Disneyland Expansion Back On Track New Addition Likely To Feature Hollywood, Boardwalk Amusement District

After spending billions of dollars expanding Walt Disney World over the past two decades, Walt Disney Co. finally is moving ahead with plans for a second theme park in southern California.

Disney’s California Adventure, designed to reflect the state’s history and carefree culture, will be built next to Disneyland as the centerpiece of a $1.4 billion expansion. The project will include a high-end hotel and a retail and restaurant complex called Disneyland Center.

The new theme park’s attractions will likely borrow from successful concepts at Walt Disney World, particularly Disney-MGM Studios. The park is meant to complement the fantasy feel of Disneyland, which opened in Anaheim, Calif., in 1955 and was the model for the Magic Kingdom in Orlando.

Company officials wouldn’t discuss details of the expansion, saying plans are evolving. In a statement issued last week, Disney said only that ideas range from the “the glamour of Hollywood to the exhilaration of soaring above Yosemite Valley.”

“I can’t comment on it because we really haven’t decided what will go in the park,” said Judson Green, president of Walt Disney Attractions, which runs the theme parks. “It’s at a very conceptual stage right now.”

Behind the official reticence, insiders say the park would showcase the state’s best known industry - Hollywood - and a boardwalk amusement district that could feature a wooden rollercoaster, Ferris wheel and other old-fashioned attractions. Both themes were introduced in Orlando: at Disney-MGM and at the BoardWalk resort complex, which opened earlier this month.

The park also may feature a studio tour and other attractions found at Disney-MGM. And the Orlando theme park’s art-deco streetscapes, designed to resemble those of Hollywood in its heyday, likely will be recreated in Disney’s California Adventure.

Disney’s decision to expand in California comes after weeks of negotiations with Anaheim officials on necessary improvements to the surrounding area. The city on Monday proposed a plan to finance a $550 million revitalization project that would include road and other infrastructure improvements and an expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center.

Work on Disney’s project is set to begin early next year after the Anaheim City Council approves the city’s improvement plans. The park is expected to open in about five years along with the 750-room hotel and the shopping and restaurant area.

Green said Disney will support the city’s financing efforts by providing some form of guarantees on the bonds used to pay for construction outside the theme park.

“All of this is a proposed framework on how to go forward,” he said. “It will take several months of approvals and public meetings before we have a definite go-ahead.”

Disney decided in 1994 to scale back its original plans for a $3 billion expansion in Anaheim because the project failed to meet financial targets. Those plans included a world’s fair-style theme park called Westcot, hotels and other facilities.

Although the current proposal would be less ambitious, Anaheim officials described it as a major step toward boosting tourism in the area.

“Today, working with Disney, we have developed a framework that will bring the Anaheim (resort area) into the 21st century,” said Jim Ruth, city manager.

Disney, too, views the expansion as critical because of new attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood and other competitors. The company expects to earn more on food, hotel rooms and other spending by visitors - in addition to ticket sales for the second park - once they have a reason to spend more than one day on Disney property.

Based on Disneyland’s recent performance, the investment comes at an opportune time.

Although Disney doesn’t provide attendance figures for its parks, analysts who follow the company say Disneyland outpaced the three Disney World parks in attendance growth last year. Most attribute the boom to a stronger economy and the opening of the popular Indiana Jones Adventure ride at Disneyland.