A WDW History collection
Resort histories
Walt Disney World hotel architecture, changing resort identities and the accommodation concepts that stayed on the drawing board.
Built resorts and proposed hotels belong to different kinds of history. Operating properties are marked as such; unbuilt proposals are identified explicitly, with uncertainty retained when the documentary record is incomplete.
Explore the relationship between transportation, themed landscapes and the places Disney planned for overnight guests.
In this collection
9 published histories-
Resort-wide / Resort
Disney's All-Star Music and All-Star Movies Resorts
Opening dates, phased construction and architectural history of Disney's All-Star Music and All-Star Movies Resorts, with their different themed sections.
Operating · multiple versions -
Resort-wide / Resort
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Kidani Village
How Animal Kingdom Lodge grew from its 2001 hotel into Jambo House and Kidani Village, with the DVC phases and room-count distinctions explained.
Operating · multiple versions -
Resort-wide / Resort
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Coronado Springs’ original village layout, the Pepper Market rename and the 2019 Gran Destino expansion, with historical and current features distinguished.
Operating · multiple versions -
Resort-wide / Resort
Disney's Asian Resort
Trace Disney's Asian Resort from the 1969 plans to a proposed 1974 opening, and distinguish its Thai-inspired design from the later Grand Floridian.
Planned, never built -
Resort-wide / Resort
Disney's Contemporary Resort
The Contemporary opened in 1971 with prefabricated rooms and a monorail through its tower. Explore its design history and the myth about removable rooms.
Operating · multiple versions -
Resort-wide / Resort
Disney's Mediterranean Resort
Separate Alan Lapidus's Mediterranean Village recollections from Antoine Predock's later hotel model, and distinguish both from the original Venetian Resort.
Planned, never built -
Resort-wide / Resort
Asian, Persian, and Venetian Resort Proposals
The early Walt Disney World hotel plans, their different themes and timelines, and what contemporary documents actually say about the resorts that never opened.
Planned, never built -
Resort-wide / Resort
Magnolia Bend
Magnolia Bend is an operating section of Port Orleans Riverside, formerly Dixie Landings. Its history includes the 1992 resort expansion and later room redesigns.
Operating · multiple versions -
Resort-wide / Resort
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Artist Point
The history of Wilderness Lodge from its 1994 opening through its villa expansions, and Artist Point’s transition to Snow White character dining.
Operating · multiple versions
The collection grows as sources are checked. Looking for another subject? Search names and aliases across the archive, or browse by place.