Disneyland Resort Plans New 4 Star Hotel + Parking Changes

© Disneyland

A brand new four star hotel is planned for the Disneyland Resort, it was announced today, slated to open in 2021.  The unnamed resort will sit on 17 acres of what is currently the Western most part of Downtown Disney.  The addition will require the removal of the expansive AMC Movie Theaters, the ESPN Zone, Rainforest Cafe and Ear of Sandwich shop.

The hotel will feature 700 guest rooms that, along with "extensive landscaping and water elements, will create a resort oasis, showcasing nature on every level of the hotel.  The hotel’s location embraces the iconic Disneyland Monorail with a dedicated platform inside the hotel for direct transport into Disneyland park."

© Disneyland

The bottom level of the hotel will feature shopping and restaurants included in the garden-like setting.  It will also feature an upper level lounge that will be perfect for watching the evening firework displays from the theme parks.

The resort also comes with some heavily expanded parking at the resort which will be sorely needed (if it isn't already) for when Disneyland's new Star Wars themed area opens.

© Google Maps

This map is somewhat comparable to the aerial concept art above.  The yellow rectangle on the right is the Pinocchio parking lot, which will be the site of a new 6,500 space parking deck.  It will be located adjacent to the existing Mickey & Friends parking deck, the resort's largest at over 10,000 spots.  It will feed into a redesigned tram area that will quickly usher guests to the park entrances.  The new deck will start work in February of 2018, and open a year later, which would be around the same time as the Star Wars land opening.

The red area marks the new hotel, taking up some surface parking and several buildings in Downtown Disney.

Over on the left is a pink square, which will be another new parking deck for resorts, located near all four of the hotels.  I didn't see Disney mention it in their blogs, but the Register does and it can be seen in the aerial concept art.

All this development is needed to help support the Disneyland Resort as its popularity continues to increase year after year.