Disneyland Forward – How will it impact current hotels?

Alright, guys, buckle up – it’s map time!

Disneyland Forward is the general name of the ongoing plans to expand and enhance the Disneyland Resort in California. It’s been referred to as the “10-year plan, and beyond.”

Anaheim City Council gave approval to move forward with these plans earlier this year.

D23 brought us a ton of announcements, some of which directly concern our beloved Disneyland. Some of those announcements may be categorized as part of the Disneyland Forward project; others may not.

Read more about Disneyland Forward and the D23 announcements at these sites:

https://disneyparksblog.com/disney-experiences/d23-2024-news-announcements-roundup/

https://www.disneylandforward.com/

OVERALL

New hotel space is a possibility, but there are plenty of hotel choices currently surrounding the Disneyland Resort (as evidenced by this blog.) So how will these plans impact or change the appeal of hotels currently in the area?

Let’s dissect the diagram.

WEST SIDE EXPANSION

First off we see the plans for expansion between Disneyland Dr and Walnut St north of Katella Ave. This area already included the Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place Hotel. Disneyland and Pixar Place hotels already come with the early entry perk (the ability to enter a park 30 minutes before official opening time.) But these two hotels are so far from the entrance gates that many people prefer to stay on Harbor at hotels that are a shorter walk to the gates.

Once this “West Side” expansion is complete, though (and quite possibly before it is complete) both Disneyland and Pixar Place hotels will be inside the theme park!

If we cross Katella, there are several other hotels that could be much more desirable, depending on where any extra entrances are placed. I do assume there will be at least one extra entrance added, but there are too many options to guess where that might be.

The hotels on this end of Katella include The Westin, Eden Roc Inn, Best Western Stovall’s Inn, Anaheim Discovery Inn, Alamo Inn, Best Western Pavilions, Quality Inn Anaheim at the Park, and Abby’s Anaheimer Inn.

We may see a change in the rates at these hotels as the project progresses. Hopefully we’ll see refurbishments at some of these hotels as well. More than one is showing some age. The Westin is by far the best hotel of the off-property hotels on this side of the resort.

EAST SIDE EXPANSION

Let’s move on down the street – Katella to be specific – going east to the next site of expansion. This area is where the Toy Story parking lot currently sits. Katella is the north border of the expansion site with pieces of the property stretching to Harbor Blvd on the west and Haster St on the east.

Once this side of the expansion is complete, the rates for the hotels in this area will have double reason to go up. The reason for this is the hotels in this area are already in prime position for hosting attendees at the Anaheim Convention Center. Once new dining and entertainment options open here, expect these hotels to be quite coveted.

It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the bigger hotel conglomerates come in to buy up the more independent operations all up and down Katella once the project goes into full swing.

There are way too many hotels on this end of the project to list them all. Some hotels whose location will become prime real estate are Hotel Lulu, Sheraton at the Park, Hyatt House, Hyatt Place, Homewood Suites and Hampton Inn. See video below.

OTHER PLANS

Where will all the parking go that is currently served by the Toy Story lot? There are plans to build more than one garage to accommodate – and add! – parking spaces that will be lost once the Toy Story lot has been replaced.

I’m happy to see improvements for pedestrian movement around the resort. Notice in the map that purple lines indicate potential areas for pedestrian bridges. I also recall discussion about traffic flow improvements and bike paths being added when the topic was addressed at the Anaheim City Council meeting in May. Disney really does think of everything.

Personally, I imagine Disneyland moving the current Downtown Disney District over to the East Side. Then they could convert that entire area into theme park to flow into the West Side expansion. But…

… Nothing is official or concrete yet. I’ll update this post as announcements are made. Let’s see what unfolds!