Overview
- Walt Disney Imagineering filed a second Notice of Commencement on Wednesday that names Balfour Beatty for “general construction,” indicating the office conversion has advanced to a new phase.
- The new permit references 211 S Studio Dr, which is the adjacent administration building rather than the former guest-facing hotel structure.
- Disney is converting the closed Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser complex into Imagineering offices to place more designers and engineers near active build sites across the resort.
- Reporters link the added workspace to major work now underway, including Monstropolis at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, a Cars project and a Villains area at Magic Kingdom, and the Tropical Americas expansion at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
- Disney has not given an opening timeline or interior details, and prior permits described extensive demolition and reconfiguration after the hotel opened in March 2022 and closed in September 2023 when leaders said it did not work commercially.