Multi-Year Build-out Plan Includes Major Attractions and a
New “Cars Land” at Disney’s California Adventure
GLENDALE, Calif., October
17, 2007 -- The Walt Disney Company today unveiled a significant
multi-year expansion plan for the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim
that continues its growth as a multi-day, world-class tourist
destination.
Announced by Disney
President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger and Parks and
Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo at a press conference at Walt Disney
Imagineering’s Glendale headquarters, the expansion will bring
new entertainment and major family-oriented attractions to
Disney’s California Adventure, including an entirely new Cars
Land inspired by the hit Disney•Pixar animated film Cars.
“The success of the
Disneyland Resort over the past few years provides us with both
the opportunity and the need to invest for growth, to enhance
and expand the experience for our guests and attract new
visitors, while at the same time delivering attractive returns
on the investment,” said Iger. “This plan is a reflection of our
belief in the bright future of the Disneyland Resort and our
continuing commitment to grow the Anaheim Resort Area as a world
class tourist destination.”
Disney Imagineers will be
bringing more of Walt Disney into Disney’s California Adventure,
celebrating the hope and optimism of California that attracted
Walt to this land of opportunity in the 1920s. Guests entering
the new Plaza will be instantly immersed in the world that
inspired Walt during his early days as an animation pioneer. The
new, interactive Walt Disney Story attraction will set the stage
for the unfolding story of Walt that will permeate the park.
The expansive program
reaches throughout Disney’s California Adventure, with an
amazing Little Mermaid attraction, a groundbreaking, signature
nighttime spectacular and new viewing area for 9,000, and the
addition of the 12-acre Cars Land featuring the world of
Radiator Springs with three new attractions. Extensive
landscaping, new retail and dining will create an even richer
environment throughout the park in ways that reinforce Guests’
connection with Walt.
“Our Disneyland Guests have
a deep emotional connection with Walt Disney, whose life story
really captures the pioneering spirit of California in the
1920s,” said Rasulo. “The creative evolution of Disney’s
California Adventure will connect guests to Walt’s own
California adventure and reflect the place that he found when he
first arrived with a cardboard suitcase in his hand and a head
full of dreams.”
The expansion is part of
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ overall growth strategy of
continuing to invest in its core business of existing parks and
resorts around the world, while exploring new opportunities to
capture more of the growing family vacation market. This
announcement follows Disney’s ground-breaking last month for a
250-room expansion of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa,
including 50 rooms dedicated to the West Coast debut of Disney
Vacation Club, the company’s growing time share business.
Multi-day, World-Class Tourist Destination
Today’s announced expansion
builds upon the transformation of the Disneyland park into a
multi-day destination resort that began in 2001 with the
creation of the Disneyland Resort and the opening of Disney’s
California Adventure Park, Downtown Disney and Disney’s Grand
Californian Hotel & Spa.
Since then, the Disneyland
Resort has continued to grow with the addition of popular
attractions and shows, including: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage,
Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, Buzz Lightyear Astro
Blasters, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Monsters, Inc. Mike
& Sulley to the Rescue!, Block Party Bash, High School Musical
2: Schools Out!, Disney Princess Fantasy Faire, and Jedi
Training Academy, along with the re-Imagineering of Space
Mountain and enhancements to Pirates of the Caribbean.
“This expansion builds on a
commitment we made more than a decade ago to create and grow the
Anaheim Resort Area as a world-class tourist destination where
guests would want to stay for more than one day,” said
Disneyland Resort President Ed Grier.
“That investment has become
a success for Disney, the Anaheim community and for the economy
of Southern California.”
According to the
Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau, Anaheim is
one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in the country,
enjoying some of the highest hotel occupancy rates in the nation
and attracting millions of visitors each year who spend billions
of dollars.
Coming to Disney’s California Adventure Over
the Next Several Years
In addition to the new
themeing and attractions, Disney’s California Adventure will
receive new restaurant and retail innovations, landscaping to
enrich the placemaking, facade and graphics enhancements, and an
extensive menu of entertainment and events.
Disney’s California
Adventure is already home to some of the Disneyland Resort’s
highest-rated attractions and shows, including: Soarin’ Over
California, California Screamin’, The Twilight Zone Tower of
Terror and the Broadway-caliber show, Disney’s Aladdin - A
Musical Spectacular.
Cars Land
The expansion will
culminate with an entirely new, 12-acre addition: Cars Land,
immersing guests into a world inspired by the hit Disney/Pixar
movie, Cars, playing to America’s love affair with automobiles.
Radiator Springs Racers, a
major “E-ticket” attraction, places guests right in the middle
of the amazingly detailed, dimensional Cars world of Mater,
Lightning McQueen, Doc and Sally. Guests get a quick race
briefing from Doc and Lightning, and suddenly find themselves in
the midst of a race around hairpin turns and steep banks.
Cars Land increases
capacity to the park with two additional immersive family rides,
featuring Luigi and Mater from the movie. Cars Land represents
an unprecedented level of collaboration between Pixar Animation
Studios and Disney Imagineering to create this extensive new
area. The new land will substantially extend the total area of
Disney’s California Adventure park.
Paradise Pier
Paradise Pier will host
major new attractions beginning next summer with the opening of
Toy Story Mania!, a ride-through, interactive adventure where
Guests ride into a high-energy 4-D carnival midway hosted by Toy
Story characters. Woody, Jessie, Buzz,
Hamm and the gang come to
life in amazing ways, immersing guests in the rich stories of
the Pixar blockbuster Toy Story films.
A major ride based on
Disney’s classic The Little Mermaid comes to the park’s Paradise
Pier with leading-edge animation and special effects. Guests
will dive into the magnificent scenes and magical songs from the
movie. A Mermaid Grotto area with a fountain and sand castle
will offer new play experiences for children.
Unique Nighttime Spectacular
The dramatic and unique
Disney’s World of Color will bring new nighttime excitement to
Paradise Pier. This nightly panorama of spectacular water
effects, colorful lighting and music will bring Disney animation
to life with an entirely new creative and technical approach.
The 9,000 person viewing area offers prime waterside viewing of
the show – and provides a site for live entertainment, music
festivals, and outdoor film premieres. Entry Plaza and Gateway
The totally new gateway to
Disney’s California Adventure welcomes guests into an immersive
world of historic California streets as Walt experienced them as
a young artist arriving with big dreams.
A new visual icon in the
tradition of Los Angeles, California’s great entertainment
palaces will draw guests into the heart of the attractions. This
new facility, which was inspired by Los Angeles’ historic
Carthay Circle Theatre that premiered Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs in 1937, will house a next generation Walt Disney Story
featuring an interactive tribute to Walt’s California
experiences, and his entertainment legacy that continues
world-wide today. Red Car trolleys reminiscent of the old
Pacific Electric Railway will travel up and down the main
street. New dining and shopping experiences and a slate of
unique, live entertainment will bring energy to the Walt Disney
Plaza.
Hollywood Pictures Backlot
Hollywood Pictures Backlot
will be a new home for a slate of special ticketed events and
chances to hear first hand from innovative directors, writers
and animators. An update of the popular family show “Playhouse
Disney” will provide an experience for younger children.
Golden State
The “Golden State” area of
the park will see the addition of numerous new dining
opportunities tied to the incredible bounty of California’s
farmland and its rich ethnically diverse food heritage. Food and
wine festivals that celebrate the seasons, tastes and cultures
of the dynamic communities of the Golden State will entertain
guests, bringing unique one-of-a-kind experiences.
Preview Center
A Preview Center located on
San Francisco Street in the Golden State region of the park will
feature models, Imagineering concepts – giving park guests a
sneak peek at the excitement that lies ahead. The Preview Center
is scheduled to open in late 2008. |
