Disney dreams dashed for Melbourne as Avalon location scrapped

Disney has finally confirmed whether they will bless Melbourne with a theme park of our very own. Oh, boy.

AW gee, oh boy, it sure did sound swell. But sorry folks, Disneyland ain’t heading here anytime soon.

Victoria has long been touted as Disney’s preferred location for an Australian theme park.

That was whipped into a fairyfloss frenzy after the American-based Walt Disney Company announced it was looking at a $60-billion plan to “accelerate and expand investment” in its parks and experiences division.

But while we don’t want to kill off Bambi or Mickey Mouse, we can say that Disney will not be heading to Avalon.

Shucks!

Disney will not be landing in Avalon.

The locality northeast of Geelong has always been considered prime space for an entertainment theme park.

Avalon Airport chair David Fox told Page 13 the airport had started conversations with the global entertainment giant about hosting a theme park in the area as early as 2015.

But in the end it did not meet the bottom line, with the Linfox boss now focusing on creating job precincts in the retail, eCommerce, industrial and aviation space.

But no Disneyland.

“No,” Fox laughed. “Sure we had discussions which started seven or eight years ago but no.

“What’s that joke about Mickey and Goofy? Anyway I’m not going there.”

We best not either.

So with Avalon officially off the Space Mountain rollercoaster it’s time for other regions to step up.

Last year, then Lord Mayor Sally Capp called on the company to bring one of its parks Down Under, citing Fishermans Bend as a possible location.

Disney Dandenong has a nice ring? Or Disney Frankston anybody?

Avalon was a proposed location for a Disneyland. Picture: Alison Wynd

South East Metro MP David Limbrick suggested Dandenong, Frankston and Cranbourne, all of which are in his electorate, calling on tourism heavyweights to get involved.

We went to Victoria’s major events to see if this was just someone taking the Mickey.

While a government spokesperson said any proposal would be considered on merit,

including any impacts on the environment, transport connections and the surrounding area, it wasn’t exactly a firm no.

“As Australia’s major events and tourism capital, we welcome new opportunities and events that would be enjoyed by Victorians and bring more interstate and international visitors to our state,” was the careful answer.

So, in the spirit of Walt Disney we are keeping alive the dream of the most magical place on earth coming to Victoria.

We remember Disney’s inspiring line and so should tourism chiefs and the state’s entrepreneurs: “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”