Back in the '90s, Disney had a dream to build a $2.8 billion aquatic-theme park resort and cruise ship port in California. The ambitious project was expected to draw 10 million visitors annually and employ more than 10,000 people.
Ultimately, the grandiose park known as Port Disney never materialized. So, what happened?
Announced to the public in July 1990, the park was set to be located surrounding the Queensway Bay Inlet in Long Beach. Plans for Port Disney included a theme park, six waterfront hotels, shopping and dining districts, an aquarium, marine research facility and, most importantly, a cruise ship port to dock the Disney Cruise Line, which was in its infancy at the time.
Turning Port Disney from a dream to reality was more difficult than the company had initially imagined.
Disney had to go through a lot of red tape with local, state and federal officials, but due to its proposed location and plans to redevelop the coastline, there also needed to be an environmental review of the project to see what the impact on the environment would be from the park, KTLA reported.
On top of that, the project had already cost millions and not a single shovelful of soil had been turned over, the Los Angeles Almanac reported.
All of this and more led to Disney scrapping the Port Disney park idea in December 1991 in favor of its WestCOT project, which ultimately evolved into the California Adventure Park in Anaheim.