Is Disney Ready To Make Big Thunder?

This LA Times piece essentially put in writing the predictions of what many of us Disney fanatics have either known, or suspected all along. Disney is hoping to expand the Disneyland Resort.

"It's about changing Anaheim into Orlando — making this into a national and international tourist space," said blogger Jim Hill, a Disney watchdog.

But Disney's ambitions are ruffling feathers in Anaheim, where some city leaders believe the corporate giant has tried to bully a town that has been its ally for more than 50 years.

Well, I don't think the city of Anaheim is going to be the only one whose feathers are ruffled here. I do know of many rabid Disneyland fans who do NOT want to see Disneyland Resort turning into the one on Orlando. For many of the locals, they like the fact that Disneyland is smaller, and that the local guests around the southern California region are the one that make up the largest number visiting the theme park. In other words, they want Disneyland to stay "local", and not become an international theme park like WDW.

I don't know if expanding it will change its character. It will certainly make it bigger, but I know for sure that it won't get to the size of Orlando. But if Disney wants people to stay longer by building a Third Gate and more hotels, then they will certainly plan on promoting the park to a wider audience than just the locals. Does that mean that soon, we in Chicago will start seeing Disney commercials promoting Disneyland? As far as I have seen, all Disney commercials here in the Windy City have only promoted WDW. Would Disney still promote Disneyland only along the West Coast even after an increase in capacity?

Zz.