An explorer has opened the doors to an abandoned Disney World resort that has been left empty for the past 13 years—becoming a lawless ghost town that is now overrun with graffiti and garbage.
Josh, who goes by Exploring With Josh on social media, has become a YouTube sensation over the past few years while traveling to all manner of eerie and abandoned locales across the globe, from “haunted” hotels to burned-down mansions.
Recently, the Boston native turned his attention to the beleaguered Orlando Sun Resort, a once-illustrious property that sits just a stone’s throw from the famous Disney World theme park and was previously viewed as one of the area’s most luxurious hotels.
When it was opened in 1972, the property boasted what was once deemed to be a wealth of high-end amenities, including a ballroom, a large swimming pool, and a sauna, as well as more than 600 rooms and 27 suites.
Today, however, the hotel stands as a shell of its former self, having closed its doors for the final time in 2012, when it was left abandoned—before later becoming a blank canvas for graffiti artists and petty criminals, who have turned it into a rotting ghost town.
(@ExploringWithJosh/YouTube)
(Hyatt )
(Freaktography)
(Freaktography)
In his video, Josh reveals the extent of the property’s deterioration, showcasing enormous spaces with roofs that have caved in, leaving the floor covered in debris, mattresses that have been hurled out of windowless rooms, and a swimming pool filled with murky green water.
The YouTube star explains in his clip how the property now houses several homeless people, while also becoming “a dumping ground for people’s unwanted belongings.”
But that is just the beginning of the resort’s eerie history—with the clip then taking a turn for the sinister when Josh’s friend announces to the camera that someone had been “murdered” outside the resort just months before their arrival at the property.
“There’s about 12 homeless people who live here in this property, even though it has been abandoned for a couple of years now,” Josh explains.
“He told me that there were three fires that actually started throughout the property. It makes me think that this is no man’s land. There are no laws once you step in here.”
The crumbling state that the hotel has been left in is all the more jarring when its history is taken into account, with Josh noting that the resort was once a crown jewel of Central Florida’s tourism industry.
“Back when it was first built in the 1960s, it was the largest resort in all of Central Florida,” he goes on.
(Hyatt )
(Freaktography)
(Hyatt )
(Freaktography)
Initially, the property was designed to be much bigger, with plans indicating that its owner, the Carolando Corporation, had intended for the resort to contain thousands of rooms—as well as an enormous observation tower that would have offered incredible views of Disney World.
But the Carolando Corporation is reported to have run into financial struggles and sold the unfinished property to Hyatt, which finished its development, although the observation tower was never competed.
For several years, the resort, which was then known as the Hyatt Orlando Resort, thrived, becoming a hub for tourists visiting the park as it was just 1.5 miles away from the adventure world—which, at the time, had very few hotels of its own in which to house visitors eager to stay somewhere with easy access to its many attractions.
However, in the 1990s, the hotel’s popularity began to wane, thanks in large part to the Disney World resort’s development of its own on-site resorts that offered a number of perks aimed at theme park goers, from discounted park passes to free transportation to attractions.
According to local news outlet News 6, the hotel faced further financial woes after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, which saw many Americans opting out of air travel, resulting in far fewer visitors to Disney—and its surrounding hotels.
Just a few years later, the property closed its doors for the first time, before it was purchased by another company who changed its name to the Orlando Sun Resort and reopened the hotel in 2007.
However, bad luck continued to strike the resort, with local historian David Bulit explaining on his website that many guests to the property were left horrified by its outdated decor and alleged maintenance issues.
(Hyatt )
(Freaktography)
(Freaktography)
“Many of the reviews pointed out mildew and mold throughout the property, the pools—which were filled with stagnant green water—and how outdated it looked…” Bulit explained.
“While much of the staff lived on the property, they would go months without being paid, with one employee suing the resort for unpaid wages.”
As a result of the negative reviews and plummeting visitor numbers, the resort was forced to shut its doors yet again in 2012—despite its most recent owner initially unveiling plans to overhaul the hotel completely.
Since then, the hotel has remained abandoned, with Josh revealing that it has been completely overrun with garbage and clutter.
“I mean this has to be one of the most post-apocalyptic areas in all of Orlando,” the content creator said.
He revealed that people used to go into the once-luxe rooms and take the furnishing and bedding.
Josh revealed that the resort once held an overflowing souvenir shop, where families gushed over the gifts. It’s now empty and covered with graffiti.
At the end of the video, Josh claimed that a group of homeless men ended up chasing him through the grounds, revealing footage of himself fleeing the site.
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