MAYOR HANNEMANN WELCOMES DISNEY RESORT PLAN FOR KO OLINA

Mayor Mufi Hannemann today welcomed Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to Oahu and reviewed the company’s plans to build a mixed-use resort at Ko Olina.

The resort is to include 350 hotel rooms and 480 timeshare vacation villas on 21 acres of oceanfront property, and Disney estimates the project will create 1,000 new jobs.

Mayor Hannemann reviewed the company’s preliminary plans and a scale model of the resort during a briefing at Kapolei Hale with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo and Walt Disney Imagineering Executive Vice President Wing Chao.

Mayor Hannemann had met with Rasulo previously in California and urged him to move forward with the project.

“This unique project should help boost our economy and provide jobs that are badly needed, especially in the Leeward area,” Mayor Hannemann said. “I was confident that Disney would create many new opportunities and become a respected and contributing member of our community.”

“I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen so far, and I look forward to ground-breaking later this year,” Mayor Hannemann said. “I’m pleased that Disney has chosen to invest in Oahu, and I believe they’ve made a wise choice.” 

The Department of Planning and Permitting has been meeting with Walt Disney Imagineering since April to provide design comments and assistance on regulatory compliance.  Plans call for the resort to feature an extensive water play area including a small river, waterslides and several pools. The resort will also include a spa, a conference center, a kids’ club and a wedding lawn with a view of the ocean.  Currently, the department is processing a mass grading permit application which would allow the site work to begin. The department expects to issue this permit shortly, with grading work to begin in late December or early January.

A blessing and ground-breaking ceremony is being planned for later this year.

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Contact: Bill Brennan, 527-6928