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Disney Announces New Resort
From the Orlando Sentinel Daily Disney Article
The first wing in Walt Disney World's newest hotel, Disney's Art of Animation Resort, will open in May 2012, resort officials said Thursday, and will be completed by the end of that year.
Disney said the roughly 2,000-room hotel will create more than 800 permanent jobs. Most of those will be in housekeeping and food-and-beverage services, though officials said many jobs will be added in other categories, as well.
Those are on top of roughly 800 construction jobs the project will require. Disney broke ground on the complex earlier this fall.
The Art of Animation will include 864 standard hotel rooms in Disney's "value" category, the resort's cheapest rate classification. Another 1,120 will be suites, each with room for as many as six people, that will carry somewhat higher nightly rates.
It's a significant expansion into "family suites" for Disney, which currently has only about 215 such rooms on its property. Several large non-Disney hotels feature such rooms — most notably the Nickelodeon Family Suites just beyond Disney World's eastern entrance — and Disney is aiming to pull more of those travelers onto its own property.
"This is a market that is fairly intensive outside of our property," said Kevin Myers, vice president of resort operations.
Disney says demand for affordable suites has grown in recent years as more tourists travel with extended family.
"We continue to see that families — multi-generation — want to travel together," Myers said. He called the suites project a "no brainer" for Disney.
With the additional standard rooms, Disney World's inventory of "value" hotel rooms will grow to about 9,000. The resort has about 25,000 hotel rooms and time-share units in total, spread between "value," "moderate" and "deluxe" rate categories.
The first phase of Art of Animation to open will be a Finding Nemo-themed wing of suites in May 2012. It will be followed by Cars- and then Lion King-themed wings of suites. The final phase will be the wing of conventional hotel rooms, themed to The Little Mermaid, which will open by December 2012.
Vibrant Waterfront District Among Plans for Downtown Disney
Work will soon begin on a completely re-imagined Pleasure Island and other one-of-a-kind experiences as Walt Disney World Resort continues to bring new stories to life at Downtown Disney. Combined, the projects are expected to create an estimated 1,200 new jobs over the next three years.
“We have made great progress since first announcing our vision to bring new shopping, dining and entertainment experiences to Downtown Disney, many of which can’t be found anywhere else and have already become guest favorites,” said Keith Bradford, vice president of Downtown Disney. “We look forward to providing even more ways for our guests to enjoy Downtown Disney, while at the same time creating new jobs for Central Floridians.”
A nostalgic yet modern take on an early 20th century port city and amusement pier will evolve Pleasure Island into “Hyperion Wharf.” By day, the bustling port district will draw guests in with its stylish boutiques and innovative restaurants and by night, thousands of lights will transform the area into an electric wonderland.
Taking its name from Hyperion, the Greek god of light, as well as the street on which Walt Disney built his first major animation studio, the wharf district also will feature a relaxing lakeside park and enhanced pedestrian walkways. Its diverse eateries will expand dining availability at Downtown Disney by more than 25 percent.
“Hyperion Wharf will offer guests of all ages a vibrant atmosphere and new experiences that can be enjoyed by day or by night,” said Bradford. “Whether looking for a great place to dine with the whole family or a place to relax and enjoy live music, Hyperion Wharf will provide the perfect setting for guests to make new memories with us.”
In addition to the new wharf district, numerous other projects are underway at Downtown Disney, including:
~~ An extensive renovation of Lego Imagination Center, which will increase its overall footprint by nearly 3,500 square-feet and add new Lego exterior models featuring scenes from classic Disney movies;
~~ Enhancements at AMC that will take the movie-going experience at Downtown Disney to the next level with new digital technology, a paradigm-shifting Concession Stand of the Future and Florida’s first Fork & Screen Theater; and
~~ Numerous new or renovated retail shops and merchandise vignettes, as well as additional atmosphere entertainment, throughout Downtown Disney.
Combined, these projects are expected to create an estimated 600 construction jobs, 500 restaurant, retail and entertainment jobs and support 100 vendor and supplier jobs.
Other recent additions to Downtown Disney include:
~~ New entertainment, such as the Characters in Flight tethered balloon ride, the ETX theater at AMC and an enhanced outdoor performance area;
~~ Unique shopping experiences like D Street, littlemissmatched, RIDEMAKERZ,
Tren-D and Disney’s Design-a-Tee; and
~~ Immersive dining, like T-Rex: A Prehistoric Family Adventure, Paradiso 37 and the recently opened Pollo Campero and Fresh A-Peel, a new quick-service restaurant combining authentic Latin-style chicken and side dishes, as well as fresh, healthy creations such as salads, wraps and gluten-free desserts.
