Flamingo Crossings, also known as Flamingo Crossings Town Center or Flamingo Crossings Village, is an outdoor shopping, dining, residential, and entertainment complex at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Winter Garden, Florida in Orange County. First announced by Disney in 2007, the complex officially opened in 2021 with an initial phase of businesses, with more planned in future development.
Background
The Walt Disney Company first announced the development of a new entertainment district in 2007, to be called Flamingo Crossings. Disney designated land located directly outside what is called the Western Entrance Gateway located on Western Way behind Animal Kingdom. Shortly after the announcement and initial planning, the Great Recession of 2008 hindered development plans, and Disney shifted their focus to the re-development of the Downtown Disney area into Disney Springs. The first business to open in the area was the two connected Marriott International hotels, Towneplace Suites and Springhill Suites. Construction began in 2014 and the hotels opened in 2016. Development was also stalled while construction of the Western Way extension to Avalon Road was to be completed. The new extension opened in 2019. Development was further stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, with businesses deferring their opening plans into 2022 and 2023. Western Way is planned to be extended even further onto Highway 27, bringing more business to the fast-growing area known as Horizons West.
History
The land on which Flamingo Crossings was built was originally all orange grove farms. The main road in the development is named Hartzog Road, named after William Hartzog (1916–2009), who was a long-time landowner and businessman in the area and created the road from clay from his citrus farm. Disney did not initially own the land this far west of property but began purchasing it from local landowners in the 1990s, one of whom was Everette Fischer (1933–2021) former manager of the Winter Garden Citrus Growers Association. Disney had also developed the former Crossroads Shopping Center located near Disney Springs in the 1980s, geared toward Disney College Program Cast Members and guests staying in local resorts on Hotel Plaza Blvd. Crossroads was closed and demolished in 2021. The Flamingo Crossings development is located just north of the Orange Lake Resort & Golf Club by Holiday Inn on Sandpiper Landing Way, which was built by Kemmons Wilson in 1982, before Disney World expanded west with Disney's Animal Kingdom in 1998. The Florida State Road 429 was built using Eminent domain through the Orange Lake Resort property.
Development
Walt Disney Imagineering filed the trademark for the Flamingo Crossing name and insignia in 2015. The Reedy Creek Improvement District (now the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District) approved further enhancements to the area including two skywalks, for guests and Cast Members to safely cross both sides of the development. A traffic stop at the intersection of Western Way and Hartzog Road was installed in 2021. Additional paving and enhancements, including the installation of a bus lane for Disney College Program busses, took place in 2021 and 2022. The roads within the complex are named Sugar Belle Drive, Flagler Drive, and Ruby Red Place. The complex includes a community exposition hall for meetings and events, and an outdoor shelter. A garden area and space for live entertainment is also located at the center of the complex.
Flamingo Crossings Village
Housing for those participating in Orlando's Disney College Program is provided in Flamingo Crossings Village, a large apartment complex that opened in 2021. The complex replaced the former Disney College Program housing complexes, which were adjacently located in the Little Lake Bryan area, nearby International Drive, and the Vistana area, nearby Florida State Road 535. The village is designated into sections with a nature walking path connecting the two. The complex is divided into East and West, with neighborhoods named after Disney characters within the buildings. East Village is located off Hartzog Road, while the West Village is located on Rock Pigeon Loop.The complex is managed by American Campus Communities.