News Avatar Experience coming to Disneyland Resort

[MoonRakerSCM]

This is not a blue sky presentation and this whatever gateway thing is sounds beey blue sky to me.

Nope, you're wrong on that one.

Take a look at the thread here, long read for sure, but the Eastern Gateway was practically starting construction (Disney DID demolish the hotel where the path will be). We have plans (detailed plans) and it was moving forward until Anaheim flat out pooped all over Disney's plans (rather unfairly almost approaching legal action if I recall correctly). This is the image I've been posting which uses the plans from Disney (doctored with red (monorail reloacting) and yellow (~7.6 acre footprint that is only a couple 10s of an acre short of the entire footprint of Avatarland in Animal Kingdom)-

 

[mickEblu]

No matter where Avatar goes its dependent on the Eastern Gateway project being completed. This is the first domino to fall in any expansion of DCA and the entire Resort. This includes any potential for Avatar to go into any slot slated for DisneylandForward. Its ALL dependent on the Eastern Gateway and the new Transportation Hub being completed.

Right which isn’t the case with Coco or Avengers.

 

[Disney Irish]

We'll see.

Sorry but you're out over your skis here. You don't know the history of the project. It has a very long history, something I've been discussing on the board for the better part of a decade.

 

[Disney Irish]

Right which isn’t the case with Coco or Avengers.

True, which is why those projects aren't part of the expansion of the DCA footprint which Avatar is.

 

[mickEblu]

Nope, you're wrong on that one.

Take a look at the thread here, long read for sure, but the Eastern Gateway was practically starting construction (Disney DID demolish the hotel where the path will be). We have plans (detailed plans) and it was moving forward until Anaheim flat out pooped all over Disney's plans (rather unfairly almost approaching legal action if I recall correctly). This is the image I've been posting which uses the plans from Disney (doctored with red (monorail reloacting) and yellow (~7.6 acre footprint that is only a couple 10s of an acre short of the entire footprint of Avatarland in Animal Kingdom)-

View attachment 808505

Can the Monorail make that sharp turn there at the end in red?

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

Yeah, take a look at the stuff we're showing you, just explaining what is going on. Note the thread below had its last post from 2020 before I bumped it today.

Long live the Eastern Gateway or how I learned to love the Anaheim City Council after the election.

This can be the new spot to discuss a resurrected Eastern Gateway that should be coming this year.

forums.wdwmagic.com

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

Can the Monorail make that sharp turn there at the end in red?

So the sharp turn onto the BVS bridge is not shown on the direct overhead image we have (that I've georeferenced) BUT there is a shot somewhere kind of oblique of a full version of the plan by Disney that has it making the turn.

Along with that, I recall (likely ~5 years ago) going through and making a comparison myself of the turn and the sharpest turns the monorail does in the 'spaghetti bowl' above the subs/Autopia. It makes turns that tight already.

 

[Disney Irish]

Yeah, take a look at the stuff we're showing you, just explaining what is going on. Note the thread below had its last post from 2020 before I bumped it today.

Long live the Eastern Gateway or how I learned to love the Anaheim City Council after the election.

This can be the new spot to discuss a resurrected Eastern Gateway that should be coming this year.

forums.wdwmagic.com

Not to mention the original thread from 2016 -

New Disneyland Parking Garage and Transportation Hub

Hey everyone! So, I couldn't find a thread specifically about the new garage being built, so I figured that I'd start one! @OCDisney just posted this on Twitter: I definitely thought it was interesting how they could definitely use that area currently used for the "Transportation Facility" for...

forums.wdwmagic.com

 

[Mickey's Pal]

Nope, you're wrong on that one.

Take a look at the thread here, long read for sure, but the Eastern Gateway was practically starting construction (Disney DID demolish the hotel where the path will be). We have plans (detailed plans) and it was moving forward until Anaheim flat out pooped all over Disney's plans (rather unfairly almost approaching legal action if I recall correctly). This is the image I've been posting which uses the plans from Disney (doctored with red (monorail reloacting) and yellow (~7.6 acre footprint that is only a couple 10s of an acre short of the entire footprint of Avatarland in Animal Kingdom)-

View attachment 808505

Thx you guys for the info. I haven't been here that long.

 

[Disney Irish]

Thx you guys for the info. I haven't been here that long.

Sometimes you have to trust what the long time members are telling you, especially when it comes to historical projects.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

If what remains is just the Hyperion theater (Philhar would be good for demolition as extra space for a dark ride to either the Hollywood or Avatar land), could the entire area just become annexed into Buena Vista Street? They have pretty similar themes and would become relatively small enough to be combined.

Can the Monorail make that sharp turn there at the end in red?

I'm pretty sure OP was just making a rough estimate for the monorail. If there's a show building in that general corner area, it could simply glide through a tunnel (perhaps viewing into whatever is in there without being noticeable?), then continue forward to Disneyland.

Something to think about- Parklore armchair imagineered a version of DCA, which used the same Eastern Gateway expansion plot to create a different Avengers Campus.

Annexing in the backlot space gives the entire land a lot of breathing room. There are some interesting transition and design notes too:

California Dreamin': An Armchair-Imagineered, Master-Planned Build-Out of Disney California Adventure Park - Page 3 of 7 - Park Lore

Diversion: Disney’s California Avenger Before we continue our tour around my “reimagined” California Adventure, we need to make a quick side trip to our first official Diversion. When we started this tour, I set out the idea that “my” version of this park would key off of California Adventure’s...

parklore.com

Hopeful me dreams that they can actually build the TCL Chinese Theater (even if an hour drive away) so it can act as a transition to Avatar.

 

[Mickey's Pal]

Any chance they put the land where that parking lot is next to DownTown Disney?

 

[Disney Irish]

Any chance they put the land where that parking lot is next to DownTown Disney?

That is the Simba lot which is part of DisneylandForward, and again that requires expansion that is dependent on the Eastern Gateway plus a new bridge to go over Disneyland Dr.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

Thx you guys for the info. I haven't been here that long.

Absolutely! It's a mess honestly because it was something so long ago that was a hot topic... so it makes perfect sense to me, but yes, it is true that they did NOT mention it during this presentation. I note though that they did not provide a full land layout (like they did for Tropical Americas). So this IS all an assumption on our part, I've simply been showing that space wise, it CAN work.

I've been thinking that if they were in fact putting this in Simba lot... they would have said that. The first piece of Disneyland Forward etc... but nothing. Of note, that would require shutting down parking without any additional parking being put in. Disney has a plan to put in parking... being the Eastern Gateway.

This brought up another memory that was at the same time... Disney WAS building a huge hotel where ESPN Zone and Rainforest Cafe were. That was a done deal... it WAS happening. But as I recall, it along with the Eastern Gateway were being assembled at a time that the Anaheim City Council had SERIOUS beef with Disney and they did ANYTHING they could to roadblock Disney. I seem to remember that Anaheim denied the final hotel permit because a city council member noted that the address for the hotel was not what was in the original submitted permit (from like 20 years earlier). Disney packed up and walked away awaiting better City relations, which they now have.

 

[Disney Irish]

Absolutely! It's a mess honestly because it was something so long ago that was a hot topic... so it makes perfect sense to me, but yes, it is true that they did NOT mention it during this presentation. I note though that they did not provide a full land layout (like they did for Tropical Americas). So this IS all an assumption on our part, I've simply been showing that space wise, it CAN work.

I've been thinking that if they were in fact putting this in Simba lot... they would have said that. The first piece of Disneyland Forward etc... but nothing. Of note, that would require shutting down parking without any additional parking being put in. Disney has a plan to put in parking... being the Eastern Gateway.

This brought up another memory that was at the same time... Disney WAS building a huge hotel where ESPN Zone and Rainforest Cafe were. That was a done deal... it WAS happening. But as I recall, it along with the Eastern Gateway were being assembled at a time that the Anaheim City Council had SERIOUS beef with Disney and they did ANYTHING they could to roadblock Disney. I seem to remember that Anaheim denied the final hotel permit because a city council member noted that the address for the hotel was not what was in the original submitted permit (from like 20 years earlier). Disney packed up and walked away awaiting better City relations, which they now have.

The hotel thing was dumb on Anaheim's part. The EGW was just dumb on the Harbor businesses part, as we're getting almost exactly the same outcome just many years later.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

Of note this is what the planned new transportation hub and new structure were to look like-

I recall the immigration services building was in the way and there was no way it was budging at least until its lease was up... when was that to be? It may have been so long it might be gone now (heck, Disney could already own it for all we know).

 

[Disney Irish]

Of note this is what the planned new transportation hub and new structure were to look like-

View attachment 808508

I recall the immigration services building was in the way and there was no way it was budging at least until its lease was up... when was that to be? It may have been so long it might be gone now (heck, Disney could already own it for all we know).

CIS lease ended in 2019/2020 if I recall correctly. The building was rumored to be used by TDA as I recall until its demoed.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

So Disney DOES own it? Hah! So yeah, that entire area may look entirely different... but the walkway/bridge I assume will still be the same? If Disney had acquired another of the Harbor businesses I assume we'd know...

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

That empty lot of the Carousel Inn has been sitting waiting a loooong time...

 

[Disney Irish]

So Disney DOES own it? Hah! So yeah, that entire area may look entirely different... but the walkway/bridge I assume will still be the same? If Disney had acquired another of the Harbor businesses I assume we'd know...

Yes they own it, and I believe a new updated graphic which shows the parking structure taking over that foot print was submitted with the Eastern Gateway proposal to Anaheim, which got approved.

I don't believe we've heard about Disney acquiring or owning any other Harbor business at this point. That would have been big news and talked about for months.