Vision Expo East 2026: Orlando Show Guide for ECPs

Quick answer

Vision Expo 2026 ran March 11 to 14 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. It is the first unified annual edition, combining what were previously Vision Expo East and Vision Expo West into a single show. More than 350 exhibitors, 220-plus hours of accredited continuing education (CE), and attendees from over 100 countries. The 2027 edition moves to Las Vegas.

Vision Expo 2026 ran March 11 to 14 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Produced by RX (Reed Exhibitions) in partnership with The Vision Council, it is the largest optical trade show in North America by attendance and exhibitor count, and the 2026 edition is the first under a new unified annual format, consolidating what were previously two separate events (Vision Expo East and Vision Expo West) into one show per year. The 2026 show marks the event’s 40th anniversary. Licensed opticians, optometrists, ophthalmologists, optical shop owners, buyers, and frame reps are the core audience. If you attend one North American optical trade show per year, this is the one.

What Vision Expo is and who runs it

Vision Expo is co-produced by RX (Reed Exhibitions), one of the world’s largest event organizers, and The Vision Council, the US trade association representing the optical products industry. The Vision Council sets the educational and industry standards agenda; RX handles event logistics, sponsorship, and exhibitor sales.

The show has been running since 1986, making 2026 the 40th edition. For most of its history it ran as two annual events: Vision Expo East (traditionally held in New York City) and Vision Expo West (Las Vegas). In 2025, the East edition moved to Orlando after 38 years at the Javits Center. Then, in July 2025, the Vision Council and RX announced they would consolidate both shows into a single annual event beginning in 2026, citing exhibitor and attendee feedback about the cost and calendar burden of two shows per year.

The rotating city schedule announced: Orlando in 2026, Las Vegas in 2027, New York in 2028. This matters for planning. If you prefer the Las Vegas venue, the next chance is 2027.

Dates, venue, and floor layout for 2026

Dates: March 11 to 14, 2026. Accredited education begins March 11. The exhibit hall opens March 12 and runs through March 14.

Venue: Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), 9800 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819. The OCCC is the second-largest convention center in the United States, with 7 million square feet of total space and 2.1 million square feet of exhibit hall. More than 5,000 hotel rooms connect directly to the venue via six pedestrian bridges.

For 2026, the show organizers redesigned the floor so that conference sessions, workshops, and exhibit hall programming all sit on the same level, removing the need to navigate between separate buildings for education and exhibits. That change matters practically: you lose less time in transit between CE sessions and booth visits.

Getting there: Orlando International Airport (MCO) is about 15 miles from the OCCC. Ground transport runs 20 to 35 minutes depending on traffic. Vision Expo operates complimentary shuttles from its official hotel block. The hotel block deadline for 2026 was February 17, 2026, so late registrants booked independently on International Drive.

Who attends and who should attend

At Vision Expo East 2025, the first Orlando edition, attendees came from 105 countries and 44 percent of all show visitors were first-time attendees. The core attendee profile breaks down into four groups:

Independent opticians and optometrists are the single largest group. They attend for product discovery, vendor negotiations, and CE credits. The show is one of the few places they can compare competing lens lines, frame collections, and practice management software in a single day.

Optical shop owners and buyers use the show to set inventory for the upcoming season. Frame houses time their spring collection launches to coincide with the March show date, so buyers see new product several months before it hits distribution channels.

Frame reps, lens lab staff, and industry employees attend to meet retail accounts, demonstrate new products, and scout competitors.

International exhibitors and distributors evaluating the US market find Vision Expo the most concentrated access point to North American buyers. Latin American and Canadian presence has grown notably since the move to Orlando.

Who should consider skipping: Opticians whose primary CE need is clinical optometry (ocular disease management, medical optometry tracks) will find SECO International in Atlanta a better fit for CE per travel dollar. Practices focused entirely on private-label sourcing get more from HKTDC Hong Kong or MIDO Milan. If travel budget is the constraint, the show closest to you in the rotation schedule is almost always the better call.

The exhibit floor

More than 350 exhibitors will exhibit at Vision Expo 2026, covering four broad categories:

Fashion frames and eyewear: The densest section of the floor. Independent European and American frame designers launch spring collections here. Italian, French, and Scandinavian houses use Vision Expo as their primary US market debut. This is the section most relevant to retail buyers building frame inventory.

Lens technology and optics: Major lens manufacturers (Essilor, Zeiss, Hoya, Rodenstock) and independent labs present their current lines, pricing, and upcoming portfolio changes. This is where dispensers negotiate annual volume agreements and evaluate new progressive designs.

Clinical instruments and equipment: Autorefractors, digital lensmeters, fundus cameras, OCT units, and measurement systems. Practices evaluating capital equipment purchases use the exhibit floor to compare devices that otherwise require separate vendor demos. For practices interested in measurement technology trends, the equipment section has expanded in each recent edition.

Practice management software and technology: EHR platforms, lab ordering software, point-of-sale systems, and digital measurement tools. The tech section is smaller than the frame floor but growing. For practices building out their software stack, the show offers a rare chance to run hands-on demos with multiple platforms in a single afternoon. A guide to the categories worth evaluating is available in practice management software. The 2025 edition also featured a dedicated AI tools in optical practices section, reflecting the accelerating deployment of computer vision and automation in dispensing workflows.

For 2026, the show introduced “Call for NEW,” an open invitation for brands to debut products specifically at the show, adding a curated launch zone to the floor.

Education and CE credits (OptiCon)

Vision Expo 2026 will offer more than 220 hours of accredited continuing education, beginning March 11 (one day before the exhibit hall opens). The education program runs under the OptiCon brand and is structured into three tracks: opticians and allied health professionals, optometrists, and business/practice management.

Accreditation bodies: Courses are submitted for credit approval to:

• ABO (American Board of Opticianry) for ophthalmic dispensing credits
• NCLE (National Contact Lens Examiners) for contact lens credits
• COPE (Council on Optometric Practitioner Education) for optometry continuing education
• State boards of opticianry, including Florida State Board and New York State Optician licensing bodies

Opticians must provide their ABO-NCLE license number at registration to receive credit. COPE credits are reported via QR code scan at the end of each approved session, syncing directly to the attendee’s OE Tracker account through ARBO (Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry). State board credits are reported after the show closes.

Education pass pricing (2025 reference): An OptiCon Allied Health package was offered at $349 for unlimited CE sessions for opticians, with optometry packages priced separately. Full CE packages for ODs ran higher. Exhibit-hall-only registration was available at lower cost for attendees not seeking accredited credits.

The 2026 redesign places all education rooms on the same floor as the exhibit hall, so it is practically easier to mix booth visits with CE sessions than in prior years.

Vision Expo: then East and West, now one annual show

The consolidation of Vision Expo East and West into a single annual event is the most structurally significant change in the show’s history. For attendees who previously attended both shows, this compresses two travel budgets into one. For those who attended only one, the main practical effect is that the show now rotates cities on a three-year cycle instead of returning to the same city annually.

The table below summarizes the former East and West shows for reference, and maps the new unified format going forward.

For practices that used Vision Expo West as their primary show because of geography or travel costs, Vision Expo West in Las Vegas returns as the unified show in 2027. The 2026 Orlando edition serves the same East Coast and Latin American audience that Vision Expo East historically drew.

For a broader comparison including SECO, MIDO, and the international show circuit, see the complete 2026 optical trade show calendar.

Travel and cost breakdown

Registration tiers (approximate, based on 2025 pricing):

Travel and accommodation:

Orlando International Airport serves all major US carriers with direct flights from most East Coast hubs. Flights from New York or Miami run under two hours. Flights from Los Angeles are roughly five hours.

Hotels within the official Vision Expo block are located on or near International Drive, a few miles from the OCCC. Hotels within walking distance of the convention center book fast for March; properties connected by the pedestrian bridges are the most convenient. Book inside the official block or through the Connections Housing portal when early-bird hotel rates are available (typically 10 to 12 weeks before the show). Late bookers in 2025 found independently listed OCCC-area hotels running $180 to $350 per night during show week.

Rough total trip cost for a three-day attendee (from East Coast):

West Coast attendees should add $400 to $700 for longer flights. International attendees from Latin America typically land in the $2,000 to $3,500 range depending on origin city.

These figures are estimates. The 2027 Las Vegas show will offer lower room rates off-strip and a different flight cost profile for Pacific-region practices.

First-time attendee: how to use three days

The OCCC is large enough that an undirected walk-through leaves you exhausted without accomplishing much. A first-time attendee gets the most from the show by treating education day (March 11) and floor days (March 12 to 14) as distinct objectives.

1. Arrive the evening of March 10. Collect your badge, walk the hall layout before crowds arrive, and confirm your CE session times. A logistical buffer before opening morning eliminates the badge line from your show time. At the 2025 Orlando debut, CE check-in lines on March 11 ran 20 to 30 minutes at peak; attendees who picked up badges the evening before skipped that wait entirely.
2. March 11: go deep on CE. The education day before the hall opens is the lowest-distraction window for accredited sessions. Block two or three sessions, take notes, and do not let booth conversations eat into scheduled CE time.
3. March 12: map your must-see exhibitors. Download the exhibitor list in advance and identify 10 to 15 specific booths. Without a list, three days disappear. Divide your targets across the two remaining floor days so you are not rushing at the end.
4. March 13: negotiations and discovery. Revisit the two or three vendors you want to negotiate with. Bring your practice data: monthly unit volume, current brand mix, average transaction value. Conversations move faster when those numbers are on the table. Use the afternoon for the unplanned discovery walk.
5. March 14: close open items and collect. Final day is shorter for many exhibitors. Use the morning for any remaining booths; afternoon is typically quieter. Collect catalogs, scan business card QR codes, and document anything you want to follow up on while context is fresh.
6. Block follow-up time the week after. The 10 to 15 days after the show are when deals close. If your calendar fills before you get home, the show investment is lost.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

This post is part of the optical trade shows cluster. For context on where Vision Expo sits within the full North American and global calendar, see the complete 2026 optical trade show calendar. For the Las Vegas edition returning in 2027, see the article on Vision Expo West in Las Vegas. For how this show compares to the largest international event in the industry, see MIDO in Milan.

Saulo Garcia

I am a seasoned software engineer with over two decades of experience and a deep-rooted background in the optical industry, thanks to a family business. Driven by a passion for developing impactful software solutions, I pride myself on being a dedicated problem solver who strives to transform challenges into opportunities for innovation.