Disney ends time share's first phase Sara K. Clarke Jason Garcia and Scott Powers, Sentinel Staff Writers February 18, 2008 The first phase of Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom Villas time share is complete. Disney last month wrapped up work on the last of 109 units that have been converted from hotel rooms to time shares on the upper levels of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Construction is continuing on the project's much-larger second phase: A 340-unit annex next to the lodge that has been dubbed "Kidani Village." Disney says the expansion will include a 120-seat sit-down restaurant, a 4,700-square-foot swimming pool with a water slide and two spas, plus tennis, shuffleboard and half-court basketball, among other amenities. Disney expects to complete the second phase during the spring of 2009. The Animal Kingdom Villas are Disney's eighth time share and the sixth at Disney World. The company is in the midst of building new time shares at Disneyland in Southern California and has announced plans to develop a time share and hotel resort in Hawaii. Construction records also suggest Disney is building a time-share addition to the Contemporary Resort in Orlando, though the company has not confirmed the project. OIA comings and goings Philadelphia was Orlando's top feeder city for domestic air travelers during the third quarter of 2007, according to a new report from Orlando International Airport. A full 1,924 passengers a day flew between Orlando and Philadelphia during the three months between July and September of last year, narrowly edging out the 1,912 a day who flew between Newark, N.J., and Orlando during the same period. No other Orlando route had more than 1,500 passengers a day. The rest of Orlando's top five domestic markets: New York's Kennedy International Airport; Baltimore; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. (The report focuses on where passengers begin and end their flights, so hub airports such as Atlanta, where many people make connections, don't dominate the rankings.) Planes arriving from Newark were fuller than the ones from Philadelphia, though. The Newark flights had a 90.8 percent "load factor," meaning they were on average about 91 percent full. No other domestic route had a load factor above 90 percent, according to the report; the Philadelphia flights were on average 81.3 percent full. Hotel for business travelers to be built A ground-blessing ceremony was scheduled for this past weekend for a four-star Westin hotel planned for the Lake Mary/Heathrow area. The hotel, which will cater to business travelers, will be built on International Parkway near State Road 46A. Westin plans to break ground at the site near the end of the second quarter, and said the 263-room hotel will be the only Westin in Central Florida. The Grand Bohemian in downtown Orlando dropped the Westin flag more than a year ago, opting to market itself under its own brand. The Westin brand is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Disney fans promote 'Kingdom' party The Walt Disney World fans who helped spur the company into holding a 25th anniversary celebration for Epcot last fall are at it again, organizing as a nonprofit organization and setting their sights on a 10th anniversary celebration for Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park April 22. The organization, now calling itself WDWcelebrations.com after its new Web site, was started in part by 17-year-old Dr. Phillips high school student Adam Roth, along with several veteran Disney World observers, including Tom Corless and John Corigliano. The group first formed last year as "Celebration 25," an ad-hoc organization that arranged a fans' celebration for Epcot's silver anniversary. In addition to the Animal Kingdom 10th anniversary, which the group is calling "A Wild Decade," a second event is being planned for September, and that one will become an annual gathering, said Roth, the group's spokesman. He said Disney is planning an Animal Kingdom park rededication for the morning of April 22, which is also Earth Day. WDWcelebration activities will coordinate with that. "We are seeking full approval of everything we do from the Walt Disney Co., much like we did with Celebration 25," Roth said. Marriott speaks out Politics and business management were the topics du jour as J.W. "Bill" Marriott got a chance to speak at his own Orlando Marriott World Center last week. The chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International Inc., who said he did walk-throughs of three hotels before his early morning address, told members of the International Franchise Association that the key to running a successful chain is to manage consistency. Marriott said an ineffective visa process hurts tourism because it deters international visitors from coming to the U.S. He called on the government to establish a "path of citizenship" for immigrant workers within the next two years -- and noted that his company could not exist without workers from outside the country. He also highlighted eco-friendly initiatives that his hospitality chain is pursuing, saying that, if Marriott wants visitors to come to their beautiful destinations, it needs to maintain the environment around its properties. While Marriott said the hospitality industry has seen some softening in business already this year, his company was "doing very good down here, in terms of bookings" at the Orlando World Center. Resort renovation wraps up The newly refurbished and renamed Regal Sun Resort inside Walt Disney World says it has completed its final project, a new pool and aquatic playground, as part of a $25 million renovation begun last year. The playground is one of the features in a cloverleaf-shaped pool. The pool area also features a gradual "beach" entry, rock formations, an additional pool, and a hot-tub area. Located near Downtown Disney on Hotel Plaza Boulevard, the Regal Sun Resort is owned by The Procaccianti Group, a privately held Rhode Island company that specializes in the acquisition, renovation and management of investment real estate. The Regal Sun, one of 59 hotels owned by the Procaccianti Group, was formerly known as The Grosvenor Resort. Renovation of the interior space, including 619 guest rooms and seven suites, was finished last fall. Meeting space was added, as was a weekly dinner theater.
