DisneylandForward Approaches a Vital Milestone
Disneyland Forward approaches a vital milestone this week.
On March 11th, Anaheim’s Planning Commission will review and vote on the DisneylandForward proposal.
In the days ramping up to this presentation, we’ve learned more about DisneylandForward and what it might entail.
Disneyland
Here’s what we know and why Bob Iger is holding his breath for the next six weeks.
Disney’s Exciting April
Romain Maurice/Getty Images for Carbone Beach | Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
You can go ahead and start the countdown clock.
If the Anaheim Planning Commission likes what it hears, it will suggest a vote of approval for the Anaheim City Council.
According to the documents shown here, the tentative date for that all-important meeting is April 16th.
Photo: Wikipedia
Friends, in a two-week period, The Walt Disney Company’s shareholders will vote on Nelson Peltz’s pitch to join the Board of Directors.
Then, 13 days later, Anaheim’s City Council will decide whether to update zoning ordinances in and around Disneyland Resort.
Should Disney lose the Board vote, an activist investor with a grudge against Bob Iger will hold two Board seats.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
In Anaheim, if the Planning Commission and City Council disagrees with Disney’s proposal, Disneyland expansion faces an uphill battle.
Thankfully, both those scenarios appear unlikely. Doug Creutz, managing director at TD Cowen, recently dismissed Peltz’s chances as “very difficult” to succeed.
Similarly, Anaheim’s Planning Commission has worked closely with Disney in agreeing to this proposal.
Photo: Spectrum News
Should this vote not succeed, the Planning Commission would effectively be arguing against its own work.
Still, for obvious reasons, Bob Iger and Disneyland executives probably won’t get much sleep until April 16th.
The DisneylandForward Initiative
Photo: Disney
MickeyBlog has covered the DisneylandForward initiative since the beginning.
A while ago, I did a deep dive into the documents and described 16 potential theme park rides (!) Disneyland could add.
An Avatar experience is also in the offing, although there remains some debate about what this park addition will include.
Disneyland
Today, I’m going to take a different approach with DisneylandForward.
Rather than reading the environmental report’s minutiae and teasing you with possibilities, let’s focus more on the obvious.
However, before we do that, I want to let diehard fans know you can find a lot of pertinent information this way.
Photo: Disney
For example, you can still find the existing information about the planned Disneyland Resort expansion…of 2001.
Yes, here’s the original pitch for the theme park we now know as Disney California Adventure.
Disney’s problem is that the zoning ordinances still apply to some of the Anaheim links I just provided. Those came from the 1990s!
Photo: Disneylandforward
Some of you weren’t even alive the last time Anaheim agreed to update its traffic rules for Disneyland Resort.
Not coincidentally, a few residents have expressed frustration with the proposed changes.
They’ve driven on these roads for decades now and don’t want to upset their daily routines.
Alas, Spock’s right that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
So, progress appears inevitable. What will that entail? Here’s what Disney has planned.
Disney’s Latest Proposal
Photos: Voice of OC
Here’s the official synopsis of DisneylandForward taken directly from Anaheim’s website.
“DisneylandForward is a multidecade proposal to update where types of development can go and how they mix together on space Disney owns or operates around its Anaheim theme parks.
Photo: OC independent
“The proposal calls for allowing theme park attractions alongside hotels on the west side of Disneyland Drive and theme park attractions alongside new shopping, dining, and entertainment to the southeast on what is today the Toy Story Parking Area at Katella Avenue and Harbor Boulevard.
“The proposal also calls for expanded parking east and new parking northeast of the theme parks and potential footbridges across Harbor Boulevard and Disneyland Drive.
Photo: LA Times
“The proposal does not request any new acreage, square footage or hotel rooms to be developed. Instead, it would shift already approved development amounts across land Disney now operates on.”
As I explained roughly a year ago, DisneylandForward isn’t what people think. It’s much more bureaucratic in nature.
Image Credit: Disney via @ScottGustin/Twitter
However, Disney fans can and will benefit from this proposal if the Planning Commission and Anaheim City Council accept it.
Disney will invest a minimum of $1.9 billion and will actually pay a $5 million penalty if the amount proves less than $2.5 billion.
That money only applies to the park expansion as well.
(Artist Concept/Disneyland Resort)
Any expenditures on roads or parking lots don’t count toward the amount.
As such, Disney will specifically spend that $2 billion on park additions.
Photo: OC Register
According to the published documents, Disney will add “theme park attractions, entertainment, lodging, shopping and dining in areas west of Disneyland Drive and at what’s today the Toy Story Parking Area.”
Importantly, none of the recently completed projects, such as The Villas at Disneyland Hotel or San Fransokyo Square, count toward that $2 billion.
What Happens Next
Concept art of new parking area coming to Disneyland
Image Credit: Disney
Here’s what the Anaheim Planning Commission will consider on Monday.
DisneylandForward will be Item No. 2 on the agenda after a local Anaheim daycare proposal.
You’ll note that most of this meeting’s schedule will involve discourse regarding DisneylandForward.
Image Credit: Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG
The Planning Commission will hold another meeting on March 25th.
Should the Monday proposal go poorly, a delay until the 25th becomes a potential outcome.
The likeliest scenario is that the Anaheim Planning Commission consents and passes along their approval to the Anaheim City Council.
(Disney)
If that occurs, DisneylandForward will likely come to a vote on April 16th.
Of course, many Disney plans have gotten disrupted over the past few years. So, we should take nothing for granted here.
Disneyland’s Future as Currently Planned
Since few people speak bureaucrat, Disney has published some highlights of its plans. Here’s the part that matters most to you.
Disney explains its goals for park expansion thusly.
“We don’t know what exactly might be built at this early stage.
Photo: Disney
“We are studying an updated mix of uses, rather than a specific new land, attraction or other use.
“If new zoning is adopted, individual projects would still undergo city planning review.”
However, Disney teases this possibility.
“The proposed zoning changes could allow for the building of attractions in Anaheim like those seen at Disney parks across the world.”
That’s the 16 rides I previously discussed, plus the upcoming Avatar experience and potentially more.
Thus far, Disney has waved off any conversations about a third gate at Disneyland Resort.
Instead, this project prioritizes expanding Disneyland Resort, which Iger recently stated could grow by 50 percent.
Presumably, the approval of DisneylandForward is vital to those plans.
Bruce Vaughn inside the Millennium Falcon at Stars Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
So, Monday’s Planning Commission signifies the first of three crucial meetings for Disney from now through April 16th!
Buckle up, folks. This ride’s about to get thrilling!
MickeyBlog Logo
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
Feature Photo: Disney
