Preview of Pop Century Article
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Preview of Newest Disney World Resort Offers a Tribute to 'Pop Century' By Todd Pack, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Sep. 6--Pop Century Resort doesn't open until Dec. 14, but Disney on Friday made the place look presentable so its Imagineers could give local reporters a peek at the property.
Plastic sheeting flapped from the balcony of one hotel building and many of the 2,880 rooms were unfurnished, but several key designers still had plenty to show off.
There's the swimming pool shaped like a bowling pin.
There's the "thumbprint" on the ears of the blue elephant peeking out of a giant can of Play-Doh.
And there's the label on the oversized Big Wheel, warning the maximum weight for riders is 877 pounds.
"That's to scale," crowed Rob Brown, a senior construction manager with Walt Disney Imagineering.
Pop Century, which was delayed two years by the slump in travel after the September 2001 terrorist attacks, was designed "to tell the story of 20th century American pop culture," said David Muenks, director of development of Disney's Orlando resorts.
Disney originally planned to tell the story of the entire 20th century but is building the resort in phases.
The first phase, which is nearly ready for guests, covers the 1950s to the 1990s; the second will span the 1900s to the 1940s.
Disney has built the lobby building and a pair of guest buildings for this second phase -- the unfinished hulk of one building stands darkly near the resort's entrance -- but Disney isn't discussing the future of Phase Two.
"We're really focused on getting this one open," Brown said.
Phase One's story begins on the driveway to the resort with small road signs touting amenities such as color television and continues in the lobby with a display Disney calls "The Wall."
Opposite the 30 check-in positions are a series of shadow boxes with artifacts from the 1950s through the 1990s, from the Mouseketeers -- the original group with Annette, not Britney -- to the Spice Girls.
Culled from garage sales, junk shops and eBay auctions, the collection includes a pair of drive-in movie speakers, a Jane Fonda Workout Book and a copy of the Village People's Macho Man . . . on 8-track . . . in a slip cover from the Columbia House record club.
Close to the lobby is the Everything Pop food court, where diners can indulge in a slice of Moon Pie cheesecake or a Twinkie tiramisu. Look for hidden Mickeys in the food court's tile floor. Pop Century's operations manager said there are three.
Rooms are in buildings grouped around pools or courtyards and anchored by icons such as giant replicas of Duncan yo-yos and 8-tracks with tile-mosaic labels -- complete with unspooling "tape."
Pop Century will be the largest of Disney's "value-category" hotels, with rates starting at $77 a night.
Once it opens, it will bring the number of rooms on Disney property to just under 25,000, confirming the company's position as Central Florida's largest hotel operator.
One thousand rooms in the French Quarter section of Disney's Port Orleans Resort are closed for refurbishing.
Disney also has razed 457 rooms at its defunct Disney Institute to make way for 552 time-share units at the Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. It's scheduled to open in 2004. Disney's unused time-share units are rented like ordinary rooms.
-----To see more of The Orlando Sentinel -- including its homes, jobs, cars and other classified listings -- or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.OrlandoSentinel.com
(c) 2003. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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