Picking up where we left off on Tuesday … I won’t lie to you, folks. It felt somewhat surreal to drive through that open gate and finally get to see the unfinished portion of Pop Century’s “Legendary Years” section. Where all the lawns were choked with weeds …
Photo by Jeff Lange
… where the temporary railings on the partially completed buildings were sagging and/or falling apart in places (FYI: Those aren’t metal. But — rather — pieces of wooden strapping. Temporarily put in place to keep the construction crew safe. Until the real metal railings could be installed during the final phase of construction)
Photo by Jeff Lange
Given that this is now considered a backstage area, off-limits to most WDW visitors … The “Legendary Years” section of WDW’s Pop Century resort is being used mostly for storage. Here you see some carts that are loaded up with towels & linens that will eventually be used over on the “Classic Years” side of the resort.
Photo by Jeff Lange
Given how quickly construction of this part of the project was abandoned in early 2002, it’s not all that surprising to find various piles of building supplies scattered about. Steel beams and trusses that will eventually be used to complete the other units that will play a prominent role in the “Legendary Years” section of the Pop Century resort.
Photo by Jeff Lange
And it’s not like some finish work wasn’t done on this side of the resort before construction was shut down. Below you can see a close-up of the enormous numbers that decorate the exterior of “Legendary Hall” (I.E. This portion of the Pop Century’s resort’s combination registeration, restaurant and retail area).
Photo by Jeff Lange
Obviously, a lot of the prep work has already been done over here for the units that have yet to be built on this side of the resort. For example, below you see a field that’s full of these oddily sized capped-off pipes. Well, those pipes will eventually allow the block of hotel rooms that’s going to be built here to tie in with WDW’s water, electrical and telecommunication systems.
Photo by Jeff Lange
So I guess what I’m saying is — when the construction crews finally get back to work over here on the “Legendary Years” side of the Pop Century resort … What with all the prep work that’s already been done, it’s not going to take the Mouse all that long to get WDW’s first all-suites hotel up & running.
But — that said — it’s not like the folks who’ll be working on finishing the “Legendary Years” wouldn’t be dealing with their own unique set of challenges. Like what to do with all these weeds that have grown up through the cement …
Photo by Jeff Lange
But even so … Won’t it be nice sometime in late 2007 / early 2008 to finally be able see guests entering “Legendary Hall,” getting ready to begin their stay at the finally-completed Pop Century resort?
Photo by Jeff Lange
When he’s not busy taking pictures of uncompleted hotels, Jeff Lange spends his time producing an extremely popular series of Disney theme park DVDs. Which are now available for sale at Jeff’s very own online store, JeffLangeDVD.com.