http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2008/1 ... -news.html
Cairns Disneyland mooted
Julie Lightfoot
Saturday, December 6, 2008
© The Cairns Post
A FEDERAL politician wants Cairns to become the home of the first Australian Disneyland.
Queensland Senator Ian Macdonald has spoken with senior officials at Los Angeles’ famous theme park about an "OzDisneyland" in the state’s north.
"We’ve got great natural attractions in the reef and the rainforest but to keep tourists here longer we also need something else," Senator Macdonald said.
"I’ve spent a lot of time on the Gold Coast. They’ve done so well in tourism with surf, beaches and man-made attractions from Seaworld to Dreamworld and Movie World."
Senator Macdonald visited Los Angeles’ Disneyland earlier this year and says he spent one-and-a-half hours speaking with senior officials there about bringing a Disneyland down under.
He broached the idea of a local consortium in Cairns or Townsville partnering with Disneyland.
The visit was outlined in travel reports tabled in Parliament this week.
Disneyland was not as keen as he was, he said.
"They were saying they would doubt if there was any interest because we would need a huge local base to make it profitable," he told The Weekend Post during a visit to Cairns yesterday.
Senator Macdonald described his Disneyland trip as strictly business.
"At my age the attraction of Disneyland left me some time ago … what attracts me now is to do with anything to build up tourist attractions in Far North Queensland," he said.
His push comes after Cairns businessman Paul Freebody released his design plans for a $25 million water park he plans to build near Smithfield.
Tropical Tourism North Queensland chief executive Rob Giason said the region was "nature’s theme park".