Meanwhile, Gaylord Entertainment Corp. of Nashville, TN says it still plans to open the 1,400-room Opryland Hotel, the 360-room Emerald Tower hotel and the adjoining 178,000-sf convention center in February as previously reported by GlobeSt.com. The three projects, with an estimated hard construction cost of $376 million, are one mile from Disney's main entrance.

Hilton Hotels Corp. of Beverly Hills, CA previously announced its was holding off on construction of new timeshare properties in metro Orlando. Hilton is undecided on the tentative opening in 2003 on a planned 1,000-room, $100 million hotel on 26.4 acres next to the Orange County Convention Center on International Drive in Orlando's tourist corridor.

Disney's decision to shelve the Pop Century Resort comes as Smith Travel Research Inc. of Hendersonville, TN reports preliminary September occupancy in Central Florida at 44.6%. In August, average occupancy was 62.1%. Some of the 427 area hotels and motels have been reporting 10% occupancies following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC.