After a year of almost no news to report at the Disneyland Resort, we now have two surprise announcements two weeks in a row! This week’s announcement is not a solid plan – it’s a proposal. Basically, it’s a virtual vision board with concepts for Disneyland’s future: called DisneylandForward.
This proposal seeks to expand the Disneyland Resort beyond its existing borders, particularly to the east and west. While the current concept art and plan doesn’t explicitly call for a third park, it does call for expansions to the two existing parks and even suggests possible future lands, drawing inspiration from other resorts around the world:
- Frozen – Guests visit Arendelle, the home of Elsa and Anna, and explore this ‘Frozen’ land filled with a thrilling boat adventure as well as a restaurant set inside a castle.
- Peter Pan – The Neverland area features two attractions: one that, with the help of Tinker Bell, takes guests on a boat ride following the Lost Boys down a river; and the other taking guests on a journey to the middle of Pixie Hollow, where Tinker Bell and her fairy friends live. The area also includes a restaurant with spectacular views inspired by the Lost Boys’ iconic hideout.
- Tangled – Rapunzel’s tower overlooks a charming forest where guests board gondolas to the lantern festival to live Rapunzel’s “best day ever” with Flynn. A restaurant where she befriended a band of thieves in the film is also featured.
- Toy Story Land – As part of Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, guests “shrink” to the size of a toy and join in the fun in this toy-filled land inspired by the “Toy Story” films. Guests can take a ride on Slinky Dog Dash, a roller coaster Andy assembled from his Mega Coaster Toy Kit. They can also join the little green aliens as they swirl about in their rocket ship toys in the Alien Swirling Saucers. The land also includes carnival games and a restaurant, Woody’s Lunch Box.
- Zootopia – Currently under construction at Shanghai Disneyland, guests will be invited to experience the mammalian metropolis of Zootopia “where anyone can be anything,” with a new major attraction that will seamlessly blend Disney storytelling and state-of-the-art technology to bring this fan-favorite movie and its characters to life.
This site also explores a concept for another Downtown Disney-esque shopping and entertainment district across Harbor Boulevard, with a lot of elements from Disney Springs in Orlando hopping coasts. And of course, with all the new space, this plan would include expanded transportation options and a new transportation center on the eastern side of the resort.
The lands, attractions, and new spaces stemming from DisneylandForward will depend entirely on what the city of Anaheim approves regarding resort expansion. Disneyland and Anaheim have been in conflict over expansion for many years, most recently when they wanted to build a 4th hotel. Just to be clear: I’m not blindly defending Disneyland here and completely understand some of Anaheim’s concerns and complaints regarding an expansion. But as a Disney fan, I’m also excited about the idea of more park to explore.
As DisneylandForward moves further into development and/or starts getting approvals from Anaheim, I’m sure more formal announcements will follow. But in the meantime, the site is worth checking out. It has some really interesting concept art, and a few lands I’m REALLY hoping become reality someday. But we’ll see what happens!
One thing’s for sure…Disneyland is definitely looking to grow.