Smart Meetings

Palm tree-lined Katella Avenue has exploded with an infusion of established and independent high-end restaurants, retail, hotel and residential development.

In addition, the community has already broken ground on the Anaheim GardenWalk, a new mixed-use comprehensive retail development, with the first phase scheduled for completion in November. “We’re not dreaming,

it’s all under construction,” says Charles Ahlers, president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau (anaheimoc.org).“(Anaheim’s) really being discovered as a jewel.”

MEETING IN ANAHEIM

As the largest meeting facility on West Coast, the Anaheim Convention Center (anaheimconventioncenter.com) will likely deliver for a meeting of any size—its most recent being the annual NAMM Show, a musical instrument trade-show, with a record-breaking 85,000 attendees in January. Plus, 20,000 guest rooms in Anaheim alone—nearly half bordering the convention center—will give your attendees a wide variety of accommodations from which to choose.

Inside the center you’ll find an impressive three-story grand staircase and enormous floor-to-ceiling windows that bathe the main lobby with an abundance of natural light. Along with state-of-the-art technology, the center occupies more than 130,000 sq. ft. of meeting and ballroom space—including the showpiece 40,000-square-foot-ballroom—as well as more than 200,000 sq. ft. of prefunction space and 800,000+ sq. ft. of exhibit space in four enormous exhibition halls.

In addition, the convention center is currently charging ahead as a community leader to incorporate sustainable and environmentally friendly practices as an integral part of its catering and meeting services. The center has pioneered new programs and policies that include eco-friendly coffee, Rainforest Alliance and other fair-trade products, a comprehen-sive recycling and composting program, a wide array of innovative biodegradable products and organic and locally grown produce and ingredients.

“This is just a small step within Anaheim,” says Jim Tripp, general manager of ARAMARK at the Anaheim Convention Center. “But everybody feels it’s important. You can put your hands around it when you’re here.”

ANAHEIM’S WILD RIDE

With the recently expanded Disneyland Resort encompassing two major theme parks, three full-service hotels and the new Downtown Disney, which replaced the former parking lot in 2001 with airy plazas and a variety of boutique shops and restaurants, Anaheim’s unique venues also work simultaneously as after-meeting attractions.

Disneyland Park (disneyland.disney.go.com) perhaps might be one of the most familiar places to hold a meeting or host an event. Even still, the tried-and-true theme park has evolved to keep up with the times and even holds a few surprises. Your group can hold a Western-themed event at the Golden Horseshoe in the park’s Frontierland, complete with wagon rides, saloon girls and barbecue catering.

Or take a ride on the Pirates of the Caribbean, updated with new anima-tronic characters from the movie, and then hold a jungle-themed event in the Blue Bayou Restaurant, located in the attraction itself, where you can enjoy a lantern-lit island dinner and swampy jungle atmosphere along the water while you watch the boaters float by.

Unlike its more family-oriented counterpart, Disney’s new California Adventure Park (disneyland.disney.go.com), allows alcohol on the premise in some locations. Opened in 2001, the park is the newest addition to Disney’s collection of attractions. In the park’s Holly-wood Backlot area is the new Stage 17, a sound and light arena with more than 10,000 sq. ft. that can be transformed to accommodate any event for groups up to 1,100 reception-style.

Or, for a change of pace, hold an event at Downtown Disney’s ESPN Zone (espnzone.com/anaheim), where there’s a specially designated NASCAR viewing area. There’s even high-definition TV on the 16-foot big screen.

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Getting There

Orange County is accessible by four major airports: John Wayne/Orange County Airport (ocair.com), located 16 miles from Anaheim, as well as Los Angeles International Airport (lawa.org), Long Beach Airport (longbeach.gov/airport) and Ontario International Airport (lawa.org). Several ground transportation services offer door-to-door service to and from all major airports. Back to Top