Waterstar Orlando Project

It would have to be more than just a berm. You can’t divert water onto adjacent property.
Is the area in red cast member parking? If so seems a tract of this land would have been more convenient for that purpose if available.

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donsullivan

Premium Member
It’s going to be visible to guests at some point of their day. That’s the problem, it breaks the theme of a deluxe resort.
That is no different than being able to see Bonnett Creek resorts from inside of Epcot.

just because there is land adjacent to Disney property doesn’t give Disney some divine right to dictate what is done with it. It is very common that landowners flatly refuse to sell to Disney and Disney will not irresponsibly pay too much for land to prevent development. They tried for years to deter development of the Bonnet Creek site by denying rights to pass thru RCID property to get to the sites. The courts eventually forced them to enable the access. They wanted buy the site, but the owners knew they could make much more money by developing it themselves so they refused to sell the land to Disney.

The land they recently bought on the west side of the property is a plot they had been after for years and years but the family that owned it was not interested in selling. I believe a family member passed away and the family decided to sell.
 
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UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
That is no different than being able to see Bonnett Creek resorts from inside of Epcot.

The Bonnet Creek resorts are over a mile away from EPCOT with the Riviera and the Caribbean Beach in between. I don't remember ever seeing them from inside EPCOT. I'm not saying you can't, but they wouldn't be very noticeable.

This development is going to be a few hundred feet from the AKL parking lot.

They should have never built AKL that close to the property line.
 

donsullivan

Premium Member
The Bonnet Creek resorts are over a mile away from EPCOT with the Riviera and the Caribbean Beach in between. I don't remember ever seeing them from inside EPCOT. I'm not saying you can't, but they wouldn't be very noticeable.

This development is going to be a few hundred feet from the AKL parking lot.
And there is still absolutely nothing Disney can do about it. It’s not their land.
 

peter11435

Well-Known Member
The Bonnet Creek resorts are over a mile away from EPCOT with the Riviera and the Caribbean Beach in between. I don't remember ever seeing them from inside EPCOT. I'm not saying you can't, but they wouldn't be very noticeable.

This development is going to be a few hundred feet from the AKL parking lot.

They should have never built AKL that close to the property line.
Have you seen how close the bonnet creek resorts are to CBR and Riviera?
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
Have you seen how close the bonnet creek resorts are to CBR and Riviera?

Yeah, but that's not a deluxe. I think the deluxes are different. It's especially egregious for AKL because of the animals -- they shouldn't be affected by this, but it's still a consideration that doesn't exist for the other resorts.

Well, unless you want to call the Riviera a deluxe, but that whole project was a disaster.
 

mkt

When a paradise is lost go straight to Disney™
Premium Member
I can't imagine it's going to be luxury when it's apartments behind a strip mall, but who knows.
Depends on the stores. Put a Trader Joe's and a Pei Wei, it'll be "luxury". Put an Aldi and a McDonalds, not so much.
 

donsullivan

Premium Member
I edited while you were quoting, but it's just repeating what I said above. They made a mistake building AKL right next to a property line.

Unless you have access to all of the site program details and the selection process Disney went through you have no idea whether that might have been the only piece of land on the property that would support the program requirements for that specific Hotel. There may not have been anywhere else they could put it given it’s requirements.

Too often people here just flippantly say ‘well they just shouldn’t have done that’ without access to any of the facts (which I don’t have either on this one) as to why the decision was made. Despite many here thinking everyone at Disney is incompetent, they aren’t and there are actually real, practical reasons for decisions like this. Just because some ‘fan’ doesn’t like them doesn’t invalidate them as correct decisions.
 

Lilofan

Well-Known Member
Depends on the stores. Put a Trader Joe's and a Pei Wei, it'll be "luxury". Put an Aldi and a McDonalds, not so much.
Pei Wei would not survive one week in operation in NY/NJ. A Chinese hole in the wall take out place in those areas is better quality than Pei Wei.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
Unless you have access to all of the site program details and the selection process Disney went through you have no idea whether that might have been the only piece of land on the property that would support the program requirements for that specific Hotel. There may not have been anywhere else they could put it given it’s requirements.

Too often people here just flippantly say ‘well they just shouldn’t have done that’ without access to any of the facts (which I don’t have either on this one) as to why the decision was made. Despite many here thinking everyone at Disney is incompetent, they aren’t and there are actually real, practical reasons for decisions like this. Just because some ‘fan’ doesn’t like them doesn’t invalidate them as correct decisions.

No one said Disney was incompetent. Is it possible it was the only suitable location? Sure, but that's incredibly unlikely. It's illogical to assume that was the only possible place they could put it with no deviation whatsoever.

Beyond that, even if that somehow was the case against all odds, Disney could and should have just purchased that plot of land in 2019. $3.5 million is nothing to them, and even if they had to pay $4.5m instead to ensure the purchase, that's still a drop in the bucket and well worth the investment for the overall guest experience.

All companies make mistakes and/or poor decisions. Disney certainly isn't an exception.
 
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Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
Unless you have access to all of the site program details and the selection process Disney went through you have no idea whether that might have been the only piece of land on the property that would support the program requirements for that specific Hotel. There may not have been anywhere else they could put it given it’s requirements.

Too often people here just flippantly say ‘well they just shouldn’t have done that’ without access to any of the facts (which I don’t have either on this one) as to why the decision was made. Despite many here thinking everyone at Disney is incompetent, they aren’t and there are actually real, practical reasons for decisions like this. Just because some ‘fan’ doesn’t like them doesn’t invalidate them as correct decisions.
This is a neat argument because it requires no evidence and can refute any criticism.
 

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
The Bonnet Creek resorts are over a mile away from EPCOT with the Riviera and the Caribbean Beach in between. I don't remember ever seeing them from inside EPCOT. I'm not saying you can't, but they wouldn't be very noticeable.

This development is going to be a few hundred feet from the AKL parking lot.

They should have never built AKL that close to the property line.
DAK was chosen for that site because it was the best land to resemble the Savannah , Im assuming the location of the Savannah lead to the location of the hotel. Recent land purchases also shows that Disney is ready and willing to pay for land they want. I suspect there was some behind the scenes issues that hindered their ability to get this chunk. Like mentioned above, Disney wanted the bonnet creek area since the 60s and the land owner flat out refused every time. Could have been a similar issue here. A berm will fix the issue of sight lines from certain areas.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Unless you have access to all of the site program details and the selection process Disney went through you have no idea whether that might have been the only piece of land on the property that would support the program requirements for that specific Hotel. There may not have been anywhere else they could put it given it’s requirements.

Too often people here just flippantly say ‘well they just shouldn’t have done that’ without access to any of the facts (which I don’t have either on this one) as to why the decision was made. Despite many here thinking everyone at Disney is incompetent, they aren’t and there are actually real, practical reasons for decisions like this. Just because some ‘fan’ doesn’t like them doesn’t invalidate them as correct decisions.
They built the hotel on the far side of animal care areas when there was relatively little around there…main gate, splendid China and a sweet Tomatoes.

since…because of a nonsense steroid fueled 13 year “boom”…as usual the ingenious idea to build, build build continues.

it is what it is…not ingenious decisions by Disney. They’re not nearly as smart as people want to believe when they buy boo bash
 

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