Disneyland Resort may be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but parent company Walt Disney Co. is still moving forward with plans to develop a timeshare project on a property just west of the theme park.
The project, which was announced in November 2019, calls for demolishing a laundry facility and other back-of-house facilities adjacent to Walnut Street to make way for the construction of a 12-story building containing 350 timeshare units - alternatively called vacation ownership resort (VOR) units. Plans call for mostly a mix of floor plans, with ranging from "pods" that resemble a typical hotel room to three-bedroom "grand villas." The property would also include such as a fitness center, a pool, and an outdoor bar.
Renderings of the proposed development, which is designed by in-house architects at Walt Disney Imagineering, depict a an L-shaped, 140-foot-tall building clad with glass, aluminum panels, fiber cement, stone, and other materials. Its height would gradually taper toward the western property line, providing a transition toward the lower-scale neighborhood located across Walnut Street.
Under the rules of a specific plan established the property, Disney is permitted to build up to 5,600 hotel rooms in the resort's hotel district - with a maximum of 150 rooms used as VOR units. As the project would exceed that number and there are already 71 VOR units attached to The Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the proposed development requires a conditional use permit subject to approval by the Anaheim Planning Commission.
A staff report issued by the Anaheim Planning Department describes the project as "a significant positive investment" for the Disneyland Resort, and recommends that the Commission should approve the requested entitlements.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Disney has already built 16 timeshare projects - known as Disney Vacation Clubs - in Florida, Hawaii, and South Carolina. Membership costs for the properties start at $19,000, plus monthly dues of at least $66.
- Anaheim (Urbanize LA)