Disneyland broke ground on a new 6,000-space parking garage to handle the influx of visitors coming to see the new Avatar, Marvel and Coco attractions and reimagined Tomorrowland debuting at the Anaheim theme park resort over the next five years.
Disneyland began construction Monday, Aug. 24, on the new eastside parking structure and transportation hub with a shuttle bus and ride share drop off/pick up area as part of the $1.9 billion DisneylandForward project.
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Disneyland Resort President Jill Estorino, Walt Disney Imagineering Executive Architect Jonathan Peters and Anaheim City Council Members were on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony of the multi-year construction project by McCarthy Building Companies.
“This new parking structure and transportation hub will transform how guests arrive, creating a more seamless experience from the start of their day, while improving traffic flow throughout the resort area,” Estorino said during the groundbreaking ceremony. “We’re proud to continue investing in Anaheim, supporting local jobs and working alongside valued community and construction partners to bring this vision to life.”
The new 8-level parking structure and transportation hub on the east side of the theme park resort will push the existing Disneyland bus drop off/pick up area along Harbor Boulevard to Disneyland’s Manchester employee parking lot that backs up to the 5 Freeway.
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A pedestrian bridge will connect visitors by foot between the existing Disneyland bus drop off/pick up area on the west side of Harbor Boulevard and Disneyland’s Manchester employee parking lot on the east side of Harbor Boulevard.
The pedestrian bridge will pass over the Disneyland Monorail track that runs parallel to Harbor Boulevard on the west side of the street.
Updated concept art released by Disneyland shows a 20-foot-tall pink and orange striped wall on the northern side of the pedestrian bridge seen in earlier concept art replaced by a 50-foot-tall undulating see-through wall.
Pedestrians will use an enclosed and covered walkway on the southern side of the bridge, according to the new concept art.
An approximately 100-foot-long Disneyland sign will stretch along the side of the bridge above a ground-level pedestrian entrance along Harbor Boulevard.
The concept art is meant to capture the essence of the project and is not intended to depict final details and design of the bridge.
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The new garage and bridge are an essential first step as Disneyland plans to build a series of new attractions at Disney California Adventure over the next five years as part of the DisneylandForward plan.
Two new Marvel rides – Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab – will double the size of Avengers Campus.
A Coco boat ride will be added to Pixar Pier with a backstory that picks up a year after the original 2017 Pixar animated film.
An Avatar-themed land based on “The Way of Water” will take over a portion of the Hollywood Land themed land.
Disneyland will also reimagine Tomorrowland with new attractions using Walt Disney’s original vision for the futuristic themed land.