Inside video of "The Forgotten Legendary Years" at Pop Century

[disneyfan67]

I have seen and been part of many discussions of the topic concerning the unfinished "Legendary Years" buildings at Pop and found this great video of them on You Tube. I wanted to share this because as a fan of Disney and WDW in general, I'm concerned when I see things like this and want to see things change for the better. I really think it's a disgrace that this shell of a building and the property it sits on, is in the condition it is. There's just no reason when WDW is enjoying record setting attendance numbers. I would love to see this building turned into family suites and made affordable for larger families. It just makes sense to make more affordable options to larger families who would normally stay off site. Once you have them on property they most likely are going to stay put and not travel outside the main gates. I don't condone the actions of this person who shot this video or saying he was right in trespassing into an area that is closed off to the general public, but I'm glad to see this. Maybe things like this will force change for the better, IMO. I would like to see some input from others on this.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSc1fG0ETeY

 

[KimWDW]

I trust that they know what they're doing. Disney loves money. They would not leave money on the table. There has to be a reason they haven't finished it yet. I'm guessing their projections say they couldn't fill it to capacity right now so they're waiting until it's a profitable move to finish it.

 

[spiceycat]

I don't know if this is true or not - but someone reported here - that Disney is being sued by the construction company.

maybe because Disney wanted to change the plans once construction had begun?( this is my guess)

WDW can't touch that property until the law suit is settled or dismissed.

but yes one day I can see suites at Pop Century - just not for a few years.

some larger families prefer the condos and houses that offsite offers. Yes I know Disney magic and stuff - but some really do prefer offsite. go visit Orlando hotels & attractions. Some of those houses are pretty wonderful for the same price as a moderate - some are priced in the value range with your own private pool.

 

[newholidayx2]

how did they film that? who did it?

 

[disneyfan67]

how did they film that? who did it?

The people or the person who filmed this obviously trespassed onto the closed section of the Legendary years and filmed this. Who knows what could have happened if he or they was caught? Probably arrested for trespassing and charged. Who really knows what would have been done? I do know Disney doesn't want pictures like this out there, but I'm glad to see this because it might force a change for the better. History has shown that usually public out cry does start the ball rolling and forces changes to be made.

If WDW management doesn't want or deem it necessary to finish this section, then they should remove it, tear it down, etc, and let the property look natural and open. It looks like a old deserted shopping mall or something and takes away from the fantasy that Disney tries to convey to it's customers. You go to WDW to escape the outside world, not have a grim reminder of it just sitting there. Same with the River Country property. It looks like a waste dump with everything mostly in place, sunken in water and deserted. WDW is a special place to me and I hate to see that beautiful place turn into something Six Flags or worse, would own or operate.

 

[mbtileguy]

i really think they should finish pop and get rid of one of the all stars if they think they cant fill it? i think pop fills up before the all stars, i wonder which one is the most popular reservation wise. i would guess sports.

 

[disneyfan67]

i really think they should finish pop and get rid of one of the all stars if they think they cant fill it? i think pop fills up before the all stars, i wonder which one is the most popular reservation wise. i would guess sports.

You keep the rates low for the values around 65 dollars or so and you will keep them full. I looked into getting a room at a value resort and all of them came up around the $110 dollar range. I just don't think they're worth it at that price. Now I have gotten a pin code that would give me one for around 55 dollars a night and that would be worth it, IMHO, but not too much higher. If Disney converts that entire legendary section of Pop to suites and keeps the price reasonable, they will be a hot item. If you could get a value suite for around a 100+ dollars a night, give or take a few dollars, then it would work. People love incentives and the prospect of a good deal and would be all over this.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

WOW, that's neat footage on youtube! I am not surprised that the persons who made the video had an easy time walking around over there. In the last year, I stayed three times in the 50's section overlooking the lake at POP, and the Legendary Years section was always empty and abandonded. I never saw anyone over there, it looked like no one touched it in years. Very sad. Probably pretty easy to just walk around over there, as it's very quiet by the Lake and not many employees in the back corner of the 50's parking lot, which connnects to the Lengendary years.

My guess is Disney will continue to do absolutely nothing with it for years, as that is the "path of least resistance". Wonder if it's cheaper to abandon it completely as is, than to actually do something with it. Either way, very sad.

 

[easleygrls]

Creepy! And sad. If it had been used, and then abandoned, it would be sad in a "think of all the history and all the memories..." kind of way. But now it's sad in a "what a waste" kind of way

 

[minnie61650]

You keep the rates low for the values around 65 dollars or so and you will keep them full. I looked into getting a room at a value resort and all of them came up around the $110 dollar range. I just don't think they're worth it at that price. Now I have gotten a pin code that would give me one for around 55 dollars a night and that would be worth it, IMHO, but not too much higher. If Disney converts that entire legendary section of Pop to suites and keeps the price reasonable, they will be a hot item. If you could get a value suite for around a 100+ dollars a night, give or take a few dollars, then it would work. People love incentives and the prospect of a good deal and would be all over this.

Iagree "if " Disney were able to keep the rates as low as you are suggesting
they could fill up the unfinished section of Pop.

But that most likely will not happen.

The profit margin will not be there.

As it is sometimes it is more profitable for Disney to keep empty rooms rather than to "deep discount" them.

The costs of house keeping, heating, cooling, water, maintenance as well as transportation ( transportation is a big one ) all have to factored in.

If Disney is having trouble filling value rooms it would not be a good investment for them to finish Pop at this time.

JMHO

 

[MUFFYCAT]

Wow! I felt like I was watching a scary movie with the noise . It looks like a deserted town.
The clip of inside the room was eerie.

Thanks .

 

[bradk]

as i understand it, unofficial word goes like this..

construction was halted. reportedly a hurricane (charley?) did significant damage to the integrity of the buildings and it was decided that the whole thing would have to be leveled and rebuilt. then they decided it didn't have to be leveled, but that they would wait to see how the all stars suites performed as they may opt to make the entire legendary buildings suites.

this is pretty much what they've been telling CMs anyway.

 

[cloverkat]

I just wish that they had finished the legendary years first because that is the part that I was most interested in staying in. I really would have liked to see what kind of theming Disney did with the 00's-40's decades. It could have been really fun.Hopefully, it will be finished in some form one day.

 

[msdis]

We were there a couple weeks ago and had the same errie experience and line of questions. I do remember they were almost ready to open Pop right around 9/11 and then the tourist industry tanked. I figured it was for that reason. It was really creepy to look at.

 

[chasgoose]

The fact is and always has been that the first thing Disney cares about is money. Yes, it is about the magic and whatnot, but Disney provides the magic because they know they can get you to pay for it. Disney does not want to make a move on the Legendary Years property until they have a plan/want to build the property. There is absolutely no incentive for them right now to do anything. If they do have to raze it, why pay now to raze it if they aren't going to do anything with it? Until people stop staying at the Pop Century in protest, Disney has no reason to do anything with it.

Despite the rebound of the tourism industry after 9/11 there still isn't the demand to justify building another Pop Century sized resort on property. When the plans for the resorts were made, they were assuming that the tourism growth of the '90s would continue, justifying the construction of 2000 more rooms. They didn't plan for a major collapse in the industry. While there has been growth, that has merely brought the industry slightly past where it was before 9/11, not far enough to get to where everyone thought it would be now if 9/11 hadn't happened. Therefore building the new property would be a financially boneheaded decision for Disney to make. They can't build a property that could only be filled by pretty much giving away rooms ($55 a night is giving away a room). Even if they convinced people to come back, not enough would come back if the rate incentives weren't there.

Also, while it would be nice if Disney would provide more low-cost options for large families, the fact remains that it is more financially beneficial for Disney to provide options for people with more disposable income. Disney is a buisness not a charity. If they have the choice between providing more rooms for people with a lot of disposable income over value guests, they are going to target the wealthier people every time. That is why the biggest room growth at Disney has been in the DVC category. As long as there are people with money wanting to buy into the DVC, Disney is going to put most of their attention towards them because they will pay more and spend more once they arrive at Disney (that is not true for everyone, but on average it is). Disney is building more of the family suites, and they probably will construct a lot of them when they finally decide it is worth it to build the Legendary Years, but for now, they would rather put their focus on the DVC stuff.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

It seems like such a waste, which makes me sad.

9/11 halted the construction, and then FL was hit with a couple of crazy hurricane seasons, so I don't think the buildings are able to be saved anymore.

Just think of what could have been done with all of the money and work that went into getting that much built!

 

[BostonRob]

It looks like a prison.

 

[Charleyann]

You keep the rates low for the values around 65 dollars or so and you will keep them full. I looked into getting a room at a value resort and all of them came up around the $110 dollar range. I just don't think they're worth it at that price. Now I have gotten a pin code that would give me one for around 55 dollars a night and that would be worth it, IMHO, but not too much higher. If Disney converts that entire legendary section of Pop to suites and keeps the price reasonable, they will be a hot item. If you could get a value suite for around a 100+ dollars a night, give or take a few dollars, then it would work. People love incentives and the prospect of a good deal and would be all over this.

IMO the values are too high! I stayed in a nice hotel last year just 1.8 miles from disney. I paid $55 nightly. This including : kids eat free, 3 heated pools, fridge, coffemaker (condiments everyday) hairdryer, free high speed internet, 25 inch TV's, laudry facitilites on sights and shuttles to all Major theme parks including UniversaL AND seaworld! The hotel had several restaurants on site as well as an arcade and store....Disney's values, offer half of this!

This year I am staying onsite because I got the 40% offer and room rate is only $49 nightly....I am having reservation because they are not as nice as some offsite rooms and amenities lack at Disney's Values.

I chose the cheaper rooms. For me, it means longer stays. I also, can't reason spending big $$$ on a room I only sleep in!

So, if Disney targeted people like me (there are alot, just look at hotels filled on 192) and kept the rooms reasonable priced. People will come!

Charleyann