City Still Optimistic About Disney Park Despite Land Deal : Development: The purchase of 23 acres in Anaheim and another proposed acquisition don’t diminish hopes. An announcement about a new complex is still months away.

The city remains a strong contender for a $2-billion Disney waterfront theme park, despite disclosures last week that the company is buying up large tracts of land in Anaheim near Disneyland, Long Beach officials said.

“I don’t think that it changes one iota their intention about being serious about Long Beach,” said Councilman Evan Anderson Braude, whose downtown district includes the Queen Mary site being considered for the Disney theme park.

Long Beach and Anaheim are vying for the lucrative project, and officials of both cities have been meeting with Disney officials.

Disney executives have stressed that they are still months away from choosing either city as the site of a new theme park, but it was disclosed last week that the company has been quietly negotiating to buy or lease large tracts of land surrounding Disneyland.

Real estate sources in Orange County said Disney appears to be preparing plans for either one or two new theme parks adjoining Disneyland, but Disney officials refused to comment on the reports.

The company paid $30.2 million in December for a 23-acre abandoned trailer park diagonally across from Disneyland. It has been negotiating with a strawberry farm to purchase 58 acres adjoining the trailer park, an offer the farmer has so far rejected.

Disney has also been trying to buy or lease the numerous motels on the west and south edges of Disneyland. In addition, the company already owns the Disneyland Hotel and about 60 acres of fields north and south of the hotel that are ripe for expansion.

The purchase of additional real estate could make it easier for Disney to build in Anaheim rather than develop a park at the Queen Mary in the Port of Long Beach, which would require massive earthmoving along the waterfront and a lengthy environmental approval process.

A Disney official said the company’s acquisition of land in Anaheim should not be read as a signal that Long Beach is losing favor. “As we’ve said all along, we’re going to continue to work on both of the projects,” said David Malmuth, vice president of development for Disney. “And we’re hopeful that by the end of this year we will have a determination on how we’re going to go forward.”

Long Beach officials said they will continue to negotiate with Disney, and that the land purchases have not changed their strategy. “We are meeting with Disney officials even as I speak,” City Manager James C. Hankla said last week.

Mayor Ernie Kell added: “It’s not going to affect our negotiating position. If they build in Long Beach, it’s going to have to be good for the citizens of Long Beach.”

He pointed out that Disney has launched a $1.2-million environmental study of the site.

Hankla said he led a delegation of employees to visit Walt Disney World in Florida about a month ago. The group included representatives from the city auditor’s office, the port, planning and community development.

Since last August, Disney representatives have met an average of three times a week with various Long Beach community groups--an estimated 3,000 residents--to explain the project and answer questions. “The response has been very positive,” said Malmuth, the Disney official who has overseen most of the gatherings.

In general, Long Beach officials have taken a tempered approach to the proposed theme park, and some community groups have strongly criticized the plan, arguing that it would undermine the quality of life in the city.

After several weeks of wrangling, the City Council recently decided to set up a 55-member advisory committee to review possible impacts of a theme park. Five members will be appointed from each of the nine council districts, and the mayor will appoint 10 members.

The committee will be divided into five subcommittees to study economic, environmental, transportation and employment effects, as well as any possible impact on the Port of Long Beach. Committee members will not participate in direct negotiations between the city and Disney.

In Anaheim, where Disneyland has put the city on the map for 35 years, officials bubble with enthusiasm when they talk of a new Disney park.

“Disney has always been a partner in this city. They are the Rembrandt. If they are going to do an expansion, I would like it to be in Anaheim,” Mayor Fred Hunter said last week.

Although Anaheim city officials are excited about the possibilities that the parcel acquisitions conjure up, they aren’t ready to write off Long Beach.

“If this is a prologue to a second (amusement park), then great. But I don’t know if it puts us ahead of Long Beach,” said Anaheim City Councilman Irv Pickler.

Times staff writers David Haldane and Bettina Boxall contributed to this story.