Disney to head downunder?

Reports in a number of media sources claim that entertainment giant Disney is looking at Sydney locations for their next major theme park.

Disney, the owners of some of the world's greatest theme parks including Disneyland in Anaheim, California, Walt Disney World in Florida and the soon-to-open Hong Kong Disneyland are reportedly looking at land in Western Sydney for their next theme park experience.

By Richard Wilson
20 March 2005

Since the early 1990s, Disney has been interested in various locations in Australia for a theme park. The DisneySea concept was once planned for the Gold Coast, a concept that was originally developed for Long Beach, California and eventuated at the Tokyo Disneyland Resort. Other locations around Queensland have also been investigated

The property Disney are said to be looking at is a 30 hectare property that was released for tourism development by the NSW State Government last week near Blacktown, the area where the since-closed Wonderland Sydney theme park was located.

There are no confirmed details about this alleged development. Disney are keeping their usual tight-lipped approach, while NSW officials are vague. It is unknown the scope of this development, and whether it will be a traditional "Magic Kingdom" style Disney park made famous by the original Disneyland theme park, or another format Disney have already experimented with in one of their existing parks.