WDW Construction: Polynesian Village Resort
Fritz ;)
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
Construction, Resorts
Reader Comments (5)
Wow. These are just beautiful. It's rare to come across photos of the Poly under construction. Seems like Contemporary always gets that spotlight.
These are amazing. It always baffles me just how open that land was and all they ended up building on it. Great pictures to kick off my week! Thanks!
Fantastic photos. Thanks!
LD
Wonderful website, thank you!! xxx
Holy cow how'd I miss these... just great. Hopefully the invisible cloak comes just in time for the DVC addition.