In previous years, I was as guilty as the next guy in sometimes saying "DisneySeas" rather than "DisneySea" (the correct name of the Tokyo Disneyland second gate). But it wasn't until this morning that I realized my West Coast bias is the reason. In this newspaper article from 1990, the term is definitely "DisneySeas", so I forgive myself a little bit:
Long Beach looks like Disney's choice - Anaheim hears little while port officials see ambitious plans
The Orange County Register - Wednesday, March 28, 1990
Author: Jeff Rowe ; The Register
The Walt Disney Co. continues to insist it is weighing Anaheim against Long Beach as a site for another theme park, but all indications are that the company has made a choice: a billion-dollar, ocean-oriented park in Long Beach, leaving its remaining property in Anaheim for some future use.
Disney officials have met many times with Long Beach officials, port authorities and other agencies that have jurisdiction over the coastal areas, showing them preliminary plans that Disney "imagineers" have developed and are revising for the area.
Among Disney experts who have worked on Disney Seas is Kym Murphy, a former manager at several water-oriented parks, including The Living Seas pavilion at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. On Tuesday, the company announced Murphy was promoted to a new Disney job, vice president of environmental policy.
To help guide it through local, state and US regulatory requirements, Disney also recently hired Rod Meade, a La Jolla land-use specialist whose expertise helped guide the approvals of Aliso Viejo development in southern Orange County and the mixed-used Playa Vista project just north of Los Angeles International Airport.
"We're going full speed ahead with plans for Long Beach," said Alan Epstein, vice president of Disney Development Co., a unit of Burbank-based Walt Disney Co.
Disney has been secretive about its plans, asking Long Beach and regulatory officials to whom plans have been shown not to reveal what they have seen.
Disney maintains a decision has not been made and the company declined to discuss the project beyond describing it as a water-oriented park that is part of an overall Port Disney plan, which would include a hotel with up to 1,200 rooms on 15 acres between Disney's property and the Long Beach Convention Center.
More clues to the project were offered by officials from various agencies that would have to approve Disney's Long Beach proposals.
Initial plans call for a working marine lab, an exhibit that would show life in the seas before man arrived on earth and other educational exhibits.
Some rides also would be part of the project, but over and over, officials from the city, port and other regulatory agencies described the park as much more akin to Disney's Epcot Center, a collection of science and futuristic exhibits, than to a traditional theme park.
"It's like you couldn't dream up," said John Shirey, assistant Long Beach city manager. "A while back, someone asked me if this is just a jazzed-up Sea World (in San Diego). It's so far from that, it's laughable."
Long Beach Mayor Ernie Kell described Disney as a company of "unlimited vision." He added, "if Disney is going to have a new park, it's going to be in Long Beach."
Attracting Disney would be the capstone of a transformation Long Beach has undergone in the past 10 years. The city has replaced its tough, rundown downtown area with a gleaming new commercial center with new hotels and office buildings.
Meanwhile, Anaheim officials are left to make the best of what appears to be a dwindling opportunity to add a "Second Gate," a separate attraction, to Disneyland anytime soon.
"They know we are willing to literally do anything for them," said Anaheim City Manager Bob Simpson, noting that Disney has not advanced any plans to develop the 38 acres it owns northwest of the park, which currently produce strawberries.
Anaheim's problem is that there is relatively little it can do. Additional off-ramps could be added to the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway, but it already is clogged compared with the Long Beach (710) Freeway. It also could coordinate traffic lights along Katella Avenue, the main street adjacent to Disneyland, but it is uncertain how much that would alleviate congestion in the area.
In the meantime, Disney is pressing ahead in Long Beach, where it faces a July 31 deadline on options it holds for development of the watery acres around the Queen Mary. Meade, the land-use planner, and US Army Corps of Engineers executives met a week ago to discuss the scope of plans Disney would have to submit to obtain approval for filling in part of the harbor.
Disney leases or has lease options on 231.7 water acres on three sides of the Queen Mary. To accommodate Disney Seas, it is this area the company proposes to fill, a process that would involve obtaining approvals from the state Coastal Commission and the Corps of Engineers, among other agencies.
Disney also has a lease on 45.8 acres of land in Long Beach that now is home to Londontowne Village, a collection of specialty shops and restaurants, the Howard Hughes Flying Boat, parked inside a giant dome, and parking. Another nine acres is contained in the breakwater that protects the Queen Mary.
In addition, there has been a new twist on the Disney proposal in recent weeks. Relaxation of tensions between the Soviets and the United States already has prompted one round of military base closings, and the Long Beach Naval Shipyard was mentioned for possible closure in January.
If the shipyard were to close or even reduce its operations, port authorities and Long Beach officials say some port functions, which are now located between the shipyard and Disney property, could move to the shipyard, thus potentially freeing acreage for Disney.
Although such a move would require a labirynth of approvals, it could allow Disney to avoid expensive landfill operations.
"There's no question they could develop the (shipyard) land quicker and less expensively" than filling in the harbor, said Les Robbins, Long Beach city councilman.
Long Beach Mayor Kell and several city councilmen traveled to Washington to plead with Congress to keep the shipyard open, but they acknowledge a Disney park could provide more jobs than the 4,000 or so at the yard, which is adjacent to the Long Beach Naval Station.
Closure of the yard, while a blow to Long Beach, nonetheless "could be turned to great advantage," said Shirey, assistant city manager.
Disney acknowledges Long Beach has other strengths:
Far more acreage to develop.
A relatively underutilized freeway, the 710, that terminates at Disney's property. A proposed $500 million project to transfer ocean freight containers directly from boats to rail cars could open the 710 even further by reducing truck traffic to and from the port.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach passenger rail, which is is scheduled to begin service this summer, terminates a short walk from proposed Disney Seas.
The ocean. "Last time I checked, there was no ocean in Anaheim," Robbins said. That makes it difficult to create and sell an an ocean-oriented park.
Long Beach and surrounding areas have an immense pool of recent Hispanic and Cambodian immigrants who likely would find Disney-type service jobs appealing. By contrast, in labor-starved Orange County, Disneyland plans to bring in hundreds of college students from surrounding states to staff the park this summer.
Although Disney said it cannot afford to build a new park at Long Beach and develop the 38 acres now in strawberries adjacent to Disneyland, analysts said the company's financial strength allows it to do just that -- if it wants to.
"They probably could do both," said Mara M. Balsbaugh, an analyst with Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. in New York.
Anaheim officials seem to sense that Disney momentum has swung to Long Beach.
"They might end up at both places," suggested Anaheim City Councilman Irv Pickler.
Long Beach looks like Disney's choice - Anaheim hears little while port officials see ambitious plans
The Orange County Register - Wednesday, March 28, 1990
Author: Jeff Rowe ; The Register
The Walt Disney Co. continues to insist it is weighing Anaheim against Long Beach as a site for another theme park, but all indications are that the company has made a choice: a billion-dollar, ocean-oriented park in Long Beach, leaving its remaining property in Anaheim for some future use.
Disney officials have met many times with Long Beach officials, port authorities and other agencies that have jurisdiction over the coastal areas, showing them preliminary plans that Disney "imagineers" have developed and are revising for the area.
Among Disney experts who have worked on Disney Seas is Kym Murphy, a former manager at several water-oriented parks, including The Living Seas pavilion at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. On Tuesday, the company announced Murphy was promoted to a new Disney job, vice president of environmental policy.
To help guide it through local, state and US regulatory requirements, Disney also recently hired Rod Meade, a La Jolla land-use specialist whose expertise helped guide the approvals of Aliso Viejo development in southern Orange County and the mixed-used Playa Vista project just north of Los Angeles International Airport.
"We're going full speed ahead with plans for Long Beach," said Alan Epstein, vice president of Disney Development Co., a unit of Burbank-based Walt Disney Co.
Disney has been secretive about its plans, asking Long Beach and regulatory officials to whom plans have been shown not to reveal what they have seen.
Disney maintains a decision has not been made and the company declined to discuss the project beyond describing it as a water-oriented park that is part of an overall Port Disney plan, which would include a hotel with up to 1,200 rooms on 15 acres between Disney's property and the Long Beach Convention Center.
More clues to the project were offered by officials from various agencies that would have to approve Disney's Long Beach proposals.
Initial plans call for a working marine lab, an exhibit that would show life in the seas before man arrived on earth and other educational exhibits.
Some rides also would be part of the project, but over and over, officials from the city, port and other regulatory agencies described the park as much more akin to Disney's Epcot Center, a collection of science and futuristic exhibits, than to a traditional theme park.
"It's like you couldn't dream up," said John Shirey, assistant Long Beach city manager. "A while back, someone asked me if this is just a jazzed-up Sea World (in San Diego). It's so far from that, it's laughable."
Long Beach Mayor Ernie Kell described Disney as a company of "unlimited vision." He added, "if Disney is going to have a new park, it's going to be in Long Beach."
Attracting Disney would be the capstone of a transformation Long Beach has undergone in the past 10 years. The city has replaced its tough, rundown downtown area with a gleaming new commercial center with new hotels and office buildings.
Meanwhile, Anaheim officials are left to make the best of what appears to be a dwindling opportunity to add a "Second Gate," a separate attraction, to Disneyland anytime soon.
"They know we are willing to literally do anything for them," said Anaheim City Manager Bob Simpson, noting that Disney has not advanced any plans to develop the 38 acres it owns northwest of the park, which currently produce strawberries.
Anaheim's problem is that there is relatively little it can do. Additional off-ramps could be added to the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway, but it already is clogged compared with the Long Beach (710) Freeway. It also could coordinate traffic lights along Katella Avenue, the main street adjacent to Disneyland, but it is uncertain how much that would alleviate congestion in the area.
In the meantime, Disney is pressing ahead in Long Beach, where it faces a July 31 deadline on options it holds for development of the watery acres around the Queen Mary. Meade, the land-use planner, and US Army Corps of Engineers executives met a week ago to discuss the scope of plans Disney would have to submit to obtain approval for filling in part of the harbor.
Disney leases or has lease options on 231.7 water acres on three sides of the Queen Mary. To accommodate Disney Seas, it is this area the company proposes to fill, a process that would involve obtaining approvals from the state Coastal Commission and the Corps of Engineers, among other agencies.
Disney also has a lease on 45.8 acres of land in Long Beach that now is home to Londontowne Village, a collection of specialty shops and restaurants, the Howard Hughes Flying Boat, parked inside a giant dome, and parking. Another nine acres is contained in the breakwater that protects the Queen Mary.
In addition, there has been a new twist on the Disney proposal in recent weeks. Relaxation of tensions between the Soviets and the United States already has prompted one round of military base closings, and the Long Beach Naval Shipyard was mentioned for possible closure in January.
If the shipyard were to close or even reduce its operations, port authorities and Long Beach officials say some port functions, which are now located between the shipyard and Disney property, could move to the shipyard, thus potentially freeing acreage for Disney.
Although such a move would require a labirynth of approvals, it could allow Disney to avoid expensive landfill operations.
"There's no question they could develop the (shipyard) land quicker and less expensively" than filling in the harbor, said Les Robbins, Long Beach city councilman.
Long Beach Mayor Kell and several city councilmen traveled to Washington to plead with Congress to keep the shipyard open, but they acknowledge a Disney park could provide more jobs than the 4,000 or so at the yard, which is adjacent to the Long Beach Naval Station.
Closure of the yard, while a blow to Long Beach, nonetheless "could be turned to great advantage," said Shirey, assistant city manager.
Disney acknowledges Long Beach has other strengths:
Far more acreage to develop.
A relatively underutilized freeway, the 710, that terminates at Disney's property. A proposed $500 million project to transfer ocean freight containers directly from boats to rail cars could open the 710 even further by reducing truck traffic to and from the port.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach passenger rail, which is is scheduled to begin service this summer, terminates a short walk from proposed Disney Seas.
The ocean. "Last time I checked, there was no ocean in Anaheim," Robbins said. That makes it difficult to create and sell an an ocean-oriented park.
Long Beach and surrounding areas have an immense pool of recent Hispanic and Cambodian immigrants who likely would find Disney-type service jobs appealing. By contrast, in labor-starved Orange County, Disneyland plans to bring in hundreds of college students from surrounding states to staff the park this summer.
Although Disney said it cannot afford to build a new park at Long Beach and develop the 38 acres now in strawberries adjacent to Disneyland, analysts said the company's financial strength allows it to do just that -- if it wants to.
"They probably could do both," said Mara M. Balsbaugh, an analyst with Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. in New York.
Anaheim officials seem to sense that Disney momentum has swung to Long Beach.
"They might end up at both places," suggested Anaheim City Councilman Irv Pickler.
