Disney Skyliner Concept Art

Fresh off the press! Concept art for the Disney Skyliner- art for the cabs and art for the stations at Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and for the Caribbean Beach Resort.

The station at the Studios perfectly matches the entrance turnstiles and their retro-California groove! Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, here we come.

Over at the Caribbean Beach Resort, their station also blends wonderfully to its surroundings. It should be fun to see the villages from the air.

The Epcot station is at the International Gateway. Upon inspection, you'll see it gives a taste of France. Just in preparation for the new attraction based on Ratatouille. 

The Pop Century and Art of Animation Resorts will also have stations, but that concept art has not been shared yet. Stay tuned.

Speaking of toons, the cabins themselves are a bit of inspired fun. I'm sure this will be quite a popular transportation mode once it opens up!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Grand Elegance

Lovely, elegant, and grossly overpriced! The beautiful Grand Floridian Resort premiered during this 1988 to 1989 year of expansion and was almost immediately filled with guests looking for the ultimate Disney vacation accomodations.

Being of large family and a common sized wallet, we stayed at the Caribbean Beach. As it would happen, some distant family was staying at the Grand Floridian at the same time and invited us to a wonderful breakfast at 1900 Park Faire.

Driving to the resort, we were awestruck by the elegant entry filled with palms. The beautiful building took more than a passing inspiration from the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California.

This fine automobile set the stage for what we would see inside- and of course, a greeter was a new experience to be found on the Walt Disney World property! Something special was clearly ahead.
The interior lobby was stunning, and the view straight up just as spectacular!

The caliope at 1900 Park Faire filled the air with a touch of whimsy and victorian charm. The decor and the terrific breakfast were not the only attractions in the place.

Carousel horses and vintage prints on the walls. What a nice place to dine. An unexpected surprise- the characters made an appearance for free! Certainly that alone has changed in recent years.

Our happy little family certainly enjoyed the morning, and there's nothing like Chip or Dale to make smiles appear!

The manicured gardens and public areas invited our exploration. We gladly spent about an hour and a half or so walking around and taking in the sights. This is pretty commonplace for us, as touring the Disney resorts have become as much a part of a Walt Disney World vacation as the theme parks. We always schedule in time for a meal or a snack, wandering around, and just relaxing.

The marina was a quiet and pleasant place to stop. The very cool clock was a nice little touch. We would end of taking a water sprite later in the week, but it would be from the Polynesian Village (oops- Disney's Polnesian Resort!) instead.

The success of the Grand Floridian not only changed the physical face of the World, but it also showed Disney management that more expensive and exclusive offerings would be snapped up by a paying public with much money to burn. Regardless of your wallet size, a stop at this resort is just the thing for a bit of elegance and old world charm!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company. Photos copyright Mark Taft.)

Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort: 1989 Photo Report

As mentioned in my post of May 1, our 1989 trip to Walt Disney World was a first for many reasons: we had our children with us, it was our initial experience staying on the property, and Disney-MGM Studios had just opened their gates.

The first moderately priced property in Florida, one that was designed, owned, and operated by the Walt Disney Company was the beautiful new Caribbean Beach Resort. Althought it actually premiered about six months before our visit, it was still new and fresh when we arrived.

Unlike today's prices, the expense for staying at this new moderate resort was well under $100. In fact, I believe we paid $69 for five of us in one room. It was a splurge, (we had come on 4 out of 5 free airline tickets), but what a treat it was! The room was large enough for our young family with two double beds and one small crib for our youngest daughter who was under three. Perfect!

The marina was fronted by a pretty lighthouse with mini speedboats available for a reasonable rate. The beach was small but nice, yet it was the pool (below) that caught our eye.

Typhoon Lagoon would soon open, but for three preschoolers, the sight of a fortress and waterslide into a large swimming area was more than enough to thrill them. We spent a good number of hours both day and night enjoying ourselves.

The whole area was just beautifully designed and maintained. From the approach to the main lobby to the island buildings themselves, the theming was as consistent and lovely as the larger and much more expensive and therefore, out of reach, Grand Floridian or Polynesian Resorts. Much attention to detail here!

No on site restaurant existed then, only a decent sized food court. This was more than enough for us and provided a great quick stop for a light breakfast and late night snack. Besides, we planned to enjoy some pretty special meals at all three parks.

Over the years, I have been enticed each trip to consider returning to the Caribbean Beach, but with so many other resorts availble, we like to try something new everytime we can afford to stay on the Walt Disney World property. It will always hold a special memory for us. It was a time when our kids were young and impressed by the World around them, each day more magical than the one before.

(Photos copyright Mark Taft.)