DisneylandForward proposal clears its first hurdle

"The vote came at the end of a six-hour meeting of the commission, during which the city's planning staff recommended adoption of the proposal."

A 6-hour meeting either means there were some ridiculously overwrought presentations, or there was not the consensus indicated by a 5-1 final vote. While it sounds like the City Council would be on board with the proposal approved by the Planning Commission, it appears that Disney is still pushing this rock uphill, which baffles me given the benefits that the mere presence of the Disneyland Resort brings to Anaheim and Orange County, and the windfall that the local area would receive from the expansion of the property that has reached its effective capacity.

Nonetheless, even if this proposal gets adopted within the next 3-4 months, we're probably still 5+ years away from the debut of any new attractions on the repurposed properties, i.e. not until late 2029/early 2030. Given the staged effort that was done during previous park expansions (Galaxy's Edge and Cars Land before it), Disney would likely want to have the new parking garage completed and open prior to fully closing the Toy Story lot, which puts the start of physical construction on new park space at 2026 at the earliest. It's also still unclear how Disney plans to get guests from current park areas to the new space. I'm sure Disney has a plan to connect the properties, but I can't think of a solution aside from a long, fully enclosed pedestrian bridge (with perhaps some speedwalks) to get guests from DCA to the new area - perhaps Disney could create their own Hogwart's Express or repurpose the transports from the Galactic Starcruiser (LOL).

The one commissioner opposed seems to have had a strategy of "if I can delay this vote forever, then the proposal won't pass." Hours of meandering talk and pointless questions.

That said, I think the timeline is this:
1. City council approval next month
2. First, broad project announcements at D23 in August
3. Construction of new parking structure, taking a couple of years to complete
4. After that, start of work on new projects, taking three to four years to complete
5. Grand openings of expanded Disneyland Resort in 2029 or 2030

If you look on satellite view where they plan to build this I guarantee that the one person voting no represents an HOA that is right next to the lots.

"...which baffles me given the benefits that the mere presence of the Disneyland Resort brings to Anaheim and Orange County, and the windfall that the local area would receive from the expansion of the property that has reached its effective capacity".

As a lifelong Orange County resident, I generally agree. Disneyland is by far the largest employer in the county and a huge reason for why Anaheim and OC is as big as it is. Disneyland getting bigger means more money, people, jobs and businesses in OC, which is good for all of us.

That being said, I feel like the biggest problem with Disney Forward is that it will be RIGHT next to a ton of low-density single-family housing. Just look at the picture below.

https://flic.kr/ps/43Yjc9

Whether you like Disney Forward or not, living across the street from an active theme park area is very different than living across the street from a half-empty surface parking lot. Noise pollution, light pollution, and traffic are all going to increase a ton for those homes, which could be a dealbreaker for some. We would all love for Disney Forward to pass, but I feel like Anaheim NIMBYs are going to put up a strong fight and to be honest I think they have a valid argument.

EDIT: If anyone knows the command for embedding photos, please let me know I forgot it.

Great hearing you on NPR this morning. Any insight on what's going on with Anaheim Gardenwalk? Seems like the perfect way to connect the parking garage and the Toy Story Lot. Is Disney just biding their time and getting other pieces in place before making an offer? Is it even for sale right now?

Glad to hear that the project passed. I'm guessing it's unlikely significant issues will arise that stop the project at this point, though I'm sure there will be some grumbling from residents despite the benefits of this beyond the resort.

As for the timeline, I'm a bit less optimistic than Robert. My guess is the Avengers Campus expansion and Avatar land will probably come before any of the Disneyland Forward stuff, which likely pushes the development into the 2030s. I do think the priority will be getting the Eastern Gateway portion of the project done as quickly as possible, but I don't see any of the park expansion happening before the 75th anniversary in 2030. That said, I don't expect a long, drawn out process with the expansion plots and suspect whatever lands are built there will either open all at once or in successive years (at least for any within the same park) as a through connection is vital to making everything work as intended.

Considering the Angels badly need a new stadium because theirs is so old and sucks, I still think it just makes way more sense for everyone involved to build a new park and a few hotels where Angel Stadium is. The new Angel stadium, which would be smaller than the current one because all new MLB stadiums are smaller than the old ones because the sport has lost popularity, could be built next to that useless corporate center next to the Ducks Arena. Disneyland needs to get bigger, Angel Stadium needs to be replaced and needs to be smaller, so that would be a win for everyone involved.

@the_man4 they are kinda doing this with the Honda Center (Ducks Arena) very soon. Look up “OCVibe”.