Laminate flooring direction in large room
You might want to consider a different laminate or switch to engineered wood.  Found this install instruction for laminate and it does mention adding an expansion joint for larger rooms.  Max room size before expansion is 33' for the panel length and 26' for the panel width.  Switching the panels to run on the short side of the room is not going to help since it will still require an expansion gap in the middle.