Concept art for the proposed Disneyland Resort themed land. (Courtesy of Disney)
After three years of planning and presentations, the DisneylandForward proposal is nearing the starting line of an ambitious four-decade plan that could bring nine new themed lands to the Anaheim theme park resort based on the Avatar, Frozen, Zootopia and other Disney, Pixar and Marvel films. .
The Anaheim City Council gave unanimous preliminary approval to the DisneylandForward proposal on Wednesday, April 17, and final approval is expected on May 7. If approved, the plan will go into effect a month later in early June.
See also: Disneyland is now a historic park district: what does this mean for future projects?
What's next after DisneylandForward gets the green light? What will Disneyland build first?
The answers to these and many other questions will likely be revealed during the D23 fan event August 9-11 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Walt Disney Imagineering had three years to come up with ideas since DisneylandForward was first announced.
Disneyland has committed to spending $1.9 billion over the next decade as part of DisneylandForward and hopes to bring a significant portion of the $60 billion Disney has set aside to invest in theme parks to Anaheim.
See also: The DisneylandForward proposal would allow for 300-foot-tall themed icons
The Avatar-themed land — which was first floated as a possibility in early 2023 — appears to be Disneyland's top priority.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, Disney Parks President Josh D'Amaro, and Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock have all linked the potential Avatar-themed land to DisneylandForward approval in recent statements.
“We've all heard about the Avatar experience being at the top of the bucket list at the Disneyland Resort,” Potrock said during Tuesday night's Anaheim City Council meeting. “But what we can do with this experience in terms of scale and scope is inherently influenced by DisneylandForward.”
Avatar Land can be built today on the existing Disneyland and/or Disney California Adventure lot without waiting for the DisneylandForward process to complete.
The most likely location for a West Coast version of World of Pandora would be in DCA's unused Hollywood Land backlot studio lot. A themed land inspired by “Avatar: The Way of Water,” a $2.3 billion box office hit, could extend into the park between the two parks without creeping into the DisneylandForward expansion space.
DisneylandForward has floated eight additional themed lands based on Tangled, Frozen, Peter Pan, Zootopia, Toy Story, Black Panther, Coco and Tron as potential expansion projects in Anaheim.
Throughout the DisneylandForward process, Frozen-themed lands at Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea were the most mentioned possibility in Anaheim.
A carbon copy of one of the Frozen Lands could easily be placed in the parking lots surrounding the Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel in the DisneylandForward Westside Expansion area.
DisneylandForward framed the Westside theme park expansion area as annex space to Disneyland and DCA rather than a new “third gateway.” The expansion areas will be connected by pedestrian bridges over Disneyland Drive — potentially connecting near Critter Country at Disneyland and Paradise parks at DCA.
A likely model for any DisneylandForward expansion will be the new Fantasy Springs Port that will debut June 6 at Tokyo DisneySea. Fantasy Springs includes three themed lands – Frozen Kingdom, Rapunzel's Forest, and Peter Pan's Never Land – in close proximity to each other.
The DisneylandForward Westside Extension area is roughly divided into two parts – the Disneyland Extension north of the Disneyland Hotel and the DCA Extension south of the Pixar Place Hotel.
It's not hard for an armchair imagineer to see a pair of Fantasy Springs-style expansions fitting into the DisneylandForward Westside expansion area — with three or four lands connected to Disneyland and another three connected to DCA.
DisneylandForward's overhanging projects fit neatly into both locations.
The Disneyland extension could include Disney Princess lands (Frozen and Tangled) and classic and modern Disney animation lands (Peter Pan and Zootopia). The DCA extension could get into Pixar territory (Coco, Toy Story) and Marvel territory (Black Panther).
Disneyland will likely build out one land at a time every three to five years and slowly work its way from parks to hotels until the Westside expansion space is fully connected. This work may take two to three decades.
The odd project among the proposed DisneylandForward projects is Tron. A version of the Lightcycle Run roller coaster at Shanghai Disneyland and Florida's Magic Kingdom is believed to be the potential centerpiece in a long-awaited Tomorrowland makeover.
Throw in the East Side extension of Downtown Disney for the Toy Story parking lot, a 17,000-space East Side parking garage and other infrastructure work, and you get another decade of construction. All the works fit together neatly within the four-decade DisneylandForward plan that extends through 2064.
“Infuriatingly humble web fan. Writer. Alcohol geek. Passionate explorer. Evil problem solver. Incurable zombie expert.”
