Contemporary to undergo construction; DVC coming?

[ATCMickey]

Just adding to the wild and way out speculation thoughts...

I was thinking to myself, if a CM claimed there would be a DVC monorail resort 2 years into the future, would it have to be an add-on to an existing resort? Undeveloped property along the monorail is almost non-existent with one exception. There is a large, undeveloped, grassland area betweeen the Contemporary and the TTC that directly underlies the monorail. Also has waterfront access to LBV. Has anyone ever heard of plans for this land parcel? I would imagine it's incredibly valuable and I would have expected Disney to have found a way to develop this by now...but just wondering whether anyone knows anything about that parcel? Don't know that Disney would use that parcel unless they could get some very high density room usage (like a Contemporary or Grand Floridian) as it could produce incredibly high demand. Don't know if DVC could afford to develop that parcel but it's always nice to dream! $100 per point would be a steal for a resort with direct monorail access and with every monorail rider passing through a DVC property on their way to the MK, what an incredible advertising campaign! Can you imagine the monorail announcement..."we are now approaching Disney's Vacation Club...your home away from home". Ten's of thousands of people would be exposed daily. The general public could very easily step off a monorail and tour the property with ease. The sales center would be flooded by the ease with which potential buyers could access the property. The footprint of the parcel is relatively small so I'd guess things would have to be relatively high-rise or they'd have to take the road to the MK and put it underground.

I'm sure any new property will give first dibs to current members. That's what happened with BCV when we purchased an add-on and if memory serves me right there were very few points left to be offered to non-current-owners by the time the owners got done grabbing them up.

Just wildly speculating with absolutely no facts....sorry for the wild, completely unfounded speculation but it's kind of fun to dream.

ATCMickey

 

[BEACHCLUBVILLAS]

Many people may be interested if they made adjoining studios available at the contemporary location.

Oh and may we please have King beds with a Queen size pull out sofa in these studios if the rooms are large enough to handle it? Double sofas will do but if they change from the queen bed to a king then I see a lot of Contemporary stays in my future.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Just adding to the wild and way out speculation thoughts...

[...] There is a large, undeveloped, grassland area betweeen the Contemporary and the TTC that directly underlies the monorail. Also has waterfront access to LBV. Has anyone ever heard of plans for this land parcel? [...]

IIRC, this was originally (30+ years ago) going to be the site of a monorail resort (Asian?); I've seen it on some old promotional literature. However - and this is unverified "urban legend" info - the area is just too swampy to support construction.

 

[tjkraz]

There is a large, undeveloped, grassland area betweeen the Contemporary and the TTC that directly underlies the monorail. Also has waterfront access to LBV. Has anyone ever heard of plans for this land parcel?

Disney actually went so far as to announce plans for a resort there many years ago. It was to have had a Venetian theme.

Unfortunately they twice poured a set of concrete pilings to test the stability of the land, and the pilings completely disappeared into the swamp (most of WDW sits on swampland.)

Doesn't look too promising for that site.

EDIT: More info courtesy of Jim Hill Media...

Well, at least in the case of WDW's proposed Venetian-themed hotel, the problem wasn't that the Mouse had lost all enthusiasm for the project. In fact, for years now, Disney has desperately wanted to build a new resort along that weird piece of waterfront property that stretches from the TTC all the way to the Contemporary Resort. They know that tourists would pay top dollar for a room that would offer that sort of view of Seven Seas Lagoon.

The only problem is this piece of Disney World property is ridiculously swampy. "How swampy?," you ask. So swampy that -- on three separate occassions, when Disney's engineers drove concrete pilings into the ground, to see if this area along Seven Seas Lagoon would be a stable enough spot to support a new resort -- these test footings disappeared. Sinking straight down into the ground, never to be seen again.

Which is why the Mouse abandoned its plans to build a Venetian-themed hotel (Which was to have been a super-sized resort, something similar in size & weight to the Contemporary) and opted to go with something smaller: the Mediterranean resort hotel.

As you can see by this photograph of a model of WDW's proposed Mediterranean hotel, this would have been a much smaller project which would have occupied a much smaller footprint. Which Disney's engineers hoped would make the safe construction of this resort along Seven Seas Lagoon possible. But when the test footings for this proposed WDW addition also disappeared into the mud, never to be seen again, Mickey finally had to admit defeat.

Which is why this stretch of Disney World's waterfront -- with its primo view of the Magic Kingdom -- remains hotel-free. Mind you, the Imagineers remain hopefully that maybe someday a construction technique will be invented that will allow the Mouse to built a massive new resort on this soggy piece of property. But until that day comes, this corner of Seven Seas Lagoon remains hotel-free.

These Contemporary rumors have been floating around for so long that I'm just numb to them at this point. Someone page me when there's a press release...

 

[DrTomorrow]

[...]But I did want to say this. I don't see any reason to think that if they did make the wings into a dvc resort that they would have to follow the same style of rooms that are avialable at the other resorts. [...]

This is ignorance - and a fading memory - asking: isn't there some kind of standard that has to be met to qualify for the timeshare exchange companies? I seem to remember this coming up in the "Max DVC Occupancy" thread.... Of course, it could just be time to take my pills....

 

[Mike]

This is ignorance - and a fading memory - asking: isn't there some kind of standard that has to be met to qualify for the timeshare exchange companies? I seem to remember this coming up in the "Max DVC Occupancy" thread.... Of course, it could just be time to take my pills....

I remember Dean posting something along these lines, but I don't recall the details.

DrTomorrow - pass the bottle of pills when you're done

 

[DrBond007]

EDIT: More info courtesy of Jim Hill Media...

Thanks tjkraz.

 

[ATCMickey]

DrTomorrow and tjkraz,

Thanks for the education. That's the first I've heard of the situation with that site. Ridden past it a thousand times over the past 30 years on the monorail and always wondered how such a prime piece of real estate would remain undeveloped. Makes you wonder with today's technology whether they could excavate and refill...seems like with that prime location it could be worth the effort (expense$). Heck, there's gotta be rock if you're willing to dig deep enough.

Thanks again....ATCMickey

Disney actually went so far as to announce plans for a resort there many years ago. It was to have had a Venetian theme.

Unfortunately they twice poured a set of concrete pilings to test the stability of the land, and the pilings completely disappeared into the swamp (most of WDW sits on swampland.)

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Perhaps this would be the perfect location for DCL's newest ship (which has also had tons of rumors circulating!). A floating resort...I kind of like it!

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

Calypso, I think that's a great idea!!!! A 'ship' in the swampy part of the Seven Seas Lagoon and then, on Bay Lake, a Houseboat DVC!!!!! I want one!

Questions: how did they get the supports for the monorail to be structurally sound in that area? And isn't Seven Seas man made? How about Bay Lake? If they dug it out to build up the MK area over the tunnels, then couldn't they 'build up' that spit of land between the Contemporary and TCC and use draining tunnels like Venice and Amsterdam?

Dreamin, I'm always Dreaming.....Hopin' that my Dreams will come true!

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

Perhaps this would be the perfect location for DCL's newest ship (which has also had tons of rumors circulating!). A floating resort...I kind of like it!

I was thinking similarly....like a house boat gone wild thing ...but then the weather would shred something like that I guess

 

[PatriciaH]

Is convention space at WDW really in that much of a demand? Coronado Springs is expanding its space. You've got convention space at the Boardwalk, YC/BC, probably others I'm forgetting...

I believe convention business accounts for 48% of resort business.

 

[CharlesTD]

Well there is a way to do it look at what they did with Tokyo Disney Sea they built it out in the ocean so why couldn't they do the same thing here.

 

[zcasper]

Questions: how did they get the supports for the monorail to be structurally sound in that area? And isn't Seven Seas man made? How about Bay Lake? If they dug it out to build up the MK area over the tunnels, then couldn't they 'build up' that spit of land between the Contemporary and TCC and use draining tunnels like Venice and Amsterdam?

I think the monorail was a extremely difficult to build in that area - that's why it's unlikely we will ever see the monorail extended. Despite the fact that there are easements all over the place and even some structure build in World Showcase, it would take a major investment to build.

The Las Vegas monorail has cost $141 million per mile. While light rail installations in Dallas and Houston have cost $45 million and $22 million per mile respectively.

Does anyone know how many miles it is from the TTC to DTD or SSR?

Zach

p.s. By the way, Bay Lake is natural and Seven Seas Lagoon is man made. It's the hole left over after they built up the MK. I doubt anyone would argue to dig a lake to build a hotel.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Thanks for the pic tjkraz! I would love to see a DVC resort, ship, houseboat, anything built there but it doesn't sound too good. I'm an admitted monorail junkie. I would like to see the CR refurbished and at least a small part of it turned into DVC. I would line up with checkbook in hand!! I try to take all rumors with a grain of salt until press releases but until then I love reading everyone's thoughts and ideas!!

 

[DVCPAT]

Calypso, I think that's a great idea!!!! A 'ship' in the swampy part of the Seven Seas Lagoon and then, on Bay Lake, a Houseboat DVC!!!!! I want one!

Questions: how did they get the supports for the monorail to be structurally sound in that area? And isn't Seven Seas man made? How about Bay Lake? If they dug it out to build up the MK area over the tunnels, then couldn't they 'build up' that spit of land between the Contemporary and TCC and use draining tunnels like Venice and Amsterdam?

Dreamin, I'm always Dreaming.....Hopin' that my Dreams will come true!

They trucked in many, many loads of soil. It had to be done at the time, so I would guess the additional cost for monorail footings wasn’t that expensive in the grand scheme. Disney could easily build an additional resort and link the monorail to it but the cost would be hard to justify.

Converting an existing (outdated) resort has a lot of financial benefits. It’s amazing how building requirements have changed in the last 5-years. Simple rainwater run-off from new parking lots and buildings require you design an irrigation system that naturally filters the contaminates that wash into the drainage pipes. The amount of land required far exceeds the footprint of the resort area.

I think existing resorts like SSR and the contemporary have the old building requirements grandfathered in as long as the development footprint is the same size or less. If you have an aging resort that lacks a popular theme, why not upgrade.

A lot of DVC members slam Vero Beach Resort for not fully developing across the street. I would bet many WDW resorts have original permit plans that have additional utilities that allow for future expansion. I wouldn’t be surprised if VWL and BCV weren’t planned as a resort add-on possibility at the time of original construction. Both VWL and BCV seem to handle the additions well with the original transportation and check-in services. I could be wrong, but I don’t recall any new parking places added for VWL.

 

[greenban]

The DVC at the Contemporary must be true......

And here is why.......

After loosing my WVL resale (yes I'm still bummed), I'm gonna buy an SSR add-on for the 100 point bonus. The timing isn't the best, but I've got add-on fever....... and I can't tell the wife......

So, the week after I do this, and it becomes offical, they will announce the MONORAIL DVC, which I will now be unable to afford, and when my wife finds out about the SSR add-on, if not divorced, I will not be able to buy DVC for a long, long time!

Yes I know the adult thing to do, is wait.... But if I wait, the MONORAIL DVC will never happen. So for all of you (my DVC friends and family) I sacrifice my marriage, and my chance to buy into the MONORAIL DVC.

-Tony

P.S. You all are welcome

 

[Dean]

This is ignorance - and a fading memory - asking: isn't there some kind of standard that has to be met to qualify for the timeshare exchange companies? I seem to remember this coming up in the "Max DVC Occupancy" thread.... Of course, it could just be time to take my pills....

While there a minimum standards, I doubt this would affect DVC in a venture of this type. There are exchange limitations such that if one were exchanging say a 1 BR sleep 6, it might only exchange for 4. But there are significant advantages to keeping some consistency to the unit set ups in terms of sleeping capacity, # of BRs and the like. Don't think for a second they'll try to set it up so one can sqeeze more people in a smaller unit such as bunk beds or a 1 BR sleep 6. And even if they did, don't kid yourself into thinking it would be a lot less points. Likely about 90% of the 2 BR costs would be my guess. And if they did have that type of room, that's likely the only type they'd have for a specific resort.

 

[Dumbo]

The Las Vegas monorail has cost $141 million per mile

And they charge $3.00 each way per trip.

Dumbo

 

[sjdisneywedding]

DrTomorrow and tjkraz,

Thanks for the education. That's the first I've heard of the situation with that site. Ridden past it a thousand times over the past 30 years on the monorail and always wondered how such a prime piece of real estate would remain undeveloped. Makes you wonder with today's technology whether they could excavate and refill...seems like with that prime location it could be worth the effort (expense$). Heck, there's gotta be rock if you're willing to dig deep enough.

Thanks again....ATCMickey

i thought the same thing, Im not an engineer but certainly things have been built in tougher conditions. I cant figure out how the footings would completely disappear, its a swamp not an ocean.