Disney to Build 500 Room Resort in National Harbor, Maryland

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts recently announced the purchase of a 15-acre site in National Harbor, Maryland overlooking the Potomac River for $11 million. The site is slated to be home to a 500-room resort, though Disney has not yet announced details or a start date for the work.

Located close to the District of Columbia, the National Harbor development is a 300-acre complex, which will eventually contain hotels, residences and a convention center.

Disney Parks & Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo and Peterson Companies chairman Milton V. Peterson looking at a model of the National Harbor development. Photo © Disney.

“As we began identifying possible locations to grow our business, the Washington, DC area immediately jumped to the top of our list,” said Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “National Harbor offers an array of entertaining activities for regional visitors, but it is also a family-friendly base camp, from which visitors around the world can explore the stirring sights and inspirational stories of our nation’s capital. We believe National Harbor has the unique opportunity to offer a new level of family-friendly hospitality.”

While there has been no formal announcement, it is believed that this Disney development will be a mixed-use resort, combining standard hotel rooms with Disney Vacation Club accommodations. This would follow the same model set by the resort currently under development at Ko Olina in Oahu, Hawaii. That resort is scheduled to open in October 2011.