Architect of Disney Lodges Passes Away

Jason Diffendal

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Architect of Disney Lodges Passes Away

Peter H. Dominick Jr., the genius behind Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Grand Californian Hotel, passed away last Thursday.  The Denver-based architect always said a turning point in his illustrious career came in the early 1990s, when he presented his design for the Wilderness Lodge to Michael Eisner, then chairman of Disney:  “During these halcyon years of Disney, when Eisner was being hailed as a modern-day Medici, we worked with one of the great creative companies of its time and collaborated with the most talented designers, working at their most creative boundaries.”

Full obituary at the Orlando Sentinel.

A great book about Disney architecture is “Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture.”

Author

  • Jason Diffendal

    Jason has been a lifelong fan of the Disney parks since his first visit at age 2. His biennial pilgrimages during his childhood accelerated into semi-annual visits by the year 2000, when he also Joined the Disney Vacation Club. Luckily, Jason’s bride-to-be was also a Disney fan, which allowed his infatuation with the Disney parks to continue, and ultimately culminated in their wedding at Disney's Wedding Pavilion in September 2003. Early in 2007, Jason began his involvement with the planning for what became Celebration 25, the unofficial fan gathering to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Epcot®. Soon thereafter, Jason met Tom Corless at a pin trading meet in New Jersey, and became part of the WDW News Today podcast starting with Episode 17. Jason has been involved with the WDWNT Network ever since, and can't seem to escape no matter how hard he tries. Contact Jason at jason@wdwnt.com.