Most scaffolding has been removed from Disney Vacation Club’s new Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows since our last construction update.
Island Tower Monorail Side
From the Walt Disney World Monorail, we saw work on a foundation in the ground next to the Aotearoa building. Crews have carved a rectangular ditch out of the ground. Steel frames are in concrete squares, with rebar sticking up out of the ground and long pieces of wood across the top.
The foundation is several yards from the actual building, where a stone wall is under construction. There used to be scaffolding surrounding the southern wing of the building, but now there is only scaffolding along the stone wall, which juts out of the wing and then runs parallel to it.
From Aotearoa, we got another view of the wall, which is made of sandy concrete bricks. It’s next to an opening in the building big enough for construction vehicles. Inside, wood railings run along a concrete platform.
Though scaffolding is gone from this wing, construction work isn’t complete on the exterior. One vertical wall still hasn’t been painted and there are no railings on the balconies. This work may be completed without scaffolding or scaffolding may go back up at a later time.
The center of the tower has been painted the same beige base color as most of the tower. The paint was relatively fresh during our visit as there were still tarps covering the sliding glass doors of the balconies.
The Monorail side of the north wing has yet to be completely painted. There was previously scaffolding covering this side but it’s gone for now.
The roof overhang is a pale red color. The ceilings of the first floor alcoves are brown.
The end of the building, including the roof overhang, has been painted.
Island Tower Lagoon Side
Scaffolding is also gone from the side of the building facing the Seven Seas Lagoon. Again, exterior work isn’t complete — the north wing still has white primer exposed and there are unpainted walls on the south wing.
We saw two crew members in a lift working on the overhang of the north end. They had installed weather-proof sheathing on the overhang facing the lagoon.
The rest of the overhang on the north wing is now covered in sheathing and red paint. The overhangs on the center of the building is still just steel and fascia.
Two lare white debris chutes run from the roof down to the ground.
The most notable recent additions to the tower are the permanent balcony railings. Until now, only temporary wooden railings have been used while crew members worked, and some of those temporary railings remain.
But three balconies next to each other now have metal railings. They’re covered in plastic to keep them protected but seem to have designs made up of diagonal lines. These railings may be tested before more are installed on the building.
The outside of the square opening in the building has mostly been painted yellow. It was white with primer when we last visited. But work isn’t done as some sheathing is exposed on the right side.
A crew member was in a lift nearby with several steel beams.
We looked at the construction of the Island Tower’s pool and restaurant from the Fiji and Tuvalu buildings next door. The tower’s private pool is located next to the south wing on the lagoon side.
Large plastic tubes are on the ground near the pool for future construction.
The pool’s concrete foundation has been done for a while but only recently did crews start painting the edge blue. Now tiles have been installed over the blue stripes.
There are two aqua blue stripes around the pool’s rim, made up of small tiles. Larger white tiles in various spots also mark the pool’s depth.
Darker blue tiles line what looks like three shelves — possibly the future location of pool stairs.
There are also dark blue stripes along the tops of the three concrete steps.
Several crew members were working on a foundation near the pool. It looks like a large square, with wood planks around the edges.
It’s deep in the ground a few yards from the pool, perhaps for a future structure like a pool bar.
A large opening in the tower’s wall near the pool has been filled with glass windows and a doorway. This is likely going to be an entrance to the pool deck.
The seam between the south wing and center of the building has yet to be painted. We also noticed a grid of dots near the top of the seam.
This is where more steel beams for the overhang will be installed.
Dots also line the opposite wall, where steel beams connect to the already painted overhang of the south wing.
A restaurant with a bar is under construction on the first floor of Island Tower. The bar area has a circular gazebo-like shape. The first roof of that gazebo has been covered with paneling.
A curved wood wall now surrounds the circular space. There is already a concrete wall behind this wood.
Crew members were working inside and on the roof of the bar, including one crew member in a lift. More vertical beams have been added all the way around the bar’s tower.
White tarps cover the windows behind the roof, protecting them from construction debris.
A steel frame has been added to some of the columns. Small squares of steel line the edge of the roof. Inside, the actual bar is outlined with a circle of steel beams.
More paneling covers part of the restaurant’s roof. Steel frames encase the columns on that side, giving them triangular shapes.
Lastly, we noticed the beginnings of another new foundation right next to the Fiji building. A rectangle is outlined in wood. A rebar grid fills the rectangle.
The Island Tower is projected to open on December 17. Check out a first look at guest rooms.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
The post Most Scaffolding Removed, Balcony Railings & Pool Tiles Installed on DVC Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort appeared first on WDW News Today.
