Disney Exec Hints There's Enough Room For "Another Disneyland"

Disney has $60 billion burning a hole in their pocket.

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Back in September, Disney announced they would be spending $60 billion on park expansions in the next ten years (double the $30 billion they’ve spent in the past 10 years on the parks). But what exactly can we expect from these expansions? Josh D’Amaro, Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman, gave us a little hint at a recent interview.

Disney CEO Bob Iger and other Disney executives held a town hall meeting on November 28th to share insight with the company’s employees. During this meeting, the question of park expansions and the $60 billion came up.

D’Amaro remarked, “We’ve got so much space to play with. Disneyland, for example, Walt’s original theme park, we still have enough room to build another Disneyland there if we choose to do that.”

Chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Josh D’Amaro

Disney had mentioned that most of the $60 billion would be used to “expand and enhance domestic and international parks and cruise line capacity, prioritizing projects anticipated to generate strong returns, consistent with the company’s continuing approach to allocate capital in a disciplined and balanced manner.” And if Disney gets approval, the expansion in Disneyland could happen sooner rather than later.

Holidays in Disneyland

Disney has been in the process of creating DisneylandForward. If the city of Anaheim approves the DisneylandForward project, Walt’s original theme park would see some updating and renovations. New shops, attractions, and restaurants would be added to the Disneyland Resort. This project would give Disney the ability to do more within its nearly 500-acre space by taking away the zoning restrictions currently in place.

DisneylandForward Expansion Map 1©Disney

There has been talk of bringing Frozen, Black Panther, Coco, and Avatar to Disneyland through expansions and/or attractions, though nothing has been confirmed at this point. “Frozen, one of the most successful and popular animated franchises of all time, could have a presence at the Disneyland Resort. Wakanda has yet to be brought to life. The world of Coco is just waiting to be explored. There’s a lot of storytelling opportunity,” remarked D’Amaro.

World of Frozen in Hong Kong Disneyland

Disney hasn’t given us a price tag for DisneylandForward yet, but they hope the project will be approved by Anaheim in 2024. Hopefully, we’ll get to see this expansion come to life in Disneyland!

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