Custom Exhibit Booths booth format
Custom Exhibit Booths support in Orlando focuses on footprint, structure, graphics, utilities, and labor needs. That keeps the buyer focused on decisions that actually affect the floor.
Custom exhibit booths at Orange County Convention Center are engineered structures, not off-the-shelf kits, so the build starts with drawings that match the hall's ceiling height, column spacing, and floor load limits before a single crate leaves the warehouse.
An island or peninsula footprint changes the plan the most. A large island can carry a second level, a hanging sign, and a full kitchen or AV closet, but every one of those elements needs its own line item in the exhibitor manual and its own sign-off from the show's official contractor before move-in week starts.
Most custom booth conversations start with a floor plan PDF and a booth number, not a design idea. The first real question is which hall the booth lands in, West Building or North/South Building, because ceiling clearance, dock distance, and marshalling yard access are different in each.
The second question is whether the booth is an island, a peninsula, or an inline space against pipe and drape. That answer decides whether rigging points, forklift time, and a hanging sign permit need to go on the schedule at all.
The West Building and the North/South Building are connected by a pedestrian bridge over International Drive, but freight does not cross that bridge. Trucks route separately to each hall's marshalling yard, so a booth split across both halls needs two drayage plans, not one.
Ceiling height inside the West Building exhibit halls supports taller island structures than most hotel ballrooms in the market, which is why larger custom builds gravitate there when a show has a choice of hall.
International Drive carries most of the install crew traffic during move-in week, and hotel blocks along the corridor fill up fast when several large shows overlap on the OCCC calendar.
Warehouse space near the corridor is where custom crates stage before drayage, and the distance from that warehouse to the marshalling yard is short enough that a same-day pull is realistic if the paperwork is already approved.
Florida is a right-to-work state, so a custom exhibit booth build at OCCC does not carry the same mandatory union labor structure as a Northeast convention center. Non-union display houses can supply their own installation and dismantle crews for most carpentry and general labor.
Electrical, plumbing, and rigging still route through the show's official contractor in most cases, and a hanging sign always needs engineering sign-off and a certificate of insurance on file before the rigging crew will touch it.
Questions Buyers Ask
OCCC exhibit halls have taller ceilings and dedicated marshalling yards that support island and peninsula structures with hanging signs and multi-level decks, while hotel ballroom booths at Orlando properties like Gaylord Palms or Caribe Royale usually work within lower ceiling heights and tighter dock access, which limits how tall or heavy a custom structure can go.
The two halls are connected by a pedestrian bridge but not by a shared freight route, so a booth needs its own drayage plan for whichever hall it lands in, and ceiling height, column spacing, and marshalling yard distance all differ enough to change what the design can include.
Any hanging sign needs engineering drawings and sign-off from the show's official contractor before the rigging crew will hang it, and that approval should be built into the schedule weeks ahead of move-in rather than requested during install week.
Non-union display houses can supply their own carpentry and general labor crews for most of the build, which keeps labor more flexible than in strict union markets, though electrical, plumbing, and rigging typically still route through the show's official contractor regardless of the booth vendor's own crew.
