Grand Floridian, composite plastic !

[Denmark]

Hi guys and girls,

I know im a bid odd, a disney nut, but i happen to like to find things about WDW that only a very few know about.

Did you guys know, that the railings in the entire resort (GF) is made of composite plastic (2 1/2 miles of railing), the composite is made to look and feel like real wood.

Not that the above matter at all, i realy like the GF resort.

Here is the link to the company which delivered the rail with some nice pics/information.

Enjoy!

Chemtechgroup

 

[Janet2k]

Oh, I love resort trivia. Thanks for sharing.

And since you shared, I will share, too. Did you know that the thatching (click here) that is used at the Animal Kingdom Lodge is not made of real materials? Click herehttp://www.livingcolor.com/animal_kingdom.cfm for some information.

 

[Denmark]

Hi, Janet2k

Yes i did know that about the thatched roof, and the company who made it. I have made a post about it some days ago. I didnt get too popular telling them, maybe because i also said in my post, that disney could do better.

Its always fun to dig around and find trivia things about resorts.

Have a nice day, Janet2k

 

[Janet2k]

I stumbled into the AKL info around the time that the resort opened. I posted a link to more interesting info at that time. I ~think~ I might have put that link in the AKL FAQ thread here on the Dis, but I was too lazy to search for it last night so that I could share it here with you (yikes!). If I stumble into that info again, I promise to send you the link.

Please keep sharing any resort trivia that you find. Lots of folks here on the Dis enjoy it (I know that I do).

 

[Janet2k]

Denmark, I was feeling guilty for not sharing the link to the article with you yesterday, ~gulp~ (where were my manners?!). I took a moment to search the AKL FAQ thread and found what I was looking for on Page 4. I'll post it here:

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I just read the cover story from the May 2001 issue of “Southeast Construction” regarding the AKL’s construction. It was an interesting article and I learned a few things. For instance, did you know any of the following tidbits of information?

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The exterior contains virtually no wood. Crews used Cemplank and Hardy Board products, fiberglass reinforced plastic columns, and concrete prepared to look like wood. Fixtures and components arrived from all over the world.

“We want it to look like a large organic structure," said Hale. "Typically you would go with wood and thatch and use all the natural materials you would find in the wilds of Africa. But the developer/owner that we are, we want to keep our projects around for a long, long time and intend to maintain them ourselves. We were challenged to go with synthetic material wherever possible."

Imagineers, with input from the general contractor and roofing subcontractor C & H Contracting Professionals, Lake City, developed a synthetic product to use in decorating the roof that replicates a reed thatch. The team fire- and wind-tested the material before using it.
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Believe it or not, I actually knew about the synthetic thatching that was mentioned above (I think it was my favorite AKL concierge Cast Member Don who first told me about it). Here are two pictures of the synthetic thatching that covered my balcony:
Thatching Photo #1
Thatching Photo #2

Another part of the article that I found interesting was this:

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"We started with what you normally do at the end and we did that first," said Rob Hale, senior construction manager for Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI). For example, landscaping was planned and initiated almost two years prior to project completion. Building exteriors received attention before interiors to give animals time to become accustomed to their new home. Also, pressure-treated wood, paints and other materials had to be animal friendly and meet United States Department of Agriculture standards.
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And the following tidbit struck me funny because they basically had to treat the construction site as if it were a downtown building location that didn’t give them much room to move around in (remember, the AKL has a lot of fairly empty space – the three savannahs cover approximately 33 acres of land):

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Crews paved a drive lane around the main building and erected a temporary fence to separate people from the exotic animals. The barriers limited space adjacent to the structure, creating a site more like a downtown location than an undeveloped area.
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[Denmark]

Thanks for the info, Janet2k

Always fun with some background info about the resort on WDW property!.

Ill keep on digging, and try and find some other interesting things

 

[Janet2k]

Denmark, I'm counting on you doing just that. And make sure that if you find something good, that you also post it in that particular resort's FAQ. You'd be amazed at the wonderful tidbits of info that get shared in those threads (I know that I've added a few fun things to some of them).

 

[Janet2k]

For those folks who are new to the Dis and who don't know where to find the resort FAQ threads, please click here.