Disney's Asian Resort was a themed hotel planned for Walt Disney World Resort

Walt Disney World Resort

Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...

 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida

Lake Buena Vista, Florida

Lake Buena Vista is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being home to the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of two Florida municipalities controlled by The Walt Disney Company, the other being Bay Lake....

. Designed in the 1960s when the resort first was envisioned, it was scheduled to begin operation in 1974, three years after Walt Disney World opened in 1971.

Due to the 1973 oil crisis

1973 oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...

, the project was cancelled, along with Disney's Venetian Resort

Disney's Venetian Resort

Disney's Venetian Resort was to be a Disney-owned Deluxe resort to be located at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida that originally would have begun operation on October 1, 1971. It was going to be themed after Venice, Italy located on Seven Seas Lagoon. Due to the 1973 Oil Embargo,...

 and Disney's Persian Resort

Disney's Persian Resort

Disney's Persian Resort was a themed hotel planned for Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Due to the 1973 oil crisis, the project was cancelled, along with Disney's Venetian Resort and Disney's Asian Resort...

.

Theme

Inspired by the culture of Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, the hotel would have featured Thai furnishings and cuisine. Architectural plan

Architectural plan

An architectural plan is a plan for architecture, and the documentation of written and graphic descriptions of the architectural elements of a building project including sketches, drawings and details.- Overview :...

s featured a large center building more than 160 feet tall with a restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

 on top comparable to the design of Disney's Contemporary Resort

Disney's Contemporary Resort

Disney's Contemporary Resort is a deluxe resort at the Walt Disney World Resort. It opened on October 1, 1971...

. Guest rooms would have been arranged in a square around the perimeter on three sides leaving the side opposite the Seven Seas Lagoon open. The original plan called for 600 rooms but was scaled down to 500 in later revisions. Two-thirds of the guest rooms would have had garden or lake views. Fifty suites would have been deluxe rooms themed after Thai royalty.

Planning and construction

During construction of the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon

Seven Seas Lagoon

The Seven Seas Lagoon is the man-made lake in front of the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. The lake reaches a depth of 14 feet. The lake connects with the adjacent Bay Lake.- Uses and history :...

 in the late 1960s, an empty, square-shaped plot of land was set aside near the lagoon's northwestern shore for the future Asian Resort, which had been advertised in Walt Disney World literature before the property opened in 1971. An access road named Asian Way was created to support the site and later was renamed Floridian Way.

Construction of the hotel was scheduled to start in 1974 with rooms opening by the end of the year. Disney's 1972 annual report stated that architectural designs were soon starting. Several models were built and land surveys were conducted.

However, the hotel was never built and the land stayed empty until Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is a AAA Four Diamond Award–winning, Victorian themed luxury hotel and spa located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The property opened on June 28, 1988 as the Grand Floridian Beach Resort. The name changed to Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa...

 opened on the site in 1988. Since the Grand Floridian began operation, plans for an Asian-themed hotel at Walt Disney World Resort appear to have been shelved permanently.

Facts

• Category: Deluxe
• Theme: Thailand
  Thailand
  Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
  
  
• Location: Magic Kingdom Resort Area
• Original opening date: 1974 (never built)
• Rooms: 500 to 600