Disney has confirmed plans to ditch one historic location in California by the end of this year.
Disney’s roots run deep in California, where it all began. The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank has served as the company’s creative hub since 1940, while nearby Anaheim is home to Disneyland, the first-ever Disney theme park. Over the decades, the company has expanded its footprint across the state with corporate offices, Walt Disney Imagineering headquarters, and a second gate, Disney California Adventure.
Later this year, however, the studio will be vacating one key location: the Fox Studio Lot.
Disney Ditches Fox Studio Lot
According to the Los Angeles Times, Disney confirmed on Tuesday that it plans to leave the historic Fox Studio Lot, where it’s been the main tenant since acquiring most of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019.
While the $71.3 billion deal didn’t include the lot itself, it did lock Disney in as a tenant for at least seven years. That lease, tied to the Fox property on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, is set to expire in March 2026. Anonymous sources from The Walt Disney Company claimed that the company will not renew this lease and will instead exit by the end of 2025.
First opened in Century City in 1928, the lot has served as the production hub for several iconic films over the years, including the Julie Andrews spectacular The Sound of Music (1965) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). It is also home to Fox Sports and the writers’ room for The Simpsons.
Fox Corp. – which remains separate from The Walt Disney Company – will now need to find new tenants for the space. It reportedly receives $50 million per year for leasing out the lot’s offices and soundstages. While Disney remains its largest tenant, a statement confirmed that it is confident about finding a replacement.
“The Fox Lot is second to none in terms of location and premium production and post-production facilities available,” it told the Los Angeles Times.
Disney Pushes For Greater Presence in Burbank
Over the past year, Disney has quietly been shifting teams over to its Burbank headquarters, located just under 12 miles away.
Burbank is home to Disney’s historic studio lot along with adjacent buildings housing ABC and Disney Animation. Meanwhile, Walt Disney Imagineering is currently headquartered in nearby Glendale, less than three miles east of the Burbank lot.
The move is part of a larger effort to centralize its TV operations and bring key executives—some of whom stayed behind on the Fox lot—under one roof. Disney is yet to confirm what will happen to shows that still film on the lot, such as 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star.
Unlike many other studios in Los Angeles – such as Warner Bros. and Paramount – the Fox Studio Lot currently does not offer public backlot tours. However, the studio has teased that this may change in the future.
What do you think of Disney moving away from the Fox Studio Lot?
