The Pop Century Slum Area - How Long?

[RiversideBunny]

There has been extensive thread discussion on this before but, now that it is October of 2007, why does WDW still have those unfinished buildings that were to be Pop Century - Phase II, The Legendary Years?

That is very un-Disney.

To have old unpainted, unfinished, deteriorating, and probably rodent infested buildings sitting in plain sight for so many years is incredible.
This is the same company that has people promptly picking up candy wrappers in the parks every day so they will always look clean and fresh.

What's with the lack of action on Phase II of Pop Century?
It would be a different situation if the land for it were still vacant but that's not the case. There is an unfinished group of buildings just sitting there for all to see and not enjoy.

The delay has been explained sometimes as waiting to see how the family suites at the All Stars work out. How long does that take?

Why is WDW allowing the unfinished condition of The Legendary Years to exist for so many years with no announced plans to correct the situation?

Tks.
:animwink:

 

[ImaYoyo]

At the end of August, it was discussed in one of my directors meetings that construction may resume within the next 3 years to keep up with raising occupancy percentages. We'll see.

 

[joel_maxwell]

To have old unpainted, unfinished, deteriorating, and probably rodent infested buildings sitting in plain sight for so many years is incredible.:animwink:

have you seen the youtube video were the guy walks around the buildings? very interesting. looks like he is in a 3rd world country that was bombed years ago.

 

[Fun2BFree]

probably rodent infested buildings

Well, where do you think the mice from the "Homeless Rodents (Refurbs)" thread are going to go? :lookaroun

 

[Shere_Khan]

I have seen that video as well. Very strange and creepy. You would think they would not want people to see those buildings, even though you can't really get to them.

 

[RiversideBunny]

have you seen the youtube video were the guy walks around the buildings? very interesting. looks like he is in a 3rd world country that was bombed years ago.

Yes. I think there's a link to that somewhere on here.

IMHO, Disney is not completing the other half of Pop Century due to ROI - Return on Investment.
They would rather put the budget money into building the DVC villas, like those at Animal Kingdom. People who use the DVC resorts bring in much more money for WDW.

If that's the decision, then it's a business one.
They should, however, not just let the unfinished buildings at Pop Century II just sit there and become visual garbage dumps. They could at least put in some landscaping plants to block the view.

 

[BigKahuna]

It is a shame that they don't finish it...I thought by now they would build
it as all family suites. But if they are not going to do anything with it, then
how about accommodations for employees?

 

[SirNim]

I was under the impression that the decrepit collection of buildings across the pond was intended to stylistically evoke the wondrous Hoovervilles which popped up around the country during the Legendary 1930s, one of the Pop Decades® that can be experienced by our guests at Disney's POP! Century Resort and Spa®... :lookaroun

 

[MIDisneyFamily]

maybe there going to film a movie there, and just want to keep it looking like the world has ended there for a while

 

[bobjl527]

Just watched the YouTube video. That does look creepy. Like a de-militarized zone. So what exactly happened? The place looks pretty much completed. All they have to do is outfit the rooms. You would think Disney would want those rooms occupied.

 

[Rob562]

Just watched the YouTube video. That does look creepy. Like a de-militarized zone. So what exactly happened? The place looks pretty much completed. All they have to do is outfit the rooms. You would think Disney would want those rooms occupied.

There have been other threads about this, but in brief:

Construction of both halves of Pop Century were started at approximately the same time, with opening the two sides scheduled within one year of each other (similar to how Music & Sports opened, as well as Port Orleans and Dixie Landings). Then the post-9/11 tourism slump came, and all construstion on both halves was stopped. After about an 18-month hiatus, as tourism slightly regained some ground, construction on the more-completed half was resumed. It opened about 18 months after it was supposed to.

But the other half (The "Legendary Years" of 1900-1940's) was left to sit as it was when construction stopped. Only the shell of the main building was finished, along with the shell of 2 or 3 of the guestroom buildings. The foundations for the other buildings may have been poured, too. That's what you see over there today.

It's unclear exactly how much work would be required when construction eventually re-starts. What's built is pretty much all steel and concrete, so it may just require a good pressure wash and sanitation before being finished. Or, it may require a complete tear-down and rebuild. As you can tell, Disney has been holding off on either until they know what the eventual fate will be.

-Rob

 

[Dragonrider1227]

Well, if they're not going to finish it, they should tak it down and use it's materials for something they ARE going to finish and get rid of this eyesore. (Mind you, i've never seen this)

 

[Timothy Q Mouse]

I think they should leave it as is. Turn it into a post-apocalyptic-themed 5th gate called Day After Tomorrowland.

 

[Silvermist]

I haven't seen it, but it sounds like a real eyesore! Surely they could at least do some creative landscaping to block it from view until they are ready to do something with it?

I'm not a fan of the direction they took with the values anyway. I know most people probably enjoy the theming used but to me they are all just very tacky. I think they could have done something much nicer and still kept it in the value price range.

 

[BigKahuna]

Sirnim...you made me choke on my coffee!
Good reply! :ROFLOL:

 

[Shere_Khan]

I just don't see how it can be called POP Century when the entire century is not represented. It should be call POP Half Century.

 

[bliss]

I was driving by the unfinished Pop Century area today and they had mounds of dirt and other obstacles in the area where they do the bus driver training. Either they have really upped the standards of the bus drivers or they are having some type of BMX races in the neat future.



Find this on Disney's web site where they are having races in Pop Century parking lot.

http://disneyworldsports.disney.go....tail?name=MoreSports2007ABABMXEventDetailPage

 

[Master Yoda]

For those that have not seen this here is a picture of the area in question.

Unfinished Pop century

While it is definitely not the most attractive thing in the world it is hardly the giant boil on the side of SSE that many people make it out to be. It is really only visible as you pull into Pop century and from the back of the completed section of the resort. Sure it looks a little creepy but as far as incomplete buildings go it is as attractive as they can be. Disney has done pretty much everything reasonably possible to hide the buildings but lets face it there is not all that much you can do to hide 2 4 story hotel buildings and their accompanying lobby.

 

[RiversideBunny]

It could be that there is some unspoken reason behind the scenes as to why the other half of Pop Century has not been completed all these years.

WDW management could have decided that they do not, in fact, want more Value guests. They are going instead for the higher end crowd.
Or at least they want to push any bookings overflow into the higher priced resorts.

Maybe.

 

[BigKahuna]

I think "Value" resorts was a bad idea to begin with...Disney should have just
stayed with Moderare and Deluxe categories...but going back to the
Pop Century, if they made it all Family Suites, perhaps the higher price for accommodations would justify the completion of the project? After that,
NO MORE HOTELS! Spend the money on attractions!