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Credit: Inside the MagicThe Walt Disney Company has hugely ambitious, multi-billion dollar plans to expand Disneyland, but California residents have a big problem: they don’t want their public streets to be privatized for corporate use.
Disney CEO Bob Iger recently announced that the company is committed to investing billions into Disneyland, California Adventure, Walt Disney World, and other Parks around the world as part of a widespread revamp after several years of diminishing attendance and competition from other theme parks. But even before that, Disney had issued a proposal to invest some $2.5 billion into the expansion of the original Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, titled Disneyland Forward.
A pretty big part of Disneyland Forward is a plan to spend $40 million to buy Magic Way, Hotel Way, and a section of Clementine Street from Anaheim, essentially privatizing the public streets and reconfiguring them to serve Cast Members and Guests exclusively.
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We previously reported that not everyone is a fan of the plan, with a grassroots campaign named “Save Our Anaheim Streets from DisneylandForward” asserting that “[b]uried in a 17,000-page document are plans to narrow existing streets around the Resort, back out of past deals to complete roads Disney promised, and even close some of the streets we use daily to access the freeway!”
Other Anaheim residents are beginning to raise more concerns about the privatization of California streets, according to KTLA. For example, in a recent Planning Commission workshop, a resident named Randy Lewis pushed against it, saying, “Magic Way is near and dear to my heart. I love Magic Way. I do not love the idea of closing Magic Way. It’s a great way for residents to bypass a lot of traffic.”
As one might expect, both the Walt Disney Company and the city of Anaheim are trying to keep the Disneyland Forward momentum going and doing their best to dismiss resident concerns.
A Disney consultant claimed that the vast majority of traffic on Magic Way, saying, “Of the 11,153 vehicles that traverse Magic Way on a daily basis, 11,053 of them are either departing or arriving at a Disney property… Less than 100 are non-Disney users.” Similarly, a spokesperson for Anaheim promoted the plan to turn part of Magic Way into a pedestrian path.
Related: State Government Responsible for Lack of Disney Parks Expansions
But the Walt Disney Company would likely be wise to avoid even the appearance of not caring what the people of Anaheim think about what it does to their streets, especially when it has faced accusations of corrupt connections to city government.
The full Disneyland Forward proposal can be read here:
Do you think Disneyland is overreaching in its plans for Anaheim? Let us know in the comments below!