Pre-Ian Construction Work Continues at Grand Floridian
With Hurricane Ivan fast approaching Walt Disney World and the surrounding areas, construction work still forged on yesterday afternoon at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Crews continue to focus on the Boca Chica building as well as Narcoossee’s, the resort’s exquisite seafood restaurant.
The work on Boca Chica’s exterior and interior began this summer after the resort finished renovations of the Big Pine Key building. There, Disney Vacation Club opened more than 200 new resort studios that celebrate a “Mary Poppins” theme.
At Boca Chica, the bulk of the observable work lately has focused on replacing the roof. Completely surrounded by barriers, the enormous building on the Seven Seas Lagoon continues to be completed covered in scaffolding from the ground to its top floor.
Crews on large cranes worked to replace exterior siding. Similar to Big Pine Key, the exterior emergency stairwells also appear to be getting an update.
With fencing now surrounding the barricaded walls, crews yesterday also appeared to check boards for stability. Later in the day, Walt Disney World began announcing closures in advance of Hurricane Ivan’s arrival tomorrow.
With an extensive refurbishment underway, the Boca Chica work at the Grand Floridian could extend well into fall. Narcoossee’s closed in mid-July to begin its overhaul.
As of now, Walt Disney World continues to project the restaurant to reopen sometime “next year,” according to the restaurant’s webpage.
Stay tuned as MickeyBlog continues to bring the latest regarding refurbishments and the impacts of this week’s weather on the progress throughout the Walt Disney World Resort.
