Disney Plans Expansion of Anaheim Theme Park

Walt Disney Co. announced plans Thursday to expand its Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, according to media reports.While the plan called Disneyland Forward is short on details, officials with the Burbank entertainment and media giant made clear they want to build new attractions, shops and eateries into the underdeveloped areas of the resort, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The renderings offered by Disney show new themed attractions added around the Disneyland Hotel and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel on the west side of the resort. On the east side of the park, the Toy Story parking lot, which holds more than 5,000 spaces, would be developed with hotels, restaurants and shops, according to the images released by Disney, the Times reported.

The announcement comes about a month before Disneyland and the adjacent Disney California Adventure Park reopen on April 30 after being closed the past year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Disney Forward plans would call on the Anaheim City Council redraft a specific plan approved by the city in the 1990s to allow theme park elements to be added in the area set aside for hotels, and shops and restaurants in the area allocated for parking, the Times story said.

Shares of Disney (DIS) closed Friday down 99 cents, or less than a percent, to $185.92 on the New York Stock Exchange, on a day when the Dow Jones Industrial closed up 1.4 percent.