More than a year ago, the Disneyland Resort submitted a proposal to the city of Anaheim for a new luxury hotel that would be built in part of the Downtown Disney parking lot. Since then, Disney has been quietly retooling the proposal and has finally announced a new AAA Four-Diamond hotel that will significantly change the west end of Downtown Disney.
The new location for the hotel puts it between the Disneyland Monorail station in Downtown Disney and the existing Disneyland Hotel, with a dedicated Monorail platform inside the new hotel. The still unnamed hotel will include walkways and gardens that connect all four hotels of the Disneyland Resort, creating a new gateway on the west end of the Resort.
Based on the artist’s renderings, it appears that everything west of the Lego store would be gobbled up by the new hotel, including the AMC Theatre, Rainforest Cafe, Earl of Sandwich, and ESPN Zone.
The new 700-room hotel will feature a sophisticated design, yet will showcase nature with landscaping and water elements on every level.
The rooms for the new hotel will have views of Downtown Disney, while an upper-level restaurant and lounge will be a great spot to catch the Disneyland fireworks. The grounds will include new shops and restaurants, plus water features in an expansive plaza.
The artist’s rendering also shows a new parking garage south of the Disneyland Hotel that has yet to be announced. In addition to that garage, the Orange County Register has also confirmed that the Eastern Gateway project has been canceled and Disneyland has said that they will now build a new 6,500 space parking structure on the current Pinocchio parking lot next to the existing Mickey & Friends parking structure. The new structure is expected to alleviate the crowding and backups onto city streets and freeway off-ramps. The tram boarding area will be reworked as well to serve both garages.
Construction on the hotel is set to begin next summer, with a planned opening in 2021. Construction on the new parking garage will begin in February, with an opening date in 2019.
Source: Disney Parks Blog (hotel) / Disney Parks Blog (parking)/ Orange County Register
Tom is the host and producer of the DIS Unplugged: Disneyland Edition podcast, plus Disneyland Editor of The DIS. He enjoys traveling with his wife and teenage son. At this point, their favorite destination is Alaska, with a FIFTH cruise there planned for the Summer of 2019. In his spare time he volunteers with Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, and help found his son's former Cub Scout Pack. His favorite Disneyland attraction is Space Mountain.
