Post by my2sweetums on Mar 21, 2011 12:32:50 GMT -5
From Mouseplanet's news today:
Disney's Grand Floridian Villas in the offing?
Walt Disney World has applied for and received a permit from the South Florida Water Management District for changes to the shoreline of Seven Seas Lagoon, drainage, erosion control, and other modifications related to the construction of a new Disney Vacation Club building to be part of the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa near the Magic Kingdom park, between the existing main building and Disney's Wedding Pavilion. Changes include demolition of tennis courts and walkways, installation of a new covered walkway, the new resort, a new parking lot and more.
The location, currently a large grassy area and beach between the Beach Pool and the Wedding Pavilion, will house a large T-shaped building that will extend into the current Seven Seas Lagoon. The shoreline will be built out to accommodate the new building. This will dominate the view from the Wedding Pavilion toward everything to the left of Big Pine Key (building 9).
The new resort will have 200 keyed entries (a "keyed entry" is any room that can be locked off and entered separately, though it will probably counted as fewer "two-bedroom equivalents"—which counts connected studio and one-bedroom units as a single "two-bedroom equivalent"), but we have received word that there will also be additional existing rooms at the Grand Floridian that will be converted to DVC units, as well. This will result in a roll-out similar to that of the Animal Kingdom Villas, where the converted fourth- and fifth-floor rooms in the original Lodge building (now called "Jambo House") were later joined by the new rooms in the Kidani Village addition.
The existing parking lot by the to-be-demolished tennis courts will be removed, and replaced by two new parking lots—a 192-space lot for the guests of the new building and a 124-space gated lot specifically for the Wedding Pavilion. The gated lot will connect directly to the circular driveway for the Wedding Pavilion, while the resort lot will connect to the circular drive for the new building and fill the space between the existing Spa & Health Club (which will not be affected), the Wedding Pavilion lot and the main entry driveway. The entry to the new lots will cover much of the current tennis courts, though it appears from the site plan that enough room will remain for a half-court basketball court adjacent to the Spa & Health Club. Don't expect these new parking lots to ease parking restrictions at the Grand Floridian, though. Magic Kingdom resort parking is apparently enough of a problem that all Magic Kingdom resorts might be restricting their parking more in the future.
The existing walkway from the Grand Floridian to the Wedding Pavilion will be demolished and replaced by a covered walkway that only goes as far as the new DVC building. Another existing walkway from Floridian Drive to Luau Cove at the Polynesian Resort will be relocated to make way for a new drainage pond.
To compensate for the reduction in the capacity of Seven Seas Lagoon, the shoreline of Bay Lake will be cut in two locations. The first is north of the Wilderness Lodge's cast member parking lot, almost all the way to World Drive. The second expansion will actually provide more space at the docking area for the Magic Kingdom Resort boat fleet, as it will expand the docking inlet to the north of the Contemporary Resort and northeast of the Magic Kingdom.
If you'd like to look at some of the permit documents, you can find the site plan, extended plans, and application documents at the South Florida Water Management District site. You can also go to the Water Management District's site and search for application # 110307-4, permit # 48-00714-S for all documents related to the project.
Disney's Grand Floridian Villas in the offing?
Walt Disney World has applied for and received a permit from the South Florida Water Management District for changes to the shoreline of Seven Seas Lagoon, drainage, erosion control, and other modifications related to the construction of a new Disney Vacation Club building to be part of the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa near the Magic Kingdom park, between the existing main building and Disney's Wedding Pavilion. Changes include demolition of tennis courts and walkways, installation of a new covered walkway, the new resort, a new parking lot and more.
The location, currently a large grassy area and beach between the Beach Pool and the Wedding Pavilion, will house a large T-shaped building that will extend into the current Seven Seas Lagoon. The shoreline will be built out to accommodate the new building. This will dominate the view from the Wedding Pavilion toward everything to the left of Big Pine Key (building 9).
The new resort will have 200 keyed entries (a "keyed entry" is any room that can be locked off and entered separately, though it will probably counted as fewer "two-bedroom equivalents"—which counts connected studio and one-bedroom units as a single "two-bedroom equivalent"), but we have received word that there will also be additional existing rooms at the Grand Floridian that will be converted to DVC units, as well. This will result in a roll-out similar to that of the Animal Kingdom Villas, where the converted fourth- and fifth-floor rooms in the original Lodge building (now called "Jambo House") were later joined by the new rooms in the Kidani Village addition.
The existing parking lot by the to-be-demolished tennis courts will be removed, and replaced by two new parking lots—a 192-space lot for the guests of the new building and a 124-space gated lot specifically for the Wedding Pavilion. The gated lot will connect directly to the circular driveway for the Wedding Pavilion, while the resort lot will connect to the circular drive for the new building and fill the space between the existing Spa & Health Club (which will not be affected), the Wedding Pavilion lot and the main entry driveway. The entry to the new lots will cover much of the current tennis courts, though it appears from the site plan that enough room will remain for a half-court basketball court adjacent to the Spa & Health Club. Don't expect these new parking lots to ease parking restrictions at the Grand Floridian, though. Magic Kingdom resort parking is apparently enough of a problem that all Magic Kingdom resorts might be restricting their parking more in the future.
The existing walkway from the Grand Floridian to the Wedding Pavilion will be demolished and replaced by a covered walkway that only goes as far as the new DVC building. Another existing walkway from Floridian Drive to Luau Cove at the Polynesian Resort will be relocated to make way for a new drainage pond.
To compensate for the reduction in the capacity of Seven Seas Lagoon, the shoreline of Bay Lake will be cut in two locations. The first is north of the Wilderness Lodge's cast member parking lot, almost all the way to World Drive. The second expansion will actually provide more space at the docking area for the Magic Kingdom Resort boat fleet, as it will expand the docking inlet to the north of the Contemporary Resort and northeast of the Magic Kingdom.
If you'd like to look at some of the permit documents, you can find the site plan, extended plans, and application documents at the South Florida Water Management District site. You can also go to the Water Management District's site and search for application # 110307-4, permit # 48-00714-S for all documents related to the project.
