WDW Construction: Polynesian Village Resort

Join us as we take a step-by-step look at the unusual construction of the Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World.

The Polynesian was originally named the Polynesian Village Resort Hotel but was renamed Disney's Polynesian Resort sometime in 1985. Here we start with the foundations of the resort as well as the lake dock and some Monorail beams.

From further north we see the progress. At this point we are already in the year 1971. Let's hope we are ready for October. What's that rectangle of land in the foreground?? That's the site of the never-built Asian Resort!! This is a rare look at the land that eventually housed Disney's Grand Floridian.

The Great Ceremonial House begins to take shape.

Meanwhile at a facility on the east end of Walt Disney World property, U.S. Steel workers assembled hundreds of rooms.

Today the building still stands at 1500 Live Oak Lane, Orlando, FL 32830. If you've ever driven "the back way" to Magic Kingdom via Highway 535, you've seen the softball field.  The facility was just south of that.

Location provided by Twitter follower @SimonTravels

That's right, these modular guest rooms were assembled, finished, and furnished on an assembly line of sorts before being trucked over to the Poly construction site. A very similar process took place with the Contemporary Resort rooms.

A scale model shared by a couple of US Steel executives.

The rooms then get stacked into place. This was slightly different than the modular Contemporary Resort Hotel rooms which were "slid" into the various slots of the large a-frame structure.

Roof framing begins to take place.

The Monorail station also comes about.

The roofs are completed along with the rest of the guest buildings. Landscaping comes next.

Related posts:

WDW Before Opening Day 1971
Polynesian Village Resort- 1985
Polynesian "Nanea Volcano Pool"- 1985
WDW Construction: Magic Kingdom
EPCOT Construction from the Air
EPCOT Center Construction Photos: Future World

Appearing Now on Wedway NOW!

This week I was honored to be a guest on an episode of Wedway NOW! The Parrish brothers have recently launched a sister show and news companion to their regular podcast Wedway Radio.

We discussed the news of today, including:

Rumored new costumes for Epcot World Showcase cast members.

Upcoming changes to California Grill atop Walt Disney World's Contemporary Resort.

And the newly announced Disney Air Fresheners with interesting park-related scents.

Matt was unable to record this week but Nate and I discussed a few other things things that might interest you. Every week the special guest is presented with the "Final Four". These are four questions soliciting the opinions of the guest about various Disney topics. I was asked...

"Would you rather visit the 1964-65 New York World's Fair or Disneyland on July 17, 1955?"

"Which unbuilt Disney attraction, land, or park do you wish had been built?"

"If you could go back and experience an attraction you never got to see or do, what would it be? 

"The biggest problem with Disney is ________ ?"

Hear my answers and enjoy our discussion at WedwayRadio.com. And I highly recommend subscribing to Wedway Radio and Wedway NOW! on iTunes. It's free! Both are top-notch and full of entertaining knowledge and information.

While you are at it, visit another podcast I was honored to be a part of a while back: WDW Fan Boys #48, "Behind the Scenes with Mitch" Lilly joined the WDW Fan Boys as well in episode #53, "Declining by Degrees with Lilly".

So lots to listen to and lots to think about. A big thanks to Nate and Matt for inviting me on their show.

Related posts:

WDW Fan Boys Podcast
Rhine River Cruise Mysteries
THEN AND NOW: Epcot World Showcase [Part 1]
THEN AND NOW: Walt at Disneyland

EPCOT City Model [Part 1]

We bring you a behind-the-scenes preview of a unique little side project. We show you how this 16” model of Walt’s EPCOT got started.

The fan community excitedly awaits the 30th Anniversary of EPCOT Center this October. Today we go back some 46 years just before Walt Disney’s death when he shared his dream for EPCOT the city. It was to be an extremely efficient city with futuristic modes of transportation. It was to be built in the center of the Walt Disney World property.

Join me in this “making-of” video as I begin creating a scale replica of the city layout Walt presented in 1966:

The model-making process.

Purchase extra fine floral foam and a 16” round piece of wood from the local craft store.

Cut the foam to nicely fit on top of the round wood.

Draw the EPCOT roads in Adobe Illustrator or any vector-based drawing program. Send vector files to someone with a small to medium flat bed laser cutter. Cut design in 1/8” acrylic.

Gently press the delicate acrylic cutout into the surface of the foam.

Remove the acrylic cutout and paint the surface of the foam. Sprinkle fine green static grass flock onto fresh paint.

After paint dries, pour off excess grass and blow out the grooves using a drinking straw.

Prime and paint acrylic cutout.

Use scrap foam as test blocks.

Glue cutout into place. Landscape the rest of the model before adding architecure. Here we see the unfinished city center with pieces loosely placed.

A couple of Peoplemover tracks extend to the residential rings of the city. Monorail tracks will soon be placed.

You might remember the little robot standing in the background. 

The process continues with lots of little trees and bushes, walkways, and ponds. After that, parks, schools, churches, city buildings, and little tiny mid-century ranch-stlye houses!

To be continued.....

Related posts:

A Look at the Progress City Model- Then and Now
Buena Vista Street Model
Mars and Beyond Robot
Mechanizing a Miniature Main Street Electrical Parade
Swiss Family Treehouse Model
EPCOT Construction from the Air