Disney has been given the green light to spruce up its beloved Southern California theme parks, marking its first major revamp of Disneyland in many moons.
The Anaheim City Council nodded in agreement on Tuesday, giving the thumbs up to Disney's grand scheme to shake up its 490-acre playground in the bustling heart of Southern California. This plan involves shuffling parking to a multi-story structure and giving a facelift to a sprawling lot, decking it out with new amusements and attractions. This approval came after a prior nod last month, with some tweaks and tweaks to come into effect within the next month.
This makeover won't stretch the parks' borders, but it will let Disney craft fresh, immersive adventures. Picture stepping into the frosty realm of Arendelle from "Frozen" or the bustling streets of "Zootopia." For this dream to come true, Disney has pledged to pour at least $1.9 billion into the project over the next decade, along with hefty investments in street upgrades, affordable housing, and other local infrastructure bits for the city's 345,000 inhabitants.
This venture marks Disney's first major overhaul of its California theme parks since the '90s. Back then, Disneyland, the OG theme park coined as "the happiest place on Earth" and born in 1955, blossomed into a resort destination. Fast forward, and we got Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney, nestled 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
In 2022, Disneyland ranked as the second-most visited theme park globally, drawing in a whopping 16.8 million visitors, as per reports by the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM. So, brace yourselves for an exciting new chapter in the land of Mickey and friends!
