Mouse Extra

Thanks to the good folks over at DVCNews.com, we now have artist renderings of the new feature pool that is planned for the Saratoga Springs Resort at Walt Disney World.  The Paddock Pool, which is now a quiet pool, will soon be closed so that crews can begin construction on a new, and much more involved, recreation area. 

The announcement was made during the Disney Vacation Club’s Condo Association meeting.  You can read a detailed report on the meeting here.

…A new feature pool will be constructed that will triple the size of the current pool. The new pool will be 3,300 sq feet and wiil feature a lighted, 146-foot long slide, a larger pool deck with more chairs, another spa pool, as well as a 1600 sq foot wt play area for kids. There will also be a quick service dining facility that will serve burgers and fries, and perhaps a refillable mug station. This will cost about 41 cents per point and will be paid out of capital reserves.

There are three things that stand out from this report.  First, is that even though it is going to be smaller than the main High Rock Spring pool, this does look like a really great addition to the resort.  (That certainly looks like a slammin’ slide!) Saratoga Springs is a big, sprawling place that in some areas can really make you feel like you are out in the sticks.  Having something like this will help brings guests in that area a little closer to some action.

Which brings me to my second point, and that is a not-so-subtle urging of the DVC to make absolutely certain they add the refillable mug station to this project, which in the report seems iffy.  I have stayed out in this area before, and just to get a cup of coffee or a soda can be a hike or even a drive away.  It was the number one complaint of myself and everyone in my party during that stay.  This would really be convenient and the club should make it happen.

Finally, I hope the announcement or report just happened to mistakenly leave out plans to add a pool bar to this area.  Being able to get something to eat without having to trek all the way to the main lobby is a good idea, but that isn’t all I want to do when spending an afternoon at my home resort.  Let’s not forget about us adults, okay?

No, this is not another of those far-fetched stories of Disney buying property for a new theme park in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, or any of the other dozen or so places that seem to be the subject of yearly rumors.  That headline is legit, and the Washington Post is the reporting source.  Disney is not looking to rebuild the lost “Disney’s America” park, but they are going to build a branded resort in the nation’s capitol.

Walt Disney Co. has bought a 15-acre parcel at Prince George’s County’s sprawling National Harbor development, a shot in the arm for a project that opened with big ambitions a year ago, only to run headfirst into one of the sharpest economic declines in decades.

Disney plans to build a 500-room hotel resort on the parcel, providing another anchor for a 300-acre venture that seeks to rival the District as a conference and convention destination. National Harbor already includes six hotels; more than a dozen restaurants; and a giant conference center run by Gaylord Entertainment, owner of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

But, of course being this early in the planning stage there is very little to report on the details of this resort.  All we can make out is this is probably going to be something similar to that of the Hawaii Disney Vacation Club property, though it would seem to be a somewhat less elaborate project.  A better comparison would probably be the DVC resorts in Vero Beach or Hilton Head, just with the challenge of dealing with a much longer and colder winter each year.

The National Harbor, the area where the resort is being built, is a massive project that is seeking to become a destination all its own, rather than just a place to stay for tourists coming to Washington D.C.  Disney’s involvement is the best thing they could ask for.  With the right kind of property, DVC members from the northeast, which is where most of its members reside, will have a place to go for a weekend getaway and the National Harbor will have a set of tourists the convention trade could never supply.

Disney does have a history in the Washington D.C. area.  We all know the story of the failed Disney America theme park and of how politicians and local pressure ended the project.  But Jay Rasulo, Disney’s head of Parks and Resorts, is confirming that the new resort will not be an attempt to get back to that old idea.

“The National Harbor resort is a completely different kind of project,” Rasulo said. “It’s specifically zoned for hotel, residential and other commercial development. This project is a hotel resort. It is not by any stretch of the imagination a theme-park project and never will be. We have no intention of building a large-scale theme park in the Washington area.”

Like I mentioned before, we do not know what the theme will be for this resort or any specifics yet at all.  All we know is around how many rooms the building may have and where it will be.  The article does offer some location details…

The property Disney has bought sits on a rise at the top of a tree-lined promenade named American Way, which is fashioned after the main street in Barcelona, called Las Ramblas. The Disney site overlooks the National Harbor complex and the Potomac and faces north toward the District. Visitors can see the Washington Monument in the distance.

Rasulo said Disney has to weigh “lots of factors in the coming months and the coming years” before deciding when to break ground.

“We wouldn’t be buying this property if we didn’t think this was a great location for a Disney resort hotel,” Rasulo said.

I can honestly say that I have not been more excited about a piece of Disney news then this one in many years.  Being a DVC member and living only a four hour drive from Washington D.C., this just has me smiling.  I simply can’t wait to see what we get here.  To be able to hop in the car and stay at a Disney resort without the hassle and cost of airline travel is a dream come true.  You can bet that I will have my ear to the pavement listening for more on this one.

This week I received the latest edition of Disney Files, the magazine sent out to Disney Vacation Club members.  It contains some artist renderings of proposed plans for the future Disney resort in Hawaii slated to open in 2011.  I thought those of you who don’t get the magazine might find these pictures interesting.

It looks sort of like the Polynesian meets the Wilderness Lodge meets the Animal Kingdom Lodge and that can only be a good thing.  They couldn’t have picked better than those three resorts for inspiration.  Add to those architectural elements the gorgeous weather and seascape of Oahu and you have what looks like paradise.

According to the article, the plans include 350 hotel rooms and 480 DVC villas.  It also states “an early peek at the paperwork reveals plans for an extensive water play area including waterslides, rapids and waterfalls; a spa, conference center and kid’s club; as well as a wedding lawn with a serene view of the Pacific’s endless horizon.”  The article also describes special amenities including “a championship golf course, an expansive marina and protected swimming lagoons.”

This is really shaping up to be an impressive resort, perhaps the jewel in Disney’s resorts crown.  I am not sure how well sales will do at this resort, but I am fairly certain that attendance from current Disney Vacation Club members will be high.  What can be more perfect than a Hawaiian paradise with a touch of the Mouse?

It appears the Disney Vacation Club is in the process of designing a rewards program for their members.  Last night I received a survey in my email that dealt entirely with the name of this program and not the program’s specifics.  But the introduction paragraph to the survey included this…

…the program would be available to a select group of members who qualified by reaching a certain threshold through their own purchases and by referring friends and family.  The program would give this qualified group of members access to additional and/or highly sought after benefits.

Like I said, the survey itself was pretty silly as it only dealt with potential names for the program, like the Commodore Club, Legacy Club, Club 91 and others.  The questions centered on whether or not I felt the names were posh and impressive sounding, not whether I thought the program was a good idea.  One can easily assume now that the program’s concept will soon be a reality.

From the nature of the questions, DVC is obviously going for something that is exclusive to only the high spending members.  I understand the point with this type of thing, but it never gets me excited.  I personally am turned off by anything that sounds privileged or ritzy, even if I am a member.  Almost every single member of the DVC spends enormous amounts of money with Disney, excluding one from the other is insulting at any level.

But I won’t judge a book by a cover that isn’t even finished yet.  Soon we will know more and you can be sure that I’ll have an opinion about it!

As we reported last week, yesterday marked the official groundbreaking for Disney’s much anticipated new Vacation Club resort in Hawaii.  Our colleagues over at the terrific DVCnews.com website have the full press release for you.  Usually these are pretty boring, but this one provides some nice hints of how beautiful this resort can be.

Additionally, Hawai‘i’s aloha spirit will influence the many intricate details for which Disney resorts are famous, with stories woven into the architecture, interiors, art, graphics and three planned signature gardens all brought to life through carefully selected colors, patterns, materials and forms. Wood, thatch, lava stone and coral will be among the materials represented in the resort’s two 15-story guestroom towers, each oriented perpendicular to the ocean to maximize ocean views from the strategically angled guest rooms. Façade murals will add to the distinctive look of each tower and will begin to portray some of the stories and legends of the islands.

At the heart of the resort, an open-air lobby building — dubbed Hale Aloha — will draw its design inspiration from a traditional Hawaiian canoe house, visually connecting families to the sea and beyond.  Window designs, wall graphics and other details will welcome families with tales of adventure, myth, legend and more, while twin streams flow through the building before uniting as a single cascade into the center garden below.

What makes this so exciting is that there seems to be an awful lot of detail and research going into the design here.  And when Disney does that, it usually results in something extremely impressive.  Just from this description, it seems as though we have a design and theme that may be on par with some of Disney’s most impressive, like the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The website Los Angeles Business is reporting this morning that ground-breaking for the Disney Vacation Club’s Hawaiian Resort is scheduled to take place in one week.

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts will break ground Nov. 19 at its new family resort in Hawaii.

The oceanfront resort is located on 21 acres at Ko Olina Resort & Marina in West Oahu.

Scheduled to open in 2011, the resort will have more than 800 units, including hotel rooms and villas, for Disney Vacation Club, Disney’s timeshare division.

So far things appear to be on schedule for this pretty exciting new property.  But we can only imagine that the economic downturn will rear its ugly head in this project as well.  Will budget cuts and delays be imposed in Hawaii?  Only time will tell, but don’t be surprised if they do.

copyright Disney 2008

Regardless, the resort is moving forward and being built.  The real question, since it is now only a matter of time before it opens, is how popular will it be?  Disney is rolling the dice here on an estimated $800 million project that is not at all connected with its theme parks.  The future of these types of properties depends largely on success in Hawaii.