DisneylandForward

[DisneyAJ]

They'd probably need the new EGW bus loops up before they tear up the old ones. My best guess is we won't see Avatar start construction for another few years.

They could do some temporary set up in one of the parking lots by the hotels. If they don’t have a new land or multiple new rides opening by the 2028 Olympics, they will have wasted a big opportunity. They need to hit the ground running.

 

[MistaDee]

Seems like the Avengers E-ticket would be the thing to have already started since the area is shovel-ready....

Disney doesn't seem to move with much urgency when compared to its competitors

 

[TP2000]

Instead of spending half an hour walking to the park gates, now guests can spend half an hour waiting for their shuttle. It's really not much better.

It's a shame Disney can't invent a transportation system that can move 3,000+ people per hour over distances of 1 to 2 miles easily and quietly, with a tiny impact on land usage.

If only with all their money and resources and current technology they could think of a way to move people like that.

 

[mickEblu]

The project has only been gesticulating since January 2023 - probably. It might need more time to be ready to start building. As is it’s on a very fast timeframe for them.

I’m just hoping they don’t go with the Pan ride system.

 

[BrianLo]

I’m just hoping they don’t go with the Pan ride system.

Oh sorry, ignore my other comment. My brain corrected Avengers into Avatar.

Yes avengers they damn well better start tomorrow.

It’ll probably be the Pan system though

 

[mickEblu]

Oh sorry, ignore my other comment. My brain corrected Avengers into Avatar.

Yes avengers they damn well better start tomorrow.

It’ll probably be the Pan system though

The ceiling on that just doesn’t seem very high. Especially for me who’s not a huge Marvel guy. Marvel IP + Pan Ride system + screen heavy.

 

[Ismael Flores]

Now that it's approved I'm sure they'll take their sweet time. Remember Bob's discussion of spreading out costs.

Well this time they have a commitment on paper so that money has to be spent within the 10 years.
I think he also said that they are ready to start asap with some of these changes

 

[MistaDee]

It's a shame Disney can't invent a transportation system that can move 3,000+ people per hour over distances of 1 to 2 miles easily and quietly, with a tiny impact on land usage.

If only with all their money and resources and current technology they could think of a way to move people like that.

LAX's people mover attempt is gonna cost $5 billion for 2.2 miles, not sure Disney could execute it much more efficiently.... I would love it if they could tho

The ceiling on that just doesn’t seem very high. Especially for me who’s not a huge Marvel guy. Marvel IP + Pan Ride system + screen heavy.

Yeah feels pretty feeble to be rolling out an incredibly similar attraction (ride system + Marvel) to IOA's Spiderman more than 20 years later....

If Disney doesn't have any ride systems up their sleeves I guess an upgraded version of Cosmic Rewind might be the best fit for the Avengers IP. DCA could really use an E-ticket level dark ride (boat or trackless) but I don't think Marvel is the proper IP for those ride technologies.

Just give me CoCo's mystic manor in Paradise Gardens already '

 

[Ismael Flores]

They'd probably need the new EGW bus loops up before they tear up the old ones. My best guess is we won't see Avatar start construction for another few years.

I think they can probably start by clearing out the hollywood backlot at the same time they work on the crossing bridge over harbor and the shuttle area across the street.
They don’t really need to have the parking structure done at that point.
The new EGW is mostly flat surfaces except for the security gate structures.

 

[Phroobar]

A CoCo Mystic Manor would great. DCA doesn't have a haunted house.

 

[Ismael Flores]

So obviously they're going to start with the new parking structure and roadwork, right? That's allowed to start, what, June 6?

And the money spent on that according to the agreement can not be part of the 1.9 billion.
Parking and parking structures do not fall within entertainment, park expansion or hotels which is what the 1.9 billion has to be used for
So they better get their behinds going quick and soon as they are able to go full steam

 

[Ismael Flores]

A CoCo Mystic Manor would great. DCA doesn't have a haunted house.

I wish they would add that to the pier. The house and facade would have looked cool inside the helix instead of emotional whirlwind.
With a show building done behind the coaster. I know it is tight back there but they already use a good portion of the back road as junk storage. They also have a huge parade building and some re alignment of the area and they can fit a decent size building. They need to think outside the box and building a two floor show building. Track systems are very capable of it

 

[Ismael Flores]

Any discussion of a third gate in those expansion spots west of Disneyland Drive would almost necessitate tearing out the Disneyland Hotel and rebuilding those rooms somewhere else. It's why I think the idea behind turning the Toy Story Lot into a Disney Springs-ish area with a ton of extra rooms makes sense as a bridge idea.

My pie-in-the-sky concept for this expansion would be as follows:

- A brand new Disneyland Hotel complex is built as part of the Toy Story lot area. This would provide extra rooms for both the resort and the convention center nearby, while also providing the convention center with some better food options for attendees (let's be honest here: asking them to walk all the way to DTD is a lot). This new complex is outside the security bubble (important distinction which you'll understand why soon enough) and some of the higher-end food options at DTD get shifted over here, while DTD shifts their offerings to service the people going to the parks (think quick eateries and experiences).
- Disney buys GardenWalk. This adds a few more hotels to their footprint while creating one long corridor they would own from the parks to the new DLH/DS complex. The complex would likely need to be reconfigured a bit for coming changes, but it would have a path to the new parking structure on the east side. This would also be outside the security bubble. Getting new tenants will likely not be as difficult for the following reason:
- Monorail gets extended and rebuilt, with the Disneyland station taken out and a station instead added to GardenWalk as a transportation hub to move guests from the DLH/DS complex to the resort. Guests would have to go through security to board (thus getting them into the security bubble) but monorail service is completely free. New track layout would cut out the winding around above Autopia and instead do the one outer circle (thus still giving access to the Roundhouse), would cross Harbor twice at Disney Way and then cut through Garden Walk, with the station on the north side of the complex to also service people at the new parking structure. The track would then do a loop in the middle of the new DLH/DS complex (similar to the monorail path at Epcot) before going back through GardenWalk, across Harbor, and relinking with the old track through DCA. I think this would necessitate losing or relocating House of Blues and the AMC Theaters, but that can be accommodated for with the new DLH/DS complex.
- Finally, the hard part: tearing down the existing DLH complex to free up the final space to put a third gate. Entrance would be about where the current security checkpoint is from the DLH, so you would exit the monorail and be right at that gate. I don't personally care what they put in this park, since I'm more thinking logistically with everything else at the resort, but if Disney was willing to hold out on adding Avatar to DCA immediately, this would be a slam-dunk anchor for the new park.

But I also recognize this would cost billions to do on its own before even getting to the park...which is also why it kinda makes sense as the first move for Disney if they really did want a third gate.

Are the hotels next to gardenwalk part of the mall? I know the original idea was to have the hotel designed so they were the upper floor of the eastern side of mall. They would basically be connected and would have given the mall life and foot traffic.
Then the mall was built and no hotels. Once the hotels cam in to build they were designed completely separate with just towers that butt up against the mall. I do not believe any connecting areas were done.

If Disney nought GW those hotels would not add to Disney room numbers. The only option would be to remodel the mall and use the option to build time shares over the western building which has the infrastructure in place for them.
That mall really needs a complete make over, seriously there is nothing garden about it. Last i went they wrapped some fake ivy plants around some of the pillars and called it adding greenery

 

[Nirya]

LAX's people mover attempt is gonna cost $5 billion for 2.2 miles, not sure Disney could execute it much more efficiently.... I would love it if they could tho

I wouldn't be so sure; one of my favorite Youtubers is a guy who focuses on LA public transit (he recently did a two-parter on the various airports including a big one on LAX) that did a look at why transit costs are ballooning the way they are.



Suffice to say, I imagine Disney could cut down the costs significantly by keeping as much in-house as possible and building on their own land as much as possible.

 

[SSG]

Here's something else that makes me think Disney could move reasonably quickly on DisneyandForward. These were some bullet points Disney used at the April council meeting:

Minimum of $1.9 billion invested, with potential for up to $2.5 billion invested, within first 10 years of approval.

If investment doesn’t reach $2.5 billion in 10 years, Disney pays $5 million to Anaheim.

Investment would go toward theme park attractions, entertainment, lodging, shopping and dining in areas west of Disneyland Drive and at what’s today the Toy Story Parking Area.

Minimum investment only covers visitor attractions — spending on parking, road improvements and bridges would be separate.

So, Disney has 10 years to invest $2.5 billion or pay a penalty. There is general agreement that eastside parking and transportation infrastructure needs to come first, and those costs aren't part of the $2.5 billion investment. But building the EGW will probably take a couple of years. That potentially cuts two years out of the timeline. It would be in Disney's interest to move quickly to get projects done within the agreed timeframe.

Granted, this isn't ironclad. Disney could decide they'd rather pay a relatively small (to them) penalty and move at a slower pace. Or maybe they build enough small projects to hit $2.5 billion. But perhaps not. Hopefully not.

 

[Nirya]

The penalty of $5 million is extremely small, especially compared to a promise of $2.5 billion. It would not shock me in the slightest if Disney built the Eastern Gateway like they've wanted to for awhile and then simply ate the penalty, considering that a small price to pay for getting free use of all their land going forward.

 

[Phroobar]

The penalty of $5 million is extremely small, especially compared to a promise of $2.5 billion. It would not shock me in the slightest if Disney built the Eastern Gateway like they've wanted to for awhile and then simply ate the penalty, considering that a small price to pay for getting free use of all their land going forward.

I was just thinking that myself. The deal is definitely weighted towards Disney.

 

[MistaDee]

I wouldn't be so sure; one of my favorite Youtubers is a guy who focuses on LA public transit (he recently did a two-parter on the various airports including a big one on LAX) that did a look at why transit costs are ballooning the way they are.



Suffice to say, I imagine Disney could cut down the costs significantly by keeping as much in-house as possible and building on their own land as much as possible.

I'll check out the video - California seems to struggle to build anything efficiently with High Speed Rail, the LAX Peoplemover, a "subway" built in San Francisco with 2 whole stops....we'll see how LA Metro does tunneling through the Santa Monica Mountains...

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

A CoCo Mystic Manor would great. DCA doesn't have a haunted house.

I still want an Encanto casita omnimover!

 

[BrianLo]

LAX's people mover attempt is gonna cost $5 billion for 2.2 miles, not sure Disney could execute it much more efficiently.... I would love it if they could tho

A dopplemayr D Liner would be the best solution. Disney can still make it unnecessarily expensive, but not that expensive.