An important milestone for the construction of Disney’s new Art of Animation Resort in Walt Disney World was celebrated yesterday, when a “topping out” ceremony was held. The ceremony, a tradition in the construction and engineering fields, is held to celebrate when the highest piece of steel is placed on a building’s frame during construction. The Vikings began this long tradition by placing an evergreen tree on the top of their buildings, to celebrate the achievement and wish for good luck. Yesterday’s topping out ceremony took place on top of one of the buildings that will be themed to The Lion King.
“The hundreds of people we have working on Disney’s Art of Animation Resort are doing an amazing job helping us build a resort hotel that will really delight our guests,” said Gary Hoffmann, senior project manager for Walt Disney Imagineering. “The traditional topping out is an important milestone on a project that continues to run on schedule for an opening just ten months from now.”
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will be a new resort in Walt Disney World’s “value resort” category, and will include both standard hotel rooms and a large number of family suites. The resort will include four different sections, themed to the Disney animated films The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Cars, and Finding Nemo. The resort will open in early summer 2012. Booking is already available at the new resort, with standard rooms starting at $94 per night, and family suites starting at $248 per night.
