As a kid I remember the Contemporary Resort near Magic Kingdom being iconic. It was the hotel you literally passed through as you took the monorail from the parking area to the Magic Kingdom. The Contemporary had a huge open atrium and the train literally drove through the building with a station inside. However, did you know that this large open atrium that is key to the amazing monorail views was actually inspired by The Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Atlanta?

The Contemporary Resort was designed by Welton Becket, a Los Angeles architect and personal friend of Walt Disney and opened in 1971. Walt wanted a futuristic hotel that showcased new technologies and building methods, perhaps a hint of what was to later come with EPCOT. For inspiration Becket looked north to Atlanta where the new Hyatt Regency had opened in 1967 and revolutionized architecture. They Hyatt was designed by John Portman and wowed with its soaring atrium, becoming a tourist destination itself.

Today such atriums are pretty commonplace, you can find one at almost any Embassy Suites, but once upon a time it was a radical new concept. The pinnacle of this is the Luxor Las Vegas pyramid which opened in 1993 with the World’s largest atrium at a stunning 29 million cubic feet. It also has a monorail, but it runs outside the pyramid, not through it. However, there is a Disney monorail with history in Las Vegas we’ve written about!

Original designs for the Contemporary atrium were more square and similar to the Hyatt Regency, but eventually morphed into the more A-frame structure the resort is known for today while still maintaining the open atrium. It was also ahead of its time in that the hotel’s 500+ rooms were constructed offsite in modular fashion and then assembled together at the resort.

Even today over 50 years later the Contemporary still holds up as being futuristic. The monorail going through it is highly unique and probably has a lot to do with it, but Disney has also cared for it updating the interior several times throughout the years. As an Atlanta area resident it’s cool to know that one of our local landmarks provided inspiration for one of the most iconic hotel resorts at Walt Disney World.