Disneyland considering building new hotels in Garden Grove

TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This little tidbit popped up today after the Disney Company and the Wincome Group held a press conference to discuss their plans for luxury hotels in Anaheim and the problems the $18 an hour wage initiative is causing them.

A Disney spokeswoman said the company is in discussions with the nearby city of Garden Grove about possible future hotel projects and other developments. “Anaheim has become an increasingly hostile business environment, which is disappointing given our investments have created thousands of jobs and driven millions of tax dollars into the city," Disneyland Resort spokesperson Lisa Haines said in a statement. "While Orange County will always be our home, the company has a choice on where it will invest and we are in active conversations about moving a wide range of investments elsewhere given the challenging dynamics.”

Read more at: https://www.bisnow.com/orange-count...89024?utm_source=CopyShare&utm_medium=Browser

Long time Disneyland fans will remember the political play Disney engaged in with Anaheim by proposing a DisneySea theme park in Long Beach in the early 1990's. Is this the same type of thing, or would Disneyland really build a fourth and fifth hotel plus "other developments" down Harbor Blvd. in Garden Grove?
 
Robbiem

Robbiem

Well-Known Member
This sounds like a ploy to me, maybe its related to the parking structure/ walkway plans which were knocked back.

I cant see disney building hotels and other tourist facilities so far from Disneyland, transport would be a key problem and was one reason why they didnt buy knotts in the 90s. If anything is moved to garden grove its likely to be backstage support to free up space at the main resort for development
 
Disney Irish

Disney Irish

Premium Member
Robbiem said:
This sounds like a ploy to me, maybe its related to the parking structure/ walkway plans which were knocked back.

I cant see disney building hotels and other tourist facilities so far from Disneyland, transport would be a key problem and was one reason why they didnt buy knotts in the 90s. If anything is moved to garden grove its likely to be backstage support to free up space at the main resort for development
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Could be right. But Garden Grove is only what 5 miles from Disneyland, depending where in Garden Grove. So a fleet of buses making the trip every 30 mins is doable. I could see Disney doing it if Anaheim is no longer a viable environment for expansion due to political issues.

So its a stare down, who blinks first.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Disney Irish Bruh said:
Could be right. But Garden Grove is only what 5 miles from Disneyland, depending where in Garden Grove. So a fleet of buses making the trip every 30 mins is doable. I could see Disney doing it if Anaheim is no longer a viable environment for expansion due to political issues.

So its a stare down, who blinks first.
Click to expand...

Focusing solely on the hotels, Garden Grove is technically only two blocks south of Disney property down Harbor Blvd. It's about a half of a mile from the corner of Katella and Harbor, or about two thirds of a mile from the pedestrian entrance into Disneyland on Harbor Blvd.

The green shaded area at the bottom of the map is Anaheim city limits.
Anaheim-Resort-Map.jpg


The Garden Grove city council is more conservative and business friendly than the current makeup of the Anaheim City Council. Garden Grove's City Council is made up of white men, one white woman, and several native-born Vietnamese who escaped the Communists in the fall of Saigon in 1975. Garden Grove has a large Vietnamese-American population, and they tend to vote Republican after they escaped the horrors of Communism.

In the 2000's Garden Grove offered a package of very lucrative tax deals to corporate hotels and got almost a dozen large corporate hotels built, plus a gaggle of tourist-friendly chain restaurants, along their stretch of Harbor Blvd. immediately south of the Anaheim Resort District boundary. Their latest score was the Great Wolf Lodge, and they recently announced several more new hotels that are now under construction including a Kimpton boutique hotel and a La Meridien. Garden Grove means business and will be happy to discuss future plans with the Walt Disney Company. Apparently they are already talking.
 
FerretAfros

FerretAfros

Well-Known Member
I like that Disney is playing hardball, but I see this as nothing more than bluster in attempt to make Anaheim more flexible. While there was a certain logic to opening a new destination park in Long Beach (with Disney's ownership of the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose dome, and a relatively small footprint in Anaheim at the time), that doesn't really apply to opening a hotel or two just out of arm's reach of the existing resort

Although incredibly popular, Disney's hotels can't operate at the same price level as non-Disney similar-tiered hotels; even at their cheapest points decades ago (before the recent-ish endless price increases) all of Disney's US hotels have cost noticeably more than their off-site equivalents. In Anaheim especially, one of the amenities they provided was close proximity to the parks and DTD (though many on Harbor Blvd are closer); I just can't imagine there's an audience that would pay Disney's top-tier pricing, only to be located so far away, just outside the resort area "bubble"

Presumably they would run some sort of shuttle bus to the parks. Any fixed-guideway transit option (monorail, streetcar, etc.) would need extensive coordination with Anaheim, so that's out of the question. I've stayed in Garden Grove and some of the hotels are technically within walking distance, but it's quite a hike after a long day in the parks. In the past, Disney has made it clear that they have no interest in value or moderate-level hotels for DLR, which seems like they're eschewing the audience who might be open to a hotel that requires bussing to the parks

It's an interesting strategic move, but one that I wouldn't put a lot of weight behind. I hope that create some high-quality whimsical concept art to make Anaheim jealous, after the bland early concepts for their 4th hotel. I for one can't wait to see what they come up with for Disney's Garbage Grove Inn & Villas!
 
D

Deleted member 107043

FerretAfros said:
It's an interesting strategic move, but one that I wouldn't put a lot of weight behind. I hope that create some high-quality whimsical concept art to make Anaheim jealous, after the bland early concepts for their 4th hotel. I for one can't wait to see what they come up with for Disney's Garbage Grove Inn & Villas!
Click to expand...

Disney has no intention to develop new hotels in Garden Grove. This a desperate threat to the mayor, the city council, and voters who support the Anaheim Wage Ordinance.
 
D

DanielBB8

Well-Known Member
FerretAfros said:
Although incredibly popular, Disney's hotels can't operate at the same price level as non-Disney similar-tiered hotels; even at their cheapest points decades ago (before the recent-ish endless price increases) all of Disney's US hotels have cost noticeably more than their off-site equivalents. In Anaheim especially, one of the amenities they provided was close proximity to the parks and DTD (though many on Harbor Blvd are closer); I just can't imagine there's an audience that would pay Disney's top-tier pricing, only to be located so far away, just outside the resort area "bubble"

Presumably they would run some sort of shuttle bus to the parks. Any fixed-guideway transit option (monorail, streetcar, etc.) would need extensive coordination with Anaheim, so that's out of the question. I've stayed in Garden Grove and some of the hotels are technically within walking distance, but it's quite a hike after a long day in the parks. In the past, Disney has made it clear that they have no interest in value or moderate-level hotels for DLR, which seems like they're eschewing the audience who might be open to a hotel that requires bussing to the parks

It's an interesting strategic move, but one that I wouldn't put a lot of weight behind. I hope that create some high-quality whimsical concept art to make Anaheim jealous, after the bland early concepts for their 4th hotel. I for one can't wait to see what they come up with for Disney's Garbage Grove Inn & Villas!
Click to expand...
Of course Disney will not charge the same prices as competitors. Customers will still pay Disney prices for Disney hotels located further away from Disneyland Resort. Disney will have to offer amenities that no other hotel resort has. For example, Disney Aulani is 1 hour away from Waikiki Beach yet can command near luxury prices for the Disney bubble with their own water park and private beach. It’s possible Disney can open their own west coast Aulani in Garden Grove.

I can see several options for Disney.

1. Continue to build the luxury hotel and just pass the cost to customers.
2. Refuse the city subsidy and downgrade the hotel to 3 Star yet charge near luxury prices.
3. Litigate the proposition for breach of contract or at least grandfather existing contracts.
4. Expand elsewhere. Perhaps buy distressed properties like SeaWorld and turn into Disney theme parks.
 

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