The Walt Disney World Conference Center was a chalet-style building that was designed for small and medium-sized business meetings. It opened in August 1980 along the banks of Club Lake and was then converted into part of the Disney Institute

Disney Institute

Disney Institute is the professional development and external training arm of The Walt Disney Company. The company showcases 'the business behind the magic' through seminars, workshops and presentations, as well as programs for professionals from many different industries, including healthcare,...

. It was later demolished when construction began on the Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa

Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa

Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa is a Disney Vacation Club resort at the Walt Disney World Resort. The resort is the seventh Disney Vacation Club resort and is situated on the former site of the Disney Institute. It first opened May 17, 2004 and was built in three phases. It is now the...

, which now stands on the grounds of the former Institute.

The conference center had four rooms which could be broken down into several configurations. The largest breakout room, at 6500 square feet (603.9 m²), could seat 505 guests with theater-style seating. Each meeting room faced the lake and had automatic lighting that would turn on when external light conditions required them. Meeting planners could have themed entertainment with the Disney characters as well as the ability to arrange for a round of golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 or a tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 match. The conference center could not handle large conventions and the large groups were forced to use newly created meeting spaces at the Walt Disney World Dolphin

Walt Disney World Dolphin

The Walt Disney World Dolphin is a resort hotel designed by architect Michael Graves located between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, next to Disney's BoardWalk Resort area...

, Walt Disney World Swan

Walt Disney World Swan

The Walt Disney World Swan is a resort hotel designed by architect Michael Graves located between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios behind Disney's BoardWalk Resort and across from its sister resort, the Walt Disney World Dolphin...

, Disney's Contemporary Resort

Disney's Contemporary Resort

Disney's Contemporary Resort is a deluxe resort at the Walt Disney World Resort. It opened on October 1, 1971...

, and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is a AAA Four Diamond Award–winning, Victorian themed luxury hotel and spa located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The property opened on June 28, 1988 as the Grand Floridian Beach Resort. The name changed to Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa...

hotels, which resulted in the closure of the conference center.