Disneyland’s Eastern Gateway Is Finally Happening: Manchester Lot Closes June 28

Last Updated on June 8, 2026

For nearly a decade, the Eastern Gateway has been one of those Disneyland projects that felt perpetually stuck. Announced in some form as far back as 1993, dusted off seriously in 2016, then shelved again in 2017 when the Pixar Pals parking structure went up instead. We have watched that Manchester lot sit there, unchanged, while Disney bought the hotel that once stood on the adjacent property, knocked it down, and let the empty land sit for years.

That era is ending.

On June 28, 2026, Disney will close the Manchester cast member parking lot, also known as the Pumba lot, off Disney Way. The closure was posted to a WU Local 50 union Facebook page and has since been verified by multiple community sources. Inside the lot, cast members are reporting that ground markings have already begun appearing, which means site prep is not weeks away. It is already underway.

Construction on the full Eastern Gateway parking structure is officially slated for fall 2026, and the permits tell a very specific story about what is coming.

What the Permits Reveal

Disney filed the first building permits for the Eastern Gateway in December 2025. Permit BLD2025-06431 describes the project as an 8-level open parking structure totaling 3.2 million square feet, with 302 EV chargers. A companion permit covers onsite utility installation. Then, in February 2026, Disney filed a demolition permit for Team Disney Anaheim East, a 70,732-square-foot administrative office building sitting on the southern edge of the Manchester lot. That building has to come down before the structure can go up.

The combined picture: Disney is not renovating or expanding an existing parking facility. This is a ground-up build on a site that will be completely cleared. The phased construction plan is designed to keep the resort operating normally while the work is done, but guests visiting the resort over the next several years should expect visible construction activity along Disney Way and Harbor Boulevard.

What the Eastern Gateway Actually Is

The Eastern Gateway is not just a parking garage. It is a complete reimagining of how guests arrive at Disneyland Resort from the east side of Harbor Boulevard.

The structure will include roughly 6,000 guest parking spaces, dedicated shuttle and rideshare drop-off zones, security screening, and a dedicated entrance off Disney Way. The centerpiece is a pedestrian bridge that will carry guests over Harbor Boulevard, connecting the new structure directly to a brand-new esplanade arrival experience on the resort side. Concept art Disney released during the DisneylandForward campaign shows a mid-century modern aesthetic with a large resort marquee, a design language that fits well with what Downtown Disney has been building toward in recent years.

The lot sits directly across from where the Camelot Inn and Suites once stood before Disney acquired and demolished it. That cleared parcel is where the bridge will land on the resort side. If you have walked that stretch of Harbor Boulevard near the Hilton and the Element, you have walked right past the future arrival corridor for millions of Disneyland guests.

Why This Is the Most Important Project at Disneyland Right Now

The Eastern Gateway is not the most exciting thing on the DisneylandForward roadmap. That would be the Avatar-themed area, or the Coco boat ride currently taking shape in DCA. But it is the most essential.

Here is why. The Symbol lot, which sits on the DCA side near where Avatar will be built, cannot close until Disney has somewhere else for cast members to park. The Eastern Gateway is that replacement. Similarly, the transportation hub area that will need to be cleared for Avatar-adjacent construction cannot move until the Eastern Gateway is operational or near completion. Every major expansion project Disney has planned for the next 10 to 15 years at this resort is sitting behind this one infrastructure piece.

The Anaheim City Council approved DisneylandForward in 2024. That was the planning green light. The permit filings that started in late 2025 were the paperwork phase. The Manchester lot closing on June 28, 2026 is the first physical action. The dominoes are now actually falling.

What the Arrival Experience Will Look Like

Disney’s concept art gives a clear enough picture to set expectations. Guests arriving by car will pull into the Eastern Gateway structure off Disney Way rather than feeding into the existing Harbor Boulevard corridor. Once parked, they will proceed through security inside the structure or in a dedicated screening area, then cross Harbor Boulevard on the pedestrian bridge.

On the other side, the arrival experience drops guests into a new esplanade that connects to Downtown Disney and the two park gates. The concept art suggests significant landscaping, a large resort marquee, and a guest flow that feels intentional rather than accidental. Compared to the current experience of shuttling in from the Toy Story lot or navigating the crowded Mickey and Friends structure entrance, this is a meaningful upgrade.

Security screening built into the arrival process before guests hit the esplanade also means fewer bottlenecks at the park entrances themselves, which is a genuine quality-of-life improvement for everyone.

How Long Will This Take?

This is a multi-year project. Disney has been straightforward about that. The 3.2-million-square-foot, 8-level structure is an enormous undertaking, and the phased approach means construction will be visible and ongoing for years, not months. A reasonable estimate based on comparable parking structure projects puts the completion window somewhere in the 2028 to 2029 range, though Disney has not confirmed a specific opening date.

The pedestrian bridge and arrival esplanade are likely later-phase elements, since they require the structure itself to be substantially complete before the connection to the resort side can be finalized.

What this means practically: if you are visiting Disneyland in 2026 or 2027, your arrival experience will be unchanged. The Eastern Gateway is backstage infrastructure until it is not. When it opens, it will likely do so with some fanfare as the literal front door to the next chapter of the resort.

What to Watch For

The most immediate visible change will be the cleared Manchester lot post-June 28. If you are staying at the Element, Hilton, or Garden Inn near Disney Way, your view toward the lot is about to get significantly more interesting. Ground prep, utility work, and the early stages of demolition of the Team Disney Anaheim East building should all become visible from those hotel windows over the summer.

The stretch of Harbor Boulevard near Camelot and the cleared hotel parcel is also worth watching. That is where the bridge lands on the resort side, and any activity on that land signals progress on the connection infrastructure. We have been watching that empty lot for years. It will not be empty much longer.

The Bigger Picture

Disneyland has not added a major new land or attraction since Galaxy’s Edge opened in 2019. Seven years. The resort has been running on the strength of its existing lineup while guests have increasingly felt the strain of too many people, not enough capacity, and an arrival experience that has not kept pace with the demand. The Eastern Gateway does not fix all of that. But it unlocks the path to fixing it.

Avatar, a Coco boat ride, further Avengers Campus expansion, whatever DisneylandForward ultimately delivers in its most ambitious phases. None of it happens without this parking structure. That is the reason a parking garage deserves this much attention. It is not infrastructure for its own sake. It is the foundation everything else is built on.

The Bottom Line

The Eastern Gateway has been talked about in some form for over 30 years. Permits are filed. The lot closes June 28. Ground markings are already appearing inside the property. This is real, and it is happening on a defined schedule. For anyone who cares about what Disneyland looks like in 2030 and beyond, this is the most consequential thing happening at the resort right now. Avatar needs it. Coco needs it. Everything DisneylandForward promises to deliver needs it. The future of Disneyland starts on Manchester Avenue.

Plan Your Disneyland Visit

For full strategy on timing your visit around construction and getting the most out of the resort as it is today, check out the Enchanted Insider Disneyland Itinerary Guide. For hotel and ticket packages from a team that actually knows the resort, Get Away Today is the recommended travel partner for Disneyland trips.

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