Disney's Grand Californian: expansion confirmée

Admin Age : 28 Inscrit le : 03 Juil 2007 Messages : 3000

Disney a publié un communiqué de presse officialisant les plans d'extension du Grand Californian à Disneyland Resort, qui augmentera la capacité de l'hôtel de 30%. Sont aux programmes, sur plus d'un hectare de superficie:

200 chambres supplémentaires
50 appartements Disney Vacation Club, de 2 à 3 chambres
1 nouvelle piscine
une terrasse sur le toit aménagée pour regarder les feux d'artifice
300 places de parking souterraines

Ouverture fin 2009.

Disney prend le meilleur, et l'améliore... à quand ça chez nous?
_________________
Road Trip mémorable!

Mon blog
Mes vidéos perso

En V.O.: http://www.disneylandnews.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=234 Wink

18 September 2007
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.

The Disneyland Resort - September 15, 2007

Photo ci-dessus: une partie du chantier vu depuis Disneyland Drive

Photo ci-dessus: le chantier vu depuis Sun Wheel

http://www.westcoaster.net/updates.php?updateCD=091507&page=2

Admin Age : 28 Inscrit le : 03 Juil 2007 Messages : 3000

Concept art de la section DVC en ligne:

Photo officielle de la première pierre:

_________________
Road Trip mémorable!

Mon blog
Mes vidéos perso

Des photos des travaux... ça creuse!! Sacrées fondations!!!! Shocked

http://westcoaster.net/updates.php?updateCD=110807

C'est surement pour les parkings !
_________________
WDW all star movies 15-25 september 2008

GRAND CALIFORNIAN PROGRESS REPORT
The Hotel expansion project continues to progress.

Photo: David "Darkbeer" Michael

Photo: David "Darkbeer" Michael

http://micechat.com/forums/blog.php?b=311

DVC-ya-later

And speaking of using up the last of your home equity, it seems an increasing number of Southern Californians have done just that, right as the Disney Vacation Club tries to get them to shell out big bucks for a timeshare deal. DVC has seen record and undreamed of growth over the last 10 years at their properties in Florida and South Carolina, with many new DVC members back East using their home equity credit lines to fork over the tens of thousands of dollars in dues and fees needed when you sign the lifetime contract. While construction continues on the first small batch of DVC units on the West Coast located in the new Grand Californian expansion wing, the number of new accounts being signed up by DVC representatives is falling short of internal goals.

There has also been a softening in the market out in Florida, but the numbers here in California just can't get off the launching pad. They've recently begun trying to offer big discounts to Anaheim Cast Members, but with what Disneyland pays there are only a small handful of salaried folks in TDA who could even begin to afford the big down payment and recurring annual fees. Needless to say, the recent attempt by DVC to drum up sales amongst Disneyland Cast Members wasn't a big success.

The DVC units planned for the Grand are still on track, and there is enough demand from DVC owners back East to likely fill the small collection of units when they open in 2010. But the soft sales figures are making TDA take a second look at their long term plans for hotel and lodging construction in Anaheim.

http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al061708c.htm

Admin Age : 28 Inscrit le : 03 Juil 2007 Messages : 3000

Un article super intéressant détaille les nouveautés de ce nouveau complexe, grâce à la visite "guidée" d'un Imagineer du projet.

Inclus de nouveaux concepts arts!

http://dvcnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=562&Itemid=1

Written by Tim Krasniewski & Dave Welty

Since its opening in January 2001, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel has often been described as the crown jewel of the Disneyland Resort complex. One feature in particular separates the Grand Californian from its fellow Disneyland resort hotels... that being its exclusive entry gate directly into Disney's California Adventure theme park. Soon the Grand Californian will earn another distinction-the first of Disney's west-coast resorts to house Disney Vacation Club villas. On a recent trip to Disneyland, Walt Disney Imagineering Director of Design, Resorts and Facilities Development Mike Montague was kind enough to give us a personal tour of the Grand Californian Villa model rooms, discussing many aspects of the resort expansion and DVC villa design. Montague is a 20-year Imagineering veteran who has played an integral role in creating the Grand Californian expansion. In late 2009, the Grand Californian is scheduled to unveil its first expansion, the addition of 48 Two-Bedroom equivalent villas and 2 three-bedroom Grand Villas. The Two Bedroom equivalents break-down as 21 lockoff units which can be booked separately as a One Bedroom plus a Studio, and 29 dedicated Two Bedroom villas. The resort is also adding 203 cash rooms for a total of 253 new accommodations. From its inception, many areas of the Grand Californian were designed to accommodate more than its original complement of 751 guest rooms. The new construction is taking place on the site which was previously home to the valet parking lot--a plot that has always been reserved for future expansion of the Grand Californian. Other amenities like the front desk, on-site dining and pool were either properly sized for a greater number of units from the start or were similarly designed for expansion without necessitating major changes to the resort's infrastructure. EXTERIOR DESIGN Every effort is being made to seamlessly blend the expansion into the existing Grand Californian Hotel. This is particularly important as the Grand Californian stands as a backdrop for much of Disney's California Adventure. In fact, many of the Disney Vacation Club villas will overlook the theme park itself. One particular area presented a challenge for designers. The existing resort hotel is well-suited for its current role as a backdrop for the Golden State region of Disney's California Adventure. However, the south side of the expansion boarders a very different area of DCA-Paradise Pier. Designers went to great lengths to help blend the look of the Grand Californian into Paradise Pier-an area that will itself be altered somewhat in the coming years as part of Disney's $1 billion investment in the theme park. According to Imagineer Mike Montague, the south side of the expansion is specifically designed to be "reminiscent of Paradise Pier with smaller New England-style blocks." Months were spent finalizing that elevation in order to ensure that it would not disrupt the intended look of the Paradise Pier 'land' within DCA. Southern Aspect Concept (proposed construction; artwork copyright 2008 Disney) Construction model - southern aspect View of southern profile from Disney's California Adventure Montague also says that Disney spent "a lot of dollars on the acoustical package" used in these villas so that theme park ambiance--particularly from nighttime pyrotechnics--would not be disruptive to guests. VILLA INTERIOR The units themselves will mirror the Arts and Crafts style of the 7 year old Grand Californian. Yet the villas also take into account more current design trends. Montague says that the villa design "places an emphasis on creating an open / informal layout" for the main living space with the idea being to "see the view" immediately upon entering the room. One of the more prominent changes is the addition of a living room Murphy Bed to accommodate a 5^th guest in a One Bedroom villa or a 9^th guest in a Two Bedroom villa. The Murphy Bed was inspired by cruise ship design which utilizes similar innovative features to maximize the use of space. At the Grand Californian, the Murphy Bed is positioned under the living room audio/visual center, providing an attractive cabinet façade during the day and a traditional twin bed with a standard spring mattress at night. Living room Murphy Bed The One and Two Bedroom villas will continue a modification first introduced in the Kidani Village room design at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas: an additional bathroom within the villa. While the Kidani Village layout added a full bathroom to its larger units, the Grand Californian design calls for only a 3/4 bath with a vanity, toilet and shower. Using a design with a shower stall rather than a full tub saves several square feet of space which, in this case, was used to house the washer/dryer unit. In proposing any villa layout, designers are given a fixed amount of space and the challenge to come up with a design that best maximizes the use of that space. Montague says that different design teams spent months submitting and refining designs leading up to the approval and construction phases. Consideration was given to many different configurations including a full bath, 1/2 bath and the 3/4 bath before settling on this layout. Even now, nearly 3 months after the model rooms were first shown to the public, the designs are still undergoing minor adjustments as suggested by Imagineering and Walt Disney management. New bedding showcased within the units includes a woven comforter and duvet. This again mirrors more recent trends within the hospitality industry and Montague expects, at the very least, that future DVC resorts will be outfitted similarly. Other noteworthy changes to the villa design include a more streamlined kitchen (with fingerprint-resistant stainless steel appliances), a floor-to-ceiling slide-out pantry cabinet and a significantly larger dining area. Slide-out Pantry Cabinet Large Dining Table VILLA BALCONY The layout of the One and Two Bedroom units features a relocation of the balcony. In more recent DVC villa designs, the balcony extends outward from the living room. The Grand Californian design relocates the balcony adjacent to the master bedroom with a large picture window dominating the living room wall. The balcony is accessible via dual entry doors from either the living room or the master bedroom. The addition of the living room side entry door necessitated another design change to the balcony--the Grand Californian balconies will be 50% deeper than other recent DVC designs, coming in at roughly 4 1/2' deep as compared to the 3' depth of balconies at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas and Saratoga Springs. Living room access to balcony The Studio rooms will maintain the more familiar look with the balcony at the far end of the unit. Studio balconies are smaller than their One and Two Bedroom counterparts, measuring the more familiar 3' depth. Montague says this was part of a necessary trade-off to add more space to the interior of the Studio villa. In fact, returning that 18" of space to the villa interior actually is more costly from a construction standpoint since interior finishes are more expensive than exterior finishes. AMENITIES A third pool is being added to the resort adjacent to its two existing pools, along with an additional hot tub and significant space for lounge chairs. Original concept art (proposed construction; copyright Disney 2007) Construction model (similar view) showing pool addition Construction site for new pool (reverse angle) - note existing pool on the far left The new pool is located in the courtyard depicted in the original concept artwork depicted above. According to Montague, the pool was omitted from the concept artwork because its design had not yet been finalized when the artwork was released. New restrooms are being constructed within the gated pool complex, eliminating the current need to leave the pool area in order to access those facilities. The Grand Californian is currently home to three restaurants--the elite Napa Rose, character buffet Storyteller's Café and White Water Café which specializes in quick service and grab-and-go items. While no new restaurant is planned for the resort, White Water will be expanded to include a selection of grocery items consistent with other Disney Vacation Club resorts. White Water Cafe An additional bank of elevators (the resort's third set) is included within the expansion wing, aiding guest movement throughout the building. The upper floor of the new wing includes an outdoor viewing pavilion. With a nighttime water pageant scheduled to debut at Disney's California Adventure in 2009, the pavilion is well situated on the south side of the building to provide a view exclusively for hotel guests. Upper floor fireworks viewing pavilion Montague says the pavilion's location is not coincidental--that it was "positioned to overlook the future park improvements including the new water pageant. The open air trellis structure creates the sense of enclosure while creating unencumbered views of the nighttime sky." The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Resort and Spa are under construction now and on target to open sometime in the fourth quarter of the 2009 calendar year. Thus far Disney Vacation Club has not revealed any pricing information or when points will be available for sale.

_________________
Road Trip mémorable!

Mon blog
Mes vidéos perso