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Associated PressThe 2,800-room complex is designed to compete with motels, company officials say.
LAKE BUENA VISTA - Walt Disney World opened its largest hotel Sunday, after extended delays following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The 2,800-room, 235-acre complex, named Pop Century Resort, was designed to compete with cheaper accommodations such as motels, Walt Disney Co. officials said. The resort at the giant entertainment complex has exterior entrances common to motels as well as cost-saving elements such as self-service, cafeteria-style restaurants.
Disney's newest hotel, thought to be the largest in the state, is sure to create difficulties for small, independent owners of so-called "mom and pop" motels nearby.
"Any time a property opens, it pulls from somewhere," said Peter Ricci, assistant professor of hospitality management at the University of Central Florida.
Most of the Pop Century rooms are slated to be sold for $77 a night, but an opening teaser rate of $55 a night is offered in certain package deals.
Disney opened its first hotels, the Contemporary Resort and Polynesian Resort, at its central Florida location in 1971. It now has more than 25,000 rooms on the property and sales estimates range from $500-million to $1.1-billion annually.