Disneyland’s $1.9 billion plan for new lands and attractions gets final approval by city council

In the early 1900s, Anaheim, California, was a rural community with endless rows of orange groves. Of course, that all changed when Disneyland opened July 17, 1955, and transformed the town into one of the world’s most well-known tourist destinations.

Now, Disney has set out to transform the city again with an ambitious project called DisneylandForward.

DisneylandForward is a “multiyear public planning effort” that will bring new lands, attractions, hotel rooms, entertainment and more to Disneyland; as a result, it will bring more jobs and tourists to Anaheim.

The plan received preliminary approval during an Anaheim City Council meeting held April 17, and on May 7, city council members voted 7-0 to approve the project. Disney has a 30-day waiting period before officially breaking ground on any new developments. However, Tuesday’s unanimous vote was the final hurdle Disney needed to clear to make DisneylandForward a reality.

On the DisneylandForward website, Disney suggests the project is necessary to “evolve the way we entertain today and mix together theme park, entertainment, shops, restaurants and hotels within the same experience throughout Disney properties in the future.”

In a message posted on the DisneylandForward site after the announcement, Disney shared that the project is “expected to create up to 4,584 new jobs during operations and 8,960 new construction jobs during development, along with potentially generating up to $30 million in new annual revenues for the city.”

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The DisneylandForward project will not expand Disney’s current footprint. Instead, it will shift current zoning codes and give Disney more flexibility to potentially build a theme park, hotel, retail, dining and entertainment locations on the roughly 500 acres of land Disneyland already owns or operates on, as seen in the map above.

Disney has not yet revealed any of the lands or attractions it hopes to build now that DisneylandForward is guaranteed to come to fruition. However, it has shared that the purpose is to bring immersive, innovative developments similar to those already underway at other Disney parks to Disneyland.

Disney has specifically pointed to Tokyo DisneySea’s Fantasy Springs expansion, which features experiences themed to “Tangled,” “Peter Pan” and “Frozen;” Hong Kong Disneyland’s World of Frozen; Shanghai Disneyland’s “Zootopia”-themed land and Toy Story Land; and Walt Disney World’s Tron Lightcyle Run as possible inspirations for the future of Disneyland.

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The developments mentioned above are part of Disney’s $60 billion, decade-long plan to grow its theme parks, cruises and other experiences. That, of course, includes Disneyland. However, there are certain projects Disneyland could not move forward with until DisneylandForward was approved and parts of the property could be rezoned.

So far, Disney has dangled one carrot: an all-new “Avatar”-themed experience at Disneyland. It has not announced where this experience will be, which attraction(s) will be built or even when it might open. However, it did share a piece of concept art and an appeal to give DisneylandForward the green light in an April blog post.

“We are excited about the stories our guests could experience at Walt’s original theme park destination after approval of DisneylandForward – including the chance to experience all-new Avatar adventures with a visit to Pandora,” Disney Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro wrote in the post.

DisneylandForward will not require any public funding, as Disney will fully fund the project. The company has committed to invest at least $1.9 billion in theme park lodging and experiences in the first 10 years of the agreement.

Disney has also promised significant investment in the city of Anaheim, including a $30 million contribution to fund affordable housing projects within the first five years of DisneylandForward, $8 million for city park improvements in Anaheim and $85 million to improve traffic flow, pedestrian circulation and safety. It will also continue Disney’s mentorship and career development program for Anaheim residents.

Additionally, Disney will pay $39.6 million to the city of Anaheim to take over maintenance and management for Magic Way and two smaller road segments — roads that mostly serve Disneyland guests and cast members. This will improve pedestrian access to Disneyland and reduce cut-through traffic to the area.

Don’t expect to see major changes at Disneyland on your next visit now that DisneylandForward is approved. Though some projects will certainly come to fruition sooner than others, DisneylandForward is a growth and development plan that spans the next 40 years.

However, if you visit soon, you may get to experience the all-new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (opening later this year) or stay at the recently opened Pixar Place Hotel.

When Disneyland opened in 1955, Walt Disney famously said, “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in this world.” Disneyland certainly has grown over the years, but DisneylandForward gives Disneyland the potential to change in magical ways even Walt may not have imagined.

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