Is a Disney-style theme park coming to Arizona? According to a report from Channel 12 News, an Orlando developer called The Block Sports Co. has submitted plans with the city of Casa Grande, Arizona for a 1,500-acre amusement and recreation resort, featuring an extreme sports park, water parks, restaurants, shopping and more. Dubbed Dreamport Villages, this might wind up being a “Desert Disney World.”
From the report…
“The Block Sports Company is thrilled to be a part of bringing a world class entertainment and lifestyle project to Pinal County,” the plan reads. “We believe we are at the same point today in Casa Grande as was Orlando 50 years ago when Walt Disney first envisioned Disney World.”
The plan says Casa Grande, however, is better equipped for a project like this than Orlando was for Disney. For starters, the development site is located near two separate major freeways, just off the Interstate 8-Interstate 10 interchange, putting it within an hour’s drive of two of Arizona’s major cities, Phoenix and Tucson.
That doesn’t sound exactly like a Disney park, but it is a huge undertaking nonetheless, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Walt began to pursue his “Florida Project.”
The project is expect to take several years to complete and cost billions, but they project annual attendance in the millions, which might give Disney and Universal a run for their money should the project be as impressive as they are claiming it will be.
It should be noted that there have been other attempts to create a large-scale amusement parks in Arizona, including the SeaWorld-esque OdySea in the Desert and some that have never come to fruition. And can you blame them? With Arizona’s tourism industry bringing in over $20 billion, it’s a lucrative market for sure.
What are your thoughts? Would you trek to Arizona to experience an “extreme” theme park in the desert? Comment below or in the forums.
It would be a very good it would bring lots of jobs to Arizona and money
Please make this happen! I just moved to casa grande and I would live to see more development here as well as Disneyland!!!
First, there is more politics involve in this than one can imagine, it’s a dream which may not happen and here is why: Arizona gets extremely hot in the summer up to 122 degrees I experienced in 2017, it will be a nightmare for lots of people walking around to enjoy the Disney park. Most people including Europeans travel to Disney with their kids during the summer season and I guarantee you no one will drag a kid in as much as 122 degrees, and so eventually that will affect revenue. I am in the vicinity and I’d love for Disney to be here but I wouldn’t dream.