The Herald Sun reported that in response to rumours that Disneyland could land in Melbourne's Werribee City, Wyndham City Council said no organization had approached them about building a theme park.
A city council spokesperson said Wednesday night: "No organization has approached Wyndham City Council about the construction of a 'Disney-style' theme park on council grounds." ”
The Herald Sun reported that news broke Wednesday morning that Disney was considering building a large theme park in Melbourne's Werribee.
Walt Disney Company revealed in September last year that it was working on plans to "accelerate and scale investment" to nearly double its investment spending on its theme parks and experiences to $60 billion over the next decade.
(Image source: Herald Sun)
The company also said the plan includes investment in the construction of an international theme park.
Josh D'Amaro, Chairman of Disney's Theme Park Experience and Products Division, said, "We have an ambitious growth story underpinned by our proven track record and bold vision for the future of the theme park business. ”
(Image source: Herald Sun)
News of Disneyland's expansion has sparked hope around the world, including Australia.
Felicia Mariani, chair of the Victorian Tourism Council, told the Herald Sun on Wednesday that Victoria is in dire need of more big attractions, such as theme parks. But she stressed that the future construction of a Disneyland in Werribee is "more of a rumor" and that such rumors have been circulating for years.
Whether it's Disney or other types of major attractions, the reality is that these kinds of new attractions are essential to attracting visitors to Victoria, especially by building some attractions in the greater Melbourne area, rather than just being limited to the Melbourne CBD.
"We need to build more attractions in the greater Melbourne area to really encourage visitors to travel more broadly across the metro area, and we need experiential programs."
"It's great that we've built so many new hotel rooms all over the city, but you need attractions and experiences for people to engage with, not just places to stay. Tourists need both, and we need both sides of the equation to work. ”
(Image source: Herald Sun)
This is not the first time that ambitious plans have been put forward for Werribee, which is thriving between Melbourne and Geelong. There were plans to build a theme park in the town that would rival the Gold Coast's many amusement parks and various "theme worlds".
African Safari World was a $220 million proposal to build some of the world's largest and best adventure rides on the grounds of the Werribee Open Range Zoo.
This proposal is supported by Warner Village Theme Parks, which already owns and operates a number of properties on the Gold Coast of Queensland. The park was originally scheduled to open in 2010, but the state rejected the plan in 2008, saying it was too costly for taxpayers.
(Image source: Herald Sun)
Rumours emerged this week that Werribee could be the site of a new Disney theme park in the future, following speculation last year that the entertainment giant was looking for potential theme park sites in Australia.
This led the Mayor of Melbourne, Sally Capp, to suggest at the time that Fishermans Bend was an ideal location.
"As Australia's entertainment capital, we should certainly build a Disney theme park in Melbourne," Capp said...... I knew that building a Disney theme park in our city would be a great welcome from residents, tourists, students, and businessmen, including me. ”
(Image source: Herald Sun)
In addition, Avalon Airport in Victoria, Gold Coast in Queensland, Sydney in New South Wales and Adelaide in South Australia have also tried to attract Disney to Australia.
David Fox, head of business opportunities at Avalon Airport and son of truck tycoon Lindsay Fox, has previously revealed that an entertainment area has been carved out on a large plot of land near the airport, and said that he does not rule out the possibility of building a Disney-themed park in the future.
Currently, Disney has theme parks in four countries on three continents: North America, Europe, and Asia (China and Japan). Disney amusement parks and theme parks around the world attract about 50,000 visitors a day, and the company founded by Walt Disney in 1923 now employs about 223,000 people.
(Image source: Herald Sun)
According to Disney's Q1 2023 earnings report, total revenue exceeded $23.51 billion, up 8% from last year, with a net profit of $1.28 billion, up from $1.15 billion in 2022.
The world's most visited Disney theme park in 2022 was the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, USA, with about 17.13 million visitors.
The second most visited is Disneyland in Anaheim, California, with about 16.81 million visitors in 2022.