collide. Rooms peer over a soaring glass atrium; ask for an atrium-balcony room and you’ll fall asleep to a distant waterfall. The property wears its scale proudly — 63 acres of pools, a lazy river and an indoor water playground that keep kids occupied while planners stake out acres of meeting space. Nights around Christmas turn the atrium into a staged pageant with timed Santa meet-and-greets and an ice exhibit that can feel magical or utterly packed depending on timing. Dining ranges from an old-school buffet that satisfies comfort cravings to MOOR, where Cuban-inflected plates and a thoughtful front‑of-house make for a memorable evening. Locals grumble about parking and resort fees; visitors treat it as Orlando spectacle central. This is not boutique intimacy. It’s a big, polished machine that anchors Kissimmee’s convention and holiday economy and knows how to put on a show.