Big things have been happening at the Disneyland Resort, but as it builds into something grander, we can’t help but look back at its illustrious history.
Not every piece of Disneyland history is a bright spot. In fact, there are some failures, including at the Downtown Disney District. While the shopping and dining district has progressed nicely with its expansion project that will continue into the foreseeable future, there were some stumbling blocks along the way. That includes a massive canceled project that has left some pretty sizeable effects.
Downtown Disney doesn’t have a massive list of recently canceled projects of significant magnitude, but it does have one that continues to stand out nearly a decade after its cancellation.
In 2017, Disney announced that a fourth resort hotel would be coming to the property. The hotel was to be situated in front of the Disneyland Hotel and take up most of the westernmost portion of Downtown Disney.
The new hotel would’ve featured 700 rooms, and construction was so real at one point that Downtown Disney permanently closed the AMC Theatres cinema, ESPN Zone, and Rainforest Cafe in the summer of 2018. Smaller stores like Earl of Sandwich and Starbucks closed but would later reopen elsewhere.
If you’ve been to Downtown Disney recently, you’ll notice that ESPN Zone, Rainforest Cafe, and the movie theater are all still gone, and there is no fourth hotel. That’s because a disagreement between Disney and the City of Anaheim over the subsidy and the prospective hotel’s location ultimately led to a pause.
Eventually, in late 2018, Disney canceled the hotel project and left the area vacant. The Rainforest Cafe turned into the Star Wars Trading Post (the exterior of the building was slightly altered but still looks very similar to the old tenant’s theme) in 2021, while the former ESPN Zone began installing new shops in 2025.
While Downtown Disney has recovered well, it hasn’t been until recently that the stink of the failed 2018 project has started to wear off. The ESPN Zone building was mostly left unused and a reminder of what once was. Star Wars Trading Post also only takes up a small portion of the Rainforest Cafe building, leaving much to be desired. And with no movie theater, that whole area of the district felt simply abandoned.
Parkside Market, new shops, and Din Tai Fung now reside in the space, along with a new entrance and small park, bringing much-needed life to Downtown Disney.
And then, finally, the ESPN Zone building got a new tenant with a Lululemon shop that opened in late 2025. It only takes up a small portion of the building, but at least there’s some tangible offering available to guests in the building now, making the space useful once again.
As Disneyland continues to evolve and make better use of its property, it moves further and further away from the disaster that was this failed hotel project.
Still, we can’t help but pine for the good ol’ days of ESPN Zone.
We’ll continue to keep you posted on all things Disneyland, so stay tuned right here at AllEars for the latest updates!
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Do you think Disneyland’s failed fourth hotel was a missed opportunity? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
The cancelled hotel was about Disney doing a solid for the City of Anaheim. The Anaheim Convention Center was less competitive in capturing conventions because Anaheim had an insufficient number of 4-star hotels in the area. Disney doesn’t need 4-star hotels. Not what families are looking for. But Disney was looking to earn a little goodwill with the city. Everyone was happy. Until . . .
As part of the hotel project, Disney also wanted to redevelop the land used for Disneyland Hotel parking. They got resistance from Anaheim. It became a squabble and Disney finally took the position that we were doing this as a favor to you. If you don’t want it, fine. And it all died.
Honestly that end of Dtd still feels like a way to get from the Hotel to DTD. it should easily seque from Hotel to DTD without all that dead space. Aa soon as you leave the parks….boom…you are in DTD. That should be the feeling when you leave Hotel
What happened to the Portos bakery??
My primary concern down at that end of town is STEAKHOUSE 55!!!
Why is it still closed? What on Earth are they planning to do with the space?
And what the heck was wrong with keeping it open (reopened) after the Covid pause???