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DisneylandForward plan approved by Anaheim city council

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Plan covers Disney's ( DIS ) California development over 40 years

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Expansion may create 4,520 construction jobs, researcher

says

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Parks a key profit driver for Disney ( DIS )

By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine

April 17 (Reuters) - Plans to expand the Disneyland

Resort cleared a major hurdle Wednesday, as local officials

endorsed a new blueprint governing the development of Walt

Disney's ( DIS ) Southern California theme parks over the next

40 years.

The Anaheim city council approved a plan, called

DisneylandForward, that one researcher estimated would create as

many as 4,520 construction jobs per year of development and an

additional 26,764 parks-related positions over the coming

decades.

A second procedural council vote, to consider zoning

changes, revisions in the city's development agreement with

Disney ( DIS ) and an analysis of environmental impacts, is scheduled

for May 7. If adopted, the changes would take effect after 30

days, clearing the way for Disney ( DIS ) to invest a minimum of $1.9

billion in new theme park experiences and lodging over the next

decade.

Parks have become a reliable profit engine for Disney ( DIS ) and

have helped cushion losses in the Disney+ streaming business,

which is expected to become profitable by September. The company

last year announced it would deepen its investment in its parks,

and double the capacity of its cruise line, committing $60

billion over the next decade.

Disneyland, the company's first theme park, opened in 1955.

As it grew in popularity, the city of Anaheim approved plans

that would govern its growth, creating zones designated for

specific types of developments.

In 2021, Disney ( DIS ) submitted a plan, dubbed DisneylandForward,

which would give the company flexibility in how it could develop

its 490-acre California property. Disney ( DIS ) is looking to blend

hotels, shops and attractions within the same themed world, as

it has in Fantasy Springs, which opens June 6 at Tokyo DisneySea

Park.

TELLING 'NEW STORIES'

The proposal calls for allowing theme park attractions

alongside hotels on the west side of Disneyland Drive and

theme park attractions alongside new shopping, dining and

entertainment to the southeast on what is today the Toy Story

Parking Area.

Dozens of members of the public addressed the council before

the vote. Many voiced enthusiastic support for the job

opportunities and revenue they expected the expansion to bring

to the area. Some local residents, however, said they would be

harmed by increased traffic and noise and the conversion of a

public road known as Magic Way into a pedestrian walkway.

"A project like DisneylandForward will only further

exacerbate the current problems," said Anaheim resident Trangdai

Glassey. "To disregard the human costs from a project of this

scope is unthinkable."

The company has not said what attractions and amenities it

plans to add in California, though it has pointed to attractions

found elsewhere, such as the new World of Frozen, where guests

can experience the fictional world of Arendelle at Hong Kong

Disneyland, or the "mammalian metropolis" of Zootopia at

Shanghai Disneyland.

"With each new experience taking three to five years to come

to fruition, DisneylandForward is an urgent need so we can

determine what new stories could be told at The Happiest Place

on Earth," Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock wrote in an

opinion piece that appeared in the Orange County Register.