Linda Mac's Orlando Adventures

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Hello from a very dreary and wet Walt Disney World. I am staying on the 4th floor in the 60's section at Pop Century for the week. I rented a camera lens for the AllEars Southwest Adventure By Disney and was hoping to practice with it this week. Since I checked in on Tuesday, there has been lots of rain. We had a storm come through on Tuesday afternoon that had some of the darkest storm clouds, yesterday it rained from about 4 pm till almost 11 pm and it has been raining for most of today. Although the rain has recently let up, the sky is still full of storm clouds. It's late in the afternoon and that's about the time the regular showers start. So I am not holding out too much hope for sunny skies today. I wanted to share some photos from the last few days, some are with the new lens and some with old one.

Pop Century afternoon storm coming in on Tuesday. The clouds were much darker then they appear in the pictures. Except for cropping, these are untouched photos. Talk about having a dark cloud over your head!

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Construction continues on the mystery project at The Contemporary Resort. I heard the rumors it will be a vacation club or a family suites hotel. I have also heard that the next DVC resort to be announced will be at Disneyland. Hmmmm......

On a side note: There has been no work started on future Tempo Grab and Go on the 4th floor that was set to temporarly replace the food court earlier this week. A source tells me that the change will not take place for at least another month. We will have to wait and see.

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The bus lanes at the All Star Movies Resort are currently being repaved. Temporary bus stops have been set-up in a section of the check-in parking lot for Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Guests traveling to other locations can now catch their buses to the left of the luggage assistance area.

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With an anticipated opening of November 23, 2007, work is continuing at a good pace on the new Contemporary Merchandise Shop located on the Grand Canyon Concourse.

Yellow monorail pulling into the station.

Here are two photos that I took from the monorail on the way into the Contemporary Resort. This construction is taking place on the north end of the property. We are still wanting on official word from Disney as what this project will be although I am hearing rumors that some Disney Vacation Club "mentions" are starting to appear in cast only areas at the Contemporary.

On September 16, 2008, Disney Vacation Club finally announced plans for the long-rumored Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort.

Bay Lake Tower Information Sheet and Photographs

The Bay Lake Tower Model is open at the DVC office at Saratoga Springs.

Here are photos of the Studio Model:

The layout of the studio (bedroom/living room) is a standard DVC floor plan except the kitchen has a twist to it. The kitchen area is no longer out in the open where you pass through it on the way to the living room. It is now set up like a butler's pantry or galley kitchen, long and narrow. The design is sleek and modern. The handle on far left of the photo is used to pull out the storage shelves. You will find the same thing in the 1-bedroom units only larger.

Here's the real twist to the newly designed kitchen area -- When looking in from the hallway, on the wall on your right is the kitchen (as shown above) but on the wall to your left is the bathroom vanity. It's in the same "room" as the kitchen. I could put an English Muffin in the toaster with one hand and brush my teeth with the other hand, all at the same. It is a little too close for me. Would it stop me from staying at the new resort. No way!

Let me just say, that most of my DVC stays are in studio units. So I am familar with many of the studio layouts at Walt Disney World. I have never found it odd that bathroom vanities are across from the studio kitchens because there is a walkway in between.

The shower/tub and toilet is in a seperate room when you first enter the studio.