Disneyland’s latest ask of the City of Anaheim seems pretty straightforward. But recent history shows that not everything in the relationship between the city and its most famous landmark comes easily.
Disneyland is asking for additional land use flexibility on its property, in a proposal the resort calls DisneylandForward. (So much for physical distancing when it comes to words in press releases, I guess.) Yet that flexibility for Disneyland might leave some of its neighbors feeling bent out of shape.
Will DisneylandForward create too much of a division from the community on one side of the resort and not enough on the other? Harbor Boulevard businesses will not want to see a revival of the Eastern Gateway proposal that threatened to cut off their customers’ convenient access to the resort. Across Walnut Street to the west, residents likely will not want to lose the buffer between their homes and the theme parks that the resort’s parking lots and garages now help provide.
At least Disneyland’s initial announcements suggested that the resort and its leaders have heard past community complaints. The DisneylandForward website promises “upgraded entrance accessibility for hotels and businesses located along Harbor Boulevard.” During Disneyland’s press briefing before the project announcement, an official said that new attractions west of Disneyland Drive would be designed “sensitively, to protect our neighbors.”
Disneyland’s stated commitment to a two-year review process, including opportunities for public input, also raises hopes that this project will result in a path forward that not only protects the future of the Disneyland Resort but also that of the Anaheim community — and the healthy relationship between the two.
But let’s not forget another important party here — the millions of fans who visit Disneyland and Anaheim each year. DisneylandForward offers them another parking garage to replace the surface lots that Disney wants to fill with new attractions, shops, restaurants and hotels. But what does it offer lucrative visitors from outside southern California — the ones who often don’t come to Disneyland by car?
Disneyland soon will be the only Disney theme park resort in the world without a mass transit rail connection. High-speed rail connects Disneyland Paris directly to the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Rail systems also serve Disney’s parks in Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Even Florida’s Walt Disney World is getting a rail connection in the next few years, with an agreement to extend the Brightline train from the Orlando International Airport to Disney Springs.
Connecting Disneyland to local airports by rail could cost billions of dollars just to obtain and clear rights of way. But the alternative is for a growing Disneyland Resort to keep bringing more and more vehicles to crowded local freeways and roads, whether they be private cars, taxis, Ubers or buses. DisneylandForward represents a major commitment by Disney to California. It would be nice to see California make a similar commitment to its largest tourist destination.
Because when a community trails even Florida on mass transit development, that’s just sad.
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