The DisneylandForward project is about to begin, and Disneyland executives recently met to discuss priorities as a new chapter of the Resort begins. Disneyland President Ken Potrock recently met with leaders from across the Disneyland Resort to discuss priorities to ensure that Cast Members feel supported as the expansion begins. The first theme park project for DisneylandForward will be the Avatar land coming to Disney California Adventure.
DisneylandFoward Begins Soon
Disneyland is getting ready to begin construction of projects associated with the DisneylandForward plans. Note that the work will occur in phases over many years, and while the bulk of the project was pitched to take advantage of acreage on the west side of property, Disney may be setting their sights on the east side of property first.
As you can see in the plans below, Disneyland has proposed new parking structures to the east of Harbor Blvd. These new parking structures would allow for much more significant inflow from the Harbor side of the resort, which is actually closer to the front gates of the theme parks than the majority of the existing parking.
As you can see below, Disneyland has grand plans for an eastern gateway parking structure. This would be located on Disney-owned land to the east of Harbor Blvd, and it would connect to the Disneyland Resort via pedestrian walkways that would cross over Harbor Blvd. It is believed that Disney wants to get this project off the ground first, to allow for a couple of projects to get going.
In the overlay below, we highlighted some of the early phases believed to be associated with the DisneylandForward project, and what we would bet on in terms of first movement for the project when it gets going soon. The theory is that the previously announced Avatar land would go to the Hollywoodland area of Disney California Adventure. Disneyland has already announced that Avatar will be a part of Disney California Adventure, but the exact placement of the land has not been announced. If Avatar goes in Hollywoodland, it could also start to encroach on the current Harbor Blvd entrance and transportation area. In order for that to happen, I think that Disneyland would want to have a new transportation area up and running at the proposed eastern gateway parking structure. Here’s a better idea of orientation, looking at the Disneyland Resort from the east.
With a new parking structure and transportation hub in the area highlighted in yellow, Disneyland would be able to shift foot traffic to the north a bit, freeing up some space for the construction of Avatar land in green. It’s a multi-year effort that should kick off soon. If we had to guess, a new fiscal year begins next week and that would be a great time for the turbocharging to begin. Of course, spending money comes before shovels in the ground, so I have no idea when we’d actually start to see some construction, but it doesn’t seem imminent – although closures might be.
With the eastern gateway built, Disneyland will likely then be able to start to think about expanding construction to the western side of the resort (highlighted in red), which is often thought of as the actual spot where the theme park expansions associated with the DisneylandForward project are located. Additionally, when the parking structure is complete, Disneyland will be able to phase out the use of surface parking lots to the south to create a new entertainment district as seen in the map below.
Disney executives have previously linked the Avatar-themed land with the approval of the DisneylandForward project. In a May 2024 interview at the MoffettNathanson Media, Internet & Communications Conference, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the Avatar-themed land was linked to the approval of the DisneylandFoward project.
We have just gotten approval from the city of Anaheim for the biggest expansion of Disneyland really since we opened California Adventure in 2001, so in over two decades. And it’s a huge expansion. We haven’t been specific about what will be in it, except for Avatar, which going back to the flywheel, by the way, is an extremely successful land in Orlando.
If the Avatar project is linked to DisneylandForward, it stands to reason that some aspects of the DisneylandForward project were necessary in order for Avatar to move forward. It is our thought that the eastern gateway parking structure was critical in that it would allow Disney to take over the current Harbor Blvd transportation plaza for theme park use (and other uses, but more on that later), including the Avatar project that abuts a bus loading area.
Of course, DisneylandForward is sort of done, in a sense. DisneylandForward was essentially the marketing name of a rezoning effort by Disney that would allow for future expansion of the theme parks. Disneyland did have to commit to spending minimums over the next decade to get it approved, but DisneylandForward is not technically associated with any one project. It was a little bit interesting to see Potrock use the term “DisneylandForward” in his recent announcement, but I guess that Disneyland will want to continue to use the term when describing projects that will bring jobs and positive economic impact to the Anaheim area. In that same vein, we will likely continue to refer to the expansion of the Disneyland Resort theme parks as the DisneylandForward project as long as Disney does.
Either way, the recent announcement from Potrock seems like a signal to the Disney fan community and the Anaheim community that Disneyland is excited about the future, and that they’re ready to start putting some shovels in the ground.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!