July 2010 Developments - 32

Design
Mountain Springs at the Mountain Villas, Welk Resorts Summary
Mountain Springs, a recreation center that boasts over 6,500 sq. ft. of surface area, capitalizes on the stunning natural environment the property has to offer. It is nestled at the Mountain Villas in the Welk Resorts San Diego property.

Design concept/theme
The design is based on modern mountain theme. The use of heavy timber construction, rock wainscot, and stucco provided the lodge look. The 80 Mountain Villas share the same lodge look that is seen throughout Mountain Springs.

Innovations in material use/ environmental compatibility
The setting of the facility is against the foothill of the mountain. The water feature constructed for the slide mirrors the outcropping of rocks. All paint colors used are earth tones matching the natural surrounding areas in their settings.

features were designed to save energy (heat and electrical). The main pool design is a gutter system, which allows the water from the pool to free-flow into a storage tank before going through the filter system, thereby allowing any foreign materials to settle in the tank. This system is more efficient to run and operate, and there is less costly down-time in cleaning the filtration systems. Mountain Springs also offers natural and amazing views overlooking the entire resort, which also features a spectacular golf course.

Disney Vacation Club’s Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort Project location
The project is located immediately north of Disney’s Contemporary Resort at The WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort, in Orlando, Florida. The project consists of a 14.5 acre waterfront parcel and commands great views in all directions, with views of pristine Bay Lake to the east and views of The Magic Kingdom® Park to the west.

Aerial view of Mountain Springs Pool in the Mountain Villas

Project location
Mountain Springs Pool & Amenities is located in the Mountain Villas section of the Welk Resorts San Diego, which sit atop 640 acres of beautiful landscape and well maintained golf courses. Most Welk Resorts owners live in the Southern California, making it an easy getaway destination.

Target audience
Splash pad water feature area

Sustainable bonus points
Initially, the design had to be approved by several sponsor groups in the surrounding area. Once the approval was achieved, the project was then presented to the County of San Diego; the county then required the submission of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). This EIR cost $6 million to complete and took seven years to get approved. Another impact involved the coastal sage issue—coastal sage is an endangered vegetation species in Southern California. To get project approval, Welk had to dedicate 13.5 acres of land to the County of San Diego as open space to mitigate the coastal sage that was removed with the new project. Approval and all documents had to be in place before any construction activities began on-property. Mountain Springs features a highly advanced filtration system. All of its water

The intended guest users for the resort are families, couples, and singles who want to enjoy the varied entertainment venues that exist at The WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort and the overall Orlando destination vacation experience.

Target audience
The target audiences are families, vacation owners, and guests. With the splash pad for children that includes a captivator cosmic cannon, doughnut spray, geyser, misty mountain, kokospilli, mist stick, power post, sunny flower, sneaky soaker, wally whale body, and a wally whale tail. It also has a “Zero Edge” 165,000 gallon pool with a volleyball net set on one end of the pool, a 130-foot long, 17-foot high slide with a slow-down lane surrounded by rock features, a grotto spa located on a lower elevation surrounded by rock features, a second spa located at the far end of the pool deck (with a fire pit), and cabanas.

Design concept/theme

The curvilinear, crescent-shaped tower blends modern architectural sensibilities with the trademark visual cues of its influential neighbor, Disney’s
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Developments • July 2010

July 2010 Developments

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2010 Developments