Disney cleared a major hurdle to start developing a colossal expansion of its Disneyland theme parks on Tuesday night when the Anaheim city council unanimously gave final approval to rezone much of the property.
Disney’s original resort in California, which comprises a shopping district, parking areas and two theme parks, is about 550 acres, which is less than 2% of the size of Walt Disney World in Florida.
But with newly approved “multi-use” zoning, Disney can now expand its theme parks in Anaheim without acquiring any new land, by building attractions where the company could previously only build hotels or parking lots. This paves the way for a multi-decade project to expand both of its theme parks there: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
“For nearly seven decades, Disneyland Resort has made a unique, irreplaceable impact on hundreds of millions of guests from around the world. How exciting to know our best days are still ahead – I can’t wait to show you what’s to come,” Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock said in a statement Tuesday night.
The project, dubbed “DisneylandForward,” does not require any public funding. While no specific designs have been shared yet, Disney has released concept art for what the expansion could look like on the west side of the resort, in areas surrounding Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel.
“This is long overdue – this is decades overdue. This, in my opinion, is the biggest thing Disney has done since they opened the gate in ’55,” said Dennis Speigel, owner and founder of International Theme Park Services, a global consultant for theme park projects.
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Author: Faith N
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