Last night (May 7th) the Anaheim City Council held it’s last meeting regarding the DisneylandForward expansion plan from The Walt Disney Company, and gave its final approval.
The Details
The council voted 7-0 to give the final approval to the project, following a previous unanimous vote approving the project in April.
The park intends to spend nearly $2 billion to develop the property over the next decade, including $40 million to buy streets from the city of Anaheim.
The zoning and other changes laid out by the plan will take effect in 30 days.
“Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” – Walt Disney is quoted as saying.
With DisneylandForward, it will continue to have to room to grow.
Disney’s Response
“We’ve worked closely with city staff, neighbors, and our local community over the past three years to make sure DisneylandForward is a win for everyone – 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 wrote on the Disney Parks blog.
“We’ll be investing at least $1.9 billion in the resort in the first 10 years. Cal State Fullerton’s economic impact study projects increased revenues of about $15 million annually for Anaheim from each $1 billion we invest. This will help fund necessary community services, including additional fire and police, parks, and libraries.”
“We’ve also committed to a unique benefits package for Anaheim and its residents, including $30 million for affordable housing, $8 million for parks, $85 million in traffic improvements and pedestrian safety, and continued investment in workforce development programs.”
“We’re honored to partner with Anaheim on this historic project and excited to move into this next chapter together.”
“DisneylandForward will bring over 4,500 operational jobs to Disneyland Resort — which is very exciting since more than 2,200 people apply for hourly roles every week — along with nearly 9,000 construction jobs within the first 10 years.”
What’s Next?
Disneyland has outlined some of the preliminary plans for the expansion, including theme park attractions to be built alongside hotels on the west side of Disneyland Drive, along with building attractions, shopping, dining and entertainment where the Toy Story Parking Area at Katella Avenue and Harbor Boulevard stands today.
It will also give Disneyland room to build that new “Avatar”-themed land that Disney CEO Bob Iger has talked about.