Disney cleared a major hurdle to start developing a colossal expansion of its Disneyland theme parks on Tuesday night when the Anaheim city council unanimously gave final approval to rezoning much of the property.

Disney’s original resort in California, which comprises a shopping district, parking areas and two theme parks, is about 550 acres, which is less than 2% of the size of Walt Disney World in Florida.

However, with newly approved “multi-use” zoning, Disney can now expand its theme parks in Anaheim without acquiring any new land by building attractions where the company could previously only build hotels or parking lots. This paves the way for a multi-decade project to expand both of its theme parks there: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

“For nearly seven decades, Disneyland Resort has made a unique, irreplaceable impact on hundreds of millions of guests from around the world. How exciting to know our best days are still ahead – I can’t wait to show you what’s to come,” Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock said in a statement Tuesday night.

The project, dubbed “DisneylandForward,” does not require any public funding. While no specific designs have been shared yet, Disney has released concept art for what the expansion could look like on the west side of the resort, in areas surrounding Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel.

On Tuesday night, Disney passed a significant hurdle to begin creating a massive expansion of its Disneyland theme parks when the Anaheim city council overwhelmingly approved rezoning much of the property.

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Disneyland Receives Final Approval For ‘Greatest Thing’ Since Its Opening.

Disney’s first resort in California, which includes a commercial district, parking lots, and two theme parks, covers approximately 550 acres, less than 2% of the size of Walt Disney World in Florida.

However, with newly authorized “multi-use” zoning, Disney may now expand its theme parks in Anaheim without acquiring new land by creating attractions where the company could previously only build hotels or parking lots. This sets the door for a multi-decade project to develop both of its theme parks, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

“For nearly seven decades, Disneyland Resort has had an unforgettable influence on hundreds of millions of visitors worldwide. “How exciting to know that our best days are still ahead – I can’t wait to show you what’s to come,” Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock said in a statement Tuesday night.

The project, known as “DisneylandForward,” does not require any public support. While no concrete designs have been revealed, Disney has produced concept images for the expansion on the west side of the resort, near the Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel.

“This is decades overdue. This, in my opinion, is the most significant thing Disney has done since opening the gates in 1955,” said Dennis Speigel, owner and founder of International Theme Park Services, a global consultant for theme park developments.

Speigel, who is not involved in Disney’s plans, stated that this project could potentially increase Disneyland Resort’s annual visitor count from 25 million to 40 million over the next 20 years.

“You’re going from a two-room house to a five-room house,” Speigel said, adding that the extra space will make visitors more comfortable and increase per capita spending by allowing them to stay longer and experience more attractions.

At a shareholders’ meeting in April, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that DisneylandForward’s potential new projects might include “the opportunity to embark on all-new Avatar adventures with a visit to the world of Pandora.”

The published concept art for a hypothetical Avatar land depicts a location similar to Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida, but with tourists on boats in the center of an open lake, reminiscent of the franchise’s second feature, “The Way of Water.”

In a January video, Rachel Alde, Disney Experiences’ senior VP of global development, stated that a 1990s agreement with the city of Anaheim allowed Disney to build 6.8 million square feet of theme park space, but the company has only built 46% of that due to space and zoning restrictions.

“Imagine what we could do with this space.” Currently, there are only surface parking lots. What if we could become the first land-based on Wakanda from the Black Panther franchise? A Zootopia-themed land that builds on the work you saw before at Shanghai Disney Resort. The creation of Arendelle from Frozen is comparable to what you witnessed in our three worldwide parks. Or even the ability to celebrate Dia de los Muertos in a Coco-themed area that reflects the diverse community in Southern California.”

Don Ballard, an author and historian who wrote a book about the ancient Disneyland Hotel, believes the company’s original resort is “ever-evolving.” I mean, technology changes and people’s tastes shift.”

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Disneyland Receives Final Approval For ‘Greatest Thing’ Since Its Opening.

Ballard cited Walt Disney’s famous quote: “Disneyland will never be completed.” It will continue to expand for as long as imagination exists in the world.

Todd James Pierce, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo professor who published the book “Three Years in Wonderland” about the creation of Disneyland, stated that “When Walt was alive, almost every year there was a new attraction, if not multiple new attractions.” He took one hiatus around the World’s Fair since he was busy doing other things. This allows the Disneyland Resort to expand significantly. So if people are fans, there will be something fresh only a short time from now, every year, or every couple of years.

Pierce stated that their chosen concept art is noteworthy because “none of these things are standalone attractions. They’re all 8—to 12-acre themed areas centered on one or more [stories], such as a whole Frozen region.

Ballard and Pierce agree that, in addition to being inventive, the new idea will be useful in reducing overcrowding at the right resort.

Ballard, who proposed to his wife at Disneyland, quipped, “It was just me and 80,000 of my closest friends.” And I proposed to her in front of the castle, and four girls behind her said ‘yes.‘”

Pierce stated that opening new lands allows Disney to close existing attractions more easily for redevelopment because passengers can spread out and are not pressed into tight crowds.

Disney theme parks worldwide are known for creating an immersive environment in which visitors leave the “real” world for something fanciful. To do so, one must enter a “Disney bubble,” as fans refer to it, which shields one from the outer world.

However, this proposal will face challenges because some of the properties that could be renovated are separate from the main Disneyland Resort campus. Disney has revealed in concept art that a section of land on the east side, currently used as the Toy Story surface parking lot, may be converted into a mixed-use hotel, restaurant, and shopping complex akin to Disney Springs in Florida.

Pierce explained that getting from the big theme parks to this retail area entails crossing city streets lined with 7-Elevens and CVS drugstores.

The difficulty lies “not in doing what they do really well, which is build themed environments, but figuring out how to connect up this patchwork of property that they’ll now control,” Pierce stated. “Elevated walkways, a people mover system or a Skyliner system (the elevated gondolas), something like that…is probably going to be necessary, otherwise the vacation experience becomes fragmented.”

According to Anaheim’s chief communications officer, Mike Lyster, the DisneylandForward project includes authority for pedestrian bridges over city streets, but anything else would require separate city approval.

Another challenge is ensuring there is ample parking. Disney would be forced to create additional parking facilities elsewhere on the resort grounds by potentially developing theme park lands on top of existing parking lots. Disney has stated that it plans to create a new parking facility on the resort’s east side, including one to three pedestrian bridges and improved entrance accessibility for hotels and businesses along Harbor Boulevard.

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Disneyland Receives Final Approval For ‘Greatest Thing’ Since Its Opening.

Tuesday’s rezoning approval will take effect in 30 days. Next, Disney and the city of Anaheim will attempt to finalize a development agreement that will last until 2064.

“This is a significant milestone for the city. “We’re looking at a unique opportunity not only for Anaheim but for the entire state of California,” said Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken.

Proposed agreements include Disney committing $1.9 billion to the project over the first ten years, $40 million to take over two city-owned streets, $45 million for transportation improvements, $8 million for city parks, and $30 million for affordable housing.

Speigel predicts the corporation would spend over $3 billion, exceeding its initial investment promise.

This expansion initiative follows the company’s previously stated $60 billion investment in its parks and cruises across the world over the next ten years.

According to Aitken, more than half of Anaheim’s general fund comes from tourism revenue. So, the initiative would improve the guest experience and result in significant investment in the city.

She also stated she has been one of the “fiercest critics” of resort area growth, fighting city subsidies and securing construction and hospitality union backing for the initiative.

“And I’m comfortable that the Disneyland team has answered a lot of those concerns.”

Aitken stated that the resulting idea is carefully thought out and a “win-win” for everyone.

SOURCE – (AP)