Disneyland Officially Files Permits for Multi-Million-Dollar Expansion

More magic is in the making at Disneyland, as resort officials have filed permits to kick off a multi-million-dollar expansion.

Since its opening in 1955, Disneyland Resort has grown and evolved exponentially, expanding from Disneyland Park to becoming home to Disney California Adventure, three Disney Resort Hotels, and Downtown Disney District, the Ahaneim-based resort’s shopping and entertainment district.

As The Walt Disney Company has come to acquire multiple studios and companies in recent years, Disney Parks worldwide have taken the opportunity to bring new intellectual properties to life with breathtaking immersive lands like Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, inspired by George Lucas and Disney’s Star Wars franchise, and Avengers Campus, based on characters and stories from the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.

However, Disney also makes the most of its original IPs, bringing the award-winning movie Frozen (2013) to life at Hong Kong Disneyland with World of Frozen and the unique expansion inspired by Zootopia (2016) at Shanghai Disney Resort.

Continuing with the company’s commitment to innovation and improvement, Walt Disney’s original theme park is taking its first steps toward a multi-decade project aimed at bringing new experiences and possibly a third theme park to the Anaheim Disney Resort!

A third Disneyland theme park?

“Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” Walt Disney spoke these immortal words, carried out by generations of operatives, including The Walt Disney Company’s CEO, Bob Iger, and Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Josh D’Amaro.

While Disneyland Resort has welcomed unique expansions and is home to lands that invite guests to step into the world of Star Wars, Cars (2006), Big Hero 6 (2014), and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disneyland officials are determined to continue to expand Walt Disney’s original theme park, bringing new dining, shopping, and entertainment experiences to the Southern California Disney Resort, and even contemplating the possibility of developing a third theme park to house new lands.

This billion-dollar, multi-decade project is DisneylandForward.

DisneylandForward

DisneylandForward is an initiative to modify outdated regulations and planning restrictions set by the City of Anaheim to allow Disneyland to put new projects in motion at the Anaheim Resort, including immersive lands inspired by fan-favorite Disney movies, rides, attractions, shopping and dining locations, and more without having to replace iconic rides at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure.

Current plans contemplate the possibility of bringing new themed lands inspired by Frozen, Tangled, Peter Pan, Zootopia, Toy Story, and TRON, as well as a “bold” unique experience inspired by James Cameron’s Avatar franchise — which recently caused excitement and confusion among fans — and “a new kind of Disney entertainment destination” with restaurants, hotels, live music, ticketed events, shopping, and theme park experiences modeled after the famous Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort.

Disney states that the company is not seeking public funding, additional square footage, or hotel rooms beyond what is currently approved for DisneylandForward. “Rather, we are simply working with the city and community to update our existing approvals to allow for integrated development to be located and built throughout Disney properties.”

Disney, ready to spend billions in California

While Disney officials continue to push toward the development of DisneylandForward, there is no official timeline for the ambitious project. However, a recent report revealed that Disneyland officials have filed permits for a multi-million-dollar expansion, showing that The Walt Disney Company is ready to invest billions of dollars in the Anaheim Disney Resort as soon as DisneylandForward is approved.

The permits recently filed by Disney in Anaheim indicate that the resort is ready to kick off an $8 million expansion in the Downtown Disney District, which is expected to open by late 2024.

Per an OC Register report, the new Parkside Market in Downtown Disney District’s west end is planned to be home to four new food and beverage concepts, including:

• Seoul Sister – Bibimbap Korean rice bowls with a California twist and an Asian-inspired breakfast menu from Executive Chef Kelly Kim.
• Sip & Sonder – Los Angeles-based coffee house with Caribbean-inspired bites and frozen drinks from founders Amanda-Jane Thomas and Shanita Nicholas. Sip & Sonder has a flagship location in Inglewood and a second outpost at the Los Angeles Music Center.
• GG’s Chicken Shop – Rotisserie and fried chicken sandwiches with classic dinner table sides from Michelin Star Chef Lee Wolen and James Beard Award-winning restaurateurs Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm. The first brick-and-mortar GG’s Chicken Shop opened in Chicago earlier this year.
• Al Fresco Bar – An as-yet-unnamed al fresco bar on the second story of Parkside Market offering craft cocktails, frozen lemonades and espresso martinis.

The “curated collection of diverse culinary concepts” housed in the food hall-style concept at Downtown Disney District will be brought together by Levy Restaurants, a Chicago-based restaurant and hospitality company that has created and operated restaurants at Walt Disney World Resort for more than three decades — including Paddlefish (seafood) and Terralina (Italian) at Disney Springs.

The new 11,000-square-foot building is set to take the place of the former AMC Theaters, Starbucks West, Earl of Sandwich, and Sugarboo & Co. that were demolished in February 2022 as part of a multi-year project that will reimagine the Downtown Disney District.

What would you like to see in the coming Disneyland Resort upgrades? More rides? New lands? More characters? 

This post is originally appeared on Inside the Magic.