Disneyland Resort Future Expansion & Possible 3rd Park :(

BREAKING NEWS – Disneyland Resort Future Expansion & Possible 3rd Park
By Dusty Sage - March 25, 2021

Disneyland Resort is planning for a bold new future. Hot on the heels of the most challenging year in Disney history, the resort is thinking big and reimagining how it can expand within its existing boundaries. That means working with the community and city to update old permits and thinking about how to expand entertainment, including a possible 3rd park, into existing space.  

The project is dubbed “DisneylandForward” and the resort is already working with community leaders and city officials to begin getting the permits and approvals needed to start planning the part fans really want to know about, the creative.

What we’ll show you below are just early concepts. Nothing is finalized just yet. These are generalized ideas about what Disney could be planning in order to gain city approvals. Then they’ll begin slotting finalized projects into the footprints you see below.

But above all, Disneyland wants flexibility from the city. Rather than a spot for hotels, a spot for parking, a spot for retail, and specific zones for theme parks, Disneyland wants all that space to intermingle in a dynamic new way. Let’s take a look.  

What is DisneylandForward

The DisneylandForward project is really a general rethinking of what the Disneyland Resort will look like in the future and how it can better use its existing space to provide more entertainment opportunities and in new ways. It will start with urban planning and outreach to gain initial approvals. Then it will progress to specific project details and more permits and approvals. Finally, it will move to construction.




A very rough estimate of what could be headed to the resort. Early Disney concept art.

We hear your thoughts on this. Disneyland was unable to get city approvals for a new parking structure and a new hotel in the last few years, how will they get this done? Well, Disneyland is approaching this project in a whole new way. First, the city got quite the lesson when Disneyland was closed for a year and a likely $100,000,000 in revenue the city would have received from Disney operations suddenly disappeared. But Disneyland has also changed their approach. This time around they won’t be asking for any public funding. So they aren’t asking the city to pay for this or to give tax breaks or other credits. That’s a big change from the past. Next, they are starting the outreach process right now to work with existing businesses, residents, officials, and community partners. Going forward, Disney will work to better integrate the resort into the community with workforce development programs, affordable housing projects, and support local nonprofit organizations. In addition to thousands of new jobs, Disneyland is committed to unionized labor, diversity hiring, and environmentally responsibly techniques.  

And while what we will show you below will surely change before a single shovel hits the ground, it will absolutely give you an idea on how different the resort will look in the future. A new multi-use approach to the property is the future of the resort, which integrates rides, entertainment, shopping, dining, and hotels all into the same physical space, instead of keeping them all separate.

Projects Disneyland Forward Might Include

This is a huge project folks. A complete rethink of existing spaces from one end of the resort to the other. We’ll break this down for you into smaller details for clarity.

First, let’s start with the easiest of the projects for Disney. The existing Toy Story parking lot on Harbor Blvd, across the street from the Anaheim Convention Center, was described to us as a potential mixed-use shopping and entertainment area not unlike Shanghai Disney’s Disney Town (that project even includes a Broadway-style theater).



The vague project design above would be targeted to serve convention, tourist, and local visitors. It appears that a hotel wraps around the top of the image with shopping and entertainment buildings wrapping around the rest of the property. A lagoon and green core ties the area together.  

This spot was once pegged for a 3rd theme park, which the concept above clearly isn’t.  But don’t despair. What we’ll show you next will scratch that itch in a much larger space.

West Side Entertainment Expansion/Possible 3rd Park

I’d like to preface this section with a warning, Disney isn’t 100% sure what will be going here. It could be expanded attraction space for both Disneyland and California Adventure, it could be a mixed-concept attraction and shopping area, or it could be a 3rd park. The development process and community interaction will likely shape how this project moves forward. But, as we can see from the image below, attractions, shopping, dining, and hotels will all call this recycled space home.



Disneyland Resort west side expansion – possible 3rd park

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