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Something You Don’t See Everyday: Large Part of Downtown Disney Is Now Demolished

In 2021, at a D23 fan convention at Walt Disney World, Josh D’Amaro — President of Disney Parks — revealed that the Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort would be undergoing a massive transformation. A large hotel had been planned for the area, but the deal had fallen through. The new renovation project would add in new shopping and dining experiences for Guests visiting The Happiest Place on Earth.

Disneyland
Credit: Disney

Work was slated to begin in January, but it got off to a slow start. However, that has changed, and now Downtown Disney looks like something we have never seen before. Instagrammer Five Fires (@thecalibae) recently rode the Disneyland monorail, which goes right through Downtown Disney. He took a video of the work being done, and boy is it massive! Buildings have been completely torn down, and the blocked-off area is full of rubble.

Downtown Disney construction
Credit: Five Fires Instagram

He shared the incredible video on Instagram.

Disney project is moving fast!! Can’t wait for this future project to come to life ????? #disneyland #disney #downtowndisney

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by FIVE FIRES YOUTUBE (@thecalibae)

The now-demolished area once consisted of The ESPN Zone, Earl of Sandwich, an AMC movie theater, and several smaller shops. The massive amount of construction being done in Downtown Disney is only the first step in the transformation that Disneyland will undergo in the coming years. DisneylandForward will not only reshape Downtown Disney, but Disney is planning to massive expand Disneyland Resort as a whole. There are plans for new lands, new attractions, new parking facilities, and more. 

Credit: Disney

Here is more information on Disneyland Forward

We want to bring more Disney investment to Anaheim. However, this simply isn’t possible under current inflexible planning restrictions unless we remove and replace treasured rides and attractions in our Parks today. Without updates, new Disney experiences and placemaking, created from our beloved stories, will likely never find their way to the Disneyland Resort as they have to other parks throughout the world. With DisneylandForward and more flexibility within our existing properties, new lands and adventures like those underway at Tokyo DisneySea and Shanghai Disneyland could inspire new experiences here.

DisneylandForward
Credit: Disney

If Disney is able to do everything they would like, both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure could see new lands that only exist in foreign Disney Parks at this point — including a Frozen-inspired land like the one in Tokyo, Tangled and Peter Pan areas, and even a Zooptopia land. Disney has also said that, if possible, they may consider bringing Toy Story Land to the West Coast. The land first opened in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida in 2018 and has been a massive success ever since. 

Krysten Swensen

A born and bred New England girl living the Disney life in Southern California. I love to read, to watch The Golden Girls, and love everything to do with Disney and Universal. I also love to share daily doses of Disney on my Disney Instagram @BrazzleDazzleDisney!

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