Niles: A busy 2024 set up big challenges for Disneyland in 2025

This past year may have been the most consequential year for Disneyland in more than two decades.

Disneyland did not build any major new construction projects in 2024, but it still might have been the resort’s most important year since the Disney California Adventure expansion in 2001. This year, Anaheim approved the DisneylandForward initiative, which changed the rules that have governed land use at the resort since that expansion. Under the new rules, Disney can develop attractions and hotels on land previously reserved for parking. That opens up hundreds of acres of land for expansion that would not have been possible at Disneyland without the changes.

So what’s coming next at the resort? Disneyland fans got their first official glimpse at the D23 event in Anaheim last August. Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro introduced several new attractions that would be coming to Disney California Adventure in the near-ish future, including two new rides in Avengers Campus and new boat rides themed to Coco and Avatar.

Still, legal clearances and concept plans are not enough to make fans’ dreams come true. People make the magic at Disneyland or any other tourist destination. In July, Disneyland’s cast members voted to approve new labor contracts that earned them what union leaders called “the biggest wage increases ever.”

The three-year deal covers 14,000 Disneyland Resort cast members, raising hourly pay for many of them more than $6 over three years. Other Disneyland employees also voted to organize union representation in 2024, with character and parade cast members joining Actors’ Equity Association. The year in labor news ended with Disneyland agreeing to a $233 million settlement over back pay owed thousands of cast members as a result of Anaheim’s Measure L initiative.

That money won’t hit cast members’ bank accounts until next year, as the court still must approve the deal. But with that, and the union-negotiated pay increases, Disneyland has put itself in position to remain the employer of choice among local theme parks.

Now, it all comes down to finding the creative direction that will empower Disney to deploy its cast to take advantage of the opportunities the resort now enjoys. This year, Disneyland showed that it is not afraid to make bold creative decisions, as illustrated by the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

Millions of Disney fans were happy with Splash Mountain. But Disney’s leadership decided that the company needed to change the ride’s theme from the troubled “South of the South” to more inclusive “The Princess and the Frog.” The result is another musical delight that all fans should be able to enjoy without reservation – though a poncho is still recommended.

Not all is rosy, of course. Disneyland’s reliance on Magic Key annual passes to drive attendance leaves many of those fans with a sometime frustrating reservation system, while other fans are left to navigate seasonal discounts to find an affordable date to visit. But Disneyland is heading into its 70th anniversary in 2025 having set its stage for decades of growth. Now, it’s up to Disney managers and Imagineers to deliver upon that promise in the new year and beyond.