Disneyland Grand Californian

Anaheim, CA

Overview: Located in the heart of Downtown Disney the Grand hotel is the upscale cousin to the original Disneyland Hotel.

Ballrooms: The Sequoia ballroom is very nice and is located in an enclosed conference section, which also includes many of the breakout rooms. The enclosed space includes a couple of registration desks as well as a board room and many breakouts. The location provides a sense of being away from the Disney experience and focused on the event.

Rigging is a little challenging in the ballroom so a careful rig plan is required. The ballroom and foyer are attractive and offer great possibilities for branding and stage design.

As with all Disney properties, load-in and load-out requires some planning. PSAV handles in-house video and sound. They handle the breakout rooms set well but responsiveness can be a little slow, so a plan for support should be reviewed.

Breakout Rooms: The breakout rooms in the conference center work great. There are a few rooms outside the conference center that share a hallway along the main path to exit the hotel. Be aware that there is mixing of conference attendees and Disney vacationers during peak times, and can make for a crowded area.

Location: The hotel is located in the heart of Downtown Disney so attendees have many options for dinner and entertainment.

Bottom Line: Great property with a great location. Of the Disney properties in California it is in my opinion the nicest property.

Disneyland

Anaheim, CA

Overview:  Who doesn’t love Disney? We have produced multiple meetings at the Disneyland hotel in all of the ballrooms. The event staff is responsive, the ballrooms are a good size and the attendees always seem to respond well to the property.

Ballrooms: The Magic Kingdom and Disneyland ballrooms (as well as the Disneyland Exhibit Hall) all work well for general sessions. The Exhibit Hall requires some creative stage design, as there are a couple of pillars that need to be worked around.

The Center Disneyland Ballroom has an existing stage and AV and works great for dinner functions.

In-house AV is handled by PSAV for video, and Disney Engineering handle lights and sound. PSAV seems to have a lot of turnover at the property. Many of the Disney Engineering staff have been on-site for many years and work well with outside production companies.

Internet is something to pay attention to, as it is expensive. We have had some issue with bandwidth as well. The on-site team is willing to work with you but you have to address this early and test immediately.

Loading docks: Disney has very particular loading dock requirements so careful attention to detail on load-in and load-out is required.

Breakout Rooms: There are a lot of breakout rooms but they differ greatly in location and size. There also are a number of rooms located in adjacent buildings which require attendees to walk outside. A thorough review of breakout rooms on the site visit is recommended and good show signage has proved valuable.

There are breakout rooms next to the Exhibit Hall, which can work well when moving back and forth between sessions, but not all rooms have air walls that go to the ceiling. This has not been an issue for us in the past but is something to look at.

Location: Downtown Disney is located next to the hotel so attendees have many options for dinner and entertainment.

Bottom Line: Great property with lots to offer. Some past experience working at the property definitely pays dividends and improves the overall working experience.