Disneyland's Massive Expansion Takes Its First Physical Step

The Manchester Lot Closure Signals DisneylandForward Is Finally Real

For years, DisneylandForward has been the most ambitious expansion plan Disneyland Resort has announced since the construction of Disney California Adventure. It has also been, for most of that time, a collection of concept art, zoning approvals, and promises. That changes this month. BlogMickey reports that the Manchester Cast Member parking lot at Disneyland Resort will close beginning June 28, according to Workers United Local 50, the union representing many Disneyland Cast Members. The closure clears the way for a new parking structure and transportation hub that will bring approximately 6,000 parking spaces to the east side of the resort.

Disney itself has not publicly confirmed the date. The union cites information from Disney Labor Relations and notes there is no word yet on whether Manchester will reopen for Cast Member parking in the future. But the physical evidence is already mounting. BlogMickey also reports that a permit was issued for the demolition of Team Disney Anaheim East, a 70,000-square-foot office building situated between the Manchester lot and the adjacent Pumbaa lot. Disney describes the scope as a full demolition with utilities capped and foundation remaining.

The significance of this project extends well beyond parking. According to BlogMickey, the new hub will include shuttle and rideshare areas, security screening, and dedicated traffic access off Disney Way. A pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard will connect the parking structure to an all-new esplanade arrival experience, providing public access to and from Harbor Boulevard for resort guests and the surrounding community alike. Disney frames the entire project as the first step in a much larger expansion that connects directly to planned new lands and attractions including Avengers Campus growth, a Coco-themed area, and Avatar expansion.

This infrastructure work rarely makes headlines but determines whether everything that follows actually functions. Theme park expansions live and die on logistics. You cannot add tens of thousands of additional daily guests without fundamentally rethinking how those guests arrive, park, pass through security, and enter the resort. The Manchester lot closure means Disney is solving that problem first, which is exactly the right sequence. For fans who have been following DisneylandForward since its earliest announcements, this is the moment the project transitions from theoretical to physical, with concrete walls and construction fences replacing PowerPoint slides.

The timing matters, too. Disney Tourist Blog reports that 2026 is shaping up to be Disneyland's busiest year since the revenge travel surge of 2022, with the latest four months carrying 8/10 (Very Heavy) crowd levels and multiple days reaching 9/10 (Extreme) and 10/10 (Maximum Capacity) territory to start the summer. Building expanded infrastructure during a period of peak demand is painful in the short term, but it signals Disney's confidence that this demand is not temporary. They are building for a resort that expects to be this busy, and busier, for years to come.

The Parks

At Walt Disney World, the Monstropolis project continues to reshape Disney's Hollywood Studios. Attractions Magazine reports that construction on the Monsters, Inc. doors-themed suspended roller coaster is underway, replacing the former Muppet Courtyard. WDW News Today adds that aerial photos reveal a major design change from the original concept art, and that steel I-beams are now being installed for Harryhausen's facade, a reference that Imagineering fans will recognize as a nod to legendary stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen. The Monstropolis project represents one of the most significant physical transformations at Hollywood Studios in years, and the pace of steel work suggests Disney is pushing hard on the construction timeline.

Elsewhere at Hollywood Studios, WDW News Today reports that a new experience called Jumping Junction has soft opened to small groups of guests at Bluey's Wild World. The walkthrough format fits the family-friendly energy of the Bluey brand, and soft openings typically signal that a broader public launch is close.

Tuesday's park conditions at Walt Disney World told a striking story of uneven demand. Lightning Brain's daily report found Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom both running at 7/10 (Heavy), while Animal Kingdom sat at just 2/10 (Light), less than half its typical median wait. EPCOT landed at a moderate 4/10 (Moderate). The weather was warm at 89.6 degrees with partly cloudy skies and no rain, so the split was driven entirely by guest preference and attraction draw rather than storm avoidance. Hollywood Studios saw its heaviest stretch at 11:00 AM, and Magic Kingdom's family ride cluster, including Under the Sea, it's a small world, and Dumbo, absorbed disproportionate demand from summer families with young children. Magic Kingdom also dealt with a rough downtime day: Haunted Mansion went down for 80 minutes during the late-morning build, and Astro Orbiter went offline at 1:02 PM and did not recover.

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On the resort hotel front, WDW News Today reports that Grand Floridian Café has announced a closing date for refurbishment, and two roofing permits have been filed for Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. Neither closure is unusual for summer maintenance cycles, but Grand Floridian Café is a fan favorite for its relaxed breakfast service, so guests with upcoming reservations should check their plans.

Over at Disneyland Paris, WDW News Today reports that concrete walls have been installed for the Pride Lands area, the park's ambitious Lion King-themed expansion. Concrete walls at this stage mean the project is well past earthwork and into structural construction, another sign of Disney's global commitment to expansion across multiple resorts simultaneously.

Disney Cruise Line earned recognition from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority for its ongoing commitment to sustainability, a distinction the line has received 13 times. Disney Experiences reports that shore power remains central to the effort: by plugging into Vancouver's shoreside electric grid while docked, the Disney Wonder shuts down its engines and significantly reduces emissions at port. In 2026, the Disney Magic joins the Wonder in sailing to Alaska from Vancouver, marking the first time two Disney Cruise Line ships will operate from the region. The company was also ranked No. 7 on the 2026 Forbes Best Brands for Social Impact list, according to Disney Experiences.

The Screen

Toy Story 5 dominated the entertainment news cycle this week with a one-two punch of marketing spectacle. MickeyBlog reports that Porsche unveiled three custom 911s at the film's world premiere in Los Angeles, each one designed to evoke a core character. The Buzz Lightyear GT3 RS features Space Ranger livery down to the magnesium wheels. The Jessie Targa 4 GTS debuts a brand-new paint color called Jessie White Metallic, with a pearl overlay paying homage to the character's pearl buttons. And the Woody Carrera T mimics the natural wear of the sheriff's blue jeans, with denim texture visible in the paint itself. All three will be sold to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the American Red Cross, and the Starlight Children's Foundation. When a luxury automaker builds bespoke cars for your animated franchise and donates the proceeds to charity, you have achieved a level of cultural saturation that most brands only dream about.

WDW News Today reports that a Toy Story 5 teaser scene featuring Multi-Buzz, Smarty Pants, and other new characters is already streaming on Disney+ and Hulu, giving fans an early look at the film's expanded roster before its theatrical release.

On the streaming side, D23 announces that Disney and Pixar's Hoppers is now available on Disney+. The animated film follows animal lover Mabel, voiced by Piper Curda, who uses new technology to hop her consciousness into a lifelike robotic beaver to communicate directly with animals. The voice cast includes Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, and Meryl Streep. Disney+ users can now choose from three Hoppers-themed avatars to celebrate the release.

D23 also confirms that three all-new episodes of The Simpsons will stream exclusively on Disney+ globally this summer, following the series' recent 800th episode milestone. The double-episode "Extreme Makeover: Homer Edition" arrives June 17, followed by "Simpsley" on July 3 and "Yellow Mirror" on August 26. The July episode, a self-described Simpsons noir set in Italy, sounds like exactly the kind of creative swing that exclusive streaming episodes allow the writers to take without the constraints of broadcast scheduling.

Meanwhile, the Walt Disney Company detailed its expanding suite of advertising technology on Disney+ in a press release. The company's internal creative platform, the Disney eXperience Composer, now powers a full range of interactive ad formats including Gateway Go, Pause Ads, Pause+, and the newly launched Ad Selector, which lets viewers choose which video creative they want to watch. In beta testing, Pause+ Trivia delivered brand recall at 10 times industry benchmarks, according to the company. The ad strategy reflects Disney's effort to grow streaming revenue without degrading the viewing experience, a balance that will determine whether ad-supported tiers remain palatable to subscribers long term.

The Vault

The DisInsider has launched a two-part deep dive into the origins of EPCOT's Mexico Pavilion, tracing its roots from early World Showcase concepts and World's Fair influences to the Imagineers, artists, and cultural consultants who brought it to life. According to reports from The DisInsider, the series uncovers abandoned concepts and behind-the-scenes negotiations that shaped the pavilion's final form. For fans who have walked past that pyramid hundreds of times without considering the decades of creative and political work that produced it, this is the kind of Imagineering history that rewards close attention.

WDW News Today reports that the original Cars film is returning to theaters for its 20th anniversary, a reminder of how deeply Pixar's catalog has woven itself into the fabric of the parks. Cars Land at Disney California Adventure remains one of the most celebrated examples of Imagineering translating a film into a physical environment, and a theatrical re-release gives a new generation of families a reason to experience the source material before walking through Ornament Valley themselves.

And in a quieter corner of the Disney publishing universe, WDW News Today notes that Atlantis: The Lost Empire is getting a sequel in graphic novel form. The 2001 film has maintained a devoted cult following despite never receiving the franchise treatment that its admirers have long argued it deserved. While a graphic novel sequel differs from a theme park attraction or a live-action remake, it serves as an acknowledgment for the Atlantis faithful that Disney remembers Milo Thatch exists.

Sources

BlogMickey · Disney Tourist Blog · Attractions Magazine · WDW News Today · Lightning Brain · Disney Experiences · MickeyBlog · D23 · The Walt Disney Company · The DisInsider