Disney Announces Significant Expansion Plan For the Disneyland Resort

The Walt Disney Company today unveiled a significant multi-year expansion plan for the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim that continues its growth as a multi-day, world-class tourist destination.

The expansion will bring new entertainment and major family-oriented attractions to Disney's California Adventure, including an entirely new Cars Land inspired by the hit Disney�Pixar animated film Cars.

"The success of the Disneyland Resort over the past few years provides us with both the opportunity and the need to invest for growth, to enhance and expand the experience for our guests and attract new visitors, while at the same time delivering attractive returns on the investment. This plan is a reflection of our belief in the bright future of the Disneyland Resort and our continuing commitment to grow the Anaheim Resort Area as a world class tourist destination," said Bob Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer the Walt Disney Company.

Disney Imagineers will be bringing more of Walt Disney into Disney's California Adventure, celebrating the hope and optimism of California that attracted Walt to this land of opportunity in the 1920s. Guests entering the new Plaza will be instantly immersed in the world that inspired Walt during his early days as an animation pioneer. The new, interactive Walt Disney Story attraction will set the stage for the unfolding story of Walt that will permeate the park.

The expansive program reaches throughout Disney's California Adventure, with an amazing Little Mermaid attraction, a groundbreaking, signature nighttime spectacular and new viewing area for 9,000, and the addition of the 12-acre Cars Land featuring the world of Radiator Springs with three new attractions. Extensive landscaping, new retail and dining will create an even richer environment throughout the park in ways that reinforce Guests' connection with Walt.

"Our Disneyland Guests have a deep emotional connection with Walt Disney, whose life story really captures the pioneering spirit of California in the 1920s," said Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. "The creative evolution of Disney's California Adventure will connect Guests to Walt's own California adventure and reflect the place that he found when he first arrived with a cardboard suitcase in his hand and a head full of dreams."

The expansion is part of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts' overall growth strategy of continuing to invest in its core business of existing parks and resorts around the world, while exploring new opportunities to capture more of the growing family vacation market. This announcement follows Disney's ground-breaking last month for a 250-room expansion of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, including 50 rooms dedicated to the West Coast debut of Disney Vacation Club, the Company's growing time share business.

"This expansion builds on a commitment we made more than a decade ago to create and grow the Anaheim Resort Area as a world-class tourist destination where Guests would want to stay for more than one day," said Disneyland Resort President Ed Grier. "That investment has become a success for Disney, the Anaheim community and for the economy of Southern California."