The Anaheim City Council has voted to approve a measure for a massive $1.9 billion expansion proposal by Disney, also known as Disneyland Forward.
City council members voted 7-0 for the proposal early Wednesday morning, following an 8-hour meeting.
Even though the city council voted to approve the proposal Wednesday morning, it will face another city council vote on May 7. Should the proposal be approved on that day, changes related to Disneyland Forward would be implemented until 30 days after.
Many, ranging from Anaheim residents and Disneyland cast members to officials from neighboring cities, expressed their support or opposition for the Disneyland Forward proposal.
Disneyland Forward details how Disney wants to grow its theme park resort in Anaheim.
The proposal, which is a 40-year agreement that would guide where and how future developments would occur, would allow new attractions, shops and restaurants to be built within current undeveloped areas at the resort that Disney already owns or operates.
The proposal would allow theme park attractions to be built alongside hotels on the west side of Disneyland Drive, along with building attractions, shopping, dining and entertainment where the Toy Story Parking Area at Katella Avenue and Harbor Boulevard stands today.
The company would also pay $40 million to buy Magic Way, Hotel Way and a part of Clementine Street from the city, a move some residents aren’t on board with.
Magic Way serves drivers using the Pixar Pals Parking Structure and visiting the Disneyland Hotel.
If Disney bought Magic Way, it would be transformed into a pedestrian walkway, a city spokesperson previously told KTLA.
During Tuesday’s meeting, many residents continued to express their disapproval of the potential sale of Magic Way.
With the approval, the city ended up transferring “responsibility for Magic Way” over to Disney.
“The city is transferring responsibility for Magic Way because the road overwhelmingly serves the Disneyland Hotel, Disney employee parking and the south end of the Pixar Pals Parking Structure,” a news release from the city said.
During the public comment portion, some residents asked why the city had to rely on Disney to provide money for streets and infrastructure while others proposed that Disney donate more money to the city without the needing to expand its theme park resort.
During its presentation, Disney once again expressed its commitment to spending at least $1.9 billion on the resort over the next decade should Disneyland Forward receive approval.
The city specified in the proposed development agreement for Disneyland Forward that the minimum investment would go towards theme park attractions, entertainment, lodging, shopping and dining.
Investments for parking, road improvements and bridges would be separate.
The expansion plans could also benefit the city outside of the theme park resort since Disney has set aside millions of dollars for improvements to infrastructure, such as sewers and roads around the resort area.
The company also announced it‘s committed to spending $30 million for affordable housing, $8 million for city parks, and continuing workforce programs in Anaheim.
Disneyland Resort president Ken Potrock also spoke during the meeting and described Disneyland Forward as the resort’s “legacy project.”
“We are ready to bring the next level of immersive entertainment to Anaheim,” Potrock said during the meeting. “We are committed to starting right away.”
As for the new experiences and attractions coming to the resort, no official plans have been announced, but there are theories out there.
Disney fans hope that lands, rides and attractions based on “Tangled,” “Zootopia” and “Tron” and expanded areas based on “Peter Pan” and “Toy Story,” will be in the works.
Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro also talked about the possibility of bringing Frozen’s Arendelle, Black Panther’s Wakanda and Coco’s Santa Cecilia to life in some capacity at the “Happiest Place on Earth” and potentially its sister park in Orlando last year.
During the meeting, Potrock talked about the potential of bringing expanded experiences to Star Wars: Galaxy Edge, Avengers Campus and Cars Land.
Aside from the proposal, an “Avatar”-themed experience is expected to come to the resort. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is also slated to open later this year at Disneyland.