A Pictorial Of An Abandoned Anaheim Resort District - How Does It Recover?

Mouse Trap

Mouse Trap

Well-Known Member
For what it's worth - I received an email today the JW Marriott will not be opening until June 15th. They're pushing everyone with reservations to the convention center location.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Phrubruh said:
It doesn't mean Disney would buy it. Garden Walk has been for sale many times and Disney never bit.
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Don't forget, Disney actually did bid on GardenWalk in '17, but they lowballed it and came in second.

Then when the first place bidder from Dubai couldn't get their financing in order and the bid went to Disney, Bob Jr. got cold feet and didn't want to spend the money on TDA's plan to turn the upper level of GardenWalk into a Cast Member Campus with company day care, pharmacy and family medical center, fitness center and gym, credit union, company store, and various CM support services. Because who needs to worry about all those pesky little CM's, right Bob Jr.?
 
WeWantsTheRedHead

WeWantsTheRedHead

New Member
Phrubruh said:
It doesn't mean Disney would buy it. Garden Walk has been for sale many times and Disney never bit.
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All large companies have long range planning, they would have analyzed what GardenWalk would bring in the short term, and they hence they lowballed their offer. This is an entirely new business climate they find themselves in. A lot of change will be coming in the foreseeable future, across all sectors.
 
Disney Irish

Disney Irish

Premium Member
TP2000 said:
Don't forget, Disney actually did bid on GardenWalk in '17, but they lowballed it and came in second.

Then when the first place bidder from Dubai couldn't get their financing in order and the bid went to Disney, Bob Jr. got cold feet and didn't want to spend the money on TDA's plan to turn the upper level of GardenWalk into a Cast Member Campus with company day care, pharmacy and family medical center, fitness center and gym, credit union, company store, and various CM support services. Because who needs to worry about all those pesky little CM's, right Bob Jr.?
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Bobby might reconsider that CM health center now....
 
Phroobar

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
JTT1016 said:
All large companies have long range planning, they would have analyzed what GardenWalk would bring in the short term, and they hence they lowballed their offer. This is an entirely new business climate they find themselves in. A lot of change will be coming in the foreseeable future, across all sectors.
Click to expand...
Twenty years and multiple times up for sale at rock bottom prices is sure long term planning. TDA must have the patience of God except when forced to build a new parking structure that was needed ten years ago. The only reason they did it was because they panicked at the prospect of being overwhelmed with Star Wars geeks.
 
WeWantsTheRedHead

WeWantsTheRedHead

New Member
Phrubruh said:
Twenty years and multiple times up for sale at rock bottom prices is sure long term planning. TDA must have the patience of God except when forced to build a new parking structure that was needed ten years ago. The only reason they did it was because they panicked at the prospect of being overwhelmed with Star Wars geeks.
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There was no pandemic like this one and the resort wasn't a ghost town. There's a new CEO who at least has an MBA, not that he was a corporate raider as he really only worked for Disney. But the long-term revenue stream may be just the enticement to kickstart something. The pandemic could end up affecting tax rebates and resort bonds, with many businesses not being able to stay open with no revenue stream.
 
Phroobar

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
[QUOTE="JTT1016 said:
There was no pandemic like this one and the resort wasn't a ghost town. There's a new CEO who at least has an MBA, not that he was a corporate raider as he really only worked for Disney. But the long-term revenue stream may be just the enticement to kickstart something. The pandemic could end up affecting tax rebates and resort bonds, with many businesses not being able to stay open with no revenue stream.
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That is irrelevant.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Noted this in the other thread, but it would seem to apply even moreso here...

This morning after Senior Shopping Hour to get some things for my very non-exciting weekend, I went through a local Starbucks. It was built a few years ago on the site of an old Burger King across the freeway, and it's a big one with indoor dining, outdoor patio & garden, drive-thru. Only the drive-thru is now available.

But inside this relatively new Starbucks this morning there were workmen completely remodeling the interior; new paint, new furniture, new counters, new ceiling lighting fixtures; they were obviously spending a lot to give this store a full remodel and refresh. Using the lack of customers inside the store to probably knock this full redo out in a week. I am wrapping up an overdue remodel on my guest bathroom and bedroom, coincidentally.

I wonder how many other chains and companies are doing similar things inside their shuttered stores and restaurants? We've heard Disneyland and WDW have stopped all construction inside the parks, but @Darkbeer1 mentioned that the big hotel construction projects around Disneyland still have workmen and machines operating as construction there continues.

I get that Disney's finances have dried up completely with no sports, no parks, no movies, no travel, no cruises, no Disney Stores, etc. But it does seem short sighted that Disneyland can't do what Starbucks and others are doing by taking advantage of this downtime to get stuff done and invest in facilities when it's cheaper and easier to do it like it is now.

Next week when the weather warms up I might try another walk-thru of the abandoned Resort District, to note if any of the local chains and businesses there are doing any sort of remodeling now.

I also might get up the guts to peek through the crooked blinds at Captain Kidd's, just to see if they are storing alien hibernation pods or anything in there. :cyclops:
 
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SuddenStorm

SuddenStorm

Well-Known Member
TP2000 said:
Noted this in the other thread, but it would seem to apply even moreso here...

This morning after Senior Shopping Hour to get some things for my very non-exciting weekend, I went through a local Starbucks. It was built a few years ago on the site of an old Burger King across the freeway, and it's a big one with indoor dining, outdoor patio & garden, drive-thru. Only the drive-thru is now available.

But inside this relatively new Starbucks this morning there were workmen completely remodeling the interior; new paint, new furniture, new counters, new ceiling lighting fixtures; they were obviously spending a lot to give this store a full remodel and refresh. Using the lack of customers inside the store to probably knock this full redo out in a week. I am wrapping up an overdue remodel on my guest bathroom and bedroom, coincidentally.

I wonder how many other chains and companies are doing similar things inside their shuttered stores and restaurants? We've heard Disneyland and WDW have stopped all construction inside the parks, but @Darkbeer1 mentioned that the big hotel construction projects around Disneyland still have workmen and machines operating as construction there continues.

I get that Disney's finances have dried up completely with no sports, no parks, no movies, no travel, no cruises, no Disney Stores, etc. But it does seem short sighted that Disneyland can't do what Starbucks and others are doing by taking advantage of this downtime to get stuff done and invest in facilities when it's cheaper and easier to do it like it is now.

Next week when the weather warms up I might try another walk-thru of the abandoned Resort District, to note if any of the local chains and businesses there are doing any sort of remodeling now.

I also might get up the guts to peek through the crooked blinds at Captain Kidd's, just to see if they are storing alien hibernation pods or anything in there. :cyclops:
Click to expand...

Heck, give me a bucket of paint, some lightbulbs, and a ladder and I'll socially isolate inside an empty Disneyland while making the place look halfway decent for free.
 
smooch

smooch

Well-Known Member


This popped up on my YouTube home screen from a vlogger I have never watched before. I was hoping it would be a silent walkthrough of the area like I have watched from some YouTubers of Disneyland (walk around the parks without flipping the camera on their face or even speaking the whole time) but sadly this YouTuber is talking the whole time and constantly flips the camera around to give his two cents instead of just talking while keeping the camera on the area they are showcasing. All those gripes aside, it is still so eerie to see the area like this. I know @TP2000 has been uploading pictures on this thread so it's nothing brand new to us, but it is still so bizarre and seems so fake. I never once would have imagined seeing the area surrounding Disneyland so empty. I've thought before of what the area around the park would look like if it closed temporarily for some reason, but I never imagined everything else being closed and empty around it as well. I at least still imagined cars driving and people on the sidewalk going to other destinations nearby, but this still boggles my mind. I really don't want to get into any of the debate aspects of all this because that goes on enough in every other thread, I just wanted to share this footage and give my personal take on how it feels to see the resort this empty. I typically go to the parks during summer break or during time off from school in the fall / winter so I am there when crowds are very high usually, so I am used to the whole area being packed constantly. Even early early in the morning to get there for rope drop and even late at night way past closing there's always other park goers walking to / from their hotels or the people on the corners selling the different toys they have or people playing instruments for money, but this is crazy.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Smooch said:


This popped up on my YouTube home screen from a vlogger I have never watched before. I was hoping it would be a silent walkthrough of the area like I have watched from some YouTubers of Disneyland (walk around the parks without flipping the camera on their face or even speaking the whole time) but sadly this YouTuber is talking the whole time and constantly flips the camera around to give his two cents instead of just talking while keeping the camera on the area they are showcasing. All those gripes aside, it is still so eerie to see the area like this. I know @TP2000 has been uploading pictures on this thread so it's nothing brand new to us, but it is still so bizarre and seems so fake. I never once would have imagined seeing the area surrounding Disneyland so empty. I've thought before of what the area around the park would look like if it closed temporarily for some reason, but I never imagined everything else being closed and empty around it as well. I at least still imagined cars driving and people on the sidewalk going to other destinations nearby, but this still boggles my mind. I really don't want to get into any of the debate aspects of all this because that goes on enough in every other thread, I just wanted to share this footage and give my personal take on how it feels to see the resort this empty. I typically go to the parks during summer break or during time off from school in the fall / winter so I am there when crowds are very high usually, so I am used to the whole area being packed constantly. Even early early in the morning to get there for rope drop and even late at night way past closing there's always other park goers walking to / from their hotels or the people on the corners selling the different toys they have or people playing instruments for money, but this is crazy.
Click to expand...


Yes, isn't it eerie?

I didn't head over there this weekend like I'd planned as I got very busy with stuff around the house and then an impromptu little dinner party, but I still think I'll try and go back to Anaheim later this week. I may snap a few more pics if I see something interesting.
 

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