It's Anaheim vs. Long Beach for Disney: analysts say the company is fishing for inducements.

It's Anaheim vs. Long Beach for Disney

Analysts say the company is fishing for inducements

Walt Disney Co.'s unveiling last week of its proposed 470-acre theme park adjacent to Disneyland in Anaheim may be part of a political ploy by the entertainment giant to get the best concessions for its projects, analysts say.

The Anaheim theme park proposal follows an announcement by Burbank-based Disney last July of plans for a water-based theme park on the Long Beach shore. Disney officials say they plan to build only one more theme park in California during this decade, and a final decision on a location will be decided by year's end.

"They're trying to play both sides to see which city gives them perks," said David Presson, a research analyst with Edward D. Jones, a St. Louis-based brokerage firm.

"I think the park will be determined by which city is more willing to cooperate with Disney and give Disney other economical advantages," added Allan Gould, an analyst with Dean Witter Reynolds brokerage firm in New York.

The two proposals could also be a signal to potential theme park competitors to "watch out" before entering or expanding in the Sounthern California market, said Paul Marsh, an entertainment analyst with Los Angeles-based Kemper Securities brokerage firm. One possible rival could be Japan-based Sony Corp., which last fall announced the possibility of building a "Sonyland" theme park in the Southland, Marsh said.

Each of the two proposed Disney theme parks would cost an estimated $3 billion to build, but each would have a different orientation. The Long Beach park, which would be called Port Disney, would be built on the waterfront (240 acres of the 450-acre proposed site are currently under water and would need to be filled in). The park would center on an ocean theme.

The Anaheim park, on the other hand, would be California's equivalent of Orlando, Fla.'s EPCOT center, and would house "showcases of foreign lands," and "themed pavilions that explore the wonders of the human body, our natural environment and the universe beyond," according to a Disney press release.

EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tommorow, while WESTCOT is not an acronym, a company spokesperson said, but rather a takeoff on EPCOT.

Either project would encompass several hotels and retail space, along with provisions for transportations.

Analysts said it was hard to tell which project would be more lucrative for Disney. But Gould said he would not be surprised if Disneyland eventually built both parks, though not simultaneously. The parks might be built five or 10 years apart, he said.

PHOTO : Artist's rendering of Disney's proposed theme park for Anaheim: The 470-acre development carries an estimated price tag of $3 billion