Disneyland has been approved for a makeover after the Anaheim, California, city council unanimously passed the second vote for a rezoning project dubbed DisneylandForward. The project aims to add entire new theme park lands to Disneyland, which could include places featured in Disney movies, such as Black Panther’s Wakanda or Frozen’s Arendelle.
But while Anaheim city council gave Disney the approval for the largest expansion to Disneyland since the park opened in 1955, Disneyland itself won’t actually be getting any bigger. Instead what Anaheim approved is the rezoning of existing property that Disney already owns. This rezoning means that lands Disney previously only had approval to build hotels or parking lots on can now be used to build theme park attractions.
Ideas for expanded Disneyland park already taking shape
So what could Disneyland look like now that Anaheim has approved the expansion? The city has published a map created by Disney to show what the park may look like in the decades ahead. From the map, you can see Disney is considering an entirely new immersive theme park between Walnut Street and Disneyland Drive just west of the current Disneyland and Disney California Adventure areas.
Disney says that possibilities for this area include the likes of a theme park based on Zootopia’s metropolis, a Toy Story Land, or Neverland from Peter Pan.
And south of Katella Avenue, Disney says its current property there could be converted to “a new kind of Disney entertainment,” which may include a theme park, hotel, and retail. Disney says, “This property could be the perfect location to cater to locals, conventioneers, hotel and Disneyland Resort guests with restaurants, hotels, live music, shopping, ticketed shows and theme park experiences modeled after the popular Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort.”
Long timeline for DisneylandForward
So when is the expansion going to be done? It’s going to take a while—a long while. Disney says the development will take place over the next four decades. The company’s agreement with Anaheim for the expansion ends in 2064.
Disney’s agreement with Anaheim is expected to go into effect in the next 30 days, notes CNN. That agreement will see Disney committing $1.9 billion to the expansion in the next decade. As part of the agreement, Disney will also contribute $30 million to affordable housing in the city, $8 million for city parks, $45 million for transportation improvements.