Construction has finally kicked off for a highly anticipated addition to the Disneyland Resort. We just recently got news about two major milestones for construction moving forward on this project that we have been waiting for since 2022. We now have some new concept art for this massive new addition in the works!
Keep reading for all details on what’s coming! At Mickey Visit, we report on all of the latest Disney news, like key milestones for the upcoming ride we’re most excited for, and a lowering of the Disneyland California resident ticket special price to $68 per day.
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Construction Begins on New Restaurant
On Instagram, Porto’s Bakery just confirmed that construction is officially underway for the new Porto’s Bakery & Café location coming to Downtown Disney. In their post, they shared some brand new concept artwork of the outdoor seating area. This new addition has been a long time coming since it was announced at the D23 Expo in 2022, so we are quite excited to see that construction is finally underway.
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Porto’s is a beloved Southern California chain that serves Cuban-inspired pastries, cakes, and savory dishes. Right now, it has six locations in Glendale, Burbank, Downey, West Covina, Northridge, and Buena Park. This Downtown Disney addition will be the first Porto’s location with sit-down table service and a full bar. When originally describing the new restaurant, Disney shared that visitors will be able to pick up treats from the Bakery and Café, which seems like it will be comparable to a standard Porto’s Location.
The previous concept art (seen above) provided more of a general view of the exterior, but this angle gives us a closer look at the outdoor seating area. Again, we are blown away by the scale of this new addition. You can really see the massive guest capacity this restaurant is designed to accommodate.
The first floor is designed as a casual, sprawling dining layout with lots of seating available and thoughtfully placed greenery throughout the space. The upper patio is designed as a table-service layout. It includes some traditional tables, comfortable armchairs, and a bar with high-top chairs. See the new concept art revealed below.
We do not yet have a detailed look at what the inside of the space will look like. We did get a small glimpse of the interior design with the concept art that Disney previously shared (seen below).
This location is replacing the Earl of Sandwich and Earl of Sandwich Tavern/the former La Brea Bakery location that is now officially closed. Right now, the pop-up Earl of Sandwich location on the west side of the district, next to the Star Wars Trading Post, is open. They have already made significant progress on the new two-story Earl of Sandwich location at the far end of Downtown Disney that will feature a celebrity chef restaurant.
We are in Downtown Disney today to check out the construction site, and while the tables are all cleared and signs are up, there is no visible progress besides construction workers looking at plans right now.
Meanwhile, construction is still happening for the new restaurants that they are building on the footprint of the former Tortilla Jo’s. We haven’t seen vertical progress yet on these two new additions. This will be a new steakhouse called Arthur & Sons Steak and Bourbon, and the quick-service Pearl’s Roadside BBQ by Michelin-starred Chef Joe Isidori. See all of the details we know so far about these two new additions here.
There are also some other new additions coming to Downtown Disney soon. Work is currently underway on a new lululemon store in the area of the former ESPN Zone building, as well as a new boba shop concept Bopo Go!.
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Over the past couple of years, since Downtown Disney started its transformation, we’ve had several major openings, including Centrico, Paseo, and Tiendita, Din Tai Fung, Parkside Market, and new shops, including D-Lander, Avengers Reserve, Nectar Life, and more. Some of these new restaurants have made our list of the best Mickey Visit Disneyland restaurants ranked.
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