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Florida lost out this week, but it seems California has a solid possibility to gain.
It’s been a mixed bag of a week for the Walt Disney Company. On the one hand, the company announced that they would be canceling the Lake Nona campus and Walt Disney Imagineering’s move to Florida, but on the other hand, the company’s been moving forward with its DisneylandForward project, which appears to be incredibly fruitful to the state of California.
Sleeping Beauty Castle, Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort / Credit: Disney
Related: Experts Predict Economic Trouble for Florida with Disney’s Latest Move
DisneylandForward
First introduced in 2021, DisneylandForward is an expansion initiative from the Walt Disney Company for the Disneyland Resort in Southern California. The initiative aims to create new experiences, attractions, and offerings while leveraging underutilized areas of the Disney Resort. DisneylandForward envisions the growth of the Disneyland Resort not by occupying a bigger footprint but by rezoning and restructuring existing areas of the Disney Resort to allow for more lands and attractions, and create more immersive storytelling experiences.
DisneylandForward concept art / Credit: Disney
Related: Disney Wants to Create a More “Integrated Park Experience,” but It May Not Be so Straightforward
This week, Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock revealed new details about this project; he shared a Disney-sponsored economic study from Cal State Fullerton, which estimates “for every $1 billion Disney invests to update and renovate the resort, over 4,000 jobs and $1.1 billion in economic output would be generated during the 4-year construction period.”
After that, per the Los Angeles Times, the investment will generate “$253 million annually in economic output, $15 million in tax revenue and 2,292 jobs.”
Pixar Pier, Disney California Adventure Park / Credit: Disney
In order to make this happens, Disney needs the city of Anaheim to loosen its zoning restrictions.
A rep shared, “Today hotel, theme park, retail and dining are all part of one immersive experience. Guests expect that the future of entertainment will seamlessly weave all uses together in ways that were hard to imagine more than 25 years ago when the city created these specific plans.”
While the city council will only vote on the proposal in early 2024, supporting this move could benefit the west coast state incredibly.
