Disneyland Australia plan revealed

Dreams of an Aussie version of Disneyland may not be so far-fetched after all, with one Victorian MP outlining three locations in Melbourne for a possible theme park in his calls for tourism heavyweights to back the vision.

Libertarian MP for South East Metro David Limbrick spoke of his vision for an Australian version of the beloved resort on Channel 10’s The Project on Tuesday night, saying he had narrowed down three “potential outstanding locations” to make it a reality.

He told hosts the park could be put in the suburbs of Dandenong, Cranbourne or Frankston - all of which were in his electorate.

“They are so good I cannot easily split them. To prove it is a small world after all, it turns out the best locations are in my electorate,” he said.

“Unlike in other parts of Melbourne, Disney would be welcomed with open arms in South-East Melbourne.

“We have tens of thousands of families with kids who are looking for things to do and a great workforce who would love to live and work close to home.”

The move follows the American-based Walt Disney Company announcing they were developing $60bn in plans to “accelerate and expand investment” in its parks and experiences division.

It’s understood that this includes investing in international parks.

There are currently six Disneyland locations in California, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai, along with Florida’s version which is known as the Magic Kingdom.

During his appearance on The Project, Mr Limbrick called on Victoria’s Tourism Minister Steve Dimopoulos to tell they company Melbourne was open for business.

He urged the minister to tell the Walt Disney Company “every assistance” would be given if they wanted to establish a park in Victoria, which would be “welcomed by the people of southeast Melbourne”

“This is the only logical place for the happiest place on earth. We need to get Disney’s attention,” he said on the Project.

“What I requested the government to do, to the tourism minister last Thursday is to set-up a meeting with Disney and tell them that Melbourne is open for business and that we’d like them to invest.

“There are things that the government could do that won’t cost taxpayers any money.

“(They can) provide assurances that they can streamline planning applications, that they might even give them a tax holiday when they set-up.

“These sort of things might be really attractive to a foreign investor like Disney.”

Since he brought this up in parliament, Mr Limbrick said he’s “had a great response”.

“I think before we get a Disney, one of the things that we need to do is build the movement of people who actually want it,” he said.

“The people in south east Melbourne would be very interested in this.”

While the dream may come true, co-host Kate Langbroek was doubtful that this wish could actually happen.

“David, you’re amazing but we ain’t getting Disneyland,” she told Mr Limbrick.

The MP remained optimistic, telling her: “You gotta dream”.

Fellow host Sarah Harris was quick to remind everyone how successful the Wonderland theme park was in Western Sydney.

“Do you remember Australia’s Wonderland did really, really well in western Sydney for years. All the jobs that it had...it ended up dying but you know,” she said.

Despite Mr Limbrick’s call, Frankston City Council’s mayor Nathan Conroy has largely remained silent on the issue.

Mr Limbrick’s desire for an Aussie Disneyland follows after Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp AO pitching Werribee as a potential location.

The suburb - 32km southwest of Melbourne’s CBD - was a previous potential spot for a $220m adventure ride park.

The plans were pulled in 2008 by the state government due to high costs on taxpayers.

Disneyland’s Magical Expansion

The first place to have the ‘happiest place on earth’ was the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.

It was the first theme park opened by creator Walt Disney and the only one that was designed and constructed under his direct supervision. The park offically opened on July 17 1955.

The idea of the park came from watching his daughters Sharon and Diane ride on a merry-go-round. From there, his desire to create a place where adults and children could have fun was born.

Over half a century later, and the dream became a reality and expanded to two other continents with seven parks in total.