We found out over two years ago that a new luxury hotel would be coming to Downtown Disney in Anaheim. Now it looks like the new Disneyland luxury hotel is on indefinite hold because of a dispute with the city of Anaheim.
Originally when Disney made their plans to build this new AAA Four-Diamond luxury hotel near Downtown Disney, they were supposed to be getting a $267 million tax break from the city of Anaheim. It was originally going to have 700 rooms, have a monorail station and be located on the existing Downtown Disney parking lot. Then in the Fall, new plans were revealed which showed the luxury hotel going on the west side of Downtown Disney with some restaurants being removed to make room for it including Earl of Sandwich, Rainforest Cafe, and AMC Theatres.
In 2016 when the original deal was made, Anaheim was giving big tax breaks to Four-Diamond properties, but since then they’ve changed their stance and only giving tax breaks to projects that have already been approved. Now since the location of the Disneyland luxury hotel is moving to Downtown Disney instead of the parking lot, the city of Anaheim is saying they no longer qualify for the tax breaks.
David Ontko chief counsel for Disneyland Resorts, stated:
“You have given us no other choice than to put construction of the hotel on indefinite hold as the resort reevaluates the economic viability of future hotel development in Anaheim,”
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said this:
“It’s a matter of law, and legally the city cannot pay the subsidy because it’s a fundamentally different project. If Disney wants to build a luxury hotel they should build it with their own money.”
Disney doesn’t need further approval to move ahead with the luxury hotel, but at this point it doesn’t look like the city counsel is going to change its position on the tax breaks. We’ll see now how long Disney plans to keep the project on hold…
Your Thoughts:
I want to know what you think about Disney putting the new Disneyland luxury hotel on indefinite hold…
- Whose side to do take in this situation?
- How should Disney handle it?
Let us know in the comments section below!
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News Source: LA Times
My name is Ziggy and I love Disney, everything Disney! I grew up on Disney and it has and continues to be a huge part of my life. I started young when my parents took me to Disney World when I was 18 months old. Little did they know that would be the first of an uncountable number of trips we would take. I have so many amazing memories going to Disney with my family and friends and it has been interwoven into my DNA.