Disney Says It Doesn’t Need Airport at El Toro

A top Disney official said this week that Disneyland doesn’t need an airport at the closed El Toro Marine base to bring more tourists to the park, stunning airport backers who have counted on the company’s support.

In the first public statement by a Disney executive about the proposed airport, Walt Disney Attractions President Paul Pressler said that Los Angeles International Airport and improvements to the San Diego and Santa Ana freeways are adequate to serve future tourists.

“We feel the Los Angeles airport will accommodate our needs, particularly with the road expansions that are going on throughout Orange County,” Pressler said Tuesday after remarks to a tourism class at Cal State Fullerton.

His comment shocked El Toro backers.

They counted on Disneyland’s support to underscore the need for a new airport, which the county envisions will serve up to 28.8 million passengers a year by 2020.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Charles V. Smith, the leading county official backing an El Toro airport, said Pressler was misinformed to believe that freeways and LAX alone will keep up with air travel demand--especially since a proposal to expand LAX has hit roadblocks from cities near the airport.

“Disneyland is going to be the biggest destination for tourists coming in to El Toro [airport],” Smith said. “Disneyland will get more benefit from El Toro than any other business in Orange County.”

Foes of an El Toro airport lauded Pressler, saying his comment acknowledges that LAX should remain the only sizable international airport in Southern California.