Disney finally has the green light to expand its kingdom. The Anaheim City Council has approved Disneyland's largest expansion in nearly 30 years. The project, called DisneylandForward, creates an investment of $1.9 billion over the next decade in the park, which welcomes about 25 million visitors annually. This has been a triumph for the company, which had been in a campaign for three years to win over neighbors and local politicians. Councilors voted in favor of the proposal 7-0.
The approved project allows Disney to grow without the need for the park to expand to other lands. Instead, the company can reorganize its offering, including adding some attractions, within the nearly 200 hectares it occupies in the city, located 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles. “The project would not increase the number of square meters of development or the hotel rooms that are currently allowed,” says the report analyzed by the councilors.
As is customary for the company, Disney keeps its plans under jealous secrecy. In its convincing campaign, the company does not detail what it will use the space for that has seen its land use permit modified. This has changed for six properties that are today used as offices and parking lots for employees of the company's two parks, Disneyland, opened in 1955, and California Adventure, which opened its doors in 2001.
However, the company reveals in its plans a “possible immersive amusement park” that will include hotels, shops and restaurants. At another location, across Katella Avenue, Disney also outlines a “new kind of entertainment.”
Disney uses recent examples of attractions added to its international parks to illustrate what the new offerings could look like. Among these is Arendelle, the land of Elsa and Anna, the stars of
Frozen
, a site that was inaugurated in the fall of last year in Hong Kong. Or Zootopia
,
which recreates a mammal metropolis like the one in the animated film in the Shanghai park. The
Toy Story
land in Florida is also mentioned
, where the toys from the popular Pixar movie saga are larger than humans to give the impression that you are part of this children's world.
The multinational turned one hundred years old in October. Last year, its executives announced an investment plan of $60 billion over ten years. This will serve to “turbocharge” and expand the group's six parks in America, Europe and Asia with areas inspired by recent successes. 30% of the investment will be made in Florida, a stronghold where the company has seen its competition grow rapidly. Universal Studios plans to open a new park in 2025, something that threatens the 8% operating profit margin that Disney has in this subsidiary, one of its strongest businesses since 2017.
Led by Bob Iger, the CEO, the company has opted for parks as its most reliable method of income and given the turbulent times the audiovisual industry is going through. Disney based its strategy on the record
merchandising
sales numbers
that have been recorded in 2022 and 2023, a year in which attendance recovered to reach pre-pandemic levels. The company announced last fall an increase in the price of tickets to its parks to compensate for the decline in television business.
The final vote on the proposal will come in a new second vote in the Council in May. However, DisneyForwrd has already made progress over two obstacles. The first was the vote within the Urban Planning commission. The second came at the plenary session of the City Council, held this Wednesday.