ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Half a Loaf From Disney

The Walt Disney Co. decision to scale back plans for the $3-billion resort next to Disneyland is an obvious disappointment for Anaheim, but it hardly was unexpected. During much of the recent recession in Orange County, the green light for the project seemed to be on for everybody but the principal party. The company’s announcement was a logical conclusion to its hesitancy.

In fact, the company announced previously that it was putting its plans on hold pending review, a less than promising statement for those who were banking on the project going forward. And even that had been preceded by a key Disney planner’s departure from the process.

Observers who conclude that half a loaf is better than none are right, however. The company could have said it would have no expansion at all. The new Disneyland president, Paul Pressler, says the company still has plans for expanding in stages.

The company has decided not to renew its option to purchase six parcels around the park for the expansion but says it owns enough land in the area to allow some sort of project. One of the possibilities is said to be a nightclub and shopping complex outside the Disneyland gates that would be modeled after the company’s Pleasure Island in Walt Disney World in Florida.

As a result, there is still some hope to be found in Anaheim’s disappointment. The project had taken a great deal of the city’s time and attention, with an elaborate approval process, environmental review and hearings, but City Manager James D. Ruth is right to remain optimistic that something can be done incrementally.

The recession has taken a lingering toll of tourism in Southern California. To the extent they can, community leaders are correct to try to find solace in the far less ambitious plans for expansion. One popular attraction at Disneyland reminds us that “It’s a small world after all.” Now Orange County will have to get used to the idea that the world of Disney itself will be smaller than expected.