Back in October, I had the opportunity to attend the DisneylandForward Environmental Review Workshop at the Anaheim City Hall, in Orange County, California. And yesterday, I was present for another public workshop regarding the current initiative to allow Disneyland Resort to expand its theme park space into differently zoned areas of its existing property.
What struck me the most about this second workshop was how similar it was to the first, though there were a couple of key differences: the first one I noticed was that the mayor of Anaheim, Ashleigh Aitken, was in attendance throughout and presided over the proceedings from the center of the dais. The second was that instead of detailing the project’s Environmental Review, the presentation was more of a general overview of what DisneylandForward would entail, with just a few new pieces of information added to what we already knew about this initiative. That presentation was once again followed up by numerous public comments from local residents, business owners, union representatives, and other interested parties.
Here are some other observations from this visit to Anaheim City Hall for the DisneylandForward public workshop:
- The new parking structure planned to be built on the existing Pumbaa parking lot would consist of 4,376 parking spaces. I’m not sure if we knew this already, but it was interesting to me that they already have the exact number.
- Another aspect the presentation focused on was the new 360-degree aesthetic initiative that would be implemented if the plan is approved– this would ensure that future new attractions would look as good from outside the Disneyland Resort (on the public-facing sides) as they do from the inside.
- Newly built Disney structures next to residential areas would have height restrictions.
- A good deal of time was also spent detailing the planned new bicycle lanes for Walnut Street and Disney Way, plus the three streets that will no longer have public right-of-way along Magic Way, Hotel Way, and Clementine Street. Disneyland Drive will continue to be a public street.
- Two additional pedestrian bridges would be built across Disneyland Drive “to continue the themed environment across the roadway” (likely connecting existing theme park space to the newly zoned spaces). There would be no public access to these bridges. Up to three additional bridges would also be built across Harbor Boulevard to the east, though there was some contention as to who would be paying for these bridges– Disney or the city.
- If approved, this new agreement would cover a new 40-year term on top of the existing term. A minimum of $1.9 billion investment would be made by Disney within the next 10 years, with a $5 million payment to Anaheim if the investment does not total $2.5 billion in that timeframe.
- Disney would pay $30 million toward affordable housing in Anaheim as part of this deal. Another $8 million would go toward public parks in Anaheim, and $40 million would go to Anaheim for street abandonments and planned future streets. During City Council comments later on, some of the council members suggested that the amount of money going to public parks and affordable housing should be larger.
- Disney will also cost-share up to $10 million for upgrades to the sewer infrastructure along Katella Avenue (this number was also a point of contention during the comments). The agreement also covers fire operations and police operations agreements between Disney and the city.
- The agreement would streamline the regulatory process for Disney Vacation Club projects, treating them like normal hotels for tax purposes, which would evidently benefit the city.
- We were shown images from newly opened and upcoming lands at other Disney resorts around the world as examples for the type of immersive experience that could be added to Disneyland Resort.
- A consultant for Disneyland Resort talked about the two-and-a-half-year journey since DisneylandForward was first announced. They’ve taken strides to engage the community, safeguard adjacent neighborhoods from potential impacts, and create a detailed framework for growth in that time.
- A chart from a study showed that for every $1 billion Disney invests in Anaheim, about 4,480 jobs in construction would be created over a four-year period, among numerous other jobs created by the planned expansions. We were also shown a chart about hotel revenue growth over the years.
- A plan is apparently in place to improve the traffic flow at the corner of Ball Road and Walnut Street, and a list of traffic improvements is already part of the Environmental Review document regarding the project.
- “This is going to make a lot of money for Disney,” says one council member when it came to talking about community benefits of this project. “And we need to make sure that all ships rise together.”
- A Planning Commission Workshop is planned for February, while more public hearings will be held in March and April of this year as development of DisneylandForward continues.
- Mayor Aitken wants “to make sure we are building this in the greenest way possible.”
- A total of 60 members of the public showed up to make comments, but due to covering the Disneyland After Dark event at the Resort last night I could only stay through some of them. As was the case last time, the comments were thoughtful, interesting, and varied.
- Generally I would say that local business owners and union members stand steadfastly in support of the project, while those who live in the immediate surrounding area of the Resort seem to be against it, though there were definitely exceptions.
- We also heard from the vice president of government affairs for the Orange County Business Council, the president of the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the president of Jamboree Housing in favor of the project. “All boats ride with the tide. We’re very excited about it,” said one commenter.
- Dissenters tended to mention low-paying jobs, noise issues, proximity to residential areas, increased traffic, and continued kowtowing to the Walt Disney Company as the chief downsides to DisneylandForward. Some locals expressed concern that the Disneyland Resort would become too much like Walt Disney World in the middle of a residential area of Anaheim.
For continued updates on the DisneylandForward project as it progresses in Anaheim, be sure to regularly check back right here at LaughingPlace.com.