We stopped by Coronado Springs this week to see how construction and refurbishment has been going at the moderate resort. Disney’s Coronado Springs Expansion continues and you can check out how far things have progressed since our last construction report.
Repainting and Refurbishment
We’ve been watching the resort turn a darker shade, but this image gives you a really good idea about the new color scheme compared to the old. This is the last remaining part that’s not painted on the right, it’s just in the construction zone and can’t be painted until walls are moved.
Pathways in the lake
Construction continues on the bar and grill going in the middle of the lake.
Foundation is currently being set and we should see the structure go vertical soon. This will be awesome to visit once completed.
The Fifteen Story Tower
You can see the lower levels are starting to be enclosed with weatherproofing materials. The building has yet to be topped off, and there’s still plenty of work to be done within the next 12 months.
From the parking lot, entering El Centro.
You can see a circular structure on the far right side of the building. This is about halfway up the tower, perhaps it’s a convention space or outdoor relaxation area.
We did a lap around the lake to see different vantage points of the new tower. It’s angled perfectly to not look horrendous from anywhere inside of the resort. Genius, really.
Pretty, right?
We also captured some images from the front of the tower, looming over the construction zone.
It’s going to be VERY impressive once completed.
The massive parking lot expansion in front of the main lobby is also nearing completion. We should see this area paved and being used within the coming weeks.
Impressive? Pretty? Can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic. Those descriptors should be reserved for great architecture. This features typical I-4 Hotel massing, including single-window concrete side walls. It is the same late modern mid-rise mediocrity that has been built thousands of times all across the country. WDW ought to differentiate itself from average American design. Instead it has regressed to the mean.
Looks awesome, thanks for the update Topher. Very impressive indeed!!
I understand the need for rooms but I really hate these giant hotel towers. I’m sure they’ll have finishing touches that are nice, thematic and unusual. Facilities and amentia will no doubt be nice. But the current Disney leadership seems to not care about visual asthetics and preserving the uniqueness of staying on property. These towers (before completion) just seem like any other hotel tower that I see in suburban Atlanta or Orlando or Nashville. Leadership doesn’t seem to grasp the idea that visitors want to stay at resorts that are truly unique and give off a particular feeling of escapism. That is hard to achieve if I am in a building that makes me feel like I am next to a mall in Marietta Georgia. I hope I am wrong about these monoliths but certainly not about the recently announced hotel near Fantasia Gardens. That thing is horrific for the Disney property. Perfectly fine for Houston or St Louis, just not for a highly visible place on Disney property. I know many hate the swan and dolphin. I don’t. They are at least architecturally stunning and something you don’t see anywhere else, so you don’t feel like you’re at home. I still think they are beautiful as well. Not everyone’s taste, but at least they are different.
You nailed it, TooMuchRoy. Nailed it.
They needed a tower for the convention crowd and it looks like a solid addition.
Complainers will whine when given the slightest bit of a chance, it’s what they do.
But it’s gonna look great.
Back when Coronado Springs Resort was originally built, open to outside motel concepts were fairly common. These days, even low-to-mid grade chain hotels only feature open to inside rooms. Times have changed. While I do feel that a giant ‘Biff’s-like’ tower might not be the answer, I also appreciate that companies booking convention space don’t feel comfortable booking at open to outside motel-style accommodations. Especially at CSR. Having attended a couple of conventions there, I heard near constant complaining from my co-workers about having their rooms so far away from the convention center, having to walk outside…sometimes in the rain to get to the convention center, the fact that the rooms open to the outside, the fact that the resort was too spread out, etc. etc.