Disneyland Resort is planning to break ground on our Eastern Gateway, a new arrival point that will provide guests even more choices for access and parking when it opens in late 2018. This project on the east side of the Disneyland Resort will include a new parking structure with 6,800 spaces, a new transportation facility and an elevated pedestrian bridge.
The largest infrastructure project in the Anaheim Resort Area in the last 20 years, the Eastern Gateway will make it even easier to get to the Happiest Place on Earth by providing an east-side entry point to the Anaheim Resort Area. The new transportation facility will be the arrival point for buses, taxis, bicycles and various shuttles that currently use the existing transportation facility located on the west side of Harbor Boulevard. The new pedestrian pathway and elevated bridge over Harbor Blvd. will directly link guests arriving at the parking structure and eastern transportation facility with the main entrance plaza.
We’ll bring you updates here on the Disney Parks Blog as this exciting project continues to take shape.
Comments
I must raise a point with you. No less than twice you provided a “recorded” answer when someone asked about those who are partially disabled but do not have a placard declaring them as disabled and the 1/2 mile long walk to the entrance. Will those people be able to access a shuttle? My father has emphysema and cannot be expected to be walking that roundtrip mile just for entrance/exit. He would be winded before he even finished crossing the bridge!
Will you be allowing him access to the shuttle even though he does not carry a “disabled” placard on his car? 🙁
It appears that the Eastern Gateway bridge over Harbor Blvd will intersect with the monorail. Is Disney going to have to move or raise the monorail, or will the bridge go over the top of the monorail?
Will the Toy Story parking lot be eliminated once this new structure opens up?
I’d love to see that property become a Water Park – something our DLR really needs and could use.
Hi Erin,
I know you have stated “Guests staying in the hotels on Harbor Boulevard will be able to access the Resort without going through the Eastern Gateway” but it seems a little vague. From the pictures I’ve seen it looks like the Ped Xing in front of IHOP will be gone. If those staying across the street have to walk all the way to Disneyland Way, cross the street and then walk all the way back again, local hotels are going to lose a lot of business from those of us who stay close due to mobility issues. Is that the plan? If so, it makes better sense to stay further at a discounted hotel rate and drive in – with the premier passes including parking and these transports you have described here for disabled persons. Thanks!
I was worried about pedestrian access from Harbor so I’m happy to hear we won’t have to walk to the Eastern Gateway to enter. It would’ve added a lot to our walk!
Hopefully more parking means more expansion! Always excited when new things come to Disneyland. Thanks!
Hi Erin, Do you know when construction is beginning? I am staying two hotels down from the Carousel Inn this fall and I know they are being demolished for this project. Just trying to determine the noise/traffic possibilities.
Can you clarify things a little please with the access for Hotels on Harbor Blvd. Will their still be the same pedestrian entrance located right by the Best Western Park Place Inn across the street from the Disneyland Main Entrance? or will the access for those Hotels be at the Manchester/Harbor blvd crosswalk to get across Harbor blvd and then to Disneylands Main Entrance?
Lots of rumors are floating around that the crosswalk right next to the entrance is going to be closed on Harbor blvd.
I understand that “Guests staying in the hotels on Harbor Boulevard will be able to access the Resort without going through the Eastern Gateway.”
Will the street-level crossing (currently at “East Shuttle Area”) remain in the same place?
Will the current Harbor Blvd. bus stops for OCTA and Metro be afffected at all?
More parking is fine, but how about adding another entrance to the Park. Without Star Wars Land, the entrance can be jammed. When SWL opens, it’ll take forever to get into the Park with the existing turnstile entrance.
I think additional parking is long overdue; however, I see no mention about transportation to the parks from this structure.
The structure is a minimum of a half a mile from the entrance, for most this may not be an issue, but there are those with mobility issues. I am sure accommodations will be made for those with disabled placards/plates automatically in the form of shuttles, anything less would be unacceptable. But what about the guest who has limited mobility but doesn’t have or need disabled placards on a normal basis? Remember we are talking at least half a mile of walking (even with the pedestrian bridge) in each direction, which becomes a mile total not to mention the energy expended while in the park.
This also doesn’t account for those with limited mobility that may stay at near by hotels and using the hotel shuttles that will now be dropped off just as far away.
Yes, these may very well be people who will rent wheelchairs while in the park, but that is also a half a mile away, so that isn’t going to work very well.
I would like to see this addressed somewhere so that we can all understand what the plan for this is.
Even for those that bring their own ECVs this could be problematic, as many of them have a range of 5 or 6 miles, now you have eliminated at least 1 mile from that range and since there is now nowhere inside the parks that they can be plugged in, there is no way to fix that either.
For our guests with disabilities, there will be special shuttles from the Eastern Gateway that the will take guests directly to a drop off area near the Esplanade.
Disneyland definitely needs a people mover or a moving walkway for those who may not be handicapped, but unable to walk long distances. Right now you have to walk a long way to parking or to a tram.
Overall, I’m really excited about the additional parking, we really need it! I think an over the street pedestrian bridge is also a great idea, it would be nice if it could be shaded somehow. Also, I too worry about feasibility af this plan for disabled guests, especially when it looks like the parking structure is already quite a ways from the hub.
Hi Melanie – There will be special shuttles from the Eastern Gateway that the will take our guests with disabilities directly to a drop off area near the Esplanade.
Well, lets see, more parking? So does that mean less wait times or less crowds? Somehow, I don’t think so…..
I just looked at the plans from the paper… It needs to have some sort of “people” mover or Tram along the “walk way” or at the minimum Small go-carts for the disabled.
As far as good neighbor hotels, I could see them blocking the entrance on the West side of harbor, but most likely they will have an entrance.
The OC Register has an article on this from August 10 with aerial pics to show you where it is and what the plan is. My only worry has been expressed already but how will the hotel guests along Harbor access the Parking structure and baggage check area? I hope they’re not being left out of the mix! Thank you for always continuing to improve the guest experience!
Guests staying in the hotels on Harbor Boulevard will be able to access the Resort without going through the Eastern Gateway.
This seems like a good way of providing more parking options which have been at a premium around the resort. The influx of pedestrians from the east will be using the new elevated walkway, so that will keep the extra traffic off of the surface streets. Kudos to Disney for getting creative in shoehorning this in to the area. I’m curious what this means for the current transportation facility property? Will it be absorbed in to the park, or will it be used for something else?
Will they have tram like the other parking structure?
Great idea!
What about disabled guests? That seems like quite the walk before they even get to the parks.
Lorna – For our guests with disabilities, there will be special shuttles from the Eastern Gateway that the will take guests directly to a drop off area near the Esplanade.
Not an Anaheim local, so still trying to place the geography–Is this the one they bought out the old Carousel hotel across Harbor Blvd. for?
The entrance to the parking structure at the Eastern Gateway will be located near the intersection of Disney Way and Clementine Street, east of Harbor Boulevard.
Is this why Disney is buying the Carousel Inns and Suites location? They just cancelled my reservation there for November.
Nice to have this, but it just seems like they’ll be able to stuff more people in to the parks when it already gets to near capacity a lot. How about new ways to alleviate the crowds inside the parks?
I use public transportation and paratransit to get to Disneyland. Will you be asking LA METRO bus 460 and Los Angeles County and OCTA Access Paratransit Services to move their stops to the new Center?
Is this being built on the land along Disney Way and the parking lot behind the hotels on Harbor Drive?
Correct – The entrance to the parking structure at the Eastern Gateway will be located near the intersection of Disney Way and Clementine Street, east of Harbor Boulevard.
Please make sure that this project maintains pedestrian access from Harbor Blvd. Walking to the pedestrian gateway is fine, but it needs to remain open for guests using hotels along Harbor.
Joshua – Guests staying in the hotels on Harbor Boulevard will be able to access the Resort without going through the Eastern Gateway.
How will Harbour Boulevard Good Neighbor desist access the park entrance now? Will there also be updates to the current security screening area?
I wonder which characters the new parking structure’s levels will be named after.
Since the existing parking structure is Mickey and Friends, I’m guessing that the new one will be Princesses, since they’re both major franchises.
Ugh, wish i could upload a pic. I have an overview from above of what it looks like that was posted on OC Disney twitter account.
Seems like a really good idea, especially the pedestrian bridge.
Can somebody provide an aerial map or a graph of where this will be geographically? I can’t find one in any news stories.
The entrance to the parking structure at the Eastern Gateway will be located near the intersection of Disney Way and Clementine Street, east of Harbor Boulevard.
Will guests from hotels on Harbor Blvd still be able to cross the street to enter the resort, or will we have to go to the new Eastern Gateway?
Guests staying in the hotels on Harbor Boulevard will be able to access the Resort without going through the Eastern Gateway.
Hi Erin, could you show us where this will be on a map of the area? Looks like an excellent plan, especially the elevated bridge.
Will there still be pedestrian access from Harbor Ave?
Much needed and much appreciated addition! I just wish we would one day see Downtown Disney expand out near here to “greet” you as you arrive.
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