Disneyland Australia: Port Phillip City Councilor Marcus Pearl says theme park is not top priority in Melbourne – as Geelong site has also been flagged
- Plans to bring Disneyland to Australia may be in jeopardy
- Melbourne councilor describes it as a ‘thought bubble plan’
A local councilor has launched a bid to bring Disneyland to Australia, saying more important issues need to be addressed before a new theme park is built.
Melbourne Mayor Sally Capp earlier this week backed the idea for a Disneyland Down Under with a possible location near Avalon Airport, which is southwest of Melbourne, and near Geelong.
Ms Capp firmly believes that the Melbourne area would be the ideal place for ‘the happiest place on earth’, with Fishermans Bend along the Yarra River also being identified as an ideal location.
Port Phillip City Councilor Marcus Pearl has claimed that Ms Capp has overlooked the real problems of Melburnians.
Mr. Pearl did not call the area Ms. Capp said needed “undivided attention” from the city government as a theme park.
A plan to bring Disneyland to Melbourne could be scrapped as a city council member describes it as a “transparent bubble plan” that fails to address current local issues (Disneyland, California)
Ms Capp described Melbourne as ‘Australia’s fun capital’ while speaking to the media earlier this week.
“Of course we have to have a Disney theme park in Melbourne,” she said Monday.
She then isolated Fisherman’s Bend because it would allow “exciting rollercoasters (that) could soar above the Yarra as part of a Disneyland, Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom.”
Speak against sky newsMr Pearl said that while he was “all for innovative ideas” that would attract tourists to Fishermans Bend, the area also needed to address public transport and housing issues up front.
“While a theme park idea may add limited entertainment value, it distracts us from our focus on the pressing and critical issues fundamental to a thriving, livable Fishermans Bend district,” he said.
“I beg the City of Melbourne to focus their attention and resources on addressing the state government’s lack of action in relation to Fishermans Bend rather than on thought bubble ideas.”
Mr Pearl said the city council’s willingness to build Disneyland on Fishermans Bend before addressing the area’s problems “reflects the City of Melbourne’s lack of commitment to the district”.
The city’s mayor, Sally Rugg, described the idea as a “big hit,” citing Fishermans Bend (pictured) near Melbourne’s CBD as a prime location for the theme park
Port Phillip City Councilor Marcus Pearl (pictured) said the area needed public transport, housing and open spaces before Australia’s first Disneyland was built
Fishermans Bend is just one of many locations Disneyland could be brought to, with Sydney, Adelaide and the Gold Coast all previously unsuccessfully trying to host the theme park.
Another potential theme park landing spot is a huge chunk of land at Avalon Airport, north of Geelong, and about half an hour south of Melbourne’s CBD, already set aside for an entertainment district.
David Fox, chairman of Avalon Airport and son of billionaire truck magnate Lindsey Fox, has reportedly had previous meetings with Disney.
“There is an entertainment area that we have defined. I wouldn’t say (for a) Disneyland right now, but anything is possible,” Fox said of the plan in March this year.
“With regard to other parts of the district, we need to sort out the rail connections,” he said.
The closest Disneyland to Australia is located in Hong Kong, more than nine hours by air from Sydney.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Sally Capp and Marcus Pearl for comment.