Are Utilidors Being Built Beneath the Disneyland Resort?

Rumor has it that a system of underground tunnels are being built beneath the Disneyland Resort. Much less ambitious than the Utilidors at WDW, these reportedly originate from the Cars Land area (started during Cars Land construction) and will allow restricted passage (one or two electric golf carts) from the Cars Land area to an area beyond Toon Town.
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Infrastructure to support future attractions? Better access for Cast Members to current attractions? Primarily for increased security? What possible uses would warrant the expense of creating Utilidors for the Disneyland Resort?

The Utilidors are not that ambitious. Its tunnels radiating out under the Magic Kingdom and then another one over in Future World.

You're images are not showing in the thread, but excavating tunnels below the existing parks sounds incredibly expensive. The massive whole excavated for Cars Land was to house the mechanical systems for Luigi's Flying Tires.

No way would Disney spend the money for this.

Anyone want to buy some beachfront property in Kansas?

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Originally Posted by calsig31

Anyone want to buy some beachfront property in Kansas?

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On the Indian Ocean please.

I feel like this idea is antiquated. They built them in WDW at MK, then at Epcot where they needed them, since only the inside of Future World can't be accessed from backstage and everything else could be. It was a cheaper small project.

Then nothing in parks after that. Part may of been because the future parts had mostly perimeter attractions. AK only had the tree on Discovery Island, DHS only The Great Movie Ride and SciFi drive in, Sound Stage of various attraction with American Idol next to it. DCA only GRR and the winery.

At DL and MK, tons of attractions in the middle, between alll of the spokes.

In the MK, it may of been simple. They want this water entrance, so they had fill to raise the land. Attractions could go down more if they raised the park, like POTC.

If it was a great idea it would be in every park, but it's probably just an expensive idea.

Building Utilidors everywhere worked for the Magic Kingdom park where A: They had millions of yards of fill dirt dredged from Bay Lake and B: the land had a water table like three feet down, so digging basements was OUT. They built the Utilidors and "basements" under all the ride and show buildings at the original grade level, then piled all the fill dirt over the top to build the rest of Magic Kingdom proper on it. And if they want to expand, they can dig out the fill.

If they do the access tunnels at the beginning, it isn't that much money to do it - Cut and cover. Digging them out retroactively under an operating park with mining techniques would be prohibitively expensive, and only for special circumstances like getting 'Backstage Access' to an isolated show building because Characters and entertainers have to get there away from public view.

Disneyland made it work for many years with no backstage access to certain areas - Tinkerbell would put on an overcoat to go in the side gate entrance to Matterhorn Mountain incognito, and then up to the summit. They had another coat ready when she came down from the landing platform behind Village Haus, to make the jump at the Frontierland trail /Fantasyland tunnel crossing.

--<< Bruce >>--

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Originally Posted by DoctorQ9

Rumor has it that a system of underground tunnels are being built beneath the Disneyland Resort. Much less ambitious than the Utilidors at WDW, these reportedly originate from the Cars Land area (started during Cars Land construction) and will allow restricted passage (one or two electric golf carts) from the Cars Land area to an area beyond Toon Town.
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Infrastructure to support future attractions? Better access for Cast Members to current attractions? Primarily for increased security? What possible uses would warrant the expense of creating Utilidors for the Disneyland Resort?

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No, Not happening

Rumor has it that the tunnels will be used to support those MyMagic+ guests who inadvertently scheduled a 1pm fastpass for Roger Rabbit just prior to their 1:45 fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers. :p

Stage one build million dollar tunnels....
Stage two....
Stage 3 Profit

Is it April 1st already? Disneyland already does have some underground facilities and access routes. There is the basement under "Pirates", where they have the New Orleans Main kitchen, and the "Westside Diner"(if it's still called that). There's also some offices, break room, etc. under Fantasyland, and the Tommorowland Tunnel, leading from behind Innoventions to under TL Terrace (used, of course, to access the TL Terrace stage when it's in the down position). Also, the small tunnel built to get guests from the Rocket Rods queue, up to the loading platform. Talk about a waste of money!

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Originally Posted by JerrodDRagon

Stage one build million dollar tunnels....
Stage two....
Stage 3 Profit

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I think you'd better finish coming up with a Stage Two that works before you make Stage Three a foregone conclusion... :lol:

Any tunnel access they built wouldn't be a direct money maker, but if it cut their Security costs of escorting entertainers and Costumed CM's to places they need to be, it might still get approved.

Note that at Disneyland a million bucks for construction doesn't go all that far - It would cost you two or three million to get anywhere - A tunnel between Tom Sawyer Island and the "mainland" would be the first priority, but that's probably pushing $4 - $5 Million to drain the river and do a cut & cover tunnel with precast concrete segments dropped in, then encased in another layer of concrete and patch the 'river bottom'.

And that only counts for a 'short link' path like say between the Fantasmic! Basement at the front of the island and the New Orleans Square basement for Pirates - if they have to go up and in and replace Fort Courage as the tunnel terminus at the back of the island, or make a new tunnel under Hungry Bear and the DLRR tracks to get backstage there, the price goes way up.

--<< Bruce >>--

Nope thats not going to happen. There would have to be massive diging around the resort and they because of earthquakes and the fact the park is 60 years old and the oldder infulstructe was never designed to have a hole under it. The way that you would tell they were doing this is there would be huge roped off areas around the park for no reason and at Disneyland we would not have that space to rope off Main Street for underground construction.

Stupid question, but what purpose would utilidoors have at DLR?

Ok there actualy are utildors at Disneyland the first ones where built around Pirates because of the huge building sits about 1 1/2 stories benith ground level and they help with ride evacs. Look on youtube for pirates ride evacs and notice how many stairs they have to go up. The ones that are realy like the ones at WDW are in Tomorrowland and up to 2001 guests got to go through for the Rocket Rods line que went into the current Buzz and then headed underground and came back up above tomorrowland at the platform. The tunnel system extends all the way to the Astro Orbitor back to Tommorrowland Terrence (underground stage loading) then back to Innoventions. Then another tunnel extends to Pixie Hollow and then to Matterhorn. Its mostly used currently for Tomorrowland Terence for getting trash out and put the performers on stage, to get the fairies to Pixie Hollow and Tinkerbell to Matterhorn for her nightly flight. The enterances are in the rockwork outside Astrobiter, a door outside Tomorrowland Terrance, The gaint Tea cup in Pixie Hallow and a trash shute on the north side of the eating area of Tomorrowland Terrance and the doors behind Buzz.

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Originally Posted by 9oldmen

Is it April 1st already? Disneyland already does have some underground facilities and access routes. There is the basement under "Pirates", where they have the New Orleans Main kitchen, and the "Westside Diner"(if it's still called that). There's also some offices, break room, etc. under Fantasyland, and the Tommorowland Tunnel, leading from behind Innoventions to under TL Terrace (used, of course, to access the TL Terrace stage when it's in the down position). Also, the small tunnel built to get guests from the Rocket Rods queue, up to the loading platform. Talk about a waste of money!

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All (or most) of NOS buildings sit on top of large shared basement. It is possible to enter the backstage areas of the French Market Restaurant and Cafe' Orleans from underground. They use it in part to supply the two restaurants and take out trash during the day.

EDIT: Back to the OP, I would not be surprised if they built tunnels in the new Cars Land. I haven't been there yet. :( But if there is a restaurant that does not have easy backstage access, I would bet they have a tunnel that leads to it. Looking at the map, I wouldn't be surprised to hear they have a tunnel to Flo's.