Contemporary North Garden Wing will be changed into DVC Resorts???

[allstarlover]

Is it true that CR North Garden Wing will leave its "Deluxe Resort" entitled and changed into "Disney Vacation Club Resort"??? Because that's what I heard from a couple of peoples. Maybe that's why Disney doesn't renovate North Garden Wing. I don't know the exactly what's going to happen. But, is that true?
Kevin

 

[patsal]

It has been a rumor for a while--no definate details one way or the other.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Is it true that CR North Garden Wing will leave its "Deluxe Resort" entitled and changed into "Disney Vacation Club Resort"??? Because that's what I heard from a couple of peoples. Maybe that's why Disney doesn't renovate North Garden Wing. I don't know the exactly what's going to happen. But, is that true?

The only true "fact" at this point is that the North Garden Wing rooms have not been included in the CR refurbishment. According to MousePlanet's Walt Disney World Park Update, June 5-11, 2006:

…Refurbishment of the Contemporary Resort's tower rooms has been completed. Work on the South Garden Wing continues, yet no work has yet been done on the North Garden Wing.​

There are three main possibilities:

1. The North Garden Wing will be the next phase of the CR refurbishment, and will remain part of the deluxe resort hotel.
2. The North Garden Wing rooms will be gutted and converted to DVC accommodations.
3. The North Garden Wing will be demolished, allowing the construction of a new, purpose-built DVC resort, without the limitations of retrofitting the old wing.

If I had to bet, I would bet on the third possibility. I expect demolition. By combining the site of the North Garden Wing and the tennis courts, Disney Vacation Development (DVD) would have a large site for far more DVC units than would fit into the old North Garden Wing. The villas would have the right floor plans and plumbing for DVC accommodations with kitchens, washers, and so on. The new structure could be designed so that the villas have Bay Lake views on one side of the structure and Space Mountain/Magic Kingdom views on the other.

Although there have been rumors for years, absolutely nothing has announced. So the best answer to the question, "But, is that true?" is not yet.

 

[ralphd]

Or will continue to be part of the hotel, regardless of the method of renovation.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Or will continue to be part of the hotel, regardless of the method of renovation.

Wasn't the first item on my list that the North Wing could remain part of the hotel?

 

[ralphd]

Wasn't the first item on my list that the North Wing could remain part of the hotel?

You stated that if the north wing were demolished, the rebuild will be a DVC resort. That it will be refurbished if it is to remain a part of the hotel.

I stated that it will remain a part of the hotel whether refurbished or totally rebuilt.

 

[allstarlover]

Well, now I decide not to stay at CR. Just in case if we're assigned to the old-fashioned room (North Garden).

 

[minnie61650]

Maybe the North wing at the CR will become DVC but then again maybe they have other plans such as converting 2 rooms and making more suite rooms.
The master area could have a King bed and a larger bathroom with a whirlpool tub and the other room could be a basic standard room.

It seems a lot of families like the idea of having a separate room for the children but since Disney cannot always guarantee connecting rooms they would rather book a suite.

The mod resorts have jr. suites at CSR and the value resorts have the family suites at the All Stars so new suites at the CR could be the option for a deluxe resort.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[erikthewise]

If they don't begin renovation by the end of summer, they may as well put up a DVC sign. With every passing month it gets harder to believe in any other possibility.

Does anyone know anything about occupancy rates at CR? Are they still putting guests in the North Wing? On a regular basis or just when the other sections are filled?

 

[Jynohn]

Does anyone know anything about occupancy rates at CR? Are they still putting guests in the North Wing?

I hope not. We stayed there a few years ago when Shades of Green was being renovated and we were shocked by the condition of the North Wing. There were stained carpets and peeling wallpaper in the hallways, and in our room two lights were burned out, our bedspread was dirty, and the door of our bureau fell off the hinges when we tried to open it. We only paid ~$70 a night and were very disappointed. I can only imagine how someone would feel if they paid rack rate!

 

[Stitch 03]

If they don't begin renovation by the end of summer, they may as well put up a DVC sign. With every passing month it gets harder to believe in any other possibility.

Does anyone know anything about occupancy rates at CR? Are they still putting guests in the North Wing? On a regular basis or just when the other sections are filled?

This is why I believe the rumor has some credibility. If Disney was going to refurb the North Wing I would of expected an announcement by now. This is also why I would expect an announcement of a DVC at CR to come sooner then later (Oct?).

I hope not. We stayed there a few years ago when Shades of Green was being renovated and we were shocked by the condition of the North Wing. There were stained carpets and peeling wallpaper in the hallways, and in our room two lights were burned out, our bedspread was dirty, and the door of our bureau fell off the hinges when we tried to open it. We only paid ~$70 a night and were very disappointed. I can only imagine how someone would feel if they paid rack rate!

Another little twist is the state of the North Wing. I remember seeing posts a while back on the resorts board about how the N. Wing was in worse shape then the S. Wing. If this is indeed true and there are no plans for DVC, would it not be reasonable to have expected the N. Wing to be refurbed before the S. Wing.

BTW, I think Horace has a good take on the various rumors floating around and his posts appear to be fairly objective. So I would put a bit more wight behind his opinions on the subject then the opinions of some other posters.

 

[SFLTIGGER]

... This is also why I would expect an announcement of a DVC at CR to come sooner then later (Oct?).

The DVC idea sure sounds like a good possibility. Especially since DVC doesn't have a monorail property. It's not like Disney to just let a property sit!

We just bought @ SSR after staying at BCV (cash rental) last year. We had heard reviews of the conditions at CR wing and changed our original resie.

But, don't count on any announcement about a new DVC until SSR is sold out!

 

[minnie61650]

The DVC idea sure sounds like a good possibility. Especially since DVC doesn't have a monorail property. It's not like Disney to just let a property sit!

We just bought @ SSR after staying at BCV (cash rental) last year. We had heard reviews of the conditions at CR wing and changed our original resie.

But, don't count on any announcement about a new DVC until SSR is sold out!

I personally have my doubts about a DVC property on the resort monorail.

When they were going to build WL it was first planned to be a monorail resort and they even had plans for a monorail station.

Then the idea was scrapped.
I thought the reason they scrapped it may have been that the monorail was either at or near capacity.

A DVC monorail property would be very popular.
I think Disney would want to build a large number of monorail resort rooms because I see a huge demand.

That is why I feel if Disney does build a monorail resort it would be On the Epcot monorail line. I feel they would be better off meating the demand by building a new resort (possibly 10 or more stories) with a large number of rooms with access to thre Epcot Monorail.

JMHO

 

[SFLTIGGER]

That's exactly my point!

CR is already on the monorail and it would be a matter of changing existing accomodations to DVC villas.

Would be extremely popular and DVD could get premium for them.

 

[crazy4wdw]

From Mouseplanet:

DVC rumor update
We've received some new information that appears to indicate that the rumor that we reported last week about a possible new Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resort on the site of the STOLport is incorrect. We had had some difficulty believing it ourselves, as the attempt to make it an Epcot monorail resort would seem to present a number of difficulties, including the location of the Epcot monorail beam so close to World Drive. In order to be able to host a monorail station attached to the hotel, the resort would have to be built right up next to the roadway, which would pose a number of operational difficulties.

What we've heard is a variation of an even older rumor, that the North Garden Wing of the Contemporary Resort would become a DVC resort. Now, prior rumors had indicated that the South Garden Wing would be converted to DVC lodgings, while still others indicated that a new DVC resort would be built on the current site of the Contemporary's tennis center. The South Garden Wing has already been refurbished into upgraded hotel accommodations. The tennis center is not in danger due to Reedy Creek Improvement District zoning regulations, which preclude new construction that close to the water. In fact, the North Garden Wing location cannot host new construction due to those same rules.

However, refurbishment of the Contemporary Resort is officially scheduled for completion this summer, yet no work has been done to date on the North Garden Wing buildings. The new reports indicate that the North Garden Wing buildings will be gutted down to the steel superstructure. (They can't remove the steel, because then it would be "new construction" and would violate the zoning laws. The old structures would be grandfathered in as existing structures being "renovated.") They'd then add two floors to the top and rebuild the interiors as DVC lodgings.

There's no word on whether the resort would have a separate front desk area, but it's more likely that it would use the Contemporary's front desk area, as is done with the DVC lodgings at the Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club and BoardWalk Resorts.

As with the previous rumor, we do not expect the new resort to be announced until the Saratoga Springs Resort sells out. We expect that Disney is hoping that it will occur in time for the new resort to be announced at the fall press event in October.

 

[DancingBear]

I find it a very strange to think that there is a zoning issue regarding retaining the steel. Just what authority changed the zoning on the CR since 1971? There might be some other regulatory issue, but not zoning.

 

[erikthewise]

OK, we've got MousePlanet on board. Now we just need to sell those remaining SSR units! Buy up, people!

I also am scratching my head a little about the zoning regulations. The agency responsible would be Reedy Creek Improvement District (mentioned in the quoted article). But anyone who watches their local government access channel (like DW) knows that zoning regulations are somewhat fluid. It's hard to believe that WDW couldn't either get the zoning regulation altered or get a variance. Maybe it was just simpler to leave a few I-beams standing.

 

[DancingBear]

It may be something like avoiding a wetlands buffer requirement (State or Federal, not RCID, which Disney controls) imposed since 1971, rather than zoning.

 

[mjstaceyuofm]

It may be something like avoiding a wetlands buffer requirement (State or Federal, not RCID, which Disney controls) imposed since 1971, rather than zoning.

Bingo! I would stake a lot of money that it probably has to do with state or federal regulations as opposed to RCID zoning ordinances. Zoning ordinances typically regulate what you can do on buildable land - not where that buildable land is.... As a civil engineer, I deal with these types of scenarios all the time. An analogy to this would be doing a deck replacement on a bridge over water - if you literally just take off the old, deteriorated deck and put on a new deck and don't touch the piers or abutments, those elements are not subject to the "new standards" which would most likely be designed to different criteria with respect to location to the water, etc. The same thing applies here - if the "guts" of the structure were to remain, the physical location of the buildings would be grand-fathered in.

 

[Psychometrika]

My information from a friend "on the inside" is that there is some plan for DVC and the Contemporary. At that time (a year ago) the suggestion was that floors within the Tower would actually be DVC. So who knows.

Given what DVC may charge for the Contemporary project, who knows whether they'll even keep the same "plan" as it were. It could very well go in the direction of a more upscale program, e.g. Hilton Grand Vacations.

I wonder how long it will take to sell out SS?