A construction fence surrounding a large parking lot next to Downtown Disney on land Disneyland has identified as the future home of a major theme park expansion has raised a host of questions about the unannounced demolition project.

Why is Disneyland digging up the parking lot next to Downtown Disney? What’s going on behind those construction walls? Has Disneyland started building a third theme park?

The answers are far less interesting than anything your imagination can dream up.

Disneyland is removing trees that have impacted the Stitch cast member parking lot and resurfacing the asphalt, according to Disneyland officials. Work crews are repairing irrigation lines, replanting trees, laying new asphalt and repainting the parking lot.

The Stitch lot is expected to reopen this fall and remain a cast member parking location, according to Disneyland officials.

Trees and planters have been removed and new planter forms now dot the Stitch employee parking lot.

Why all the excitement over a simple parking lot repaving project?

The Stitch employee parking lot and other areas north and south of Downtown Disney, Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier Hotel have been earmarked as part of the long-term DisneylandForward theme park expansion plan unveiled in March 2021.

As part of the proposed plan, Disneyland continues to work with the city to update the blueprint for the resort district and extensively reimagine what the future of the Anaheim theme park will look like over the next couple decades.

Disney is asking the city for more flexibility in plans approved in the 1990s in order to be able to add a mix of theme park, hotel, retail, dining and entertainment on the eastern and western edges of the Disneyland resort.

The Immersive Theme Park westside expansion envisions a theme park on the Downtown Disney and Lilo and Stitch parking lots woven amid the Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier Hotel. Disney officials describe the westside site as more of a theme park expansion than a new “third gate.” The westside site links up with Downtown Disney near the former ESPN Zone and the recently-demolished AMC Theater.

The former AMC Theaters along with Starbucks West, Earl of Sandwich and Sugarboo & Co. were demolished in February as part of a multi-year project that will reimagine the Downtown Disney outdoor shopping center.

The Downtown Disney renovations and the Stitch employee parking lot resurfacing project are not part of the DisneylandForward project. No construction work has begun on DisneylandForward as Disney continues to submit development approvals to the city as part of the specific plan process.