Disney Tips Your Guide To A Great Disney Vacation
Disneyland guests visiting soon will need to know about these new security measures and policies in place thanks to the never-ending construction around the Resort. Here’s everything you need to know before your next visit to the happiest place on Earth.
Plan Ahead, Disneyland Guests: New Security Measures Now in Place
Disneyland Resort has confirmed a temporary change to one of the most important arrival points in Anaheim. As construction reshapes the eastern side of the Esplanade between Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, the East Security screening area will move into the space previously occupied by ticket booths.
Disney says construction walls may temporarily alter walkways to the theme park entrances, creating another variable in the morning rush when guests are trying to reach the gates before park opening.
What Disney has not said is equally important: there is no announced start date for the relocated checkpoint, no published end date for the temporary setup, and no official projection that the work will create major delays.
Disneyland Confirms East Esplanade Security Change
Disney published the update September 17 on its official Disneyland Resort enhancements page. Under “Construction in the Esplanade,” the resort says work in the eastern portion of the plaza “may temporarily impact” how guests move through the entrance area.
Disney lists three changes beginning in fall: east Esplanade ticket booths will be removed, the East Security screening area will temporarily shift into that location, and construction walls may cause temporary walkway adjustments to and from the main entrances.
It also builds on the ticket-booth demolition already visible at the resort. We previously covered the demolition of four East Esplanade ticket booths and later documented the changing Disneyland entrance area.
Why Harbor Boulevard Arrivals Could Feel the Change Most
The East Esplanade is the side facing Harbor Boulevard, a major pedestrian approach to Disneyland Resort. Anaheim planning documents describe the existing east-west pedestrian route between Harbor Boulevard and Disneyland Drive as the main connection to the entrances of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
That makes even a temporary circulation change operationally significant. Guests walking toward the parks from the east already converge on a security screening point before reaching the Esplanade. Moving that checkpoint farther into the former ticketing footprint, while construction walls alter available paths, could change where queues form and how pedestrians are directed.
It would be premature, however, to call major gridlock inevitable. Disney has not released the temporary checkpoint’s lane count, footprint, hourly screening capacity, or expected wait times. Without those details, claims that thousands of guests will miss rope drop because of the relocation would go beyond what is currently known.
Toy Story Shuttles Are Staying on the East Side
The construction also intersects with another important arrival stream. Disney says the Toy Story Parking Area shuttle drop-off will remain in the East Esplanade area but will shift slightly north, closer to Harbor Boulevard.
That means pedestrians coming from Harbor-area hotels won’t be the only guests navigating the evolving east-side approach. Shuttle riders will continue entering the same broader zone while Disney adjusts security and walkways.
We have covered changes affecting Disneyland shuttle service and the broader transportation transition around the resort. The new Esplanade configuration adds a pedestrian-flow component to those changes during the construction period.
Disney’s official security guidance confirms that the resort maintains security checkpoints at its theme park entrances, Downtown Disney District, and resort hotels, though it does not broadly discuss specific security procedures.
The Temporary Checkpoint Fits a Much Bigger East-Side Project
The ticket-booth removal is happening as Disneyland Resort begins a much larger reworking of how guests may eventually arrive from the east.
Anaheim’s approved DisneylandForward framework allows expanded parking east and northeast of the theme parks and potential pedestrian bridges across Harbor Boulevard. Official planning documents also contemplate reconfiguration or replacement of the existing east-west pedestrian route while requiring a non-ticketed route connecting major destinations with Harbor Boulevard and Walnut Street.
We have previously reported on the new east-side parking and arrival project and Disneyland Resort’s groundbreaking on new parking infrastructure.
The distinction is important: DisneylandForward establishes the planning framework for long-term development, while Disney’s September update addresses the immediate, temporary security relocation. Not every construction wall or temporary route should be treated as the finished version of Disneyland’s future entrance.
What Disneyland Guests Should Watch Next
For now, Disney is asking guests to plan ahead for changes near the theme park main entrances. The resort has not announced how long East Security will occupy the former ticket-booth area or exactly how pedestrian traffic will be routed once the temporary checkpoint opens.
The next meaningful updates will be operational ones: when the checkpoint moves, what the revised walking paths look like, and whether Disney issues additional arrival guidance for peak periods. Those details will determine whether the construction produces noticeable morning backups or simply changes the path guests take through a familiar part of the resort.
Until then, the confirmed story is substantial enough on its own. Disneyland is removing part of its traditional ticketing footprint, temporarily repositioning security, and rebuilding a key arrival corridor while a much larger east-side transportation plan takes shape around it.
