New Disneyland Parking Structure Announced, Will Dramatically Change Entrance

After the approval of the DisneylandForward expansion plan last year, a lot of exciting new possibilities are in store for the resort’s future. While this means major new expansions and additions to the theme parks, like the Avatar land coming to Disney California Adventure, it also means that the resort will be developing infrastructure necessary for this growth.

Disneyland has just announced its plans for a new parking structure and transportation hub on the east side of the resort. Keep reading for more details!

READ MORE – Longest Disney Rides Ranked – You Won’t Believe Which One Takes the Top Spot!

New Parking Structure and Transportation Hub

Disneyland has shared that this new parking structure and transportation hub will be built on the east side of the resort on a portion of what’s currently the Manchester cast member parking lot. It will have 6,000 parking spaces, shuttle and rideshare areas, security screening, and dedicated access for traffic off of Disney Way. All of this will improve parking and traffic flow throughout the resort.

Disneyland shared concept art for this new area that will feature a pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard leading to a new Esplanade. This bridge will provide public access to and from Harbor Boulevard. Disneyland shared that this is what “unlocks DisneylandForward” and enables future growth. It will allow this by freeing up space in the current transportation area. The amount of space required for the bus loops and security will be cut in half and allow for Disney California Adventure to expand out into the location. This will be part of the plan to allow the new Avatar destination to fit into this area and replace the Monsters Inc attraction.

Construction will start for this project in the fall of 2026.

This reveal came after Disney previously attempted to build this parking structure all the way back in 2017. At that time the project was blocked by local businesses along Harbor Boulevard that didn’t want Disney to build a bridge that caused guests to bypass the restaurants and hotels on that side of the resort. In this new version there are now access points on both sides of Harbor so that people can still access all of those businesses.

We expect that the new parking structure will pretty much follow the plans established at that time. Disney purchased and took down the Carousel Inn on Harbor to be their access point back to the parking structure. This is still sitting there ready for this project to begin.

You can see that in on the map below. Note the “possible new parking” on the right-hand side. This is the new structure location and the long thin green part if the previous location of the Carousel. The fly over bridge will likely connect from there, tight along the Disneyland side of the current transportation area.

READ MORE – Disney Bans Guests From Theme Parks. No Exceptions Were Made For These Celebrities That Broke the Rules!

See the concept art below! This view seems to be from right above where the crosswalk across Harbor Boulevard into the current eastern entrance is today.

I love the new marquee that harkens back to the old school signage that greeted guests who were driving into the Disneyland parking lot. The monorail also still appears to be located in the same pathway where it is today. That isn’t surprising as moving this would be costly. If they can just disguise it rather than moving it, they will.

Here is a closer look at how the Esplanade connects to the park and the Disneyland marquee on the pedestrian walkway. Note the stairs up under the circular roof on the right side of the marquee.

You can also see more news that was just announced, including new concept artwork and location for the upcoming Coco ride, and news of a classic attraction that will be closing to make way for Avatar land.

Don’t Miss the Latest Disney News

Don’t miss the latest Disneyland and Disney World news from Mickey Visit. Join the FREE Mickey Visit newsletter that over 100k readers receive every single week. Mickey Visit is here to help you save money and experience more during your Disney and Universal vacation. See the Mickey Visit guide to Disneyland and the Mickey Visit guide to Disney World for tips.