2011 Expo

[JenLoy]

We have our tickets for the Expo, but will not have a car. What hotel is the closest to the Convention Center?

 

[JenLoy]

We have our tickets for the Expo, but will not have a car. What hotel is the closest to the Convention Center?

 

[nunzia]

We have our tickets for the Expo, but will not have a car. What hotel is the closest to the Convention Center?

If I recall..it is RIGHT THERE.

 

[franandaj]

We have our tickets for the Expo, but will not have a car. What hotel is the closest to the Convention Center?

The Hilton is the absolute closest, that's where we are staying. The Marriott is pretty darned close as well, it's really a toss up, but the Hilton is really really close. If you are able bodied there are a number of other hotels within walking distance. Because of disabilities, we are staying as close as possible, that way we could take naps if necessary.

We may even bring food to prepare quick meals in the room since time will be at a premeium. The Convention Center food sucks, so even microwaving food would be better than eating their food! I hope that the premier lounge has better snacks than they offer at the regular restaurants. I know that the convention center still controls the food, but hopefully it will be better in the louge area than at the concession stands.

We visit the Anaheim Convention Center every year in January for the NAMM show and have been doing so for over 10 years. They have the same crappy food that they offered at the Expo last year as they have at NAMM, so I'm really aware of it and how mediocre it is. Disney can't bring in their wonderful Monte Cristos or Bengal BBQ skewers, they are simply another client renting out the facility. (How's that for equality in the market?)

Depending on your mobility level you will want to be at the closest hotel. We are already working on making our Hilton Reservations. They will not allow you to reserve more than a year in advance so each day I reserve another room for the two of us and cancel the previous one. So far we have two nights, tomorrow we will have three...until I get Thursday through Monday and then we will be good.

Good luck to you!

 

[nunzia]

The Hilton is the absolute closest, that's where we are staying. The Marriott is pretty darned close as well, it's really a toss up, but the Hilton is really really close. If you are able bodied there are a number of other hotels within walking distance. Because of disabilities, we are staying as close as possible, that way we could take naps if necessary.

We may even bring food to prepare quick meals in the room since time will be at a premeium. The Convention Center food sucks, so even microwaving food would be better than eating their food! I hope that the premier lounge has better snacks than they offer at the regular restaurants. I know that the convention center still controls the food, but hopefully it will be better in the louge area than at the concession stands.
We visit the Anaheim Convention Center every year in January for the NAMM show and have been doing so for over 10 years. They have the same crappy food that they offered at the Expo last year as they have at NAMM, so I'm really aware of it and how mediocre it is. Disney can't bring in their wonderful Monte Cristos or Bengal BBQ skewers, they are simply another client renting out the facility. (How's that for equality in the market?)

Depending on your mobility level you will want to be at the closest hotel. We are already working on making our Hilton Reservations. They will not allow you to reserve more than a year in advance so each day I reserve another room for the two of us and cancel the previous one. So far we have two nights, tomorrow we will have three...until I get Thursday through Monday and then we will be good.

Good luck to you!

Oh..I was really hoping since it was a lounge and Disney is sponsoring it they might have the ability to bring in their own food...ack..sure hope it's better...

 

[Flora Fan]

The Hilton is the absolute closest, that's where we are staying. The Marriott is pretty darned close as well, it's really a toss up, but the Hilton is really really close. If you are able bodied there are a number of other hotels within walking distance. Because of disabilities, we are staying as close as possible, that way we could take naps if necessary.

We may even bring food to prepare quick meals in the room since time will be at a premeium. The Convention Center food sucks, so even microwaving food would be better than eating their food! I hope that the premier lounge has better snacks than they offer at the regular restaurants. I know that the convention center still controls the food, but hopefully it will be better in the louge area than at the concession stands.

We visit the Anaheim Convention Center every year in January for the NAMM show and have been doing so for over 10 years. They have the same crappy food that they offered at the Expo last year as they have at NAMM, so I'm really aware of it and how mediocre it is. Disney can't bring in their wonderful Monte Cristos or Bengal BBQ skewers, they are simply another client renting out the facility. (How's that for equality in the market?)

Depending on your mobility level you will want to be at the closest hotel. We are already working on making our Hilton Reservations. They will not allow you to reserve more than a year in advance so each day I reserve another room for the two of us and cancel the previous one. So far we have two nights, tomorrow we will have three...until I get Thursday through Monday and then we will be good.

Good luck to you!

Awesome info. Thanks for the info on the hotels and the food. I was having a hard time deciphering the maps as to whether one would have to walk around a complete block to arrive at the ACC. Glad to know the Hilton and the Marriott are good choices.

Thanks also for the info on the food. I"m sure they won't allow sack lunches to be brought in, but hopefully we can get away with an apple in the purse...if I'm going to pay for a meal, I want decent food. It would be great to have a hotel close enough to slip out for a quick sandwich or whatever.

 

[monte]

What is D23?

 

[Flora Fan]

What is D23?

It's the Official Disney Fan Club. 1923 was the year Walt Disney arrived in California.

Check out the website. It's open for everyone.
http://d23.disney.go.com/

 

[JenLoy]

Thanks for the info on the Hilton. I can't wait for next year!

 

[monte]

Ok, thanks for the info. What is the expo about, just buying merchandise, or are there lectures, food and gatherings? Just curious as to what this is all about. Sounds like it might be a fun thing to do, but not exactly sure what it is. ha.

 

[monte]

Also, is this only at DL, or does WDW do this too?

 

[zeitzeuge]

Ok, thanks for the info. What is the expo about, just buying merchandise, or are there lectures, food and gatherings? Just curious as to what this is all about. Sounds like it might be a fun thing to do, but not exactly sure what it is. ha.

We went last year. The convention center had many areas set up from a Disney Store, upcoming park expansion area, gallery, pin trading area, disneyana area, archives show, lounge and of course tons of meeting rooms for various talks and presentations. Lots of movie stars showed up, tons of previews of upcoming park changes, new tv shows, new upcoming movie premiers, etc. There was something going on all the time. We usually spent each day from 8am until 5pm, then headed to Disneyland for the evening.

Also, is this only at DL, or does WDW do this too?

Currently it's only been held at DL. There are talks that eventually after a few years, it will be taken to WDW. I think they're only doing the D23 every other year and smaller D23 Destination events inbetween those years.

 

[monte]

We went last year. The convention center had many areas set up from a Disney Store, upcoming park expansion area, gallery, pin trading area, disneyana area, archives show, lounge and of course tons of meeting rooms for various talks and presentations. Lots of movie stars showed up, tons of previews of upcoming park changes, new tv shows, new upcoming movie premiers, etc. There was something going on all the time. We usually spent each day from 8am until 5pm, then headed to Disneyland for the evening.



Currently it's only been held at DL. There are talks that eventually after a few years, it will be taken to WDW. I think they're only doing the D23 every other year and smaller D23 Destination events inbetween those years.

Ok, thanks for the information. It sounds like alot of fun and right up my alley, but would prefer the WDW location as I go there more often. I plan to do the coast to coast half marathons in 2012, so maybe I could time it right and be able to attend the expo. Thanks again!

 

[Disney Dreams]

I sooooo wanted to do one of the packages because of the seating / line issues last year (INSANE), but just cannot afford to do so. Great offering, but the price tag is too steep for me. Happy for those of you that could make the leap!

Excited about Expo2011!

- Dreams

 

[zeitzeuge]

I sooooo wanted to do one of the packages because of the seating / line issues last year (INSANE), but just cannot afford to do so. Great offering, but the price tag is too steep for me. Happy for those of you that could make the leap!

Excited about Expo2011!

- Dreams

That's how we felt. We missed a couple of the key events last year due to not wanting to stand in line for 4-5 hours and miss half of our day just to stand in line to get a seat. I hope they work on that this year.

Plus, the cost of the premium packages were way out of our league. It's the cheap route for us.

 

[nunzia]

Which Hilton is this? There are several in the area and I'm wondering what this one is officially called.

 

[franandaj]

Which Hilton is this? There are several in the area and I'm wondering what this one is officially called.

I just finished making my final reservation (4 nights) there on points!

Hilton Anaheim
777 Convention Way
Anaheim, California
92802
1-714-750-4321

This is the absolute closest hotel with the Marriott being a couple hundred feet farther away.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

That's how we felt. We missed a couple of the key events last year due to not wanting to stand in line for 4-5 hours and miss half of our day just to stand in line to get a seat. I hope they work on that this year.

Plus, the cost of the premium packages were way out of our league. It's the cheap route for us.

We actually were able to get into every event we wanted to see last year, except for one. That one was a "like to see" not "must see" and we knew that we would have to sprint from one event to the next to have a chance. What did help us is that there were 2 of us, so we often got in line, then one person went to get food and we ate our lunch in line (often at about 3 pm!).

We went to 3 or 4 presentations each day and the only line we waited in line for 3 hours was for the P&F presentation but that was because the start time was delayed by at least 2 hours while they set up.

Before we went, I was really worried about Comic-Con style lines that would kill any possibility of having an enjoyable time, but that never materialized in our experience. also, there was usually someone to talk with in line (for P&F, one of the technical directors for the film was standing right behind us!).

Of course, next year may be different and much more crowded! -- Suzanne

 

[panthergirl]

How is the taxi service in Anaheim? I will be staying at the Grand Californian and probably won't want to hike back at night.

 

[mvf-m11c]

How is the taxi service in Anaheim? I will be staying at the Grand Californian and probably won't want to hike back at night.

The DLR used the ART buses to pick guests up at the 3 DLR hotels to the Anaheim Convention Center last year. So it will be easy to ride the ART from the hotels to the main entrance of the convention center. But it took awhile for the buses to come back and pick up guests at both the convention center and the hotels. I would assume that DL will be using the ART buses just like last year and pick up guests from the DLR hotels to the convention center.