New Disneyland Parking Garage and Transportation Hub

[flynnibus]

It begs the question tho.. if you relocate stroller sales again.. I guess you need to need to cover traffic from both sides tho.. which begs to keep at the esplanade. But if you are looking for your stroller station wagon.. that's a long long haul before you can get your rental... on your feet the whole time.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

What's the status of the DHS ICE Office? When is the lease up? Has that plot of land been given a role in the project once they leave been defined or is it assumed the garage will be expanded on it?

 

[BrianLo]

I just stayed on West Katella. My geography was a bit lacking and I thought I was at the Southern most tip of the Eastern Gateway entrance. Honestly, I thought it was a very reasonable pre- and post-park day walk.

Now realizing the entrance is significantly closer on Disney Way, (albeit adding a slight jaunt having to cut a bit further North and back again.... minus the significant, significant improvement I expect from security screening) I really don't see what the fuss about the walk is.

Taking the parking tram to have a sneak peak at SWE from Mickey and friends was a more aggravating mid-day process than walking to and from my hotel during guest rush hours.

What's the status of the DHS ICE Office? When is the lease up? Has that plot of land been given a role in the project once they leave been defined or is it assumed the garage will be expanded on it?

Per MiceAge:
By next spring the vertical construction on the new parking structure at the Eastern Gateway will be well under way. Planning documents filed by the city clearly show the office building occupied by the United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) office still there once the project is complete by the fall of 2018. Disney secretly purchased that land back in 2013, but the lease for that federal government office runs until the year 2020 and Uncle Sam has rebuffed every attempt from Disney to coax them out of that long lease. So the USCIS building will remain in the middle of this complex until then. But once the lease ends in 2020 Disney will determine how to best use that space based on the first few years of operation of the Eastern Gateway complex.

The parking structure has been designed to be easily expanded to the north over the current USCIS land, adding a few thousand more parking spaces to the initial 7,800 spaces. Gone is the plan to incorporate a Streetcar line and maintenance facility in that space, with that Anaheim streetcar plan abandoned by the city and then officially killed off by county authorities earlier this summer.

But Disney’s planners also want to see what demand is like from the fleet of shuttle buses serving the Anaheim Resort District’s growing list of new hotels. There’s also a realization that more and more people are arriving to the Resort via Uber and other ride-share services, and there’s a thought that a large drop off area should be dedicated just to Uber drivers for the 2020’s and beyond. The ground floor of the USCIS area may be dedicated to two additional drop-off loops for shuttles and cars, with a couple thousand additional parking spaces added above in the expanded structure by 2022.

 

[Phroobar]

When I heard that live, it was hard to not giggle......

What did they say? I can't make it out. Sounds like something about not having street lamps.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Watch the video again, and figure out what is missing, and not street lamps, there are usually more of them than most things on the Harbor Blvd. Sidewalk... (Comment was made by the IHOP Owner family and workers.)

And the Homeless and street vendors miss the mark, as there are less of them, same with the Time Share folks.....

Nor is it folks loosing their lunch after eating at Captain Kidd's...

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Now realizing the entrance is significantly closer on Disney Way, (albeit adding a slight jaunt having to cut a bit further North and back again.... minus the significant, significant improvement I expect from security screening) I really don't see what the fuss about the walk is.

Maybe it's just the way it looks in the preview animation. I wish the pedestrian start point from Harbor was a beeline directly into the Resort rather than zigzagging around the legacy businesses on Harbor. Maybe the walk from Harbor to the portal on Disney Way won't be as bad as it looks, but you'll still have to trek that same distance back to the bridge over Harbor from the security checkpoint.

 

[Curious Constance]

One of the things that make a Disneyland vacation much more tolerable and relaxing is the ability to take afternoon breaks back at the hotel right across the street on Harbor. And the fact that it's right across the street make getting to the hotel and back to the park in the evening simple and quick. If that goes away, that'll be a big deterrent for our family. If we stayed somewhere back by where the bridge will begin, like that new hotel?, would that make the walk to the park comparable to walking from the back part of Park Vue?

 

[truecoat]

One of the things that make a Disneyland vacation much more tolerable and relaxing is the ability to take afternoon breaks back at the hotel right across the street on Harbor. And the fact that it's right across the street make getting to the hotel and back to the park in the evening simple and quick. If that goes away, that'll be a big deterrent for our family. If we stayed somewhere back by where the bridge will begin, like that new hotel?, would that make the walk to the park comparable to walking from the back part of Park Vue?

The hotels here, Quality and Holiday inn would have the closest access. This is only if Harbor hotels have no other access points like those discussed previously.

 

[Curious Constance]

The hotels here, Quality and Holiday inn would have the closest access. This is only if Harbor hotels have no other access points like those discussed previously.


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Thank you. Is the Quality one the new one they are building?

 

[Darkbeer1]

Thank you. Is the Quality one the new one they are building?

One of the three in the area that has been announced. (This one is a 6 story one), plus the one in the old Bergstrom Furniture location, and the one at the former Flakey Jake's and nightclub block. (That is the large 12 story Cambria by Choice).

 

[truecoat]

Thank you. Is the Quality one the new one they are building?

Quality has been there awhile. Country Inn and Suites is the new one.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Quality has been there awhile. Country Inn and Suites is the new one.

The Quality Inn on Manchester has recently filed for a zoning application to build a 6 story Hotel on the site. The new Country Inn and Suites is open.

More than likely, the Quality Inn replacement will end up the "closest" to the new security check area and new Pedestrian Bridge/Entrance.

 

[truecoat]

The Quality Inn on Manchester has recently filed for a zoning application to build a 6 story Hotel on the site. The new Country Inn and Suites is open.

More than likely, the Quality Inn replacement will end up the "closest" to the new security check area and new Pedestrian Bridge/Entrance.

Smart move on their part. I'm sure they'll be busier than ever after the change.

 

[NobodyElse]

Smart move on their part. I'm sure they'll be busier than ever after the change.

If they design their building / parking properly, and work out a deal to utilize the back edge of the West Coast University parking lot, they could certainly claim closest access to the new gateway.

 

[Ismael Flores]

If they design their building / parking properly, and work out a deal to utilize the back edge of the West Coast University parking lot, they could certainly claim closest access to the new gateway.

Isn't it weird that places like the west coast university and the USCIS would not just consider moving or in the case of the university just selling?

Why would these business put their employees and students thru the nightmare of being right in the middle of a tourist zone that eventually will be packed in cars going in and out of the resort.

I would hate to work in either place and have to deal with the possibility of being stuck behind cars just to be able to enter the business parking lot.

Imagine the USCIS employees that will have to deal with construction trucks on three sides of the property and then bus and shuttle traffic for at least two years after the structure opens and they decide to leave because the lease is up.

 

[Ismael Flores]

I hate to say it but all those non resort related business should be ask to relocate. those properties can then be used for resort related expansions including hotels, restaurants or entertainment

 

[tikiphil]

The hotels here, Quality and Holiday inn would have the closest access. This is only if Harbor hotels have no other access points like those discussed previously.


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Currently this walk is impossible. There is no sidewalk south of the Quality Inn and no room in front of the West Coast University to add a sidewalk. Has there been discussion to modify Manchester?

 

[Darkbeer1]

It is expected as part of the replacement Hotel permitting process that the city will be gain some land to widen the road and add a sidewalk.

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

Currently this walk is impossible. There is no sidewalk south of the Quality Inn and no room in front of the West Coast University to add a sidewalk. Has there been discussion to modify Manchester?

Bingo! The widening of I-5 had many imperfect side effects, no matter how much it improved things overall. It had negative impacts on businesses from HoJos down to Bergstrom that were only partly mitigated. The lack of sidewalk you noted is emblematic of the kinds of changes that may be considered for Harbor Blvd. The problem with single-purpose-solutions such as this is that they can remove the area affected from traditional or organic forms and contexts of traffic flow. A major traffic artery is not a theme park route of travel. Just because most vehicle and pedestrian traffic through the area is resort-related doesn't mean that all of it is, or that all who traverse the Anaheim Resort Area comprehend that customary norms don't apply.

Why should everyone traveling on the major bus routes down Harbor be forced to endure a detour around Manchester? This doesn't just affect Anaheim, but also cities North and South. Does nobody see the folly of possibly eliminating the sidewalk on the West side of Harbor? It seems as though planners (both Disney and Anaheim) may believe that if they choke the pedestrian and vehicle flow on Harbor that people will redirect according to plan. I see some short memories here. Let's not forget the gridlock around the River and on the hub when Mary Niven decreed that Fantasmic! should have Dining Plans and FastPass.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Well, it has been clear since the project was announced that Manchester was going to get widened, and a sidewalk added.

The Disney owned property from Disney Way to West Coast University will give up land to the city, and the USCIS building is owned by Disney, and Disney can redesign the entryways to the building, claiming a tenant improvement, and having better driveaway access to the building will be an important improvement. The current Quality Inn will also give up land, and of course, they want better access for their new Hotel. As for West Coast University, the city has the right to claim access for an expanded road, and the actual building is far enough away from the road, it won't be an issue. So Manchester should be the same width (or maybe even a bit wider) than the current section next to Harbor Blvd.

As for the bus rerouting, it is designed to make Harbor Blvd a better throughfare for the locals, and eliminating driveways, traffic lights, crosswalks and bus stops will make traffic flow a lot easier and faster. Keeping the Theme Park folks off Harbor, whether driving, walking or taking a bus will be a big help. Moving the Bus Stop to a place that hooks up with other bbus routes (remember that the ART service is a public bus system, and is a transfer partner with the OCTA, where the passes for one, works on the other, and with the main ART terminal being moved to Manchester,well, just makes sense.

OCTA already does that with the Fullerton Transit Center and Route 43, where the bus detours off Harbor for a couple of blocks to hook up with other forms of transit. And also similar situations on other routes and transit centers, such as OCTA Route 29 and Beach Blvd, where the bus gets off Beach and detours a couple of blocks to a Transit Center.

So we will have an improved area for travel and transit that should flow better for all.