Disney Headed to Hawaii

Disney has announced the details of new resort it is planning to build in Hawaii. The hotel, aquatic play area and spa will make up the first themed resort to bear the Disney name that is not located in or near one of the company's theme parks.

The resort will be a part of the rapidly growing Ko Olina vacation area on Oahu. The stretch of beach has several man-made inlets and already houses a successful Marriot resort and timeshare facility.

The Disney resort will have 830 hotel rooms and timeshare condos. A large children's play area will have décor and characters similar to Disney theme parks, while an 18,000 square-foot spa is also part of the blueprint. The resort will provide as many as 1,000 new jobs to the local economy.

Because it is not located next to a theme park, the Oahu Disney resort is different in concept from other Disney resorts. The spa and aquatic center may offer the chance for a self-contained or all-inclusive vacation, but visitors will be encouraged to explore outside of the resort as well. Oahu's west coast is famous for its rural beauty and idyllic coastline. The construction will try to capture these natural elements or, at least, not destroy them. .

According to Disney, there are no plans to build a theme park anywhere nearby. Perhaps this is a new Disney strategy to expand without building theme parks. Or perhaps Disney World Hawaii is not to far in Oahu's future.

It is a bit ironic that one of the first cartoons drawn by Walt Disney features Mickey Mouse riding a surfboard on a wave in Hawaii. The cartoon was shown in 1937, 70 years prior to the announcement of the Disney Oahu plan. If all goes well, the resort will be open to the public in 2011.

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