New parking structure

Just read this. Looks like quite a project.

They write that the Carousel Inn is being demolished.

Is Captain Kidd's part of that hotel?
Hmmmmmmmm?

 

Kidd's is further south at the crosswalk. This is just south of McDonalds.

 

This will definitely be a big improvement for parking, but that's a long freaking walk to the parks. I'm very surprised that they aren't offering some sort of transportation, or at the very least a moving walkway. When they're charging $20 per car, it's really the least they can do

It looks like this will provide a massive increase in bus loading zones. I don't think the existing ART network has especially high ridership, and I suspect it will drop when everything gets rerouted so many of the hotels are closer than the drop-off area. I wonder if some of that space is intended for groups arriving in buses

The biggest improvement I see is a permanent security facility. DLR has been operating their bag checks out of temporary-looking tents since 2001; I'm glad they've finally come to terms with it being a permanent part of the resort and are building it to match. That said, this doesn't seem to show how pedestrians from the Harbor Blvd hotels will access the resort (crosswalk access apparently removed, no access to new bridge) or where the "Disney Shuttle Drop Off" (presumably from the Toy Story lot) will access security, so there are still some questions. Hopefully security on the west side will be moved beyond DTD, so that entire area can have open flow again

 

Yeah, it's unclear to me what people staying at any of the Harbor Blvd. places would do, if security is moved to east of Harbor - and it looks like from the map above street level - just before the bridge overpass.

There would pretty much have to be access to that security post from street level if there will no longer be security in the east esplanade. So... an escalator from street level up to second level?? Walking AWAY from DL (east) in order to access it? And massive re-education of a public to whom that will be very counter-intuitive? Would they actually block what is now the Harbor Blvd. entrance to the parks?

If they don't block it and keep the crosswalk open, and thus also need to have security at the east esplanade, how do people who have gone through it already at the parking structure prove they have done so? A hand stamp? Seems unlikely. A bridge that extends to where the buses drop off now and THEN has a down escalator? I could kind of see that working... people would still be able to walk across Harbor, but then security for them would be in more permanent structures well east of where they are now, and those who went through security at the parking structure would have the bridge extend to west of that point before letting them down to ground level.

Of course, everything probably wasn't to scale in those illustrations, but the "security area" they showed seemed kind of small. Currently they have quite a few tables set up in each direction - they'd have to have the same for the parking structure unless they wanted massive lines (or unless they did in fact have a second area on ground level just west of Harbor for the Harbor hotel people, as posited above). But if everybody from that parking structure AND the Harbor hotels is supposed to use the one area shown... I'm not sure it was large enough (though I guess it might be about as wide as the Carousel, so maybe...)

 

What would the cost be - one wonders - to buy The Carousel Inn to demolish it.

By the way, we stayed at The Fairfield Inn by Marriott when we went to that wedding at DLR. And while it's improved since the upgrade in the years leading up to DCA, it's still kind of cruddy feeling and busy and noisy.

The whole vibe has become a full court press. Even to get coffee and Egg McMuffins at that McDonalds was just intense. Huge restaurant. Hundreds of people and families and grumpy parents and overtired children. Ugh.

 

They've already bought it, and plan to demolish it; the article said it cost them $32 million, and it's closing in October.

 

Thanks Dabob2 - guess I could read the story - but I just like to look at the purdy pichers!!!

 

The walk from the center of the new parking structure to the front gates is 1,000 yards. Mickey is 600 with the tram, 1,500 without. I bet Harbor hotels will push for direct access to the pedestrian pathway alongside the new garage.

If the map is accurate, eastern pedestrians will head to Disney Way's pedestrian portal or Manchester's transportation facility. The part of the pedestrian connector lined in red is elevated, a ramp up to a bridge over Harbor and down another ramp. OCTA may move its bus stops to Manchester. A crosswalk at the pedestrian portal would be nice for GardenWalk. I count 20 security entrances, maybe 22. The center of the pathway is clear and lined like there may be some sort of mini-tram limited to the few who require a ride.

 

Nevermind about Harbor hotels pushing. Disney says their guests won't have to go through those new security gates.

 

With this setup, it not only becomes a longer walk for "the hotels on Harbor which are closer to the front gate than the Disney hotels," it also becomes much more inconvenient for guests to leave the park to grab lunch at McDonalds or IHOP. I don't think that was just a "happy unintended consequence," for Disney.

 

If Harbor hotel guests don't have to go around, the general public ought to be able to stay on Harbor. OCTA bus stops may be fine as they are, too.

 

I suspect that the area marked "East Esplanade" on the plan will include new security area. There is still a gate shown at the Harbor Blvd crosswalk, as well as a shuttle drop-off area along the current tram route. Both could presumably share a security point, and then merge in with the parking garage pedestrian traffic at the bottom of the ramp. That portion of the plan is intentionally vague, but I have to assume that's what's going on

Rerouting the Monorail is interesting too, but makes sense that the elevated walkway would conflict with the elevated beam. I'm not convinced that the turn to the existing beamway at Buena Vista Street is drawn accurately, but the general idea is right. It's so funny to think that they built the entire theme park around the existing beam, but a simple pedestrian bridge is finally causing them to reroute it

As someone who designs a lot of transit facilities for work, it's really fun to see Disney's take on it

 

Hmm ... another garage means more "guests". I hope SWLand can absorb them.

 

Not necessarily more guests, just more cars. Mickey & Friends was designed and built in an era when DLR guests arrived as families (3-4 people per car) and stayed for the whole day. With the huge growth in the AP program since then, which either include free parking or have it as an upgrade option, there has been a huge rise in the number of cars that arrive with just 1 or 2 people in them, and only stay for a few hours in the evening. This means that although the peak daily capacity hasn't really increased, the number of parking spaces needs to grow to meet the surge demand

It also frees up the old strawberry field/Toy Story lot, should they ever theoretically want to use it for something other than parking

 

If they fill the new parking structure, even with cars with 1 or 2 people for a shorter period, the park's capacity would increase, at least for the period where the short term guests were there at the same time all the rest remained.

 

That just means that the actual attendance increases. The capacity is the theoretical number of guests that can be in the park at any given point in time, which really hasn't changed much since the late 90's. On average, DL's attendance is closer to the capacity each day than it has been in the past (leading to higher annual attendance), but the capacity itself is the same as it's been for a while

 

Seems like a far walk but it's less than 1/2 mile. Or basicaly the same distance as the Disneyland gate to IASW. Same as the park gates to rainforest cafe
Or even the same distance as Paradise Pier hotel to monorail stop in DTD.

The new shuttle area will also serve the toy story lot and hotel shuttles. All shuttles will go up clementine and merge into the new zone. It will actually be a closer bus drive from toy story lot.

According to HOJO hope there will still be an access point that will allow harbor motel guests to join guests at the security area before the bridge. There might be a walkway next to the elevated pedestrian bridge to cut thru the area.

Overall it should help strengthen the security area and remove the clutter from the east esplanade.
I do hope like you said that they are considering changing the security area on the west side.

They should put security for trams over by Mockey and friends and then add another security farther down west for all other guests. Not sure what that would do to pedestrians using the walking path from Mockey and Friends though