Disneyland unveils expansion plans, for theme parks, shopping, parking

Disneyland has unveiled a major expansion plan that could mean new lands, new attractions, additional shopping and additional parking.

Dubbed DisneylandForward, Disney is going to the public in announcing the possible changes it would like to do with a new DisneylandForward website.

The reason for going public is to garner public support in order to win the City of Anaheim’s approval. “This simply isn’t possible under current inflexible planning restrictions unless we remove and replace treasured rides and attractions in our Parks today. Without updates, new Disney experiences and placemaking, created from our beloved stories, will likely never find their way to the Disneyland Resort as they have to other parks throughout the world,” Disney wrote on its site.

Disney is currently in the beginning stages of the planning process. “Right now, we don’t have any specific projects planned for the future,” Disney writes on its site. However, it does dangle these expansion possibilities.

Disneyland expansion possibilities

Frozen land — Guests visit Arendelle, the home of Elsa and Anna, and explore this ‘Frozen’ land filled with a thrilling boat adventure as well as a restaurant set inside a castle.

Tangled land – Rapunzel’s tower overlooks a charming forest where guests board gondolas to the lantern festival to live Rapunzel’s “best day ever” with Flynn. A restaurant where she befriended a band of thieves in the film is also featured.

Peter Pan land — The Neverland area features two attractions: one that, with the help of Tinker Bell, takes guests on a boat ride following the Lost Boys down a river; and the other taking guests on a journey to the middle of Pixie Hollow, where Tinker Bell and her fairy friends live. The area also includes a restaurant with spectacular views inspired by the Lost Boys’ iconic hideout.

Disney California Adventure expansion possibilities

Zootopia area — Currently under construction at Shanghai Disneyland, guests will be invited to experience the mammalian metropolis of Zootopia “where anyone can be anything,” with a new major attraction that will seamlessly blend Disney storytelling and state-of-the-art technology to bring this fan-favorite movie and its characters to life.

Toy Story Land — As part of Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, guests “shrink” to the size of a toy and join in the fun in this toy-filled land inspired by the “Toy Story” films. Guests can take a ride on Slinky Dog Dash, a roller coaster Andy assembled from his Mega Coaster Toy Kit. They can also join the little green aliens as they swirl about in their rocket ship toys in the Alien Swirling Saucers. The land also includes carnival games and a restaurant, Woody’s Lunch Box.

Tron — Currently open in Shanghai Disneyland and under construction at the Magic Kingdom in Florida, the TRON Lightcycle Run roller coaster invites guests to sync the pedal to the moto-metal while twisting and turning in the cyber-fi world in a high-speed race for survival.

Entertainment area expansion

An expansion of Downtown Disney District with restaurants, hotels, live music, shopping, ticketed shows and theme park experiences modeled after Disney Springs at Disney World.

Parking and Transportation expansion

Disney envisions creating a new parking destination on the east side of The Anaheim Resort, which would include a pedestrian bridge with upgraded entrance accessibility for hotels and businesses located along Harbor Boulevard. In addition, Disney will continue to work with area businesses and the city to invest in and encourage the use of public transit and ride-sharing for our cast and guests.

Disney is not seeking any public funding for the DisneylandForward project, “nor are we seeking additional square footage or hotel rooms beyond what is currently approved and allowed. Rather, we are simply asking to update our existing approvals to allow for integrated development to be located and built on Disney properties,” according to Disney.

What’s At Issue

The current Disneyland Resort Specific Plan limits grow in specific designated district. So new hotels need to be in the Hotel District and traditional theme park uses need to be in the Theme Park District. Disney said that while it has development rights and the desire to expand, it needs the city to broaden the uses allowed within each district or it will only be able to demolish and replace theme park attractions “further integrated development and theme park investment are not possible,” Disney says

Next Steps

This process could take years. The City of Anaheim will be updating the existing environmental impact report for The Disneyland Resort Project, which will include a thorough analysis of potential environmental impacts and will identify mitigation measures to address and reduce impacts.

At this point, Disneyland is in the beginning phases of the public approval process for DisneylandForward and “our goal at this time is to reach out to the community and share DisneylandForward with Anaheim residents and stakeholders,” according to Disney.