Court of Flags Resort

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Court of Flags in 1989 Court of flags 08 09 1989.jpg
Court of Flags in 1989

The Court of Flags Resort was a resort located in Orlando, Florida, USA.

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History

The resort was built by US Steel in 1972 and opened in 1974. It was a popular upscale resort when it opened, and later in its life it became more of a budget resort. In December of 2002 it abruptly closed and in 2006, it was demolished to make room for the new Citymark of Orlando; this never materialized. It was located near International Drive, on Major Boulevard just across the street from Universal Orlando Resort, and just across the street from the now defunct Mystery Fun House. The lot is now the site of Lexus of Orlando.

Name changes

The resort changed names a few times during its life:

Construction

The Court of Flags Resort is noted for its unique construction type. The rooms were stacked on top of each other and with framing and concrete added around them. They used the same system at the Polynesian Resort and part of the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World.

Court of Flags construction by US Steel Court of flags construction 02-01-1972.jpg
Court of Flags construction by US Steel

US Steel thought this new system of building would catch on and revolutionize construction but the system had flaws that were not known until later. The buildings shifted and settled. The air space between the rooms kept too much moisture and let mildew grow.

The facility for assembling the modular steel rooms used in the Walt Disney World hotels and the Court of Flags were by American Bridge Division. They produced 816 room units for the Court of Flags. 16 of those were for the suites, which used two units each.

The resort consisted of four separate guest room buildings. It housed a total of 800 rooms with 16 suites. It also had three pools, three restaurants, a lounge, and lots of conference space.

The Court of Flags six years after its demolition Court of flags July 2012.jpg
The Court of Flags six years after its demolition

References

28°28′42″N81°27′08″W / 28.47833°N 81.45222°W / 28.47833; -81.45222