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Pop Century Resort POSTPONED
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
I am sure they would love to open the resort - but if there are not enough guests to fill the exisiting resorts, there is no point at all in adding another 3000 rooms at this time.
This resort seems to have been troubled since it began, plus it looks terrible. I personally think they would have been better to have gone with another moderate.
Hopefully things will pick up soon and they can open it.
This resort seems to have been troubled since it began, plus it looks terrible. I personally think they would have been better to have gone with another moderate.
Hopefully things will pick up soon and they can open it.
Chris
New Member
I think that tacky is the objective. Lots of stuff from the past is very tacky. Sometimes it is fun to be tacky. I think that the reason that Disney decided to open another value resort is that the ones they have now are typically high occupancy. Present times have changed this for all Disney Resorts. We go fo such long stretches of time (usually two weeks) that we cannot afford to stay at moderate resort. We have to stay at a value resort. If WDW could direct the family traffic to one set of value resorts and use the All Stars primarily for cheerleader/pee wee football/soccer/baseball conventions I would be much happier. There is nothing like being awakened at 7:00am by an excited group of jr high cheerleaders practicing their cheers. I know that this type of business is very profitabel for Disney so if they can increase the space available for these events and maintain a family vacation environment, I'm all for it.
Beauty and the
New Member
We've never stayed in a value resort for one reason only a family of five or more cannot fit into one room, as the kids are too young to go in their own room we have to have them with us, it works out cheaper to stay deluxe than have two value rooms bearing in mind single adult supplements etc. charged by British travel agents. If we could stay value we would, may be they should increase the room sizes slightly there by opening up to the larger family, we could then go more and would actually spend more money with them.
Simple why didn't they think of that
Simple why didn't they think of that
The value resorts are a wise use of space and money for Disney. They have high occupancy and the overhead cost per room is not really much different from a luxury. While the standard luxury room may be a little larger and decorated at a slightly higher cost, the CMs cleaning the rooms are making the same wages, the electricity, water, paint, etc. all cost the same.
While I agree they could put in some value resort rooms for large families, the AS resorts are a huge success for Disney. It gives families who may otherwise not have the experience of staying on the property an opportunity.
Pop Century will open and be a success. Disney will time it such that they can be sure of high occupancy and profitable operations from the start.
And the people will come, count on it. If the economy is a concern, it could be the value resorts will make more sense than ever. Disney wants all guests on the property 24 hours a day. They are making that possible for all incomes.
While I agree they could put in some value resort rooms for large families, the AS resorts are a huge success for Disney. It gives families who may otherwise not have the experience of staying on the property an opportunity.
Pop Century will open and be a success. Disney will time it such that they can be sure of high occupancy and profitable operations from the start.
And the people will come, count on it. If the economy is a concern, it could be the value resorts will make more sense than ever. Disney wants all guests on the property 24 hours a day. They are making that possible for all incomes.
disneyfan1313
Member
The pop century decision was just made a few days ago.. after that was printed I am sure.
Here is the info from the Sentinal. I dont have the link anymore, so sorry I cannot link you to their site.
FROM http://www.orlandosentinel.com
1-2 punch zaps theme parks
Robert Johnson and Todd Pack | Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted October 17, 2001
The news got even grimmer for Central Florida’s slumping tourism industry on Tuesday: Disney World indefinitely postponed the opening of its huge Pop Century resort, and Universal Orlando laid off 100 full-time employees.
The latest one-two punch underscored how badly the tourism-driven region has been devastated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Pop Century, a 5,760-room complex planned to equal the sprawling All-Star resorts as the attraction’s largest hotel, was delayed once this year -- from December to March.
The first, 2,880-room phase of the $460 million hotel, which was designed to showcase pop icons including the Big Wheel and the Rubik’s Cube, now has an indefinite debut date. And the new date for completion of the second phase -- originally planned for 2003 -- is anyone’s guess.
"You’re always looking at the future, and right now it’s difficult to forecast with certainty because of changing economic conditions," Disney spokesman Bill Warren said.
Disney’s main Orlando rival, Universal Orlando, had its own bad news Tuesday, laying off about 100 office workers, from clerks to executives. Spokesman Jim Canfield said layoffs were "the same response being made by many companies today."
Canfield would not be specific about those laid off, but others said the impact stretched through several departments. On the West Coast, Universal Studios Hollywood laid off 80 employees last week, ex-workers said.
Disney and Universal both say attendance is down but decline to provide figures. Industry estimates say theme parks in Southern California and Orlando are about 60 percent of normal.
The postponement of Disney’s Pop Century opening is the clearest indication yet that business isn’t good. The region’s theme parks and hotels were already suffering because of the soft economy, and the terrorist attacks made the situation dire.
"Disney is doing the right thing to postpone this hotel," said John Robinett, a senior vice president at Economics Research Associates in Los Angeles. "They should delay any major spending project they can."
Hotel occupancy, which plummeted after Sept. 11, has improved to the middouble digits in recent days. But preliminary figures for September show an average occupancy rate of 44.6 percent at area hotels, compared with 62.1 percent during the same month a year earlier, Smith Travel Research reported. Until visitors are less fearful of flying, hotels are likely to continue to suffer.
"Disney is clearly afraid of overbuilding, and they should be, with the slump we’re seeing in out-of-state visitors," said Abe Pizam, professor of tourism management at the University of Central Florida.
The decline is also responsible for Disney World closing some sections of its resorts. That’s a strategy management has followed before during slow periods. Warren said all Disney World hotels, with a total of about 20,000 rooms, are open.
But in some hotels, entire floors may be closed. In others, which are low-rises, some buildings will be closed.
The closed buildings reduce Disney World’s need for its 40,000 hourly employees, most of whom have either had their schedules sharply trimmed or been furloughed until further notice. Disney World has laid off 1,400 workers this summer. Universal cut about 50 people.
Pop Century is planned as a "value resort," in Disney parlance, meaning rooms are priced at about $80 a night. Located near Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex, it is to be essentially two hotels, each with 2,880 rooms, a separate check-in area, lobby and food court.
The hotels’ design and décor will pay tribute to the toys, fads, technological advances, dance crazes and sayings of the 20th century.
Warren said visitors who booked at the hotel will be offered comparable rooms at other Disney resorts.
Last month, Hilton Hotels Corp. said it would hold off on plans to build vacation-ownership properties in Las Vegas and Orlando.
Richard Maladecki, president of the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association, said Tuesday that he wasn’t aware of other construction or expansion projects being delayed.
Based on construction projects announced before Disney’s decision to shelve Pop Century, the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau said the number of rooms in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties would grow to 120,500 in 2004, from 105,600 today.
But "I would suspect all of those would not come on line," Maladecki said.
Despite the drop in business, Gaylord Entertainment says it won’t delay its Opryland Hotel Florida in Kissimmee. The 1,400-room hotel is to open in February.
An executive with Rosen Hotels & Resorts said the company hasn’t altered plans for a 1,500-room resort near the Orange County Convention Center.
"It would be unwise to take today’s circumstances and draw a pessimistic conclusion" about what demand might be several years from now, Rosen Vice President Garritt Toohey said.
FROM http://www.orlandosentinel.com
1-2 punch zaps theme parks
Robert Johnson and Todd Pack | Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted October 17, 2001
The news got even grimmer for Central Florida’s slumping tourism industry on Tuesday: Disney World indefinitely postponed the opening of its huge Pop Century resort, and Universal Orlando laid off 100 full-time employees.
The latest one-two punch underscored how badly the tourism-driven region has been devastated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Pop Century, a 5,760-room complex planned to equal the sprawling All-Star resorts as the attraction’s largest hotel, was delayed once this year -- from December to March.
The first, 2,880-room phase of the $460 million hotel, which was designed to showcase pop icons including the Big Wheel and the Rubik’s Cube, now has an indefinite debut date. And the new date for completion of the second phase -- originally planned for 2003 -- is anyone’s guess.
"You’re always looking at the future, and right now it’s difficult to forecast with certainty because of changing economic conditions," Disney spokesman Bill Warren said.
Disney’s main Orlando rival, Universal Orlando, had its own bad news Tuesday, laying off about 100 office workers, from clerks to executives. Spokesman Jim Canfield said layoffs were "the same response being made by many companies today."
Canfield would not be specific about those laid off, but others said the impact stretched through several departments. On the West Coast, Universal Studios Hollywood laid off 80 employees last week, ex-workers said.
Disney and Universal both say attendance is down but decline to provide figures. Industry estimates say theme parks in Southern California and Orlando are about 60 percent of normal.
The postponement of Disney’s Pop Century opening is the clearest indication yet that business isn’t good. The region’s theme parks and hotels were already suffering because of the soft economy, and the terrorist attacks made the situation dire.
"Disney is doing the right thing to postpone this hotel," said John Robinett, a senior vice president at Economics Research Associates in Los Angeles. "They should delay any major spending project they can."
Hotel occupancy, which plummeted after Sept. 11, has improved to the middouble digits in recent days. But preliminary figures for September show an average occupancy rate of 44.6 percent at area hotels, compared with 62.1 percent during the same month a year earlier, Smith Travel Research reported. Until visitors are less fearful of flying, hotels are likely to continue to suffer.
"Disney is clearly afraid of overbuilding, and they should be, with the slump we’re seeing in out-of-state visitors," said Abe Pizam, professor of tourism management at the University of Central Florida.
The decline is also responsible for Disney World closing some sections of its resorts. That’s a strategy management has followed before during slow periods. Warren said all Disney World hotels, with a total of about 20,000 rooms, are open.
But in some hotels, entire floors may be closed. In others, which are low-rises, some buildings will be closed.
The closed buildings reduce Disney World’s need for its 40,000 hourly employees, most of whom have either had their schedules sharply trimmed or been furloughed until further notice. Disney World has laid off 1,400 workers this summer. Universal cut about 50 people.
Pop Century is planned as a "value resort," in Disney parlance, meaning rooms are priced at about $80 a night. Located near Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex, it is to be essentially two hotels, each with 2,880 rooms, a separate check-in area, lobby and food court.
The hotels’ design and décor will pay tribute to the toys, fads, technological advances, dance crazes and sayings of the 20th century.
Warren said visitors who booked at the hotel will be offered comparable rooms at other Disney resorts.
Last month, Hilton Hotels Corp. said it would hold off on plans to build vacation-ownership properties in Las Vegas and Orlando.
Richard Maladecki, president of the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association, said Tuesday that he wasn’t aware of other construction or expansion projects being delayed.
Based on construction projects announced before Disney’s decision to shelve Pop Century, the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau said the number of rooms in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties would grow to 120,500 in 2004, from 105,600 today.
But "I would suspect all of those would not come on line," Maladecki said.
Despite the drop in business, Gaylord Entertainment says it won’t delay its Opryland Hotel Florida in Kissimmee. The 1,400-room hotel is to open in February.
An executive with Rosen Hotels & Resorts said the company hasn’t altered plans for a 1,500-room resort near the Orange County Convention Center.
"It would be unwise to take today’s circumstances and draw a pessimistic conclusion" about what demand might be several years from now, Rosen Vice President Garritt Toohey said.
hellokitty1
New Member
We have reservations at Pop Century in March
I just called and they were going to let me
extended my ressies...
I am considering doing this as I will be able
to get a better deal if they really are not
going to open, but it sure would be nice to
know soon.
I just called and they were going to let me
extended my ressies...
I am considering doing this as I will be able
to get a better deal if they really are not
going to open, but it sure would be nice to
know soon.
