We've now got a date for the reopening of Disney California Adventure's Buena Vista Street — November 19.
The Disneyland Resort previously had announced that it would expand its Downtown Disney shopping and dining district into California Adventure's entry land this month, but it had not provided a specific date. Since Disney is calling this an expansion of Downtown Disney rather than a reopening of California Adventure, there will not be an admission fee.
But that does not mean you might not have to pay to get in. Because the other piece of news that Disneyland dropped today is that, starting on November 19, it will begin charging $10 a car to park in the Simba lot to visit Downtown Disney. Parking had been free in that lot since Disneyland reopened Downtown Disney this summer.
Note that annual passholders whose passes include a parking benefit will not be able to park for free in the Simba lot. Disney says that the parking benefit is for the theme parks, which remain closed under state order, rather than for Downtown Disney. Nor will there be validated parking, as there has been at Downtown Disney in the past.
Locations available in the expanded Downtown Disney starting November 19 will include a new Carthay Circle Lounge – Alfresco Dining featuring a seasonal menu created by Chefs Andrew Sutton and Alex Flores. Other restaurants open will be Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe; Smokejumpers Grill from the neighboring Condor Flats, and Award Wieners from Hollywood Land. The shops Elias & Co., Julius Katz & Sons, Kingswell Camera Shop, and Trolley Treats also will be open to visitors.
* * *
We wanted you to read this article before we make our newsletter pitch, unlike so many other websites. If you appreciate that — and our approach to covering theme park news — please sign up for our free, three-times-a-week email newsletter. Thank you.
IMO a little too late, people are speculating that Disney will open Main Street if the demand for BVS is high enough, but even if they do, it would be too late for the holiday crush. The only way opening Main Street would make sense would be to open it on December 1. Disney was way too slow to do this, Knott's did it in the summer. I understand the possibility of issues with the unions, etc. Having only stores and restaurants open allows them to earn some revenue without the high cost of opening the whole park with running attractions and shows. Opening Main Street was a no-brainer a long time ago.
It will be interesting to see if that parking fee does anything to reduce demand. I'm guessing initially it won't do much, but it might deter the crowd who visits every weekend from making repeated visits and clogging the resort.
That's the rationale, AJ. By not allowing APs to park free and doing away with validation, Disney is hoping that the $10 will keep away the non-spending lookie-loos and allow the resort to clear Downtown Disney for actual customers, instead of having to close the Simba lot because too many wanna-be influencers are clogging DTD for photo shoots.
It would be a smart move for some of the nearby Harbor Blvd hotels to offer parking for a couple of bucks less!
What has two thumbs and likes seeing DLR
generate cash flow and put CMs back to work?
THIS GUY!
I don't blame Disney for trying to generate some revenue from guests coming to Downtown Disney, especially with no chance of the theme parks ever opening again this year, but this is just a slap in the face. Instituting a parking fee for guests that just want to walk around is fine (including APs), but to charge people to park who are doing legitimate business at your "mall" is ridiculous. If you spend $10 in Downtown Disney, you should not have to pay another $10 just to park your car.
Actually I'm not that upset about the parking fee. Yes, it would be great if it remained free, but $10 is not that much, I would complain about it being $20. I like this better than the previous $20 minimum purchase, because with that requirement, I may not go at all, although I'm in to dine at Carthay Circle or Smokejumpers. You can think that it's $10 for a family, not per person. I can understand that it might reduce the crowding, also BVS is more of an attraction than DTD itself, and it gives people a chance to be back in the theme park. Now please open Main Street! If you open Main Street and the parking stays at $10, I'm in for sure.
As a Signature AP member, I don’t mind the $10 parking fee(I’ll take this as my entrance fee for Buena Vista Street). Besides, we are parking at the Simba Lot, a parking lot that Signature and up AP members don’t even have free parking on due to it being a Downtown Disney Parking, not theme park parking.
But for me, I’ll wait 2 weeks after opening for it to die down. Besides, opening week is also opening week for Taste of Merry Farm so at least I know Knott’s won’t be busy that weekend.
I am against the parking fee. When I was going shopping, if the choice was DD or the direct store, I was going to DD. Now that parking is charged, I will go to the store.
While the atmosphere is nice it is not nice enough to justify the extra cost and inconvenience vs going to the local store outside.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
Great way to get people into your glorified mall that, nickel and diming them with parking...