Port Disney

Cancelled property development

Port Disney was a planned Walt Disney resort spanning This was followed by the publication of The Port Disney News, which was mailed directly to homes in 1991 to drum up public support. Mounting costs and local opposition led to the project's cancellation in December 1991, and Disney instead turned its attention to building the WestCOT theme park in Anaheim, California. Some of the park's planned elements were later incorporated into the development of Tokyo DisneySea in Japan, which opened in 2001. In March 1992, Disney announced plans to end its lease on the Queen Mary, Spruce Goose, and surrounding property, relinquishing development rights to all of its Long Beach properties. The Queen Mary would have been moved 700 feet (213 m) to a new berth. |
|DisneySea ||DisneySea Theme Park
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|Marina Hotel ||Marina Villa Hotel
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|Tidelands Hotel ||Tidelands Convention Hotel
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|Shoreline Hotel ||Shoreline Suites Hotel
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|rowspan="2"|Canal Hotel ||Regatta Hotel(west, adjacent to new marina)
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|Canal Hotel(east, adjacent to Queen Mary)
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|Port Hotel ||Port Hotel
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|The Quay ||Treasure Lagoon Park
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|WorldPort ||International Port
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|rowspan="2"|unnamed Port side marinas||Queensway Bay Marina(near Regatta Hotel)
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|Pier J Marina(near Cruise Ship Port)
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The illustrative site plan presented in the Port Disney News brochure distributed to Long Beach residents had a slightly different layout and names for some of the featured attractions. The Canal Hotel was now split into two hotels, the Regatta Hotel (on the west side) and the Canal Hotel (on the east side). In addition, The Quay was now an enclosed park and renamed Treasure Lagoon Park.

In addition to the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose attraction leases in Long Beach, Wrather Corp. also owned the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim since its construction, making it an irresistible target for Disney. Wrather was acquired in late September 1987 by a new company formed as an equal partnership between the Walt Disney Company and Industrial Equity (Pacific) Ltd. of Hong Kong (IEP). IEP itself was controlled by Ronald Brierley and had already amassed 28% of the approximately 10.1 million publicly traded shares of Wrather Corporation. The remaining 72% of shares (7.3 million shares) were purchased by the Disney IEP partnership at a cost of per share, for a total indicated price of Wrather had previously rejected an unsolicited offer in August 1987 from Disney at per share. Disney bought out IEP in March 1988 at a total indicated price of , which was an offer on half the partnership's shares acquired in 1987 at a cost of per share. In doing so, Disney obtained sole ownership of the Disneyland Hotel and Long Beach attraction leases. Since Wrather owned land adjacent to Disneyland, the acquisition of Wrather meant Disney could now either expand Disneyland or add a retail and entertainment district near the 1955 theme park. However, Wrather also held the rights to lease and develop near the Queen Mary under the 1985 proposal, though much of that land was underwater, giving Disney the option to build a new park in Long Beach. By June 1989, Disney had already advanced a concept for an oceanfront theme park using the Queen Mary as a backdrop. As a first step, Disney won the right to develop a hotel on a site near the intersection of Pine Avenue and Shoreline Drive, across the Queensway Bay from the Queen Mary.

In January 1990, Disney announced that a new $1 billion theme park would be built in either Long Beach or Anaheim, with Disney chairman Michael Eisner saying "It depends a lot on which community wants us more." While Disney only owned in Anaheim for development (with the acquisition of the Disneyland Hotel), it held much larger options in Long Beach: the ex Wrather Queen Mary and Spruce Goose leases for and an option to develop an additional of ocean. Long Beach City Councilman Evan Anderson Braude touted the existing infrastructure and transportation. Eisner pointed out the Long Beach Freeway, which ends at Queensway Bay, was one of the least used freeways in the Los Angeles region. Long Beach officials touted the unique opportunity to develop the oceanside location and were considering engineered fill, tax exemptions, and parking garages to help attract a new theme park, but stopped short of wholeheartedly endorsing the idea, saying that impacts on economy and traffic would be studied first. Long Beach Mayor Ernie Kell said "That [Queensway Bay land] is some of the primest land in the world, and there are many uses for it. Yes, Disney would be a key (to the city's success.) But if Disney decides not to come here, it is not the end of the world." In February 1991, Disney disclosed that it had been buying large tracts of land near Disneyland in Anaheim, although Disney vice president of development David Malmuth said the land acquisition would not affect the decision between Anaheim and Long Beach, which would be announced by the end of 1991.

Although city officials were bullish, with City Councilman Les Robbins saying "[ ] if you took a (council) vote today, it would be nine zip to pursue Disney and leave no rock unturned", and Long Beach business owners asked the city to "bend over backward" for Disney, Long Beach residents remained cool to the idea, even before the concept was presented to the public for the first time on July 31, 1990. The public unveiling followed earlier closed door meetings presenting the concepts between Disney and city officials. Some of the representatives from 80 neighborhood associations and businesses objected to added traffic from tourists, and felt that public subsidies in the form of infrastructure improvements were not warranted for Disney, a very profitable private corporation. Still others voiced concerns that Disney, notorious for unyielding enforcement of employee grooming and dress codes, would not fill the majority of the estimated 10,000 new jobs from the local population. Critics pointed out that even with contemplated widening of the Long Beach Freeway and the new Blue Line light rail service, no real improvements to alleviate traffic were included in the Preliminary Master Plan beyond hoping that traffic to Port Disney would run opposite to the traditional commute direction. Disney touted the benefits to the city, including linking the downtown district with the waterfront. At the time, the retail tax base in Long Beach was so poor the city was unable to support a shopping mall. In October 1990, Disney released a privately commissioned study which projected that tax revenues within Long Beach would rise by $47 million and that Long Beach alone would see 23,900 new jobs, consisting of 12,400 directly employed by Disney and the rest indirectly from businesses supporting the new Port Disney. City officials were skeptical as the numbers were provided by Disney and did not address the cost of modifications to infrastructure, which were later revealed to include a request for $880 million in road improvements, made during an early round of negotiations with Disney.

Disney had already commissioned a report before declaring the competition open between Long Beach and Anaheim. The report was presented internally in October 1989 and estimated the economic impacts of new resorts as a strategic tool to build governmental support. The estimated annual tax revenue for the City of Long Beach was predicted to increase by , with the majority of the revenue increase coming from property and hotel taxes. Anaheim's annual tax revenue was estimated to increase by , with most of that coming from property tax, hotel tax, and convention center revenue. The later 1990 Port Disney Fiscal Impact Report provided a revised (decreased) annual tax revenue increase of , again with most of the increase coming from hotel taxes. In comparison, the fiscal year 1991 city budget was estimated at only The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce endorsed the project "in concept" in October 1991, contingent on assurance the project would benefit the Long Beach business community. Disney created a Port Disney project display room aboard the Queen Mary on the Promenade Deck in Picadilly Circus, open on Mondays and Wednesdays in the evening from 6 p. m. to 9 p. m. The project display room included a large model of the proposed Port Disney project and other project components. SB 1062 was written on Disney's behalf to clarify and confirm that Disney would have the authority under the California Coastal Act to fill open waters and build Port Disney atop the fill. Later amendments to the proposed legislation would have clarified that recreation uses are permitted on new landfill, and was later amended to apply specifically to the city of Long Beach only. Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, and the California Coastal Commission opposed the bill, saying that despite the proposed changes, it would allow similar projects along the California coastline. The proposed legislation was seen as threatening a habitat which supported the California brown pelican, and that it would set a dangerous precedent opening the way to offshore oil drilling. Other legislators attached amendments to the proposed legislation requiring Disney to restore Southern California wetlands and set park employee diversity goals. The bill stalled in the California State Senate Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee, where hearings for the bill were postponed four times from April–May 1991 (three times in May alone). The Coastal Commission dropped its opposition to the bill in June 1991, overruling the recommendation from its executive director, Peter Douglas, who opposed the bill due to the projected impact on the important fish habitat in San Pedro Bay, off Long Beach. During closed door negotiations, Disney and Committee members were unable to come to a compromise on the amount Disney would be required to pay for restoring wetlands elsewhere. Committee members initially proposed a 4:1 ratio of restoration to fill, meaning Disney and the City of Long Beach would be responsible for spending approximately $100 million to restore to compensate for the proposed of fill. Eventually, the Committee proposed a 3:1 ratio (approximately $75 million and restored), while Disney would not budge from their proposal for a 2:1 ratio ($50 million, restored). After discontinuing negotiations, Committee members were left with the impression that Disney would defer further negotiations to 1992. Later in June 1991, the committee chairman canceled a hearing of the bill which was scheduled for June 25, 1991. State Senator/Chairman Dan McCorquodale felt that last minute amendments submitted just before the scheduled hearing reneged on earlier promises that Disney had made to delay consideration of the bill until 1992, calling it "a highhanded effort of trying to breeze through the Legislature with a change that I think the Legislature has not wanted." Local business and labor leaders endorsed the proposed legislation, urging passage to provide educational opportunities and an economic boost to the region. Disney said the project would be "dead without passage of the bill." However, citing failure to reach an agreement for the specific amount it needed to spend to mitigate marine impacts, Disney shelved the legislation for further consideration in 1992.

Sources at the Port of Long Beach privately commented they wished Disney would just "dry up and blow away", citing concerns that Port Disney could interfere with operations at the busy port. When Maersk signed a renewed lease with the Port in 1991, it included an escape clause that would allow Maersk to withdraw if Port Disney affected their operations. At the same time, the Port Disney project was renamed to DisneySea, as some foreign customers of the Port of Long Beach thought the project included renaming the entire Port of Long Beach to Port Disney.

A decision on whether to proceed with the Port Disney project was scheduled to be made by January 1992. The mayor of Long Beach cited the issues with SB 1062, stating that he "just [doesn't] think it makes as much economic sense for Disney or the city now", in November 1991, and the Port Disney project was canceled in favor of the WestCOT project in December 1991. In announcing the decision, Disney officials cited the cost of regulatory review involving 27 different government agencies on the federal, state and local levels, which could cost up to
According to former Disney cast members, the company abandoned the idea mainly due to its significant financial problems caused by the EuroDisney Project (the cost of the construction and operation of the marina was an estimated $1 billion at the time) which ultimately led to the cancellation of the Port Disney and the planned Disney WestCOT Project in Anaheim. David Malmuth later stated "It was really my inability to muster the support that I needed within the Walt Disney Company" that led to the selection of the Anaheim proposal. City of Long Beach employees say that it was abandoned because the city did not agree to make expensive improvements to the Long Beach Freeway and other roads leading to the development site as requested by Disney.