Crews have painted more of the new Disney Vacation Club tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, which will be called the Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.
Island Tower Construction
The Island Tower’s paint scheme uses shades of brown, tan, and beige. Most scaffolding was removed a few weeks ago but there is one platform along a retaining wall in front of the south wing, facing the Monorail. Crews have painted most of the wall a cream color that matches the building.
Since our last construction update, four railings have been installed on balconies in the center of the building. The metal railings are covered in plastic to keep them safe during continued construction and painting. Crews removed protective tarps from the sliding glass doors of the balconies after completing the paintwork. They have since painted around the windows and doors on the first floor, behind the porte-cochere.
Sections that remain to be painted include two stripes along the connective structures of the tower and another retaining wall. Crews started painting this retaining wall recently and it’s now partially a tan color.
They have also finally painted this side of the tower’s north wing. Until now, all of these walls, balconies, and columns were still concrete gray. They are now the same tan color as the retaining wall and will likely get accent colors soon.
There’s more to see on the other side of the tower, which faces Seven Seas Lagoon. Though there hasn’t been painting progress on this side, there are even more balcony railings.
There are now two rows of railings in the center of the building, also covered in translucent tarps. The railings appear to be painted a reddish-brown color.
A crew member in a lift was near this large open square in the building. The outside of the square was painted yellow earlier this month. There are stacks of flat material inside the opening, past a temporary wooden railing.
Some walls on this side are still concrete gray but most are brown or cream-colored. We can’t see much through the windows but it looks like interior walls are coming together.
Sliding glass doors at the top of the 10-story tower have been left open, revealing plywood behind them.
Some of the other balconies have temporary wooden railings. Another crew member in a lift was working on a large open square in the north wing of the building. Much of this wing is still white with primer instead of its final color.
Near the south wing, crews have been pouring concrete for a sidewalk running between the tower and nearby buildings. When we last checked in, only some of this sidewalk had been paved. It’s now filled in leading almost all the way to the tower.
The sidewalk runs next to the Fiji and Tuvalu buildings, past the future Island Tower pool, and then turns towards the tower. It looks like another extension of the sidewalk will head toward the Aotearoa building but construction walls are currently in the way.
There has been more progress on the bar and restaurant patio. We continue to see several crew members working on the first-floor structure.
A curved concrete wall surrounds the gazebo-like bar structure. The roof looks nearly ready for final paneling.
There are steel frameworks around the columns of the structure. They may get paneling around them soon, too.
A blue tarp covers wooden walls on top of the restaurant’s roof. On the ground, more wood has been installed where a more permanent wall will eventually be.
White tarps cover large windows next to the restaurant, likely keeping them protected.
In the seam between the center of Island Tower and the south wing, more plywood covers the window/door openings on these balconies. These don’t appear to be for rooms but may be accessible for guests to enjoy the open air. Concept art indicates they will have flowerbeds around the edge of them.
Compare the current progress on the tower with the concept art below.
Disney revealed the tower’s name and new concept art in May. They said that the Island Tower will take guests on a “storytelling journey that brings to life the spirit of Polynesia.” They also shared guest room concept art and announced the December 2024 opening date.
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