The number of potential new themed lands that could be built as part of DisneylandForward has grown to 10 for those keeping track of all the possibilities that could come to the Anaheim theme parks under Disney’s $1.9 billion plan that just won preliminary approval.
An Encanto themed land is the latest addition to the ever-growing line-up of possibilities that Disney continues to dangle as enticing possibilities for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
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Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro told the Hollywood Reporter the Encanto franchise was among the “endless stream of stories” that could be told at the Disneyland resort.
“We will have enough room to build the equivalent of another Disneyland Park. And so then you start to think about, ‘Well what can we do here?’ ” D’Amaro told THR. “We haven’t told anything, any stories on Wakanda. We haven’t told any stories on Frozen, although it’s a 10-year old franchise. You think about franchises like Coco and Encanto. We almost have an endless stream of stories that we can tell.”
Walt Disney World unveiled plans in early April to transform Dinoland U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom into a Mayan-themed Tropical Americas land featuring stories from Encanto and Indiana Jones.
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The “Encanto” musical comedy film tells the story of the Madrigals, a Colombian family with supernatural powers who live in a magical house in the charmed and hidden mountain town of Encanto. Mischievous 15-year-old heroine Mirabel Madrigal is the only ordinary member of her multi-generational family without a magical gift such as the ability to talk to animals, make plants grow or control the weather.
Encanto has popped up at Disney California Adventure as part of the Viva Navidad seasonal celebration and as the centerpiece of a projection show on the It’s a Small World facade featuring the animated film’s hit song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”
The latest Encanto tease from D’Amaro brings the number of potential themed lands coming to the Disneyland resort to 10.
DisneylandForward has dangled themed lands based on Avatar, Tangled, Frozen, Peter Pan, Zootopia, Toy Story, Black Panther, Coco, Tron and now Encanto as potential expansion projects in Anaheim.
The Anaheim City Council gave unanimous preliminary approval to the DisneylandForward proposal on April 16 with a final approval expected on May 7. If approved, the plan would go into effect a month later in early June.
What comes next as part of DisneylandForward will likely be revealed during the D23 fan event on Aug. 9-11 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Walt Disney Imagineering has had three years to come up with ideas since DisneylandForward was first announced.
