Ideally, even at one of the Disneyworld hotels, and family can get a park multipass and come and go as they please. i would have found this ideal back when my kids were that age.
Bill G., are you listening?
As busy as the Disney Hotels are, would he be able to get a decent block of rooms to accomodate 1500+ players? Now an interesting idea to go with is for an organizer to work with the local tourism industry and give a rate package. Advertsing 6 nights 7 days in disney now for 1500. so family chess package 1700 including one entry to tournament 175 per additional entry. would help to cater to those who like to make the tournaments family vacations.
I’ve been at a convention at one of the Disney hotels, but in April, not the summertime. I think they’ve got enough space to handle a 2500 player event.
I’m not sure how interested they are in booking conventions during the middle of the summer busy season, which probably means not a very favorable room rate.
I think they’re working on placing some events in Orlando during the fall/winter, though, such as the Youth Action or the K-12
FYI, Diane Reese handles future event planning, not Bill Goichberg.
Summer dates might be quite possible in Orlando–there are a lot of large hotels there.
In the late 1990’s there was a bid to hold the 2001 World Science Fiction Convention at the Swan and Dolphin hotels (two hotels side-by-side with passageways connecting them, if I recall correctly). That would have been over the Labor Day weekend; the hotels seemed very happy to give the con those dates.
Worldcon is usally 4000 to 5000 people, and uses a large amount of function space–auditoriums, ballrooms, conference rooms; usually they have to use a convention center (and in fact the 2001 Worldcon wound up in the Philadephia convention center). I expect those hotels could easily accomodate a 5000-person chess tournament.
-ed g.
I think the rule of thumb for a national event is 25-30 square feet per player, but I’m not sure if that includes exhibitor and skittles space and I doubt if it includes team rooms for scholastic events.
Labor Day is generally considered outside of the summer season by theme parks these days, because so many schools start up in August.