Pop Century Legendary Years - 03/2007 & Updated 06/2008!

[CanadianGuy]

I took these during my recent stay.. This is the state of things today.

Here's what would amount to 'Legendary Hall' - zoomed in from across the lake with the big lens. It looks to be in pretty good shape. They seem to run some housekeeping stuff out of the back side of it.

It looks a lot worse than it really is because vegetation has grown up.. and landscaping was never completed in the first place.

Like in this picture.. in this picture below you can clearly see the hand railings around the floors are just 2x4's for safety while the workers were there and are not the final metal railings. Many people thought they were the metal railings and were rotting and falling apart. That's not the case.

And here

If you zoom in close enough all the windows to the rooms have garbage bags over them... as you see here.

While doing my 'stealth photography' -- I saw thru the fence this hotel room door was actually OPEN??!!?

If you look thru there.. (in that pic above) you can see the room is completely unfinished. You can see the door on the far side of the building for what would be someone else's room if the building was finished.

I felt like paparazzi taking pictures thru bushes and holes in the fence.. here's another one of the open door..

And lastly .. THIS picture.. is really interesting to me. It's of the buildings closest to the 50's parking lot. If you look closely and notice.. the part of the building that connects the three wings with stairs & elevators hasn't been built yet. The only way to the upper levels of the building would be via ladder I guess?

The buildings are in remarkably good shape for being mothballed all those years ago..

Knox

 

[kapoof]

thanks for the info and pics! i hope they redo them quick, as they are quite the eye sore.

 

[NewJersey]

With the popularity of POP and the values, you'd think they would finish these.

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Thanks for those interesting photos! Mine looked nothing like those! Hopefully they will get completed soon...the bridge and lake is a nice touch for a value...there are so many rumors about its completion..I wish I knew what the real deal is!

 

[suzimar57]

those pictures are excellent - great zoom!

guess now i'm packing the old 35mm with the extra long zoom lens to take my own pictures of the legendary years in october...

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

As I look at those pictures I can't decide how I feel. On one hand I am very sad to see those rooms just going to waste. What a waste of money. I can't believe that they just stopped mid way thru the building process. It would be one thing if they ran out of money and couldn't complete them, I could almost understand that, but we all know that the lack of money is not the case. This is where I get almost a little angry that they sit incomplete and vacant. There have been many times I have seen posts from people where there was not availability in rooms. Now we all know that for Disney, it is a matter of Supply and Demand. But there seems to be a demand, enough so that they are entering into a contract with the Four Seasons to facilitate the building of a new resort. Granted I realize that the Four Seasons is a major Deluxe resort and that The Legendary Years is to be a Value resort, but here we have Disney renovating some of the ASM into Suites. To me it makes more sense to leave those as standard rooms and sink a little more money into these unfinished units and complete them as Family Suites. The only reason I can see that Disney is dragging their feet on completing this project is if they have run into an environmental issue that none of us are aware of. It just seems to me as though they are loosing money on this incompleted project. Just my two cents.

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Well, I liked your 2 cents...family suites over there would be great!

 

[kkingsto]

I have a friend who works for WDW and he told me this:

Pop Century was supposed to open earlier than it did but 9/11 happened and Disney figured attendance was going to drop off. They finally opened the classic years about 3-4 years ago.

But basically construction was halted due to 9/11. I'm not sure if he told me if they were going to finish it or not.

 

[CanadianGuy]

It's hard to say when / if these will be completed at this point. Basically there are six wings .. two complete room buildings and the main hall.

If you look on an aerial photo of the area, you can see the 'pad' has been prepared with plumbing and electrical for each of the remaining buildings yet to be built.

The problem as I see it at this point is this -- While during peak times the room availability in values is virtually nil .. for most of the rest of the year I haven't had much trouble getting a room 8-12 weeks in advance. That indicates that they are not sold out in most cases.

To open a resort that would run at less than 65% of capacity would be a financial nightmare. I'd rather they delay opening it till they need the capacity than open it and run it poorly cause it's sparsely attended.

I'm pretty sure they've run the numbers sixteen ways from Sunday and they'll wait till the time is right for them corporately to finish this.

Knox

 

[minnie61650]

As I look at those pictures I can't decide how I feel. On one hand I am very sad to see those rooms just going to waste. What a waste of money. I can't believe that they just stopped mid way thru the building process. It would be one thing if they ran out of money and couldn't complete them, I could almost understand that, but we all know that the lack of money is not the case. This is where I get almost a little angry that they sit incomplete and vacant. There have been many times I have seen posts from people where there was not availability in rooms. Now we all know that for Disney, it is a matter of Supply and Demand. But there seems to be a demand, enough so that they are entering into a contract with the Four Seasons to facilitate the building of a new resort. Granted I realize that the Four Seasons is a major Deluxe resort and that The Legendary Years is to be a Value resort, but here we have Disney renovating some of the ASM into Suites. To me it makes more sense to leave those as standard rooms and sink a little more money into these unfinished units and complete them as Family Suites. The only reason I can see that Disney is dragging their feet on completing this project is if they have run into an environmental issue that none of us are aware of. It just seems to me as though they are loosing money on this incompleted project. Just my two cents.

The reason Disney stopped work on PC Legendary years is because 9/11 happened.

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This was published in June 2006 from this website:
http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=eo060630bb
After the strong success of the All Star Resorts, it became clear to Disney management that more "value level" resort capacity at Walt Disney World would be a good investment. Having more inexpensive rooms on-site would bring more customers through the gates to stay for longer duration visits, rather than staying off site at the chain motels on the 192 and International Drive strips.
Construction for the new Pop Century Resort, began in late 1999 and continued at a steady, if not breakneck, pace for almost two years.
Located just South of Caribbean Beach Resort off of Victory Way, the new resort was expected to be the perfect place for sports teams to stay while competing at various tournaments at the nearby Wide World of Sports. The influx of amateur softball and baseball teams, cheerleading and dance squads, and fans of the Atlanta Braves (who make Wide World of Sports their Spring training home base) would certainly fill this new resort's rooms as soon as it was built.
Then came the tragedy of 9/11. As our nation mourned the loss of heros and innocent civilians to the dastardly attacks on New York and Washington (not forgetting the patriots on the flight that "failed" it's mission when it crashed in Pennsylvania), going on vacation to visit Mickey Mouse became much less important. More families stayed home or took shorter, local trips for vacation in the two years or so that followed.
Without the need for the extra capacity, construction on the Pop Century Resort buildings was put on hold and the buildings were mothballed. It wasn't until late 2003, just in time for the Christmas holiday week in fact, that the Classic Years (depicting the 1950s, '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s) half of the resort opened. The Legendary Years (depicting the decades from 1900 through 1940) remains incomplete and unopened with no published plans for completion.

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There have been rumors that someday Disney may finish that
area and put Family Suites in there.
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Here's a link to an article that talks about the unfinished section of Pop becoming suites:
It has photos of how the unfinished section of Pop looks.


http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jeff_lange/archive/2006/04/13/1813.aspx

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*NOTE:Remember it is just a rumor about that section becoming Suites.
If you really want to stay in a Family Suite --All Star Music has them now.

 

[fla4fun]

What angers me is they mentioned the new "budget" accommodations that are going to be built over near Western Way, but they won't complete Pop! I think they should finish Pop out, whether standard rooms, family suites, or half and half, and THEN consider building other budget rooms. Of course, if all Disney is doing is leasing the Western Way property to someone else, like they are doing with the Four Seasons, then it's a cheap way for Disney to make some cash without any expenses and they'll never finish Pop.

 

[Pixiedust34]

We were at Pop in Sept. and it's an eyesore to look across the lake. They need to finish building the other half of Pop Century, or tear down that partial construction. I'm wondering if there is a lot of mold and water damage and if it would have to be torn down anyway even if they plan on rebuilding it sometime soon.

 

[minnie61650]

What angers me is they mentioned the new "budget" accommodations that are going to be built over near Western Way, but they won't complete Pop! I think they should finish Pop out, whether standard rooms, family suites, or half and half, and THEN consider building other budget rooms. Of course, if all Disney is doing is leasing the Western Way property to someone else, like they are doing with the Four Seasons, then it's a cheap way for Disney to make some cash without any expenses and they'll never finish Pop.

I think you may be right.
I think Disney is not going to be building any more resorts or finsh Pop.

Word is they are understaffed right now and cannot find enough employees to take care of the resorts they have. That may be another reason they have gone to outsourcing some of the jobs--so they can use the CM's in the parks and in management.

One way not to have to worry about finding more employees to work in new resorts on property (hotel/motel )is to have a thrid party build and operate the new resorts.

I really think the Disney Corp. has decided not to expand in the hotel/motel part of WDW.

JMHO

We were at Pop in Sept. and it's an eyesore to look across the lake. They need to finish building the other half of Pop Century, or tear down that partial construction. I'm wondering if there is a lot of mold and water damage and if it would have to be torn down anyway even if they plan on rebuilding it sometime soon.

One of the rumors is that Disney is in a lawsuit with the builders.

If that is the case those buildings may set there as they are for another who knows how many years.

After that I predict they will be torn down and than that property may be turned over to a third party to delvelope.

JMHO

 

[disneyfan67]

We were at Pop in Sept. and it's an eyesore to look across the lake. They need to finish building the other half of Pop Century, or tear down that partial construction. I'm wondering if there is a lot of mold and water damage and if it would have to be torn down anyway even if they plan on rebuilding it sometime soon.

That was a point I raised on another thread and it was promptly ignored. You can't have buildings open to the Florida weather for over 4 years and not expect mold damage. The thick humidity in the summer season along with all the rain they get, is a recipe for growing mold and mildew. I work in the commercial cleaning industry and have seen my share of mold damage and it's a serious problem and a health issue. If they let these buildings sit for too long there's going to be a point of no return and Disney may have no choice but to tear them down. It made no sense to stop construction in mid completion on these buildings and leave them in the shape they're in. It's not like the Disney company ran out of money.

 

[minnie61650]

....It made no sense to stop construction in mid completion on these buildings and leave them in the shape they're in. It's not like the Disney company ran out of money.

I agree.

But , it seems like Disney does have a way of just abandoing thier poperty when a project is no longer useful to them.

Case in point River Country.

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River country was once a well enjoyed water park.

WDW opened River Country on June 20,1976.
It was closed in November 2001 because of problems with the water quality (it was reported that some of the Bay Lake water contaminated the water).
Our family went to River Country October of 1976 when it was brand new and
returned several times after that. It was a favorite of our family and our son age 25 still talks about how that was his favorite water park.
Because of the water issue I do not think they will ever restore River Country the way it was.
However River Country had a really nice themed pool with a water slide and I always wondered why Disney did not at least keep the pool open for FW guests.
Upstream Plunge Pool and Slippery Slides
At the back of this clear water pool are two steep slides that drop swimmers off in a free fall splashdown.
Here is a photo:

There was a pool as part of River Country.
Here is the photo from the above mentioned website:
http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id220.htm

The pool is in the lower right corner of the photo.
River Country also had a sand bottom contained pool which was cleverly set up to make guests feel like they were swimming in "an OLE swimming hole."

River Country was 6 inches higher than Bay Lake and set up so that any overflow of water would spill into bay lake.
Here is another photo from:
http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id220.htm

---------------------------------------------

Some recent photos of River Country from another forum:

What a shame!

 

[webray]

I have a friend who works for WDW and he told me this:

Pop Century was supposed to open earlier than it did but 9/11 happened and Disney figured attendance was going to drop off. They finally opened the classic years about 3-4 years ago.

But basically construction was halted due to 9/11. I'm not sure if he told me if they were going to finish it or not.

One of the other problems with construction at disney / finishing projects, etc, is the availability of crews and materials after the hurricanes. We still have people with blue tarps for roofs. Disney had to put many things on hold so that peoples homes could be repaired.

 

[jenseib]

What a shame to let both of these places just die. I wish they would either tear down the legendary years, or make an announcement as to what they will be doing with them. I too, heard that there is some law suit going on.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

It seems funny that Disney would just let these buildings sit unfinished and then allow a "non disney" company to build a brand new value resort with thousands of rooms right outside the maingate. If it was me I would finish Pop before letting some other company swoop in and take business away from the value resorts.

 

[Cory's Gal]

It makes me sad the way POP isn't finished, and it makes me sad that Disney is letting Four Seasons and other outside companies build on property and such. For me, it kind of ruins the excitement of being on property. I would much rather have Disney put in a couple more value resorts if that is a need. Either finish POP or put up a value that is more quiet/romantic with none of the large icons. The first time DH and I went we stayed at POR because it was quieter and more adult but we would have preferred something cheaper. We stayed at POP last trip with DS age 2, and we loved it!! It really help to make our vacation more affordable. River Country looked like a lot of fun, a nice change of pace. Our next trip will be in the month of May in a few years and we would love to try a waterpark and RC is more our speed, too bad it went to waste!!!

 

[CanadianGuy]

RC had to be shut down. There were regulatory reasons as I understand it. Might be wrong on that.

Pop Century Legendary Years hall is being used for what looks like some housekeeping stuff.. so it's not completely abandoned.. Just not open to guests.

The other buildings that are there are mostly pretty well sealed off.. with the exception of the room I saw the door open on. I didn't see any staff around .. but who knows.. the door may well be closed by now.

Otherwise the buildings looked to be in pretty decent shape. Basically I think they are just concrete at this point.. no? In which case a good strong pressure wash and proper construction on top of the concrete would work just fine.

Of course mold could infiltrate the concrete I suppose -which would just require a good sandblast and chemical treatment - but I saw no evidence whatsoever of that on the exterior.. I would imagine that the walls are treated upon construction to prevent just that kind of thing.

As for the Western Way development.. it's going to be a 10 year development cycle. There was word that some construction would start this year.. but no indication how soon those other 'budget' level hotel rooms would be open. That could be 5 to 8 years away ... or more.

Which means Legendary Years could EASILY be finished in the interim before those others plans come to fruition. Just because we don't know of anything in the works right now.. doesn't mean a plan doesn't exist somewhere.

Knox