Disneyland is committing to investing nearly $2 billion over the next ten years to expand its theme parks in Anaheim, California.
New details about the development agreement between Disney and Anaheim were revealed during the informational workshop for Disney Forward, held in Anaheim on Jan. 23, according to The Orange County Register (OC Register).
The sizable investment is expected to go towards "theme park lands, attractions, hotels, shopping and dining west of Disneyland Drive and on the Toy Story parking lot." While unofficial, the OC Register noted that Disney's development plan could also point to other possible projects down the line, including lands and attractions inspired by Black Panter, Coco, Frozen, Zootopia, Tangled, and Tron.
Frozen's Arendelle, Black Panther's Wakanda, and Coco's Santa Cecilia at Disneyland were floated by Disney Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro in a conference call in September 2023.
Disneyland's Other Developments
Disneyland proposed the theme park investment in two parts-a minimum commitment of $1.9 billion and $2.5 billion. The additional $600 million is planned to be spent in street and transportation improvements in the project's first 10 years.
Disneyland's investment will not cover any costs made to parking structures, pedestrian bridges, and road improvement expenses. Those will be covered by the company separately.
The DisneylandForward investment proposal will be discussed during an Anaheim Planning Commission hearing in March. The Anaheim City Council will follow with a voting in May.
Disneyland's proposal follows a separate announcement by the Walt Disney Company to invest $60 billion in its parks and cruise lines over the next decade.
"We're incredibly mindful of the financial underpinning of the company, the need to continue to grow in terms of bottom line, the need to invest wisely so that we're increasing the returns on invested capital, and the need to maintain a balance sheet, for a variety of reasons," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement posted on the Walt Disney Company's website. "The company is able to absorb those costs and continue to grow the bottom line and look expansively at how we return value and capital to our shareholders."
