Disneyland is looking to make their park ever bigger, ever better. If their DisneylandForward plan is approved by the city of Anaheim, they could be looking at brand new shows and attractions and 16 rides. Talk about ambitious! In a 17,000-page environmental report, Disney provided maps and concept sketches of the new theme park area.
Apparently, the plans seek to expand into the Downtown Disney and Lilo and Stitch parking lot areas, weaving between Paradise Pier Hotel and Disneyland Hotel — the latter being reimagined into the Pixar Place Hotel. The rides will take inspiration from pre-existing attractions in the park. Five thrill rides similar to Big Thunder Mountain, the Incredicoaster, and Space Mountain; nine family rides with styles similar to Autopia, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, and Haunted Mansion; and two carousel style rides similar to Dumbo and King Aurther’s Carousel in Fantasyland.
The new outdoor shows will take “World of Color” and “Fantasmic” as their inspiration. Given that those are Disney’s headlining shows for the summer, that doesn’t come as much surprise. It’s definitely an ambitious plan with a lot of work ahead. Given that the expansion will increase the level of noise, Disney will be implementing permanent sound barriers by the end of construction. And there will be no fireworks shows in order to keep noise levels down for the surrounding community.
What the expansions themes may be remains to be seen. However, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro hinted on the possibility of Frozen’s Arendelle, Wakanda, and Santa Cecilia from Pixar’s “Coco“. Amongst the Disneyphiles, there’s speculation that movies like “Tron” and “Zootopia” could also be potentials.
