Disney CEO Says Disneyland Could Expand By More Than 50%

At a Morgan Stanley teleconference, Disney CEO Bob Iger shared some interesting comments shedding light on the potential future expansion of Disney Parks around the world and Disneyland in California. During the conference, he also made a comment with language suggesting that the “Avatar Experience” at Disneyland could be much bigger than we initially anticipated.

This news connects to the DisneylandForward project that aims to pave the way for Disney to invest in expansion in Anaheim. Iger's comments shared today give us an idea of what we can expect regarding Disneyland's goals for future growth.

See everything you need to know about what Iger shared at the Morgan Stanley teleconference below!

Iger Comments on Disneyland Expansion Potential

At the Morgan Stanley teleconference, Bob Iger said that the company has enough land to expand the Disneyland Resort by more than 50%.

He also commented on the potential for expansion around the world, saying the company “could actually build seven new full lands if we wanted to around the world.” What would motivate Disney to build those seven new lands was not clear.

This comes in the midst of the DisneylandForward project with plans announced in 2021 for a multi-year resort expansion that would be the biggest since the completion of Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney in 2001. The biggest focus of the project right now is updating Disneyland Resort’s existing development approvals to allow for expansion pertaining to the theme parks, hotels, shopping and entertainment facilities, and more.

You can see everything you need to know about the DisneylandForward project in our guide. Iger's comment reinforces that the potential of this expansion project is massive if they can get approval for the zoning changes required to move forward. Disney owns enough land to develop, but the zoning agreement with the city is what is holding these plans back. Here's a look at a map shared by Disneyland as part of the DisneylandForward zoning proposal.

The incredible new additions being added as part of Tokyo DisneySea’s Fantasy Springs could be an inspiration for expansion in Disneyland, or we could see a Frozen land come to Disneyland in the wake of the beautiful, recently opened World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland.

In this same teleconference, Iger also shared an interesting comment about the “Avatar Experience” at Disneyland, which has thus far been ambiguous in what it will include. In his comments, he used the word “land,” which is interesting as it suggests that the “Avatar Experience” at Disneyland might be much bigger in scale than we initially thought. See his quote, our thoughts, and everything you need to know about the Avatar Experience coming to Disneyland in our guide.

See our list of the biggest Disney theme park projects that still don't have opening dates in our guide for more details on future experiences coming to Disney parks around the world.

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