TP2000
Well-Known Member
Just to help folks understand why it would be so very difficult to host D23 Expo on Walt Disney World property, here's the breakdown on the lack of space at WDW compared to the Anaheim Convention Center (ACC).
For 2011 they scaled the D23 Expo down a bit, and we'll use the footprint of 2011 inside the exhibit halls as a reference, although there's quite a bit of expansion left in the ACC for future Expo's should the concept grow further.
The Anaheim Convention Center is the largest convention center on the West Coast. For 2011 D23 Expo they used roughly half of the space available; the Anaheim Arena, most of the lobby areas for ticketing/reception, Exhibit Halls A & B, and half of Exhibit Hall C. They also used most of the upstairs ballrooms to create two separate 1,000 seat theaters, the Archives exhibit and store, plus some additional presentation rooms, D23 member lounge, a baby care center, etc.
The square footage tallies are as follows;
Anaheim Arena - 10,000 seats, scaled down to a 4,000 seat version for Expo
Exhibit Hall A - 145,000 Square Feet
Exhibit Hall B - 145,000 Square Feet
Half Exhibit Hall C - 75,000 Square Feet
Ticketing Lobby - 50,000 Square Feet
Anaheim Arena and Lobby, 4,000 Seat Configuration - 40,000 Square Feet
Second Floor D28 Theater/Exhibits - 50,000 Square Feet
Third Floor D23 Theater - 40,000 Square Feet
Total ACC Space Used for 2011 D23 Expo - 540,000 Square Feet
Total ACC Space Available - 1.1 Million Square Feet
http://www.anaheimconventioncenter....ain_noflash.cfm&CFID=3429845&CFTOKEN=71393417
Compare that to all the space available across the five main convention and conference facilities at WDW; Coronado Springs, Contemporary Resort, Grand Floridian, Boardwalk, Beach & Yacht Club. First, none of those spaces has an arena like the Anaheim Arena that can seat up to 10,000, but was unwisely scaled down to 4,000 seats for D23 Expo. But they do have various ballrooms and two small exhibit halls to use. Here's how the total space available at these five WDW properties breaks down;
Coronado Springs Resort Convention Center - 220,000 Square Feet
Contemporary Resort Conference Center - 115,000 Square Feet
Yacht & Beach Club Conference Center - 70,000 Square Feet
Grand Floridian Conference Center - 40,000 Square Feet
Boardwalk Conference Center - 20,000 Square Feet
Total WDW Convention Space Available - 465,000 Square Feet
http://www.disneymeetings.com/disneyworld/
But that 465,000 number actually looks better than it is. Much of that square footage is redundant lobby space, or smaller meeting rooms or ballrooms unuseable for a D23 type mega-event. The largest exhibit hall at WDW, and the only full-scale exhibit hall really, is the Veracruz Hall at Coronado Springs, and it's only 86,000 square feet.
By comparison, the Anaheim Convention Center has 825,000 square feet of continuous industry-standard exhibit hall space, of which D23 Expo used 265,000 square feet this year. The larger pavilions like the WDI Carousel of Projects or the Disney Living Pavilion would not even fit in the Veracruz Hall without scaling down, and then you've just maxed out almost all of the space at Coronado Springs with just that one element of the Expo floor.
Even if you convinced the various divisions of the Disney Company to radically scale down the size and scope of their Exhibit Hall presentations, and were then left with a dramatically smaller and decidedly less impressive show, you would still be faced with the logistics nightmare of expecting all the D23 Expo visitors to bus themselves around WDW property to take in the WDI pavilion at Coronado Springs, the Disney Living pavilion at the Contemporary (whose full exhibit space is actually a ballroom of only 44,000 square feet), the Disney Archives exhibit at the Grand Floridian, 1,000 seat theater at the Yacht Club, etc., etc.
And any event planner worth their headset would never try to stage such an event broken up over a half dozen venues, none of them within walking distance of each other. There would be no buzz, no vibe, no excitement, no sense of community and spectacle under such a fractured WDW scenario. And can you imagine the horrors of waiting to get in to the Archives at the Grand Floridian while your 3:00 John Lasseter presentation was filling up across property at Coronado Springs? What a NIGHTMARE! It simply would never work.
As an added bonus at the Anaheim Convention Center, you are literally within walking distance of Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney, three Disney hotels, in addition to 20,000 other Anaheim hotel rooms, dozens of restaurants, etc.
The ACC is on the southern end of the very walkable, very compact, Anaheim Resort District, and it's the obvious and really the only choice for a big event like the D23 Expo.
