Disneyland’s $1.9B expansion plan approved by Anaheim City Council
Anaheim gave Disney the last approval needed for the entertainment giant to move forward with its expansion plan for its Disneyland park in California.
Disney received final approval on Tuesday to move forward with its nearly $2 billion expansion plan for its Disneyland theme park in California.
The Anaheim City Council said the company’s proposal – "DisneylandForward" – received its second unanimous approval from all seven members.
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The plan "shifts development amounts already approved by the city to other land Disney now operates on," the city council said.
Disney has about 490 acres of land in Anaheim across Disneyland and California Adventure Park, FOX Business previously reported.
The zoning changes Disney sought for the project "would allow for the building of additional theme park and other visitor attractions in Anaheim" without giving Disney any new land, according to the council.
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"I’m grateful the city council agrees and voted to work with us on this legacy project that will set up Disneyland Resort and the City of Anaheim for an incredibly bright future," Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock said in a Disney Parks blog post.
Disney asked the city council to give it the permissions needed to build "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 city council said.
The entertainment giant is "incredibly excited for the many potential new stories our guests could experience at Walt’s original theme park, including the much-anticipated opportunity to bring Avatar to Disneyland," CEO Bob Iger said of DisneylandForward on Tuesday morning, prior to the city council giving approval.
Some other possible inspiration Disney has identified for future additions to its California theme park complex are "Tangled," "Frozen," "Zootopia" and "Toy Story Land," according to the company’s website dedicated to the project.
With the expansion plan, Disney will put $1.9 billion toward the California resort in a 10-year span.
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"DisneylandForward" has been described as a "multiyear" initiative that will play out over decades.
The company also agreed to give $48 million for affordable housing, sewer improvements and city parks, the city council said.
Theme parks are an important revenue driver for Disney.
Its domestic parks and experiences, which includes Disneyland, Disney World and certain other offerings, generated $5.96 billion in revenue and $1.61 billion in operating income in the second quarter.