"Oct. 1 has been with us for three years, says Joe Mihalik, project manager for U. S. Steel Realty Development (USSRD), owner-builder of the first two hotels at Walt Disney World in Florida.
Oct. 1 is opening day. Walt Disney Production's $400-million Vacation Kingdom southwest of Orlando will begin collecting admissions while still putting the finishing touches on the first phase of a continuing project.
Last week there were 1,100 men working two 10-hour shifts on the Contemporary Hotel (see photo). Cranes were hoisting furnishings to outside balconies of the structure's stacked, factory-made rooms (ENR 12/17/70 p. 24). At the Polynesian Hotel, a 600-man force put in seven 12-hour days a week to get out of the way of hotel workers already on their jobs. And the Magic Kingdom, the amusement park itself, was off limits for all but authorized workers as clean-up activity hit a frantic pace.
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