The History of the Disney Vacation Club (DVC)

A look back at how SSR came to be (3 of 4)

The villas were renamed as the Walt Disney World Village Resort in 1985.

In 1989, to coincide with the opening of Pleasure Island and the renaming of the Walt Disney World Village to the Disney Village Marketplace, the Villas’ name was again shortened to Disney’s Village Resort.

In 1995, Michael Eisner decided to start construction for a learning center called the Disney Institute, which opened in February 1996.

So the villas were renamed to The Villas at the Disney Institute in 1996.

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A look back at how SSR came to be (4 of 4)

Here is a postcard from The Villas at the Disney Institute. Do you notice any structures that look similar to those at SSR?

A postcard from The Villas at the Disney Institute

A postcard from The Villas at the Disney Institute

Here's a shot of SSR today.

After the tourist slump that followed September 2001, the Disney Institute, along with the villas, finally closed its doors in 2002.

Given the success of Disney’s Vacation Club, the most cost effective measure for the closed resort was to convert the entire property into a Vacation Club property. Disney abandoned its plans for the Eagle Pines DVC and instead focused on re-using the Lake Buena Vista property.

Work began on what would become Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort. The newest buildings constructed in 1995 were kept and all the original 1970’s buildings were demolished, with the exception of the Treehouse Villas.

The 1995 Institute structures received a minor horse-themed overlay: the lobby became known as the “Carriage House”, the Seasons dining room re-opened as the “Turf Club” with whimsical jockey jackets on the walls, and so on. Disney just added on multiple 4-story DVC units.

When the Disney Institute closed, Disney kept the Treehouse Villas as housing for International College Program Cast Members. However, in 2004, Hurricane Charley, hit Central Florida and impacted several of the original Treehouse Villas. The entire complex was abandoned because of new Americans with Disability Act laws and South Florida Water Management restrictions, that would have caused the Treehouses to have been completely rebuilt. They remained in a state of disrepair until 2008 when they were leveled and replaced with new Treehouse Villas opening in the summer of 2009 as part of Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort.

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With Six Resorts and 70,000 Timeshare Members, Disney World Putting More Focus on Fast Growing Sideline Business

Nov 8, 2003 | Orlando Sentinel

Walt Disney World executives said Friday that the transfer this week of the company's time-share business to a senior manager whose sole focus will be on that segment shows a new commitment to the fast-growing sideline.

Jim Lewis, a senior vice president who formerly headed public affairs, on Thursday assumed control of the Disney Vacation Club.

Jim Lewis

The time-share operation has grown to six resorts with more than 70,000 time-share members since 1991, when it opened its first resort with a Key West theme.

"The past few years have exceeded our own high expectations," Lewis said Friday, and with time-share membership in Disney resorts tripling in six years, "the company has made a decision to have a senior executive focus on this full time."

Saratoga Springs, the seventh and largest Disney time-share resort, is under construction on 16 acres near Downtown Disney. A first phase opens next spring and when completed in 2005 it will add 552 units, giving Disney more than 2,100 time-share units, or nearly 1 in 12 of all time shares statewide.

Randy Garfield, Disney's executive vice president of sales and travel and Lewis' boss, said Friday that the fact Lewis has a strong finance background is not an indicator that the time-share business needs special attention or bolstering in that area.

"There is no finance problem," Garfield said.

Although Lewis has no hotel or time-share experience, he has displayed a variety of leadership skills during his seven years at Disney and in previous management roles at PepsiCo and elsewhere, Garfield said. "It won't take him long to get up to speed," Garfield said. "That was a key consideration," in the appointment.

Lewis said he was excited about the challenge of taking on the new assignment but conceded that "I have a lot of work to do," in learning the time-share business, "from soup to nuts."

George Aguel

He assumes the role previously held by George Aguel, who joined the company in 1990 and built Disney's time-share business from scratch, earning a national reputation in the hospitality industry. Aguel also is widely recognized as one of the nation's top Hispanic business executives.

Aguel will continue to head Disney's group and convention business, and takes on a new role in developing alliances with corporations for joint marketing and other business relations. Moreover, Garfield said, Aguel will continue to act as an "elder statesman" for the time-share business. "He's going to be a resource to draw on," Garfield said, but will have no direct hand in the business.

Garfield and Lewis would not talk about any future projects for the time-share division, but Lewis said he accepted the position with the expectation of growth. "I'm not going to be satisfied," with the status quo, Lewis said.

For the near future, he said, his focus will be on Saratoga Springs, which is taking over some of the property formerly housing the Disney Institute. The institute combined a resort vacation with personal development sessions in areas such as cooking and art. But in the past several years the institute's training sessions have been dispersed to other Disney resorts and the lodging portion of the former institute has been demolished to make way for Saratoga Springs.

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'toga Party At Disney

Disney Opened The First Phase Of Its New Resort
Even The Mayor Of Saratoga Springs Showed Up.

May 28, 2004 | Orlando Sentinel

With a splash of water from the real Saratoga Springs, the Walt Disney Co. christened its seventh -- and eventually its largest -- time-share resort Thursday and suggested there may be more to come. Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, built on the former site of the Disney Institute across from Downtown Disney, opened with 184 units. Units range from simple studios the size of a typical motel room to two-story suites with whirlpool tubs, full kitchens and DVD players with surround-sound speakers.

Inspired by the upstate New York country retreats of the late 1800s, the resort was designed around the themes of natural springs and Saratoga's tradition of horse racing. Several "springs" dot the resort, and silhouettes of thoroughbred racehorses circle lampshades in the rooms.

Ms. Deevee See and Ms. Sara Toga did a warm up with the audience, asking people where they were from, providing jokes and light moments as people awaited the opening. Three costumed trumpeters heralded the crowd with the traditional race opening. Jim Lewis, VP of DVC came out and welcomed everyone. The Dapper Dans and Jodie Benson (Ariel) sang. Al Weiss welcomed everyone and introduced Mickey Mouse and the mayor of Saratoga Springs, NY. The mayor brought a pitcher of spring water from NY which was later poured into the pool at SSR

The first guests arrived earlier this month, but the resort was dedicated Thursday morning by the mayor of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Michael Lenz, who poured a pitcher of spring water into the resort's swimming pool.

The Founder’s Day Parade was an old fashioned hometown parade, complete with bikes, horses, marching bands, girl scouts and boy scouts and balloons. Mickey, Minnie and the mayor of Saratoga Springs, NY completed the line-up. The new DVC Preview Center (sales office) was open to guests.

Disney executives said Phase One of the resort was three-quarters sold, and they announced plans to expand the resort by another 644 units by 2007. Saratoga Springs "is part of our long-term strategy to continue to give guests what they want," said Al Weiss, Walt Disney World's president. Beginning with Disney's Old Key West Resort in 1991, each of Disney's previous time-share resorts has sold out, Weiss said. "Obviously," he said, "they're demanding our Disney Vacation Club product in a big way."

As with other time-share programs, Disney Vacation Club sells part-ownership in a property. Disney's program gives members the option of staying at any of its time shares or certain Disney hotels, or they may exchange their "vacation points" to stay at other properties. The average price for a unit at Saratoga Springs is about $19,000 for a two-bedroom suite, Disney said. Buyers also are required to pay an annual maintenance fee of $800. During weeks when a unit isn't being used by a vacation club member, Disney will treat it the same as a hotel room, renting by the night. Rates will start at $254 a night for a 355-square-foot studio.

Disney is weighing plans to build more time-share resorts in Orlando and elsewhere. "We see a lot of opportunity on both fronts," said Jim Lewis, senior vice president for Disney's time-share division. Lewis wouldn't give details but said, "We still have a lot of green space to expand." Lewis said the company wants to build its time-share business because owners tend to visit more often and spend more money -- twice as much as those who stay at a Disney hotel and seven times as much as those who stay off property.

Saratoga Springs' opening gives the company five time shares at Walt Disney World and one each in Vero Beach and on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Leaders also announced that Community Drive, the road on which both Disney's Old Key West Resort and Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa are located, will be renamed Disney Vacation Club Way in honor of the two resorts.

Note: SSR was developed in three phases:

• Phase 1: Four villa buildings in one section, called Congress Park, opened with 184 vacation home units (280 guest rooms) on May 17, 2004.
• Phase 2: Eight villa buildings in two sections, called the Springs and the Paddock, started opening in spring 2005, eventually adding an additional 378 vacation home units (560 guest rooms)
• Phase 3: Six villa buildings in two sections, called the Carousel and the Grandstand, completed the (then) final phase of this large resort in summer 2007.

A Satellite view of SSR history

1995 - In the shot below, the Disney Institute is being constructed. These buildings are the oldest that still exist at SSR.

2002 - The Disney Institute is shown below as it existed immediately prior to the start of construction of SSR.

2005 - Four villa buildings in one section, called Congress Park, opened with 184 vacation home units (280 guest rooms) on May 17, 2004. Eight villa buildings in two sections, called the Springs and the Paddock, are shown under construction in the shot below. They started opening in spring 2005, eventually adding an additional 378 vacation home units (560 guest rooms).

2006 - Six villa buildings in two sections, called the Carousel and the Grandstand, are shown under construction in the shot below. DVC completed the (then) final phase of this large resort in summer 2007 (until the Treehouse villas were added)

2015 - SSR today. The expanded Paddock pool is visible compared to the shot above.

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Members Will Own a Piece of the Magic
Near Disney's Animal Kingdom

October 11, 2006
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Disney Vacation Club announced today that it is building a new timeshare resort on Walt Disney World property to meet ongoing strong demand for its unique vacation-ownership program.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas will be part of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, which Travel & Leisure Family magazine recently honored with the No. 4 spot on its list of the 50 greatest family resorts in the United States and Canada. The Disney Vacation Club accommodations will feature intricate African-inspired details and home-like amenities, and most will offer sweeping views of an expanded savannah inhabited by a variety of African animals. These new accommodations are scheduled for development in phases with an anticipated opening beginning in fall 2007 and a completion date planned for Spring 2009. The project's first phase will include 134 remodeled accommodations on the fifth and sixth floors of the existing Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, and subsequent phases will include construction of 324 Vacation Homes in a new village of buildings, for a total of 458 Disney Vacation Club homes.

The project also calls for construction a new table-service restaurant, a themed pool and water-play island, fitness center, merchandise shop, sports-and-recreation facilities and more.

"We continue to see strong demand from families who want to build a lifetime of unforgettable memories by vacationing in ways they never dreamed possible," said Jim Lewis, President of Disney Vacation Club. "I am delighted to announce that our members will have yet another place to call home with Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas. This begins another exciting new era for Disney Vacation Club as we continue to explore future destination possibilities both domestically and internationally."

Disney Vacation Club, now celebrating its 15th anniversary, offers flexibility and savings on decades of future vacations at Disney destinations and more than 500 other vacation hotspots around the world. Membership has doubled since 2000 to include more than 100,000 families, which represents more than 300,000 individuals from more than 100 countries and every U.S. state.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas will be the eighth Disney Vacation Club Resort, joining five others at the Walt Disney World Resort, one in Vero Beach, Florida, and one on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Memberships have sold out at the first six Disney Vacation Club Resorts, and sales remain ahead of schedule at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, which opened in May 2004.

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Disney unveils new time shares

October 12, 2006 | Orlando Sentinel

Disney time shares are coming to the Animal Kingdom, with a plan for 458 units, the company said Wednesday.

According to Disney, the time shares will be a mix of new construction and renovated accommodations in part of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. They'll feature African-inspired details and most will offer views of a savannah inhabited by a variety of animals.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas will be the company's eighth time-share property -- the sixth at Walt Disney World -- and was hailed Wednesday as a smart business decision.

"It's a major plus," said Michael Hewell, a former Disney employee who now escorts guests through the parks with his company, Michael's VIPs, and owns the online Web site, TourGuideMike. "Disney's going to sell every single one of them."

As for the choice of Animal Kingdom, Hewell said, "It's the true retreat," and added, "For those people who want to rest away from the theme park madness, they now have a choice."

Time shares have long been popular in Central Florida, but more so in recent years. In 2001, 10 percent of Orlando visitors stayed in time shares. Last year, that number had increased to 15 percent.

From 2001 to 2005, the number of time-share units jumped 26 percent, from 15,157 to 19,099, according to the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. Hotel-room growth, on the other hand, grew only 2 percent during the same five-year period.

Disney's entry into the time-share market was a big help to the industry, said Robert J. Webb, a veteran real estate and time-share industry attorney with the Baker Hostetler law firm in Orlando.

"Disney's entry was part of a paradigm shift" in the 1990s, Webb said, when brand names such as Marriott and Disney entered the time-share field, long dominated by small operators. "It helped bring a lot of credibility to the industry."

The expansion of the Disney time-share holdings is a reflection of the strength of the industry and Disney's commitment to its resort business, said Webb, who has represented Disney as an outside counsel in the past.

"It's an excellent example of the evolution," Webb said, of hospitality companies relying on a mix of hotels and time shares for accommodating guests.

Disney historian Michael Broggie said the new time shares are a continuing affirmation of Walt Disney's decision to build in Central Florida.

"It also is a reflection of the confidence that [Disney chief] Bob Iger has in Central Florida and investing the company's assets there," Broggie said.

Development of the Animal Kingdom Villas is scheduled in phases, with units to begin opening in fall 2007. The project is scheduled to be completed by spring 2009.

The first phase will include 134 remodeled accommodations on the fifth and sixth floors of the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and additional phases will include the building of 324 vacation properties in a new building at the resort.

KIDANI VILLAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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DVC OFFERS 15-YEAR EXTENSION OF OLD KEY WEST

August 17, 2007 | Letter to Cast Members

As we continue to celebrate “15 Years of Making Vacation Dreams Come True,” I’m pleased to announce an exciting opportunity for Members who call our original resort “home” to add 15 more magical years to their Membership.

In an historic move for our company, we’re preparing to provide Members at Disney’s Old Key West Resort the chance to extend their Disney Vacation Club Membership through January 2057. We’ll hold a special meeting of the Disney Vacation Club Condominium Association on September 24 to vote to extend the resort’s ground lease accordingly and, pending the outcome of that vote, we’ll formally present Members with this opportunity to extend their Membership term, or to decline by deeding their extension to Disney Vacation Development.

We anticipate that a significant number of our Members will take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity, as our Annual Condominium Survey clearly revealed their interest in doing so. As you know, Disney’s Old Key West Resort holds a special place in Members’ hearts, and we look forward to sharing this unique opportunity with our original Member family.

By extending the magic of Membership at our flagship resort, we’ll help families create new memories and pass on the legacy of Disney vacations to their loved ones for years to come. Your leadership team will be providing you with more details on this unique opportunity in coming days. Here’s to “15 More Years of Making Vacation Dreams Come True!”

Notice of 2007 Special Meeting of the Board of Directors and Members of Disney Vacation Club Condominium Association

RESOLVED: That the Association is hereby authorized to enter into an agreement with DVD in which DVD will agree to extend the Ground Lease until January 31, 2057, thereby extending the Disney Vacation Club Condominium, the Vacation Ownership Plan and each Member’s Ownership Interest in the Disney Vacation Club Condominium, an additional 15 years to January 31, 2057, in exchange for the payment by the Association to DVD of $25.00 per vacation point (the “Extension Fee”);

FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Association is hereby authorized to, and shall levy and assess, against each Member of the Association a special assessment in the amount of $25.00 per Vacation Point for payment of the Extension Fee. The special assessment and collection of this assessment shall be governed in all respects by the Association’s process for collection of annual assessments. The special assessment shall be a personal obligation of each Member and the Association shall have a lien on each Member’s Ownership Interest to secure payment of the special assessment. The Association shall promptly mail special assessment notices to each Member and the special assessments shall be due and payable on or before February 29, 2008;

FURTHER RESOLVED: That for those members of the Association who desire not to extend their Ownership Interest beyond January 31, 2042, they may satisfy their obligation to pay the special assessment by executing a deed (with the formalities required by Florida law) conveying to DVD their Ownership Interest for the period January 31, 2042, to January 31, 2057.

CONTRACT EXTENSION APPROVED AT SEPT 24, 2007 SPECIAL MEETING

- All Old Key West DVC owners will receive a letter of offer to extend the ground lease of their vacation ownership from ending 1/31/2042 to ending 1/31/2057. Meaning that the property OKW sits on will be leased from the Walt Disney World Company for an additional 15 years.

- The price will be $25 per point to extend current contracts for 15 years. However if you accept the extension before 2/29/2008 Disney Vacation Development will pay $10 of that $25. Making the final cost to the owner $15 per point of you act before 2/29/2008. If you act after that the price will be $25 per point.

- There is no cost to the owner at all if they choose not to do this. All that happens is they will assign their vacation ownership back to DVC for the period of 2042 - 2057.

- This can be done per contract with DVC - so if you are like me and own multiple contracts you can choose to do one or both of your contracts. But each contract must be done for the full value of the points.

- This only being offered at OKW for now.

- No effect on current annual dues.

- There will be no closing costs associated with the extension.

- Since DVC recognizes that there will be cost and time involved (paperwork will have to be notarized) even if you don't accept the offer they are going to credit every owner $30 on their December 2007 dues to cover the costs.

- It can be financed with DVC - current terms = 10.75% for 10 years. It can also be financed on your own, or paid in full or charged to a major credit card.

- Price of OKW points purchased through DVC prior to the resolutions being passed was $92 per point and ending in 2042. After the resolution passed OKW points are now $96 each and will end in 2057.

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DISNEYLAND RESORT EXPANDING DISNEY’S GRAND CALIFORNIAN HOTEL & SPA

First West Coast Disney vacation villas planned

ANAHEIM, Calif., Sept 18, 2007 – Responding to a growing demand for guest accommodations in Anaheim, the Disneyland Resort today celebrated an expansion of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa that will increase accommodations by more than 30 percent and will include the first Disney Vacation Club villas in Anaheim.

This expansion, scheduled for completion in late 2009, will involve 300 union construction jobs and result in 100 new hotel jobs. It underscores Disney’s long-term commitment to growing and investing in Anaheim. The expansion also marks the latest in a series of major additions to the Resort that include the newly launched Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at Disneyland and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s California Adventure.

“This expansion underscores our commitment to growing and investing in both the Disneyland Resort and the Anaheim Resort Area,” said Ed Grier, president of the Disneyland Resort. “These new hotel rooms and villas will give more people the opportunity to enjoy the immersive vacation experience Disney is known for. We know that our guests value being able to stay in the middle of the magic with our world-class theme parks, shopping and dining just steps away.”

The 2.5-acre expansion on the hotel’s south side will add more than 200 new hotel rooms and 50 two-bedroom equivalent vacation villas. Those vacation villas, to include kitchens, living and dining areas and other home-like amenities, will mark the West Coast debut of Disney Vacation Club, Disney’s innovative vacation-ownership program.

“For more than 50 years, the Disneyland Resort has been investing in our community and they have helped us build a world class resort destination in which all of Anaheim can be proud,” Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle said. “Thanks to Disneyland and the Anaheim Resort Area, Anaheim boasts one of the fastest growing markets in the country for hotel occupancy.”

Other elements planned for the project include a rooftop deck for viewing fireworks, a new swimming pool and about 300 underground parking spaces. Peter Dominick of 4240, architect for Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa as well as Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida is designing the ambitious expansion. It will reflect the same California Arts & Crafts architecture of the existing hotel, which immerses guests in a turn-of-the-20th-century California experience.

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa currently features 745 guest rooms, including 44 suites. Upon completion of the expansion project, the hotel will feature 945 guest rooms, including 44 guest suites, and 50 Disney Vacation Club two-bedroom equivalent vacation villas.

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VGC: Before and After

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Hawaii DVC Planned

Oct 3, 2007

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts (NYSE: DIS) announced today that the company has finalized plans to purchase 21 acres of oceanfront property on Hawaii's island of Oahu.

The property, located on the island's western side in the picturesque Ko Olina Resort & Marina, Honolulu's premier resort destination, will be home to Disney's first mixed-use family resort outside of its theme park developments. The expansive resort, scheduled to open in 2011, will have more than 800 units including hotel rooms and villas for Disney Vacation Club, which is Disney's rapidly growing timeshare business.

"This resort hotel will give our guests another way to visit an exciting part of the world with a brand they trust," said Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. "In fact, Hawaii has been among our most requested Disney Vacation Club getaway locations beyond our theme parks. We are looking forward to building a special family resort that honors the cultural diversity of Hawaii and reflects the spirit of aloha that makes this location so unique."

Consistently ranked as one of the top family destinations in the world, Hawaii's natural beauty and extensive offering of family activities make it an ideal location for a Disney resort.

Part of the Disney resort hotel in Ko Olina will be dedicated to Disney Vacation Club, a timeshare program that helps families enjoy flexibility and savings on vacations for decades to come. By becoming a member of Disney Vacation Club, families can enjoy vacations at Disney destinations worldwide as well as more than 500 other popular Member Getaways vacation locations around the globe.

Disney Vacation Club has grown to serve more than 350,000 individual members from more than 100 countries and all 50 U.S. states.

"We are delighted to create a place in Hawaii that our Disney Vacation Club members can call home," said Jim Lewis, President of Disney Vacation Club. "We know that both our existing members and new members will be thrilled about this resort in Ko Olina."

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Aloha, Disney

Mickey's company announces plans to build an 800-unit resort hotel at Ko Olina

Oct 4, 2007 | Walt Disney Parks and Resorts announced yesterday that it has purchased 21 acres of oceanfront property at Ko Olina Resort & Marina to develop the company's first stand-alone hotel.

Disney paid $144 million to acquire a plot near Ko Olina's Lagoon 1, where it plans to develop an expansive resort that will open in 2011, creating more than 1,000 jobs. The mixed-use resort will have more than 800 units, including hotel rooms and villas for the Disney Vacation Club, which is Disney's time-share brand. Total development costs are still undetermined.

"This resort hotel will give our guests another way to visit an exciting part of the world, with a brand that they trust," said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Hawaii has been among the Disney Vacation Club's most requested getaway locations beyond theme parks, he said. Beach vacations are the No. 1 most popular trips for families, and Hawaii is the second most popular destination after Florida.

Hawaii's natural beauty and family activities make it an ideal location for a Disney resort, Rasulo said.

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VACATION MAGIC BECOMES DISNEY FILES

Vacation Magic, the publication for DVC members since 1992, is renamed to Disney FILES starting with the Winter 2007 edition (Vol 16 No 4).

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Orlando's Walt Disney World likely building time shares near Contemporary Resort

January 14, 2008 | Orlando Sentinel

Walt Disney World is in the midst of building a $110 million, 15-story tower next to its iconic Contemporary Resort that likely will feature time shares -- bringing the units closer to the Magic Kingdom than ever before.

Disney will say little publicly about the fast-rising Contemporary addition. The new tower already stands five stories on 14 acres just to the north of the resort's signature A-frame main building, which was just the second hotel at Disney World when it opened a few months after the park itself first welcomed guests Oct. 1, 1971.

But there is ample evidence Disney plans to use the tower for time shares.

Building-permit applications filed with Reedy Creek Improvement District identify the owner of the property as a company called JMSRM Inc. State records show that is a fictitious name created in August 2006 by Celebration-based Disney Vacation Development, parent company of the Disney Vacation Club time-share arm.

In a pair of letters, an environmental consultant hired by Disney calls it "a proposed Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Resort at the Contemporary hotel."

And in a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Disney, which has built about 2,400 time-share units at eight resorts, revealed that it has about 680 more under construction at Disney World.

Disney has only publicly acknowledged one ongoing time-share construction project in Orlando: Kidani Village, an extension of the partially completed Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas. That project is expected to have 340 units when finished in spring 2009 -- leaving another 340 or so unaccounted for.

Construction records for the Contemporary expansion call for 295 three-bedroom suites. Some could be sold as separate two- and one-bedroom units.

Still, Disney will not talk about the Contemporary addition.

"We have plans to expand our Disney Vacation Club business both on Walt Disney World property and at other vacation destinations in the future. However, we don't have anything formal to announce today," Disney Vacation Club spokeswoman Rena Langley said.

Reasons to stay mum

Analysts say Disney may have strategic reasons for holding back on a Contemporary time-share announcement.

Disney, which has invested deeply in the time-share business in recent years, is still in the midst of peddling time shares in Animal Kingdom Villas and Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, both at Disney World.

Announcing future time shares now in the Contemporary -- which are likely to be hugely popular, given their prime location along the Magic Kingdom monorail and within walking distance of the park -- could slow the current sales, said Robert LaFleur, a leisure-industry analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group.

Disney time-share buyers, though they own a real-estate interest, do not purchase specific units in individual resorts; rather, they buy points that they can redeem for rooms in the company's time-share resorts or elsewhere.

But buyers must purchase those points from a "home" resort -- there are a limited number of points available for each facility -- and they are given priority at that particular resort when booking a stay.

"If you're trying to pitch a sale at Saratoga Springs or trying to pitch a sale at the Animal Kingdom, and somebody's aware that a year from now there's going to be stuff available in the Contemporary . . . that would cannibalize your other sales, I would think," LaFleur said.

It is also possible that Disney could decide against marketing the Contemporary addition as time shares and use the building for more hotel rooms instead. Company executives said recently that Disney World hotels are averaging 90 percent occupancy, and the Contemporary commands some of the highest room rates of them all: A one-bedroom suite can run as high as $1,310 a night.

"I know [Disney has] talked about a tower there for a long, long time," even before the company's interest in time shares, said Reedy Creek District Administrator Ray Maxwell.

The Contemporary addition is sure to be a lavish one. Records say the crescent-shaped tower will include a host of amenities, including a swimming pool and water-play area with an outdoor bar and a water slide; a spa; tennis courts; a barbecue pavilion; and a 499-person lounge on the 15th floor featuring a restaurant and bar. The new tower will be connected to the main building by a pedestrian bridge.

The project price tag: $109.6 million.

Completion likely in 2009

According to development records, Disney broke ground on the expansion in January 2007. The construction, which began with the demolition of an older, three-story wing of hotel rooms, is expected to take about 32 months. That would put the completion date about September 2009.

Last fall, Disney announced that it will build an 800-room resort in Hawaii in which at least half of the rooms will be time shares and that it will add 50 two-bedroom villas to Disneyland's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, which will be the first time shares at Disney's original resort.

Disney Vacation Club President Jim Lewis has also said that the unit is considering projects in Lake Tahoe and the Caribbean. The company currently has six time-share locations at Disney World and one each in Vero Beach and Hilton Head, S.C.

Time shares have blossomed across the hotel industry. Jeremy Glaser, an analyst with Morningstar, said they are especially lucrative for a company such as Disney because time shares lock in future trips to its theme parks.

"They're going to make money from your park admission and all of that ancillary money you're going to spend every time you come to Orlando," Glaser said. "They have an added bonus to get you to commit to taking vacations there for years."

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Plans for "Kingdom Tower" DVC at Contemporary

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Walt Disney World to rebuild Treehouse Villas

February 19, 2008 | Orlando Sentinel

Hidden among the trees in an obscure part of Walt Disney World, one of Disney's more unusual and largely forgotten housing options is getting new life.

The giant resort intends to tear down and replace Disney's Treehouse Villas, a community of 60 two-story housing units that have been used at various times as for-rent lodging, Disney Institute guest housing, and international student-worker housing.

The three-bedroom villas -- essentially octagonal town houses on pedestals, looking a little like treehouses -- are scattered throughout a forested back road between a Disney World golf course and a canal, where they have aged, sometimes not well, for 33 years.

While a few of them are in plain view to golfers on the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course and to resort guests who take a ferry-boat ride up the canal, they are well out of sight for the vast portion of the 100,000 or more people who occupy Disney World on any given day.

Disney officials haven't made much of the villas for years, and even now they aren't willing to discuss their plans in any detail. The company sought and received permission from the South Florida Water Management District recently to tear down the villas and replace them. Disney World spokeswoman Andrea Finger said at least some of the new units would be available for use by resort visitors -- the first time any of the Treehouse Villas have been open to the public in several years.

She would not discuss whether the new Treehouse Villas would be rented as lodging, sold as Disney Vacation Club time shares, or both.

"We are bringing them back as a popular option for our guests," she said. "The unique location has provided a tranquil and more secluded environment that our guests have enjoyed since the mid-'70s."

Disney first opened the villas in 1975. Strung along a cul-de-sac road more than a quarter-mile long off Disney Vacation Club Way, the complex has its own pool and a small clubhouse. The villas were renovated in 1987 and then converted to housing in 1996 for the short-lived Disney Institute; at least some were sometimes made available for regular park visitors until 2002.

By then they were showing their age.

According to Ray Maxwell, district administrator for the Reedy Creek Improvement District, most or all of the Treehouse Villas had been shuttered by the time Hurricane Charley blasted through Central Florida on Aug. 13, 2004, wrecking the villas and the surrounding woods. The damage was such that there was talk that Charley might have spawned a small tornado into the area, he said.

"A lot of trees blew down, and there was a lot of damage to the units," Maxwell said. "They [Disney officials] took them out of service. Before they could do anything, the units needed to be rehabbed."

In 2005, at least some of the units were reopened as housing for international students working at Disney World, and were used as such until just a few weeks ago, Finger said.

The sign out front at the gate warns, "Cast Members Only."

Much of the complex was built in the flood plain, so Disney could not tear down the old villas and replace them with just anything. The new plan reduces the units' ground-level "footprint" from 340 square feet to 84 square feet each by eliminating the first-floor living space. Consequently, the new buildings will be even more treehouse-like, supported by sets of pilings.

The South Florida Water Management District approved the plan Feb. 4.

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