Disney has shared that expansions are on the way to the theme parks.
Disneyland
The international parks have been having great success with their new additions like World of Frozen and Zootopia Land. But the U.S. parks will be seeing some love too! Disney announced that they plan to spend A LOT of money on expansions and experiences in the next 10 years. One of those projects is one you may have heard about before — the Disneyland Forward project. Disney has been working hard to make these plans a reality to bring more experiences to Disneyland. Well now, the expansion project has just taken a huge leap in the right direction!
Disneyland Forward is the large expansion proposal that Disney has been working on in Anaheim, California. The idea is that Disney wants to change areas that were traditionally zoned for specific uses such as hotels or parking lots. The way the zones are designed currently, Disney cannot use zones that are specified districts for anything other than what it’s zoned for.
Simply said, Disney is looking for flexibility to use its own land for what they want not just what the zone specifies.
Where We’ve Been, Where We’re At, and Where We’re Going ©Disney
The company is not looking to use public funding, but it needs approval from the City of Anaheim to be able to create these “mixed” zones. Disney shared on their website, that while they have “the development rights and the desire to continue investing in Anaheim, the space to develop innovative attractions and immersive experiences is severely limited.”
They need the ability to broaden “the uses allowed within each district” otherwise they will have to demolish and replace existing attractions to continue developing.
©Disney
One of the biggest hoops Disneyland Forward needed to jump through was the Anaheim Planning Commission meeting. Disney needed the Planning Commission to approve the recommendation that the plans move forward to Anaheim City Council. This meeting took place on March 11th, 2024. The second topic on the agenda at this meeting was the Disneyland Forward plan, and this one proposal lasted over 5 HOURS before a vote was cast.
©Disney
Disney representatives spoke on the topic as well as rebuttals and private residents. It was the comments against the project and some wandering questions by Commissioner Luisandres Perez that caused the meeting to extend into its 6th hour.
Uses and Approvals
Even though several individuals spoke against the project, the Commissioners ended up having full intent to move the project forward to the City Council. The long night ended after 11 PM PT with a 5-1 vote to recommend the project to move forward. The sole “no” vote was given by Perez after he expressed that he forgot to cancel his Disneyland park reservation for that evening.
via Planning Commission meeting video on YouTube
In the end, it is a happy day for Disney fans! The Disneyland Forward project moves one step closer to being approved. If the project receives approval, Disney has shared that new park attractions, shopping, dining, and entertainment may come to the Disneyland Resort.
We’ll be keeping a close eye out for more Disneyland Forward news. In the meantime, keep following DFB!
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Do you want to see Disneyland receive new park attractions? Let us know in the comments!