Every couple of years, rumours surface of a Disney theme park coming to Australia. Some of these are pure wishful fantasy, while others have brushed tantilisingly close to reality.
In September 2022, the Internet pixies started sprinkling their dust once again. Could Adelaide be bucking to join Anaheim, Orlando, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris and Shanghai on the Disney world map?
As fantastical as that seems, this is not the first time there’s been talks between the House of Mouse and our Antipodean wonderland. Two previous attempts have been made to bring the world-famous attractions to Australia, bringing waves of regret (and sometimes relief) in equal measure.
Join us as we explore the surprisingly well-documented near-misses in bringing the seventh happiest place on Earth to our shores. Please keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the cabin at all times.
Disney and Australia
Disney has long maintained a connection with Australia.
The animated short Mickey’s Kangaroo (1935) kicked off that connection, with Mickey’s Australian friend exporting a ‘roo to our hero. Mickey Down Under (1948), featuring Mickey using a boomerang, probably solidified many of the global stereotypes that persist about our big flat land to this day.
Ride a Wild Pony (1975), based on the James Aldridge story, was not only set in Australia but featured a largely Australian cast. A 1971 episode of The Wonderful World of Disney featured Disney on Parade, a travelling arena show shot during the first leg of the tour in Adelaide. Journey to the Valley of the Emu, a 1978 episode of the same anthology series, focused on a First Nations protagonist, albeit one suspects this late 1970s TV film wasn’t a culturally safe depiction. Later, of course, Disney would set The Rescuers Down Under (1990) and Finding Nemo (2003) here in Australia.
My own relationship with Disney started sometime after this as an impressionable lad in the 80s. This was partly due to the solid program of re-releasing ‘Vault’ titles for the emerging VHS market, and The Wonderful World of Disney on a Sunday night on Channel 7. In 1987, I took my first trip to Disneyland and totally met Mickey Mouse.
I’ve since been around the world to Florida, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Paris with Disney. It’s a small world, after all. Speaking of which, Australia is currently represented at parks around the world with an animatronic kangaroo and a couple of koalas (or are they drop bears?) in the classic Mary Blair inspired boat ride, It’s a Small World.
Disney Stores came to the country in 1992, and the Disney Channel arrived in 1996. Walt Disney Animation Australia made features and animated series for the direct-to-home market between 1988 and 2006.
As of 2019, the former Fox Studios Australia became Disney Studios Australia, with major productions now happening here.
First steps: Disneyland on the Gold Coast
So, it was inevitable that some thought would be given to a local park in this big, flat, mysterious island nation.
The push to open Disneyland on a site in the Gold Coast suburb of Coomera first began in 1977 when the Southport-based Star Land Company began trying to entice Disney to our shores.
Queensland proved its chops as a world-class destination a decade later with World Expo 88, the A$625 million world’s fair that coincided with the nation’s bicentenary of European colonisation.
Disney already had a presence at the Expo: in addition to a mascot designed by Disney’s Imagineering Division, the light-blasting Skyneedle was originally planned to go to Tokyo Disneyland. It was instead awarded to hairdresser Stefan Ackerie and moved to South Bank. (Disney fans might also recall that the New York City Fair in 1964-65 gave us It’s a Small World, Carousel of Progress and more).
Fast forward to more than two decades later, and developer Gordon McAlister was one of the people who was behind the plan to turn an 810ha Coomera plot into a destination resort. According to the Gold Coast Bulletin, the Queensland state government started to become serious interested in the project in the late 90s.
Queensland Sport Minister Mick Vievers had visited Disneyland in late 1997 with the former Expo chairman Sir Llew Edwards, and the media began to ponder if there were legs in this rumour. Initially led by the Rob Borbidge Liberal Government, former premier Wayne Goss was asked by the government to negotiate the ‘Starland’ project with Disney on the government’s behalf.
“We got to the last meeting in Burbank, California, when Michael Eisner stepped in and said ‘No, I want to go to China’.”
“It had got to the stage where there were proposals before Disney and proposals before the government,” McAlister told the Gold Coast Bulletin in 2015. “We got to the last meeting in Burbank, California, when Michael Eisner stepped in and said ‘No, I want to go to China’.” Which is what Disney ultimately did, with Hong Kong and Shanghai parks opening in 2005 and 2016 respectively.
Governments changed and local appetite waned, thanks in part to the requirement for direct government support — including land, infrastructure, tax incentives and capital construction contributions — that was said to cost somewhere in the ballpark of $US300 million to $US500 (which would be pushing $1 billion at the top end in 2022 dollars).
Following the closure of the 16 local Disney Stores in 2003, it seemed that was the end of plans Disneyland in Australia. At least for a little while.
Second attempt: Disney Wharf Sydney
About a decade after the Gold Coast plan went bust, Disney apparently eyed Sydney Harbour around 2007-08. It wasn’t quite the grand park planned for our northern neighbours though.
According to a Sydney Morning Herald piece, there was some serious work being put into a concept called ‘Disney Wharf at Sydney Harbour.’ Set for the old White Bay Power Station and Glebe Island area, within spitting distance of the Anzac Bridge, it would have transformed the area into a Disney-themed series of shops, attractions, and hotels.
Not simply a theme park, from the documents that have been made public — where it was referred to as ‘Project Lester’ — it would have a been a “bustling boardwalk along its 97 acres is filled with outdoor cafes, waterfront restaurants, neighborhood parks, trendy boutiques, marina, hotels, and a luxury spa.”
Along with a topiary-filled ‘Fantasia Gardens Promenade’ and a ‘Castle Courtyard Environment,’ there were plans for designer shops including “food, flower, and cheese vendors.” Art played a large part, with plans for galleries, street artists, and “a vibrant artists-in-residence program.”
Ferries would have taken both locals and visitors to the Disney Wharf featuring gaming, the Disney-Pixar Studios Australia, a Theatre District and Disney’s Nighttime Water Spectacular.
More familiar ‘Classic Disney’ elements reportedly included Mickey’s Philharmagic 4D Show, Disney Princesses Boutique, Disney’s Flight of Fantasy including Dumbo and Aladdin (think Peter Pan’s Flight or Dumbo the Flying Elephant), a Finding Nemo area, Goofy’s Candy Company, a Wonderful World of Color Restaurant and, of course, branded stores.
As a native Sydneysider, one who lives dangerously close to the proposed site, having a Disney Park that was visitable on public transport would have been amazing. Yet it’s hard to imagine that it would have been sustainable. The proposal speaks of expanded light rail, for example, which would take at least another decade to become a reality.
Sounding like a cross between Downtown Disney, the residential Storyliving developments, and the idea that eventually evolved out of Downtown Disney into Disney Springs in Florida, it smacked of all the compromises that made the launch of Hong Kong Disneyland underwhelming. It’s what one government member apparently called a “development proposal dressed up as fun park’.”
In December 2022, former Imagineer Jim Shull released one of the first hi-res images (above) of this proposed park on Twitter. For the first time, we were able to clearly see how the entertainment, light theming, and retail aspects sat with the White Bay area. You can even see how the Anzac Bridge would have overlooked the Wharf area. If nothing else, it would definitely made a mark on the landscape.
“Disney Wharf was a project imagined for Sydney Harbor, Australia. Located on a site designed to lift the area it was to be a mixed use project. Not a theme park but more than a retail and entertainment project, Disney has tried this several times with mixed results,” he Tweeted.
Why did this attempt fail? Well, costs and a lack of written proposals tend to be cited. The rail and road changes would have cost an estimated A$500 million (and may have still be under construction decades later if the light rail was any indication). There also may have been a small riot from the Inner West residents of the adjacent Balmain as well. Seriously: getting DA approval on Sydney’s waterfront was probably just more trouble than it was worth.
New attempts: Adelaide Disneyland?
In September 2022, it was widely reported that a South Australian businessman was the latest person to try and open negotiations with Disney Parks and Resorts.
“McLaren Vale would be my spot – wide, open, flat, next to the beach, next to the ranges – (it) makes a lot of sense,” winemaker Warren Randall told The Advertiser.
He has reportedly offered part of his his 1200ha McLaren Vale land portfolio in order to entice Disney Down Under.
“Anaheim, the Disneyland in California, has fantastic resources, great infrastructure in terms of traffic, getting there, buses, parking et cetera,” Randall added to the newspaper. He’s not wrong, given both the Anaheim and Orlando locations had a history of primary industry prior to becoming amusement capitals. The aim is to make Adelaide’s wine country a destination for Australians and international visitors.
While neither the South Australian government nor Disney have made any official bids or offers as yet, lest we forget that the Gold Coast’s first bid started humbly almost 20 years before things got serious. So, at this rate, can we expect to see Disneyland Adelaide in 2042?
Wither Disney Australia?
So, what are the actual chances of Disney opening up a park here in Australia? Disney Cruises are finally coming to Australia for the first time in 2023-2024, and cabins are already selling like hotcakes. Perhaps Disney will use them as a way of testing the market.
Queensland’s Gold Coast now has a reputation for being the home of most of our big amusement parks such as Dreamworld, SeaWorld and Warner Bros. Movie World. Yet the reality is that Australia probably doesn’t have the local population to sustain a resort of this magnitude.
The demise of Sydney’s Wonderland in 2004, not to mention any number of other defunct Australian parks, is indicative of this. In the US, a 2021 report from the Orange County Register estimated that more than 50% of attendees were annual passholders. Indeed, there are an estimated one million such passholders who helped sustain the California park’s 18.7 million yearly visitors in 2019.
To put that in perspective, that would mean that at least 400,000 people in NSW alone would need to be annual passholders to sustain an equivalent market. At the time of writing, new passes in the Magic Key program (as it is now called) have been paused, but numbers of the local faithful unquestionably remain.
“We estimated about five million visitors each year, which is small for Disney but huge for us,” said McAlister of Australian scoping in the 1990s. Since then, both Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland have emerged, making it far more affordable for Australians to visit a Disney Park without the need or expense of a 13-hour flight. Plus, the added potential of Asian tourism to an Australian Disney park has been drastically diminished by Disney’s footprint in Japan, Hong Kong, and China.
The most likely offering is something akin to the Hawaiian Aulani resort, Disney’s standalone hotel in Hawai’i’s island of O‘ahu. Here guests can have some character meetings, enjoy Disney themed amenities, and explore the natural surrounds. Sounds perfect for an Australian vacation — or even a local staycation.
For now, the closest Disneyland gets to the area is the virtual reality ride Soarin’ Around the World, guests “swoop past sailboats on Australia’s iconic Sydney Harbour.” So, until any new developments, the happiest places on Earth will remain a bit of a schlep for Australians.
Unless, of course, one of those ships happens to sidle up to a port near you. On behalf of all of our crew, thanks for traveling with us, and we hope you’ve had a happy and memorable visit here at Disneyland Australia. Please remain seated until the ride comes to a complete stop.
Sources
Moore, A. (2015, September 5). How the Gold Coast almost became the happiest place on Earth. Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from Gold Coast Bulletin.
Snow, D. (2014, January 11). Walt Disney Company proposed a Disney Resort in Sydney. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from smh.com.au
Weiss, W. (2020, February 21). Yesterland: Hyperion Wharf at Walt Disney World. WW GOES TO WDW at Yesterland.com. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from Yesterland
Other links
Disney Wharf in Australia. (2019, February 9). Insights and Sounds.
Where is Disneyland Australia? – ReviewTyme
Unbuilt Disney: Disneyland Australia – Jim Hill Media [podcast]
NB: This article was updated on 4 January 2023 to incorporate some new images released in December 2022.
