For the Thrill of it All
Author: Carolyn Koenig
November 2008
Features
Break out of your routine at the West's attractions and theme parks
Golf? Again? Except for your most diehard duffers, this may be the response to the usual company off-site to reward the sales team, inspire the board of directors or create a team-bonding experience.But your event doesn’t have to be the same old, same old—far from it. It can be really far, as in suiting up your group and sending them off into a vertical wind tunnel where they’ll float on a cushion of air like
skydivers in a freefall. Or not-so-far out—as in playing with dolphins or mingling with dinosaurs (of the skeletal variety). The West is home to an infinite number of attractions and theme parks that will take your group, from the smallest to the largest, beyond tee times and into a fresh new perspective. Here are a few of the best theme parks throughout the West, where the event managers stand ready to take your group, from the smallest to the largest, beyond tee times and into a fresh new perspective.
ARIZONA
Old Tucson Studios
On cue, dust swirls on the unpaved street of an 1880s-era Western town. It’s the backdrop for a classic showdown: one team of gunfighters against another (picture your L.A. sales team versus its counterparts in N.Y.). They’re following in the bootsteps of John Wayne for the day, or maybe even (in their dreams) Leonardo DiCaprio, who both filmed here at Old Tuscon Studios, aka “Hollywood in the Desert.”
Although there’s daily live entertainment, you can create your own Western adventure and saddle up for a trail ride along nearby desert mountain trails, followed by a hearty chuck wagon barbecue. Or hold a five-course dinner in the old saloon, with top-level entertainment pre- or post your awards presentation or VIP speech.
If your pardners are more hayride than horseback, that can be arranged, too—as can a private rodeo with clowns, cattle roping and bronco busters. Old Tucson can accommodate groups of 50 to 5,000; 1,500 people buy out the park. But if Hollywood happens to be on location when you are, well, here’s your chance to make “reel” history.
CALIFORNIA
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
Imagine your guests being greeted by 38,000 hosts—and those are just the ones with fins, feathers, scales or antennae. That’s the premise of the California Academy of Sciences, which just reopened in Golden Gate Park last month. The building itself features a stunning design (by Italian architect Renzo Piano), with a 2.5-acre living roof and three portholes that open and close to allow natural light and fresh air to filter in. Inside, there’s a four-story rainforest, reimagined exhibits and 20 million specimens.
It’s also the hottest ticket in town for an event. Planners have 12 settings to choose from, as diverse as your needs and the size of your group. Try hors d’oeuvres inside the Steinhart Aquarium, an underwater gallery with a living coral reef. Arrange a gourmet dinner among the dioramas of the African Hall. Host cocktails by the alligators in the Swamp, or put on a product launch in the Morrison Planetarium. Book them separately for smaller events, or book them all for a dine-around (the academy
can host up to 3,000).
Extra options are hawk-handlers and snake wranglers, feeding time at the shark tank and deep-sea divers/docents exploring the coral reef. Given the academy’s green emphasis, its preferred caterers all source locally wherever possible and emphasize organic and sustainable foods. Chefs-in-residence, responsible for its restaurant, are Charles Phan (Slanted Door) and Loretta Keller (Bizou and COCO500), two of the city’s top culinary names.
iFly San Francisco Bay
When you want a real departure from the routine, head for iFly San Francisco Bay. The experience of body flight will whisk off the mundane as your group (up to 12) dons a jumpsuit, helmet and goggles and enters the vertical wind tunnel, which simulates free-fall at speeds of 120 to 150 miles per hour. But, as iFly brings the wind to you, you’ll fl oat on a cushion of air, with no jumping, falling or heights to worry about.
Instructors are right beside you, helping you learn the basic maneuvers, which are easy to learn; it’s a workout comparable to swimming. The experience lasts about an hour, including training, suiting up and flying time—longer than the typical 45 seconds of an actual skydive.
iFly also off ers a state-of-the-art executive conference facility, with computers, projection system, Internet access, and telephone and video conferencing. There’s also a 50-inch plasma TV that hooks up to your laptops (where you can show the DVD of your team’s flight).
The facility itself can host up to 80 people for a private event. Their full-service concierge can arrange transportation, catering, professional speakers and facilitators for team-building, brain-storming and other meeting programs. You’ll recognize some of their clients—Google, Cisco, Sun and Facebook, to name a few.
Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk
Glam it up with the red-carpet treatment at an event at the Globe Theatre, inside Universal Studios Hollywood, with your company name on the marquee. Its spectacular ballroom, inspired by the Golden Age of the Movies, is a popular venue for awards dinners catered by chef-to-the-stars Wolfgang Puck Catering—or you name it.
That’s the philosophy behind Universal Studios and CityWalk: “If you can imagine it, we can do it,” says Cheryl Valdez, of NBC Universal.
And while you’re imagining, think of a company picnic where guests have their run of the park to enjoy all the thrilling attractions like the Shrek 4-D and the new Simpsons ride. Afterwards, everyone meets up in a private
outdoor studio “location” like the all-new Wild West Arena for a buff et lunch that only a movie studio creative production team could create—including movie props, character appearances, private studio tours and outrageous, larger-thanlife picnic games.
And speaking of customization, when the Cal Nevada Section of the American Water Works Association requested a behind-the-scenes look at the theme park’s water attractions like Jurassic Park the Ride, the Waterworld show and some of the beautiful fountains on the property, it was a done deal.
Universal Studios can handle events for 100 to 30,000 guests; CityWalk handles a similar number. Both are available for buyouts.
Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach
If you’re a surfer, close contact with a shark is definitely not high on your must-do list. But your group can come face to face with these ultimate predators—and even touch them—at the Shark Lagoon at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Just south of Los Angeles, the aquarium focuses on habitats that represent the span of the world’s largest ocean, from Southern California and Baja to the Northern Pacific and the colorful reefs of the tropical Pacific.
Have a diver welcome your group before a daytime picnic, a cocktail reception, plated or buffet dinner, or a strolling dinner where from 400 to 2,500 guests can take over the attraction. Docents are available, and for picnics on the front lawn (from 50 to 1,800) the aquarium off ers animal encounters where the staff brings out some of the program animals for a special meet-and-greet, according to Marilyn Padilla, of the Aquarium.
Special behind-the-scenes tours will take your attendees to the “wet side” of the aquarium, a section not normally open to the public. They’ll see what it takes to maintain a world-class aquarium, from water fi ltration to animal care and feeding, and have an opportunity to view the aquarium’s largest exhibit, the Tropical Reef habitat from above. Fish feeding, of course, is included.
Disneyland Resort, Anaheim
Disneyland Resort never fails to surprise—and that’s the beauty of all things Mickey. Just last year, meeting groups could begin to “dive” underwater in a yellow submarine on the new Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage adventure,
which is a highlight for private events held at the Festival Arena and Big Th under Ranch in Disneyland Park.
This past summer, Toy Story Mania! brought to life the beloved characters Woody, Bo Peep and the rest of the Disney-Pixar gang at the Paradise Pier section of Disney’s California Adventure Park. Toy Story can be your story as a venue for private events for up to 4,000 guests.
And for your really top incentive winners, it’s now possible to book a stay at the 1,600- square-foot Mickey Mouse Penthouse at the Disneyland Hotel, a sought-after suite that can also be used for hospitality functions. These are in addition to Stage 17, a huge indoor event space available specifi cally for private functions. Once the site of the popular Who Wants to Be a Millionaire game show, it features all the bells and whistles of a working sound stage, like state-of-the-art A/V, a production booth and more. Create your own game show here, or a disco-themed dance party, and invite 800 of your closest friends.
COLORADO
Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, Denver
Setting the mood for a themed event—Big Band with ’40s music comes to mind immediately—is the massive B-52 Stratofortress that greets guests at the front door of Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in Denver.
And that’s just for starters. Deeper inside, the 1930s-era former Air Force hangar houses more than 40 historic airplanes and space vehicles, including a B-1A Lancer (the third prototype built) and an actual Star Wars X-Wing fighter, which have wowed organizations from Pinnacle Assurance, the Salvation Army, Susan G. Komen Foundation and hundreds more.
“We have flight interactive, simulators, adultsize pedal planes and allow event guests to climb into the actual aircraft cockpits of some of our planes,” says Courtney Walsh, director of sales and corporate events (think VIP photo op). The main hangar fl oor seats up to 2,500 guests or 3,200 reception-style, but some aircraft can
be repositioned to create smaller gathering areas for 150 to 900. The entire museum is part of the tour for a private event, she says, and all the aircraft are open to touch and explore with no barriers to prevent your guests from getting the full experience.
HAWAII
Dolphin Quest Hawaii/Hilton Waikoloa Village, Big Island
Who wouldn’t like to swim and play with dolphins? While opportunities exist sometimes for individuals, Dolphin Quest puts groups right into the water at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island of Hawaii. Th e organization
hosts a number of unique group functions in and around their new Dolphin Quest Village at the resort, and offer high-energy dolphin shows that are set to music and emceed. During the shows, there is an opportunity for up to 15 participants to become part of the show and interact with the dolphins in the water.
Dolphin Quest can work with your clients to create custom programs that key into areas that are most important to them. For example, IBM brought several hundred of their top producers to the attraction. “As one of the leaders in the field of technology, IBM wanted Dolphin Quest to create a program that showcased some of the technology the organization uses to care for the dolphins,” says Jason A. Price, director of sales and marketing, Quest Global Management/Dolphin Quest. “We put together a custom program that not only included in-water interaction
with the dolphins, but also incorporated things like taking ultrasounds of the dolphins, reading thermography images, listening to the dolphins’ clicks and whistles with an underwater microphone, and performing some of the daily health assessments that our trainers perform. We were able to tailor the overall experience so that it fit into the theme of their meeting.”
The group exclusive in-water encounter programs can accommodate up to 20 people per wave; the organization offers multiple waves a day.
IDAHO
Raptor Reef Indoor Water Park, Hayden
Where in the middle of winter can a group play together in 85-degree weather in an indoor waterpark or a family fun park? Well, if your group is meeting in Coeur d’Alene, they can head over to Raptor Reef Indoor Waterpark in
Hayden. A new addition to Triple Play Family Fun Park, it has a wave pool, a two-story play structure for your attendees who bring their families, and three amazing slides. Lost Falls, the longest tube slide, is 400 feet and full of twists and turns. The Velociraptor Vortex is what they call their “Super Bowl” ride—you start out quickly dropping into a gigantic bowl, where you swirl and spin until you’re fl ushed into yet another slide. For those who like to go “bare” (i.e., without a tube), there’s the Prehistoric Plunge, a 300-foot high-speed body slide.
Although the main park has seasonal summer attractions, in winter it still off ers a 20-lane bowling alley, a climbing wall, a black-light 9-hole miniature golf course and a laser tag area, among other attractions—adding even more
team-building and competition opportunities. Companies like Best Buy, Home Depot, Taco Bell and Philip Morris have spread their “water” wings here. Th ere’s an indoor skyway between the park and a Holiday Inn Express for those who’d like to stay on.
NEVADA
Stratosphere Las Vegas
You probably think you’ve heard everything by now, but how about a primal scream—or at least something that sounds like that—as your adrenaline-pumped daredevils swing out in space over the city of Las Vegas in what looks
like a giant claw, aptly nicknamed Insanity. It’s one of the world’s three highest thrill rides (the others are right here, too—dubbed Big Shot and X Scream—at the 1,149-foot-tall Stratosphere Tower, also the tallest freestanding observation tower in the U.S.).
Stratosphere’s indoor and outdoor observation decks, lounge, restaurant, meeting spaces and private dining rooms all have spectacular views of the neon-charged Las Vegas Strip and the surrounding valley. Clients such as T Mobile, Zappos.com, Navteq and CineVegas have bought out the observation decks for receptions; the Top of the World restaurant, the only revolving restaurant in Vegas, is a popular choice for buyouts.
But the adventure starts from the moment you step into the elevator, when you are whisked from ground level to the decks in less than 30 seconds (to put that into perspective, that’s three floors a second). Now that’s a real scream!
UTAH
Museum of Ancient Life/Thanksgiving Point
Animated and special-eff ects dinosaurs incite goosebumps, but wait ’til you’ve seen (and heard) them in 3D! The Museum of Ancient Life at Th anksgiving Point makes that possible, on their XANGO Mammoth Screen, a six-story
large-format movie screen that’s just a teaser for what’s next.
Inside the museum itself are 60 complete skeletal displays of dinosaurs and thousands of ancient fossils, the largest dinosaur exhibit in the world. (Even in fossil form, T. rex is still nightmare inducing!) Strolling among them,
taking part in the 50 interactive, hands-ons displays, is awesome in the truest sense of the word—try touching the real bones and eggs. Your group can meet in the upstairs conference space overlooking a setting that’s like the boneyard of the past. Th ere’s a working paleontology lab in the museum, and you can arrange to have one of the experts speak on their current work or just answer questions (turns out that Utah was a hotbed of dinosaur activity from the Permian through the Cretaceous periods).
The museum has a no-alcohol policy, but you can arrange a reception or dinner at the nearby Thanksgiving Point Golf Course Clubhouse (the course, by the way, is the largest in Utah, at 7,728 yards long and more than 200 acres).
