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Disneyland purchased almost 15 acres of land right across the street from their park, leading some to wonder if it'll be used for a Marvel- or Star Wars-themed expansion.An arm of the Walt Disney Company recently acquired a total of 14.7 acres of properties in Anaheim, comprising of a hotel at 1530 South Harbor Blvd. and two office buildings at 1515 and 1585 South Manchester Ave. All three parcels are adjacent to each other and right next to the 5 freeway, across Harbor Boulevard from Disneyland and California Adventure. Property records show that the land is worth about $60 million in total.
Although Disney Chairman Robert Iger announced an expansion of the park at a shareholders meeting in March, the company says the new land land will just be used for behind-the-scenes purposes. "With the resort's continued growth resulting in additional cast members and a record number of guests, this property will help to support additional infrastructure needs, including warehouse and office space and parking," Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown told the L.A. Times.
However, with their pledge to put $1 billion into the park in exchange for no 'gate taxes' over the next 30 years, Disneyland definitely has something in the works. The park says any expansion will be within the resort's current site—which could be made possible with behind-the-scenes operations and logistics moving across the street.
With Disney purchasing Marvel and Star Wars in the last few years, the speculation seems to be that both franchises will be the subjects of this expansion. Last year, Iger already revealed the company's intentions to open a Star Wars attraction. Todd Regan, founder of MiceChat says it is practically a done deal. "It's really a no-brainer that Star Wars will take over at Disneyland and Marvel will probably go into Disney California Adventure," he told the Times.
