Disneyland Third Theme Park Reports Are Making Incorrect Assumptions About New Additions

The prospect of a third theme park at Disneyland in Anaheim, California has again popped back into the conversation because of a recent small move for work by Disney on property that is earmarked for future expansion. The reports and rumors are missing key information that we have now clarified with Disney.

We share the move from Disney, our thoughts on the move, and what the likelihood of a third theme park looks like right now, plus other big projects moving forward for Disneyland. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including a look at recent ride changes to improve guest safety and new Magic Key perks.

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New Disneyland Theme Park Rumors Floating

Disneyland completed the DisneylandForward rezoning approval in 2024 with the city of Anaheim. The approval meant that Disneyland was able to use more of the existing property that they own for theme park, dining, shopping, and hotels. Currently, most of this space is surface park lots.

The approval gives Disney a blueprint for multiple decades. They are now set up to expand their existing two theme parks and have space for what could someday become an new shopping district or third theme park if they choose to pursue that. In the initial proposal to the city, Disney suggested that the area could become a shopping district like Disney Springs in Florida, but it has the proper zoning to also be used as theme park space.

In our recent look at when new rides coming to Disneyland are likely to open, we shared an updated map of the rezoned areas and the potential expansion that could go there based on what Disney shared during the zoning process.

Disneyland is not tied to using these spaces for these purposes, but they are now able to make those decisions.

A major unlock for this new work is the addition of the parking structure and Eastern Gateway project. This is the square above labeled “parking deck” on the right side of the map. Of the projects using newly zoned space, that is the only one that is officially announced and set to move forward for construction. Disney has confirmed that construction is set to start later this year.

There are currently four new rides being built for Disney California Adventure. There are two new Avengers rides coming, a new Coco boat ride, and new Avatar attraction. As we wrote in our look at when new rides will open, these will take us quite a few years out from now, likely about 5 years before they are all open. They will open across that period of time.

Now, this week Disneyland filed two confidential permits for the Toy Story Parking lot.

The reason for the permit was not initially released to the public, but it has caused a stir on social media and in big publications that it could be related to a new theme park. Our sense was that it was not going to be related to a new park and wanted to provide that context so readers can manage their expectations.

We checked in with Disney on the permit to be able to clarify what it is actually for. Disneyland confirmed to Mickey Visit that the permit is tied to minor painting at the Toy Story parking lot and is not a significant milestone related to the DisneylandForward efforts. It is neither a sign that they are moving forward on a third theme park nor a new shopping area.

We anticipate that the Toy Story lot will become cast member parking when the new structure opens. The structure is being built on space that is partially cast member parking. This project could be related to that, but could also be even more minor and just a painting project.

Initially, before I received confirmation from Disney, I already believed it would not be in Disney’s nature to quietly file a permit tied to a major expansion like this and move ahead without broader communication. They are still only now beginning to file permits for the already announced additions coming to the resort.

This should put to rest any headlines or news that make the Disneyland third theme park feel like it is coming tomorrow. Avatar, one of the currently announced additions, will likely not be open until 2030, possibly 2029 at earliest.

Now, the below is turning to commentary and opinion that is only informed by history and my own time at the parks. Take none of the below as news. If you have thoughts, I want to hear them.

That said, I do believe that eventually, and I am talking about 20 to 30 years from now, we could see Disneyland building a third theme park on this parking lot and also potentially acquire the GardenWalk to make that happen. The new Eastern Gateway would then perfectly sit between the theme parks and it would remain a connected resort.

Imagine using all the space to add a new theme park that also includes new Disney hotels, shopping and dining. It could all be connected by moving walkways or some other transportation. Some have also pointed more closely to what Disney presented to Anaheim which is that this could become an upscale Disney Springs type development that also brings in hotels. I would also think that adding a new park there would draw people that way and increase the demand for new Disney hotels in the area when compared to a dining area.

To be very clear, this would be a long way off and this is by no means official information from Disney. This is speculation about one option for the future. Disney doesn’t even own the GardenWalk at this point. What do you think of that idea? I’ve heard different versions of this floated in different circles over the past couple of years.

To me, it seems so obvious that Disney could make a move on GardenWalk at some point if they develop the Toy Story Lot. For now though, the parking space serves its purpose as remaining clean and well manicured enough to serve existing park guests.

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Now, the real reason I wanted to write this article was because when people began talking about a new theme park coming to Disneyland my mind started racing with other projects and developments that feel more urgent to lock the existing resort in as a multi-day destination.

Before we even talk about Disney developing the Toy Story parking lot, I hope we see better use of space for Autopia/Submarines/Monorail, motor boat cruise area behind Matterhorn / the Fantasyland back area (Frozen ride anyone?), Disneyland Hotel Goofy’s Kitchen and former Steakhouse 55, and also the two expansion pads by the Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place.

If I were setting the additions coming to the resort from DisneylandForward on a timeline, the next new expansion plot I would expect to see would be Disney California Adventure crossing over into the parking lot next to the Pixar Place Hotel. This expansion would likely feel like an addition on the scale of Fantasy Springs being added to Tokyo DisneySea which can be seen in the concept artwork at the top of this article.

That said, some have also suggested that those could become a new theme park eventually. The concept artwork paints the two plots of land by the hotels as theme park expansion area for the existing parks, but we are not meant to take any meaning from that previous concept artwork. That makes speculating on all of this that much more fun.

Disney has also learned their lesson on building new theme parks and under delivering. I just got back from the relaunch of the second theme park at Disneyland Paris where they have just renamed the park as Disney Adventure World and have added a huge new footprint. That park was barely a theme park when it opened with just a handful of rides.

Look to the original Disney California Adventure which is still receiving more ride capacity to balance it with Disneyland Park. To me, all of this says that Disney won’t build a new park in Anaheim until they have really maxed out the space or if they see a real attendance boosting opportunity to increase the number of days spent at the resort.

Note that again, the addition out from Disney California Adventure would come next after the currently announced new rides coming that will take us all the way out to 2030 or so.

So, what do you think of all the space that Disneyland has moving forward? Where should new rides eventually go? What would you like to see added to the parks? Do you want a third park or just more additions to the existing two? This is a space that I would really like to hear your thoughts on.

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