Disneyland Just Tore Out Its Ticket Booths and Moved Security, and Your Whole Arrival Routine Is Changing

The biggest park story of the last two days is happening before you even reach a turnstile. As of September 22, 2026, Disneyland has demolished ticket booths on the east side of its Esplanade, relocated a security checkpoint, and rerouted rideshare and bus drop-offs as construction on the resort’s Eastern Gateway ramps up. If you have a Disneyland trip on the calendar, the way you arrive, park, and clear security is the thing most likely to trip you up right now. Here’s what changed between September 22 and 23, straight from the official announcements.

Disneyland Moved Security and Rerouted Drop-Offs as Eastern Gateway Construction Ramps Up

According to Disneyland Resort’s official guest guidance on the East Esplanade construction, the East Security screening area is temporarily relocating into the footprint where ticket booths used to stand between Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. The resort has been demolishing four ticket booths on the Disneyland side of the East Esplanade; two are already gone, with the remaining pair to follow. Temporary construction walls may also reshape the walkways you use to reach each park’s entrance, which matters most during the morning rope-drop crush.

Transportation is shifting too. The Toy Story Parking Area shuttle drop-off stays in the East Esplanade but moves slightly north, closer to Harbor Boulevard. Rideshare pickups and drop-offs are splitting into two new locations.

Arrival method	Where it is now
Rideshare (option 1)	Downtown Disney District, in former Cast Member parking off Magic Way
Rideshare (option 2)	Harbor Boulevard, farther south near Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout and the Hyperion Theater
Toy Story shuttle	East Esplanade, shifted north toward Harbor Boulevard
East Security	Temporarily in the former ticket-booth space

All of this is groundwork for the permanent piece: Disney has broken ground on a roughly 3.2 million-square-foot, eight-level parking structure at 1585 S. Manchester Avenue that will hold about 6,000 vehicles, include 302 electric-vehicle chargers, and connect to the Esplanade by a pedestrian bridge, part of the DisneylandForward expansion tied to new Coco, Marvel, and Avatar attractions. Having made the pre-opening walk across that Esplanade more times than we can count, our advice is simple: budget an extra 15 to 20 minutes and confirm your rideshare pin before you tap “request.” Disney has not published a start date for the relocated checkpoint, an end date for the temporary setup, or any projection of major delays.

Meanwhile at Universal: Epic Universe Is Running Shorter Fall Days

If you’re pairing a Disney trip with Universal Orlando, check the clock before you build your Epic Universe day. Per Universal Orlando’s official park calendar, Epic Universe is running a compressed fall schedule, opening at 10 a.m. and closing at 8 p.m. on most September dates. There are exceptions worth noting: September 23 stretches to 9 p.m., while September 29 closes early at 6 p.m.

That shorter operating window changes the math on a park with five immersive worlds to cover. When we plan an Epic Universe day, an 8 p.m. close means prioritizing the headliner attractions early and saving Celestial Park’s evening ambiance for a single unhurried loop rather than assuming a late night. Always pull up the official hours for your exact date, because the fall calendar swings by the day rather than holding a single standard schedule.

Walt Disney World Is Teasing “More PhotoPass Attraction Magic”

Over on the Florida side, Disney dropped a small but deliberate tease. In a September 21 post on the official Disney Parks Blog, Walt Disney World spotlighted PhotoPass and closed with the line that “even more PhotoPass attraction magic is on its way… stay tuned!” No specifics on which attractions were revealed, but the framing points to additional on-ride or in-queue photo opportunities layered onto a service that already covers more than 175 locations across the resort, from Cinderella Castle to Spaceship Earth.

It follows a concrete addition earlier in September, when an interactive experience debuted at the Disney Springs PhotoPass Studio featuring Frozen- and Toy Story-themed backgrounds. We always download our PhotoPass shots the same night, and the steady expansion of attraction photos is a quiet argument for building a Memory Maker or Lightning Lane photo plan into your trip rather than treating pictures as an afterthought. We’ll update this space the moment Disney names the attractions.

If Disneyland’s Eastern Gateway shuffle has you rethinking how you’ll get to the gate, our complete guide to parking at Disneyland breaks down every lot, tram, and drop-off so you can plan around the construction.