Featured Attractions

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Disney's Contemporary Hotel


One of the first structures built at Walt Disney World and one of only a handful of WDW hotels within walking distance of a theme park, the Contemporary Hotel was an ambitious undertaking. Designed to be modular, the hotel's rooms were built offsite and then slid into place onsite.

This unique construction process was designed to allow Disney to remodel and refurbish more efficiently. New rooms could be built and designed offsite. Instead of having to put rooms out of commission for weeks, the room could be swapped out in a day. Amazing, right?



Well, it would have been amazing if the process had actually worked. The designers of the hotel neglected to account for the natural settling that would take place when the rooms were slid into place. They quickly realized that once these rooms were put into their places they weren't going anywhere. Resort refurbishments would have to be accomplished the standard, old fashioned way.