Planning Commission Vote
Last night, the City of Anaheim Planning Commission met at Anaheim City Hall to discuss and vote on the DisneylandForward project. The project was approved by the Planning Commission with a vote of 5 to 1 and will now move on to the Anaheim City Council for approval. The City Council meeting is scheduled for April 16, 2024 and this will be the final step in the process to approve the DisneylandForward project.
Next Steps
If the Anaheim City Council approves the project on April 16th, Disneyland can move forward with their expansion plans which may include a new parking structure on the East side of the property at Disney Way and Manchester Ave (which is just behind Harbor Blvd), new resort hotels, theme park expansion and more.
During the Planning Commission meeting last night (March 11, 2024), Ken Potrock, the President of the Disneyland Resort, mentioned such projects as the World of Frozen land in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Zootopia land in Shanghai Disneyland as potential expansion opportunities for the Disneyland Resort. He also mentioned that he had recently visited both lands at the Disney International Parks which could mean that those lands or some sort of area based on those lands will be coming to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA.
A Zootopia land has also been rumored for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park in Florida. And since as of late, Disney likes to build attractions and lands at both domestic parks at the same time like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, chances are very high that some sort of Zootopia land will be coming to both domestic Disney Resorts.
My Predictions
My prediction is that the first thing Disney will do if the DisneylandForward project is approved by the Anaheim City Council on April 16th is to start construction on the East side parking structure and start expanding Disney California Adventure Park into the current buses terminal area on the Harbor side of the property. At one time, this was Disney’s plans anyway so I assume that will be one of their first actions. Building the East side parking structure will free up a huge area that is currently only utilized by buses and foot traffic into the resort. The area is quite large and is currently under utilized so I see this area getting absorbed into theme park space first (which could also be utilized as part of a Tomorrowland expansion). There will still need to be an area for Harbor foot traffic but that could easily be accomplished by utilizing a bridge which Disney plans to build over Harbor Blvd as part of the DisneylandForward project.
I also believe that Disney is waiting on the final approval of the project before proceeding with the Avengers Campus “E” ticket attraction that was announced back in 2019 and then again in 2022 at the D23 Expo. In my opinion, they are waiting to start construction on that attraction because the April 16th vote outcome will change the entire resort and how future expansions will proceed. I also feel like that the Avatar themed land that Bob Iger has mentioned on two separate occasions will take over the current Hollywood land area along with absorbing a portion of the current bus terminal area just behind Hollywood land.
I also predict that due to the popularity of the “Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!” attraction at Disney California Adventure Park, there is a possibility that it along with Turtle Talk that is located inside the Animation Building may both be relocated to Pixar Pier.
You can learn more about the DisneylandForward project at DisneylandForward.com and read my update from the January 2024 City Council Workshop here.
That’s a Wrap!
I am happy to see this project moving along. And I am very hopeful that the City of Anaheim will approve the project on April 16th. If approved, I feel like D23 The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in August will be full of exciting news and possibly even models to view of announced expansions.
I’ll keep you posted with news from the Disneyland Forward project. And as always, I’ll “see ya real soon” Mouseketeers!
