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Lake
Buena Vista, Florida --
1805 Hotel Plaza Blvd |
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Described
in HJ Corporate lore as "the most ambitious complex for housing,
feeding, and entertaining tourists in company history," the
thirteen-story 216 room Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge sited in
Walt Disney's then new Lake Buena Vista "town" of motor
inns opened in the fall of 1972.
Upon
Lake Buena Vista's completion, and by the end of 1972, Howard
Johnson's hospitality had the capacity to serve six million guests
in its Restaurants and over half a million in its Motor Lodges
per year -- just in the Orlando area!
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| Howard
Johnson's employee orientation guide ca 1980s |
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Motor
Lodge #500
The Lake Buena Vista site was a culmination
of planning that began in 1965 when Howard B. Johnson began
to think about the impact of Walt Disney World on the Orlando
area. While the land was owned by the Walt Disney Company,
Howard Johnson's secured a lease to build and operate the
deluxe complex.
Initial
plans called for an unusual design which featured "four
rectangular wings which enclose(d) a landscaped courtyard."
In addition to a traditional HoJo's Restaurant, an Elizabethan
Room similar to Deerfield
Beach's was slated to open at Lake Buena Vista.
So
successful was the Lake Buena Vista location that a 108 guest
room addition was constructed in 1978.
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| Brochures
circa 1970s, 1980s, & 2000s |
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Creating
the Image
In 1974, the Howard Johnson Company introduced a new system
to streamline the 40 to 45 different menus that were used
in the 900 or so Restaurants. In order to solve logistical
problems, the new system used three mylar-coated and die
cut menu covers that accepted inserts. Photographs and illustrations
were used to reinforce a family theme and establish a mood
for lunch, dinner, or late evening.
The
Lake Buena Vista Restaurant featured the colorful menu covers
seen to the right. |
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| Institutions/Volume
Feeding: Sept 1974, page 95 |
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| Satellite
& aerial views: © Microsoft Corporation |
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Jewel
in the Crown No More
After the dissolution of the
Howard Johnson Company in 1985, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney
Company took direct control of the location and continued
to operate it under the HJ banner with its Restaurant remaining
a Howard Johnson's into the early 1990s.
What
had been Howard Johnson's proudest property saw conversion
into a Courtyard by Marriott facility during the middle 1990s.
Then during the early 2000s, the property was closed, and
converted again. Having become a Holiday Inn, the former Motor
Lodge was damaged by hurricanes in 2004 and can be seen below
while it was closed. |
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