New Parking Structure/Pedestrian Bridge Question

[Disney Dad ADL]

Well I guess it's good to know that they have been renovated. The last time I stayed in one of them I found them a bit unpleasant. Very crowded, noisy and I know they consider them hotels but they felt more like motels stuck in the 70's.
Last few times I got lucky and ended up instead staying at spring hill suites for 95 a night and the time before at Portofino for 100 and found them much more comfortable
Of course it's usually just two of us and our main concern is not having to put up with hearing people or cars outside our hotel rooms so that might also be a reason I look for hotels with towers and rooms at the end of hallways. Also never consider checking on breakfast offerings there, I am not a fan of breakfast offerings in most hotels in the United States. I find them all to be extremely overwhelming compared to hotels everywhere else in the world. It's amazing that even the cheapest of motels like motel 6 can charge 80 dollars a night and all you get is coffee then you go places like Vietnam, India, Korea or most any other non US hotel and you pay the same or just slightly more for a three and four star hotel and you get a full breakfast that can keep you occupied all day long just trying out everything they offer lol

It's all a matter of cost of living (and exchange rates to some degree). The US COL is relatively high compared to most Asian countries, everything is more expensive here compared to say China or Vietnam. In China, it's easy to have lunch for $1-2 USD if you stay away from foreign chains (including McDonald's and such, which are actually relatively expensive relative to the overall cost of living there), but you won't find a lot of $1 meals here in the US (and many European countries I would imagine). US Hotels could offer nicer breakfasts, but then they will need to charge more. I would venture to guess most people in the US are not willing to pay a lot more for a hotel room so they can have a nicer breakfast in the morning. Especially with the current environment with internet search engines and such, increasing your hotel price by $10 can drop your hotel way down on the list if you're not careful. For a low cost hotel, that can be very bad.

When we went to Europe (Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Florence), I don't think any of the hotels we stayed at offered any kind of food at all.

I'm with you though, when I took a tour of China, the hotels we stayed at were really nice for the cost, and I loved the breakfasts they provided.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Anyone else see the MC rumored monorail closure date for a re-route? They state clearly it can change but right now it's slated to close April 17, 2017 through Oct 2017. I know, I know don't believe MC but they've been accurate recently. I could cry. I was hoping to talk the whole fam into a trip to DL after ROA opened this summer but the monorail is one of our favorite things

 

[STLstone]

Anyone else see the MC rumored monorail closure date for a re-route? They state clearly it can change but right now it's slated to close April 17, 2017 through Oct 2017. I know, I know don't believe MC but they've been accurate recently. I could cry. I was hoping to talk the whole fam into a trip to DL after ROA opened this summer but the monorail is one of our favorite things

I saw that and I really couldn't understand what they were describing about the new route. It doesn't sound like a significant change so it might just be to reroute part of the beam to make room for the new pedestrian ramp where it declines to the esplanade.

I'm in the same boat as you as far a taking the family. My family, my parents and my sister's family are going in July next year. My sister and her family have never been there and the monorail is a unique experience that they're not going to get on this trip.

 

[DizMe]

One thing I've learned with Disneyland is to take everything as it comes and try not to get too upset over changes. They're going to happen regardless, and in many cases the new turns out to be an improvement, even when you were dead-set against it. We get emotionally attached to the attractions and hotels and such, but it's like hanging onto an uncomfortable old chair because it was your deceased father's favorite; it's more about the memories than the item itself. Things have to change sometimes and at least Disney is generally good about making the changes high quality. Since this is in essence an alteration that is dictated by the city, it will hopefully receive the usual Disney touches to make it more palatable.

Now that I've said that, I will add here that I HATE that they are changing Tower of Terror to Guardians . I also hate all of the cost increases and extra charges for "experiences"

Oh yes, and I remember when we used to stay at a couple of motels on Katella (The Magic Lamp and the Magic Lantern), across from what used to be the main entrance and pre-DCA. It was what we could afford at the time. It seemed like a really, really long walk to the turnstiles but it was cheap. I don't remember too many lodging options for quick entry unless you parked your car in the Disneyland lot, in which case you could ride the tram. The tram drivers never let us motel peons hop aboard . I guess we'll just have to go back to the longer walks if we want to stick with budget motels.

 

[gary1955]

we used to stay at the Musketeer Motel. if you got one of the rooms along the back, the bathroom window looked out on the Disneyland parking lot.

I guess we never knew there was a pedestrian gate on that side. we always walked to the Harbor or Disneyland Hotel gate or drove in. there were a few times we ended up parking close to the motel just on the other side of the fence.

 

[MommyLove]

One thing I've learned with Disneyland is to take everything as it comes and try not to get too upset over changes. They're going to happen regardless, and in many cases the new turns out to be an improvement, even when you were dead-set against it. We get emotionally attached to the attractions and hotels and such, but it's like hanging onto an uncomfortable old chair because it was your deceased father's favorite; it's more about the memories than the item itself. Things have to change sometimes and at least Disney is generally good about making the changes high quality. Since this is in essence an alteration that is dictated by the city, it will hopefully receive the usual Disney touches to make it more palatable.

Now that I've said that, I will add here that I HATE that they are changing Tower of Terror to Guardians .

Totally agree about being willing to accept change (some of the rumors I've heard about changes to F! actually sound really cool to me). But also like you, I'm still super upset about ToT!

 

[Darkbeer1]

A quick update....

Disney removed its first proposal and re-submitted it on September 20th to the Anaheim Planning Commission.

This pushes the first possible hearing date to be November 14th. So after the big election....

And more than likely Disney will know the status of the Wincome petition (An override of the 4 star Hotel tax breaks), and what the city council plans to do with it. (The signature verification count is due by October 14th from the Register of Voters, and could end up on the October 18th or 25th or November 1st Council Meeting).

If you really want to deal with the political angle and what is up, here is a lengthy, detailed discussion about the proposed changes to the area.


http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/new-disneyland-parking-garage-and-transportation-hub.916599/

 

[Darkbeer1]

Another delay, as Disney once again re-submitted its application due to a small modification, also IMHO another "political" delay due to the Wincome Hotel issue. So the new submission is dated October 4th, so that means a hearing on November 14th, unless they delay again....

Also, the Hampton Inn has submitted a plan to replace the crappy Motels next to Katella CM lot on the south side of Katella across from the "Cast" 7-11. (Haster)

And the Cambria Inn will be 12 stories based on its submitted plan, where the former Flakey Jake's and DCA construction holding area was near the I-5 and Katella.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Also, the Hampton Inn has submitted a plan to replace the crappy Motels next to Katella CM lot on the south side of Katella across from the "Cast" 7-11. (Haster)

This is great to hear.

 

[agamble]

Also, the Hampton Inn has submitted a plan to replace the crappy Motels next to Katella CM lot on the south side of Katella across from the "Cast" 7-11. (Haster)

Which hotels?

 

[Darkbeer1]

I think it is the Arena Inn and it's neighbor, the South West corner of Harbor and Haster. (old school 2 story Motels).

The Cambria will be on the North East Corner.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I haven't been keeping up on all the rumors. Can anyone tell me how likely it will be for my family to have a short walk from the Desert Inn to the gates in June 2017??

 

[Darkbeer1]

I haven't been keeping up on all the rumors. Can anyone tell me how likely it will be for my family to have a short walk from the Desert Inn to the gates in June 2017??

No worries about next summer.

I just commented that Disney has once again delayed its request. (Actually, re-submitted it with minor changes), so while Disney can start with demolition, they can't really do any building until the Planning commission approves the Zoning changes, and then Disney will have to pull the required building permits. Also will need to coordinate with the city about the actual bridge project over Harbor Blvd.

Add to that, the fact that the UNITE-Here Union has submitted a petition to force a public vote on the 4-Star Hotels Tax Break for Wincome (current Anabelle and Anaheim Plaza properties), Disney's 4th Hotel is not affected. This is causing some political battles behind the scenes, waiting for the County to verify the signatures, which is expected in the next few days.

Add to that that the Anaheim City Council is changing from a 5 person council (A Mayor and 4 city-wide Council members) to a 7 person group, A Mayor and 6 individual districts electing one council person each). This could have a major impact on Disney and pro-business supports in the Resort District, as compared to maybe a pro-Union and less business friendly council. We wil know those results next month.

So folks like Disney and S.O.A.R. are basically stalling to see what happens in the next month or so, and then move forward based on what actually happened.

Disney knows it needs the new parking before Star Wars Land, and is also worry about the impact on Summer of 2017, so the Pumbaa Structure might not start until the fall of 2017.

So basically, the project is in a bit of limbo, so that means no real impact to guests staying on Harbor near the proposed new Eastern Gateway for awhile.

 

[Kindermouse]

I was wondering about construction traffic from the demo of carousel. I was thinking that Disney is going to want to get that taken care of sooner rather than later since they stopped taking reservations and it will just be sitting after this month. With the higher number of homeless people that i'm was seeing on harbor during my trip last week I would think having a vacant building just sitting there would be undesirable.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Since Disney owns the land behind the Carousel, I presume they will do most of the work from the back towards Harbor, so very little impact on Harbor Blvd. (Using Manchester/Clementine to bring in and take out trucks, etc.)

Nowadays, you can't just tear down a building, you are required to remove hazardous material, and want to recycle as much as possible, such as copper pipes, etc. So just because it is closing this weekend, doesn't mean it can be torn down right away. Also, The Pizza Press restaurant on Carousel Property has stated they hopefully will remain open until April, 2017. This separate building is on Harbor, so looks like it will be the last building taken down.

Disney does know the "visual" impact of the homeless, and does what it can on its own private property to keep them off, using security, etc. Alas, the city has to deal with more issues in regards to the public walkways.

So yes, there will be some construction noise and other issues, but more than likely won't start until about the time the park opens, and most Hotel/Motel guests are up and about, and of course, will shut down before the sun sets.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Since Disney owns the land behind the Carousel, I presume they will do most of the work from the back towards Harbor, so very little impact on Harbor Blvd. (Using Manchester/Clementine to bring in and take out trucks, etc.)

Nowadays, you can't just tear down a building, you are required to remove hazardous material, and want to recycle as much as possible, such as copper pipes, etc. So just because it is closing this weekend, doesn't mean it can be torn down right away. Also, The Pizza Press restaurant on Carousel Property has stated they hopefully will remain open until April, 2017. This separate building is on Harbor, so looks like it will be the last building taken down.

Disney does know the "visual" impact of the homeless, and does what it can on its own private property to keep them off, using security, etc. Alas, the city has to deal with more issues in regards to the public walkways.

So yes, there will be some construction noise and other issues, but more than likely won't start until about the time the park opens, and most Hotel/Motel guests are up and about, and of course, will shut down before the sun sets.

Do all of you experts expect the Pizza Press to have a new location by next summer? From what I can see on maps, there aren't any other places to pick up an inexpensive pizza just outside the parks, without crossing the freeway.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Who knows, there isn't any good available locations on Harbor for Pizza Press currently.

There is the "California Pizza Place" at the North East corner of Harbor and Katella, next to the Subway. (Also has a Mexican and Chinese restaurant). Not as good as The Pizza Press.

 

[Darkbeer1]

OK, looks like Disney has stalled on most of the project (Still waiting for the Zoning to be approved), but they have submitted a building permit request for the Pumbaa Structure, which has already been approved by the city....

>>Disney - Eastern Gate Way Parking Structure - Foundation; slab, first lift of columns for future 8 story parking structure.<<

Filed on October 27th.

Also, the Carousel Inn officially closed on October 18th.

http://www.carouselinnandsuites.com/

Also, the Hotel Menage has filmed a Planning Commission request for a total redo of the interior spaces (rooms and lobby). Looks like this is related to the fact that the Hotel Menage is now part of the Starwood/Marriott group as an independent Hotel that is part of their Frequent Stay program, and handles the reservations. So maybe a new name that will be part one of the many brands that Starwood(Sheraton) and Marriott offer.

 

[Darkbeer1]

OK, just a heads up in regards to the election and how it effects Disney. Disney spent about $1 million to push for 4 city council-members. Based on the current results, 3 out of the 4 that Disney supported have a clear lead, one is a toss up. But with the new council having 7 members, and 1 out of the 3 that were not on the ballot is pro-Disney/business. So that means at 4, maybe 5, out of 7, will vote more than likely for things like the Eastern Gateway and Hotel Tax rebates.

The Eastern Gateway project still hasn't been approved by the Planning Committee, but is expected to be addressed later this month.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Latest Anaheim Planning requests have a request for a 6 story tower with 200 rooms and banquet facilitates on the site of the current Quality Inn (Former Penny Sleeper). Not a surprise, as it will become the closest non-Disney Walking Hotel/Motel to the parks when the project is finished.

But the more important issue, changes to the Disney request have been made, and it was formally re-submitted on November 15th.