Top 10 Projects: Number Four

Hello all. There's no way around it, the blog and top ten list was kind of put on the backburner the past week due to finals and the rush of starting the actual game. Now that both are kind of out of the way, I think I can finally squeeze another write up into my schedule. Before we get to number four, I have a couple of things to say regarding the game.

One, just in case anyone missed it, the due date for the applications has been pushed back to June 5th. This is to give everyone who wants to participate a chance to get any sort of finals out of the way. I know the end of May is always a REALLY stressful time for anybody who is in school, which is a wide percent of our typical audience. So far, we have the two team leaders, the winner of the Favorite Project Contest, and two applications. This means so far, we have a cast of five out of the aimed sixteen. There's still plenty of spots left for ANYONE, probably including All Stars, who want to participate to do so. All you have to do is fill out an application. Keep in mind that there's plenty of time to get your application as professional looking as possible. June 5th is the absolute final deadline.

Alright, with these things being said, let's get back to the countdown!

Number Four: Paradise Pier Hotel Refurbishment. Team Merlin (MaterA113, Disneylover4ever, BigDisneyFan, HereWeGo, Fantasmic!, PL7764) Season Six, Project Six

In all of Imagineering, one of the things that is constantly glossed over is hotel pools. Alright, I'm going to admit, I don't even know if Imagineers are specifically the people to give credit to designing the pools, but whoever did deserves props. Just like everything else Disney does, they take the concept of pools, and "plus" them. This project was a bit personal to me. The Paradise Pier Hotel is my family's hotel of choice simply because it's convenient, affordable, and does have some pretty nifty Disney touches. The pool is no exception. While not really up to the standard of the other two pools at the resort, the Third Floor Pool nevertheless managed to conjure up a pretty decent beach atmosphere.

For this project, we asked the freshly merged Team Merlin (three Ansems, Three Yensids. This is where the season really started to get interesting) to take the already in place pool, and plus it. And boy did they do just that. There's not really much I can say about this project besides it was just a masterfully executed take on exactly what I pictured this project to be like. Trust me, I am very familiar with that pool when it comes to size, where everything is, etc. so reading this project was a delight to me. It was a delight because Team Merlin perfectly pulled it off. Not only did they have innovative ideas for the pool, they had ideas that pushed the whole concept of theme park pools to a new level. This is something I WASN'T expecting. Hotel pools may not have the same significance as attractions, or really anything in the parks, but for hotel visitors, they ARE an important part of their trip, so to see innovative ideas come out of the woodwork in regards to something that no one ever really thinks about was quiet the pleasant surprise. One of my personal favorites.

-Tiki