Contemporary Resort Facts and Fun
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The
Electrical Water Pageant, a floating, lighted procession of "sea creatures," takes
place each night on Bay Lake at 10:05 p.m. (weather permitting).
Disney's
Contemporary Resort opened on October 1, 1971.
The design of the
mall and mural at the Contemporary Resort were inspired by the concourse's
theme, the Grand Canyon — named
because of its vastness and similarity to a great open canyon.
Disney's
Contemporary Resort was built by a method called "unitized modular
construction." The A-frame structure resembling a honeycomb was built,
then rooms manufactured offsite at a special plant were trucked in
and fitted into the main structure one-by-one.
One of two Disney
resort hotels that opened with Magic Kingdom in 1971, Disney's Contemporary
Resort was built on a 55-acre site adjacent to Magic Kingdom. Living
up to its modern style, the hotel was constructed by methods that were
ahead of their time.
While the hotel's steel skeleton was being constructed
at the site, individual rooms were being built and finished at Walt Disney
World on an "assembly line" with workers completing 15 units per day.
As each room passed through the specially constructed building, the electrical,
mechanical and plumbing facilities were added piece by piece.
Once furnished,
the nine-ton guestrooms were trucked to the site, lifted by crane and
slid into the steel structure -- much like an oversized set of dresser
drawers. The entire structure was then covered by specially designed,
sun-resistant glass.
The 90-foot floor-to-ceiling
ceramic mural at Disney's
Contemporary Resort was designed by Walt Disney Imagineer Mary
Blair, who was also responsible for the distinct look and feel of
the "it's a small world" attraction at the Magic Kingdom® Park. It was created in 1971 with 1,800 one-square-foot tiles and took 18 months to construct. Look closely: there's a five-legged goat facing the monorail track.
Watch the Magic
Kingdom fireworks from the observation deck on the fourth floor of the
Tower Building.
Hidden Mickeys
On the arches at
the main entrance.
A large Mickey Mouse
watch at the front of the resort (you need to go inside a up a few floors
to be able to see it properly).
The pool is in the
shape of Mickey Mouse.
Underneath the metal
Mickey ears structure at the back of the resort, going towards the lake.
