From the Orlando Sentinal:
Resort's damage minor
Disney says Vero Beach `held up very, very well'
By Jerry W. Jackson | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted September 10, 2004
Walt Disney's Vacation Club Resort time-share in Vero Beach sustained no significant structural damage from a direct hit by Hurricane Frances and should reopen "sooner rather than later," said Jim Lewis, a Disney senior vice president who toured the property Thursday.
"There is a fair amount of water intrusion," Lewis said, so carpets and flooring will have to be replaced. But otherwise "not a single window was broken" and the roof was intact other than some lost shingles, Lewis said. "It held up very, very well."
Lewis, who is in charge of Disney's seven time-share resorts, said the primary concern now is the 250 company employees at the resort, many of whom lost their homes to the storm or suffered at least some damage.
It's not clear when the resort will be open again, but at least some of the workers are earning pay at their regular rate helping with the cleanup, Lewis said.
"We're going to take care of our cast members," Lewis said, including making company hotel rooms available for free for those who lost homes, providing discounts to others, and offering up to $5,000 per employee for emergency needs from a Disney relief fund.
Lewis, who also viewed damage in the nearby Vero Beach area, said it is clear the 9-year-old resort, with 175 units virtually on the ocean, was fortunate to hold up as well as it did.
"This place really got hit hard," said Lewis, who walked the resort property with engineers looking closely for damage.
The Vero Beach resort was the only one of Disney's time-share resorts to suffer any significant damage from the storm, other than a downed tree here or there, Lewis said. So families who own time at the Vero resort will be able to take vacations at the other properties if necessary, he said.
Lewis said it was too early to predict when the resort would reopen and all employees would be back at their regular jobs.
"We don't know the answer to that but it looks like sooner rather than later," Lewis said.
Time-share resorts are a critical growth engine for Walt Disney World Resorts, providing strong profit levels and steady income even after the economic downturn following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Florida is the nation's leading time-share state, with 366 resorts and 27,700 units, or 23 percent of the nation's total, and Orlando is the leading market in Florida.
Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at 407-420-5721 or
jwjackson@orlandosentinel.com.
Hope things improve for everyone's sake.
