Disney’s Plans Include 2 More Anaheim Parks

In what is being described by sources as a massive undertaking, the Walt Disney Co. is preparing plans to construct two new attractions--including a previously undisclosed third gate--and several major hotels near Disneyland.

The company said months ago that it was preparing a development plan for the Disneyland area, but the size of the proposed project, particularly the addition of a third attraction, surprised some local residents and officials.

Disney, which has tried to keep details of its plans secret, has already spent millions of dollars to acquire local properties for the proposed new development. And landowners whose properties have been targeted by the company and other sources said Disney officials have described general plans for a huge project with both a second and third gate in Anaheim. The company also may build four or five hotels, they said.

While the company has provided broad descriptions of its proposal to real estate and government officials, it has not provided specific details of what the new attractions will be or a timetable for building them.

“We are working hard to finalize our preliminary master plan for a Disneyland expansion which we believe will serve as a catalyst for the revitalization of the Anaheim commercial recreation area,” Disney officials said in a terse statement Tuesday.

“We hope to announce the plan soon. At that time the nature and extent of our project will become clear.”

Disney’s activity here comes a year after the Burbank-based company announced that it would spend more than $1 billion to develop another theme park in the 1990s in either Anaheim or Long Beach. The company has since said it might eventually build parks in both areas.

The company has already revealed a proposal for a marine theme park in Long Beach. Disney previously said it was interested in a second gate in Anaheim. But an outline of the company’s plan calling for both a second and third gate has emerged in Anaheim in recent days.

The speculation intensified this week when it was revealed that Disney recently acquired a 23-acre parcel near Disneyland for $30.2 million. In addition, other landowners confirm that they have been approached by Disney in recent weeks about selling their property or leasing it. The company has obtained land leases on some motels near the amusement park.

Some landowners and business operators on the fringes of Disneyland said word of the theme park’s appetite for more property in the area is now the topic of casual conversation and is being discussed by everyone from postal carriers and linen service workers to salespeople who service local businesses.

Real estate and other sources said the company’s proposal is so sizable that it would change the face of the Disneyland area, now crowded with aging motels, strip centers and convenience stores.

Some motel operators confirmed Tuesday that they had signed confidentiality agreements with Disney prohibiting any discussion of recent transactions involving their properties. Although they said Disney was not directly involved in the property negotiations, they believe that the company was involved as a third party.

“We all believe that Disney is behind it,” said Frieda Vellandi, who operates the 37-room Musketeer Motel on Disneyland’s southern Katella Avenue border that is being acquired. Vellandi declined to name the concern directly involved in the purchase of property, saying she was bound by a confidentiality agreement she signed late last year.

“If you are dealing directly with Disney, people could make tough (financial demands on Disney),” Vellandi said. “It can’t be confidential much longer. There are too many things going on. Everybody is talking about it.”

William A. Torresala, general manager of the Pan Pacific Hotel just outside Disneyland on South West Street, said recent overtures have been made regarding the sale of his 502-room hotel.

“The drums are beating overtime,” Torresala said, referring to the property speculation under way. “There have been inquiries. They haven’t led to anything. We bought it (the Pan Pacific Hotel) to be members of the community for a long time.”

Even some Disney officials have talked of the plans in public. At a breakfast meeting of Orange County Employment Managers Assn., a Disney official said the company may soon be looking for engineers to build and design two new theme parks and several new hotels in Anaheim.

Two motel owners in the Disneyland area, speaking on condition that their names not be disclosed, say they were told by Disney officials that more property is needed for a proposed third theme park.

Having three world-class amusement parks close together is not without precedent. In Florida, Disney has Walt Disney World, Epcot Center and MGM Disney Studios, all within close proximity of each other. Guests have to pay a separate admission price to visit each. Many stay in Disney hotels and eat at Disney restaurants.

In Anaheim, Disney may be trying to work the same formula, observers say. Sources said Disney has discussed building several hotels with up to 5,000 rooms near the Disneyland Hotel over the next decade.

Exactly where Disney proposed to build the attractions, parking and hotels is not clear.

County deed records show the company acquired a 23-acre property near the corner of Katella Avenue and Harbor Boulevard from Magnolia Realty Investments Inc. for $1.3 million an acre. The property, formerly a mobile-home park, is across the street and cater-cornered to Disneyland.

The company also has shown interest in a a 58-acre strawberry field owned by Hiroshi Fujishige. He said Disney recently sought a long-term lease on the land, but he rejected the $32-million offer as too low.

Sources also say Disney paid more than $1 million for a long-term lease on the Dunes Motel, sources said. The South West Street motel sits on less than an acre of land. Other deals are expected to be sealed within 30 days, the sources said.