Parks to make roomfor stays on a theme

On-site accommodation by Alan Moore

Parks to make roomfor stays on a theme

Visitor attractions add more hotel options

THERE are more than 27,000 hotel rooms at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, and the organisation likes to make the point that it would take someone 61 years to stay in all of them.

Of course, it wouldn’t expect even the most dedicated Disney fan to attempt this Guinness Book of Records feat but it serves to emphasise the rapid growth of themed properties within the park.

There are 27 resorts throughout the park, some with themes based on music, movies, sports and education, as well as geographical regions including the Caribbean, Polynesia, America’s Deep South, California and Key West, to name but a few.

In addition, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando also claims to have the largest ballroom in the US at 60,000sq ft – testimony to the huge market for conventions and special events within theme parks.

Here we take a look at forthcoming developments across the main parks:

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

Next spring, the area’s vast range of accommodation is taken a step further with the opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is based on an African game-reserve resort.

The five-storey, 1,307-room property is a short drive southwest of Disney’s AnimalKingdom park, and the rooms will be based on the African kraal village design, a semi-circle concept offering many guests good views of more than 230 types of animals and birds on the property’s private savannah.

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Villa-style accommodation is being introduced at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge next January, comprising 181 studio and one and two-bed villas which will include fully equipped kitchens and whirlpool baths. The new complex will also have a pool, spa and health club.

New additions

Another vast new hotel is due to open in two phases from 2002, offering 5,760 rooms spread across 20 buildings. Each pair of buildings in the resort, as yet unnamed, will be themed to a different decade of the 20th century – from the 1900s to the 1990s.

Entrances will be marked by series of icons dating from that particular era – for example, a giant jukebox for the ’50s and a yo-yo for the ’60s.

Universal Orlando

Meanwhile, Universal Orlando is increasing its own range of on-site hotels within its new Universal Studios Escape zone.

Following the opening last year of its first property – the luxury 750-room Portofino Bay Hotel based on an Italian seaside village – Universal unveils the music-themed Hard Rock Hotel in December.

Designed in the style of a Californian mission, it will feature 654 rooms, suites and bungalows, two restaurants, bars, a fitness club and children’s activity centre.

The third full-service Universal hotel to come on line will be the luxury 1,000-room Royal Pacific Resort, opening in 2002.

Facilities include business and fitness centres, a pool and a variety of restaurants.

Along with the other two properties, guests will gain early park admission, front-of-line access, on-site transportation, priority restaurant seating and charge card facilities.

Disneyland GrandCalifornian Hotel

On the US West Coast, Disneyland’s deluxe Grand Californian Hotel – the first Disney-designed on-site property in California – opens on January 2 next year, featuring 750 rooms and suites.

The main theme is based on the state’s history of arts, crafts and architecture. Other Disneyland properties include the renovated 990-room Disneyland Hotel and the 502-room Paradise Pier Hotel, formerly the Disneyland Pacific.

New Orlando hotels

Celebration Hotel: located on Orlando’s esplanade, the property has been styled along the lines of a historicsmall-town inn, including a ’20s Florida woodenframe design, a tin roof and lighthouse tower. Itfeatures 150 rooms within three storeys and 5,000sq ft of meeting space.

Comfort Suites Maingate East: opened on Florida Plaza Boulevard, adjacent to the Old Town shopping, dining and entertainment district, with 185 one-room units and 13two-room suites. Other features include a heated swimming pool, whirlpool spa, fitness centre and complimentary continental breakfast.

Holiday Inn Family Suites Resort: phase two of the property has opened, which features 300 themed suites, as well as the West Track Courtyard that includes an Olympic-size pool. Units offer 50 Kids’ suites, 186 Classic Suites, 18 Sweetheart Suites and 12 Cinemasuites, among others.

Wilderness Lodge: will be offering villa-style accommodation