Disney's Pop Century and Art of Animation

The Story of Disney's Once Abandoned Resort

by Sam. 10.27.21

In the book Disney War by James B Stewart (which is an absolute MUST read by anyone who's a fan of 'backstage' Disney), we learn a few things about the way the company once viewed on-property resorts. There was the super expensive Magic Kingdom resorts (Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian) and then kinda just everything else. The first moderate resort built was Caribbean Beach in 1988, but then they did something interesting. Other than signing a 99 year lease for Marriott to operate the Swan and Dolphin, Disney decided to develop on-property budget resorts for people who know their plans might not include a lot of hotel-ing.. but instead, a lot more park hopping.

Just get a look at that weird but oddly beautiful 1990's deco weirdness.

If you look at the history of how the resorts were developed, it's clear that Disney didn't know if they wanted to be in the hotel business with both feet. But eventually, the light bulb went off. Why let people stay in all the perimeter hotels like what happened in Disneyland, where you were landlocked with no room for on property hotels. And so All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, and All-Star Sports all opened from 1994 to 1999 and were a tremendous success.

In 1999, the company decided to develop their fourth value resort with plans to open in 2001 and dubbed the resort Disney's Pop Century. There would be 2 identical, mirrored halves of the resort with one being dubbed "The Classic Years", focusing on the 1950's to 1990's and the other half "The Legendary Years" - focusing on the 1900's-1940's.. Construction was well underway when tragedy ground the United States and all those trivial vacation dollars to an unforeseen halt. When the Twin Towers fell in New York, the future of resort development was put on hold throughout, so they decided to complete the more finished half. 

Pop Half-Century

The Classic Years opened in 2003 to much fanfare while the Legendary Years sort of just languished into oblivion. One of the running jokes around the property was that it was the "Pop Half-Century" since it only focused on the 1950's and beyond. Dividing the two sides was an hourglass lake, with the "Generational Bridge" supposedly connecting them. Instead, several buildings with the years listed on them (20's, 30's, 40's) fell into decay, with curious urban explorers meandering through the property shooting photos and videos that ended up on the internet.

"Hey Dad, what's all those old, nasty buildings just sitting there for?"

Man, how much did Disney miss out on those 1910's room decor ideas.

Kind of an unrelated note but interesting nonetheless, the Legendary Years property was once an ultralight airport:

Disney used it for airshows over Epcot. Check out this 1986 video of "Skylaidescope", a water and air show that took place in the World Showcase Lagoon. And this 1991 video of "Surprise in the Skies". Maybe it's kind of my opinion but these seemed pretty terrible. But neat either way.

I don't know about you, but 10 year old me would have been entertained.

In 2010, Disney quietly began preparing the land for new construction. On May 12, 2010, they announced the development of Disney's Art of Animation - a new budget resort that would essentially still be VERY close to what the Legendary Years were going to look like. In fact, looking at a map, the buildings are nearly a mirror image to that of Pop Century. With the success of some of their larger resorts with bigger families in mind, this resort would boast some suites capable of hosting up to 6 people. 

Today the resort is themed after four of Disney's biggest film's - The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Finding Nemo and Cars. Opened in 2012, the Little Mermaid buildings use 2 of the once abandoned Legendary Years buildings. Even the now unnamed Generational Bridge sports a Skyliner station for easy access to and from Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

You can barely tell these buildings were just sitting around for a decade.

Although people may call them budget or value resorts, they're really anything but. And now with easy access to 2 of WDW's most popular parks, both Art of Animation and Pop Century are always a good pick. Now's as good a time as any to plan your vacation. So why not save time, money and energy by booking with a former cast member herself? We've got the expertise to get you in the resorts and parks and do almost anything you'd ever want to. Best thing, it's no cost to you! Hit up our FB page HERE or email us HERE.