Disney’s Proximity Appeals to Families

If the attraction of Las Vegas is its cachet as an adult entertainment playground, Anaheim can sell itself as the family destination.

Anaheim has become an increasingly attractive location for trade shows and conventions, as evidenced by a 1-percentage-point gain, to 4.2%, in its market share of the top 200 trade shows from 2000 to 2002, according to Tradeshow Week.

The city is helped by a fairly new and refurbished facility, combined with hotel rooms ranging from the standard offerings at the adjacent Anaheim Hilton to the elegance of Disney’s Grand Californian just a few blocks away.

Conventioneers can visit Disneyland or its sister park, Disney’s California Adventure. The Downtown Disney shopping district provides a range of dining and shops, as well as a multi-screen movie theater.

Although not in Anaheim, thousands of new hotel rooms just blocks away along Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove provide a secondary lodging and dining district that allows the convention center to play host to some of the country’s larger trade shows.

-- Jerry Hirsch