Anaheim Gets Rejuvenated By Disney

<B>Anaheim Gets Rejuvenated By Disney</B>

By Judy Jacobs

Anaheim is being reinvented and when completed the city's metamorphosis is expected to attract a greater number and higher level of corporate meetings than ever before. Incentive planners, who haven't paid much attention to the destination in the past, also are expected to take a closer look at what the new Anaheim has to offer.

Although Disney is at the forefront of the development, at least as far as corporate meetings are concerned, it's not just about Disney. In fact, Anaheim actually is going through two major repositionings, according to Claire Bilby, Disneyland's vice president of sales and travel operations. "The entire Anaheim resort is going through a renewal and an expansion," she said. "There's the expansion at the convention center and at the same time, there's a new theme park and the first real luxury hotel in the Anaheim area, as well as Downtown Disney coming up."

The new theme park, Disney's California Adventure, will highlight the best the state has to offer from Hollywood and beachside boardwalks to a working Mondavi winery. Disney's 750-room Grand Californian, an upscale rustic retreat fashioned in arts-and-crafts style, will include 20,000 square feet of meeting space and a concierge level. Downtown Disney, a restaurant and entertainment district, will create a link between the hotels and Disneyland. All are scheduled to open early next year. The end result will be a new product attracting what Disney officials hope will be a new market. "We'll be opening to higher-end business, which we haven't attracted in the past," said Donna Sue Davis, director of resort sales and services.

"We'll also have three hotels that can cater to any type of group," Bilby added. "We can do three destination hotels with three experiences for three different-size groups, or we can use all the hotels. The Disneyland Hotel (1,136 rooms), which is the original hotel, serves as an extension of Disneyland. The Disneyland Pacific Hotel, a 502-room boutique hotel, gives guests more intimacy. The Grand Californian (750 rooms) will be the rustic retreat."

The new Grand Californian will allow Disney to be a viable player in the incentive market, one that it hasn't put any resources into in the past.

Edd Karlan, director of sales and marketing for the Anaheim Hilton also is eagerly awaiting the development of the incentive business. "The incentive market will grow over the next year or two," he said, "since we are, in effect, creating a new and different destination.