OTHER NEWS - June 17, 1994

Disney Battle Intensifies: The fight over building a Walt Disney Co. theme park in northern Virginia swept onto the national stage as a group of congressmen vowed to block the project and Disney chief Michael D. Eisner mounted his own charge on Washington. “This is a national issue,” declared Rep. Michael Andrews (D-Tex.), who introduced a resolution that he said sends a message to Disney not to build the $650-million project near Manassas National Battlefield Park in Prince William County. That announcement came as Eisner was having lunch in the Capitol with House Speaker Thomas Foley (D-Wash.) and about 30 other lawmakers. Eisner later attended the Washington premiere of Disney’s new animated movie, “The Lion King,” and hosted a party at the National Zoo expected to attract hundreds of invited, well-connected Washingtonians.