Disneyland Resort held a groundbreaking ceremony today for its new parking structure and transportation hub, known as the Eastern Gateway project. President Jill Estorino attended, alongside construction and community partners. The event marks the official start of vertical construction on the roughly 6,000-space parking garage. Disney first announced the project back in June 2025. It’s the opening piece of the larger DisneylandForward expansion.
Eastern Gateway Parking Garage Groundbreaking Ceremony
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- What Disneyland President Jill Estorino said about today’s groundbreaking
- How the eastern gateway project reached this point
- What the new parking structure and transportation hub will include
Estorino Marks the Occasion
Disneyland President Jill Estorino framed the milestone around the guest arrival experience. “Today we celebrated the groundbreaking of our new parking structure and transportation hub, an exciting step forward for Disneyland Resort and the City of Anaheim,” Estorino said. “The arrival experience is an important part of every guest visit, and I’m grateful to the City of Anaheim and our community and construction partners for helping to bring this project to life.”
Photos from the ceremony show dozens of Disneyland and construction partner employees gathered on the job site. They posed with ceremonial shovels around a mound of dirt marked with a Disneyland Resort sign. An excavator and a wheel tractor-scraper sat staged behind them, on the site of the former Manchester cast member parking lot.
Story So Far
- Disney first announced the eastern gateway project in June 2025, describing a roughly 6,000-space parking structure and transportation hub as the first tangible work of the DisneylandForward expansion.
- In December 2025, Disney filed a permit for an 8-story, 3.2 million square foot parking structure, revealing plans for 302 electric vehicle chargers.
- In June 2026, Disney closed the Manchester cast member parking lot to clear the way for construction, alongside demolition of the former Team Disney Anaheim East office building.
What the New Transportation Hub Will Include
The eastern gateway project will rise on the east side of Disneyland Resort, on a portion of the former Manchester cast member lot. Once complete, the structure will include approximately 6,000 parking spaces. It will also add shuttle and rideshare areas, security screening, and dedicated access for traffic off of Disney Way. Disney says the goal is better parking and traffic flow throughout the resort area.
A pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard will connect the new structure to an all-new esplanade arrival experience. That bridge will also offer public access to and from Harbor Boulevard for non-guests. Disney describes the parking and transportation improvements as the foundation for the next phase of DisneylandForward construction. That phase includes two new Avengers Campus attractions. It also includes the Coco-themed ride and the Avatar destination planned for Disney California Adventure.
Disney says construction on the eastern gateway project will span multiple years, though an exact completion date has not been announced. We’ll continue following the project as work on the site progresses.
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