Disneyland is right across the street from the site of the Orange County Auto Show - and the show's organizers have taken it to heart.

"We're working to make this more than an auto show," said John Sackrison, executive director of the Orange County Auto Dealers Association, which is presenting the show with the Southland Motor Car Dealers Association. "It's really interactive family entertainment."

To that end, the show has a variety of attractions to grab and hold the attention of comers of all ages. The main attraction is the approximate 500 new-model cars, trucks, sport utility and crossover vehicles, all parked on soft carpet with their doors unlocked, beckoning consumers to poke around and explore inside and out.

There are also a show-record 11 concept cars at the show this year. These are one-of-a-kind vehicles showcasing dreams of the future built by some of the finest auto designers in the world. For many auto connoisseurs, the concept cars are the main attraction.

In terms of auto-based entertainment, however, the concept cars might have some serious competition in the drive-it-yourself Toyota Truck Off Road On Site Adventure. If you're 18 or older and have a current driver's license, you can see what it's like to drive a four-wheel-drive over moguls, rocks, a rocking teeter-totter, and up and down nearly vertical slopes.

The price is right - it's free - and the course itself is ingeniously designed and set-up in the loading dock area just outside the convention hall. You don't even have to leave the property to take part.

For folks who appreciate intense custom paint jobs, extreme aftermarket modifications of engines and body styles, dramatic lighting kits and interior conversions, and audio systems fit to be heard 10 blocks away, there is Al & Ed's Autosound Auto Show Underground, now in its third year. The target market is primarily males from their late teens to late 20s, although this show is a joy for pretty much anybody who enjoys seeing how creative people can make personal statements through their cars.

Kids who accompany their parents to the show may enjoy looking at cars for a little while - but they're likely to enjoy piloting a remote-controlled car around a racetrack, or playing video games on high-end gaming stations, a lot more. This year, the Auto Show Underground will feature Interactive Game eXperience (IGX), with at least 17 play stations, and Team Associated, where kids can learn how to drive remote-controlled cars by world-class experts.

There's even more for kids to do on Saturday and Sunday, when OCAS includes a Kids' Zone with a giant inflatable obstacle course. There'll even be a magician at the Chevy exhibit.

All of this kid-friendly stuff is not by accident: According to Sackrison, surveys taken at past shows at the Convention Center indicated that parents yearned for more places where they could take a break while their kids played on.

Not that all of the fun non-car stuff is just for kids - Jason Taylor of IGX and Jason Mindrup of Team Associated both said that adults are as likely to be planted in front of a video game or hogging the controls of an RC car as any 8-year-old.

Still, the show also has a number of non-auto-related events just for adults. Chevy will host Eight Minute Dating from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday. There will also be two bikini contests. The first is the Miss OC Auto Show competition beginning at 8 p.m. Friday at the stages set up in the Underground area of the show. Winners will go on to be part of the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Orange County" contest beginning at 3 p.m. on Saturday on the same stage area.

"Actually, you only need one word to describe this year's show, and that word is 'more,'" Sackrison more. "We've got more concept cars, more exotic cars, more customized cars, more entertainment opportunities, and more fun than we've ever had before."

For more information about OCAS, visit www.orangecountyautoshow.com.