Eastern Gateway opening?

[Angel Ariel]

It's been a while since I"ve been on the DIS, and I didn't find what I was looking for when I did a search...

We're looking at a Jan. 2018 trip, staying at the Tropicana. Is the new Eastern Gateway supposed to be open by then? All I've seen so far is 2018 listed as opening...nothing more definitive. We've stayed at the Tropicana in the past and love the location, but would consider somewhere else if the Eastern Gateway is going to prevent crossing at the crosswalk by January...

TIA!

 

[cmwade77]

At this point it is doubtful that it will ever open, many of the businesses on Harbor have been fighting it because of what it will do to foot traffic on Harbor. The hotels on Harbor have been fighting it because it will make it substantially harder for those staying at said hotels to walk into the parks. As a result the city of Anaheim has refused to issue permits. Additionally, there is a building that is occupied by a federal agency (I believe it is the IRS) and Disney is finding it hard to impossible to terminate their lease. Add in the legal issues for how they want to handle guests with disabilities, especially those that aren't in wheelchairs and have no mobility devices, say someone is simply planning on renting a wheelchair or ECV, they can't walk that distance in, but if they allow them on the shuttles, then they have to allow everyone on the shuttles, if they deny them they run afoul of ADA laws.

So I would realistically expect the Eastern gateway to not open at all in the form as it was presented and make no mistake Disney really wants it to open in that form because if they can do that, then they will be able to say that the Mickey and Friends trams are no.longer needed, modify the tram route to a walking route and have just wheelchair shuttles running there since the distance to the gates would be about the same from either structure. Ultimately this would eliminate a lot of costs for Disney and would follow suit to what every other then park in the area has already done.

Even if they can get around the legal challenges, I wouldn't expect the Eastern gateway to open until just before Star Wars Land opens.

 

[Angel Ariel]

At this point it is doubtful that it will ever open, many of the businesses on Harbor have been fighting it because of what it will do to foot traffic on Harbor. The hotels on Harbor have been fighting it because it will make it substantially harder for those staying at said hotels to walk into the parks. As a result the city of Anaheim has refused to issue permits. Additionally, there is a building that is occupied by a federal agency (I believe it is the IRS) and Disney is finding it hard to impossible to terminate their lease. Add in the legal issues for how they want to handle guests with disabilities, especially those that aren't in wheelchairs and have no mobility devices, say someone is simply planning on renting a wheelchair or ECV, they can't walk that distance in, but if they allow them on the shuttles, then they have to allow everyone on the shuttles, if they deny them they run afoul of ADA laws.

So I would realistically expect the Eastern gateway to not open at all in the form as it was presented and make no mistake Disney really wants it to open in that form because if they can do that, then they will be able to say that the Mickey and Friends trams are no.longer needed, modify the tram route to a walking route and have just wheelchair shuttles running there since the distance to the gates would be about the same from either structure. Ultimately this would eliminate a lot of costs for Disney and would follow suit to what every other then park in the area has already done.

Even if they can get around the legal challenges, I wouldn't expect the Eastern gateway to open until just before Star Wars Land opens.

Thank you for that wrap up!

I had read of the businesses on Harbor fighting it, but I hadn't seen yet that Anaheim wasn't issuing the permits. I totally understand why the businesses are fighting it. We've stayed at the Tropicana 4-5 times now, and find it clean and comfortable and love the location. We've also always had fantastic customer service there. But if the Eastern Gateway did open as Disney presented it, it would definitely give us pause and we'd reconsider other locations. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, but I'm happy that it seems it won't be an issue in January. Thanks!

 

[cmwade77]

I would definitely keep an eye on it though, things can change fast, but I seriously doubt that it would be open in January since construction hasn't even started yet.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I would definitely keep an eye on it though, things can change fast, but I seriously doubt that it would be open in January since construction hasn't even started yet.

Now that we're seriously talking about this, I'll definitely be on the DIS more often again, so hopefully I'll see any discussion if things do change. I'd be amazed if Disney could get anything built that fast though, lol

 

[cmwade77]

Now that we're seriously talking about this, I'll definitely be on the DIS more often again, so hopefully I'll see any discussion if things do change. I'd be amazed if Disney could get anything built that fast though, lol

So would I, it is physically possible, but Disney wouldn't do it.