News Refurbishment coming soon to Disney's Polynesian Village Resort - Moana details to be included

[rowrbazzle]

I did say unless they were adding something more... And I think removing the top beams even in this art diminishes the bold skyline of the building. One small piece of concept art does not tell the tale... I like the patterned screens on the monorail station and the new facade gable...but those two things add literally nothing to the arrival experience as they cannot be seen on arrival... Yes it will look nice from the parking lot....But Honestly I would rather they spend the money on something that really matters to the guest experience...
Create a themed restaurant to match Trader Sam's, Re-do the Luau Cove making it a spectacular immersive setting, Add more detail and style to the guest areas...

I'd like to see a new restaurant at the resort too.

I assume the Moana-inspired changes will add new details and styles to the guest areas. MagicFeather says primarily the rooms. We'll just have to wait and see what those look like.

 

[lazyboy97o]

View attachment 500074

I saw this watercolor rendering on Genesis Studios website. They were hired by the architecture firm HHCP. HHCP apparently designed the American Adventure pavillion.

Obviously this rendering was of a more ambitious tower project, maybe related to the one @pheneix referrenced. It seems to fit the idea of a Grand Floridian sized building that has its own port cochere. Also, there's another equally sized building adjacent in background.

I thought it was interesting that the chandeliers in the porte cochere match the ones in the GCH, exactly as described in the blog about the GCH's updated porte cochere.

While this is not what's happening it's at least interesting to visualize what could have been, for better or worse.

Source: https://www.genesisstudios.com/portfolio-item/313069-hhcp-disney_polynesian-porte_cochere/

HHCP was the architecture firm for the DVC conversion.

 

[Doberge]

HHCP was the architecture firm for the DVC conversion.

So the rendering may be (most likely?) dated back to when tires were kicked around how to proceed with Poly DVC. Even in the rendering there are a ton of partitions suggesting all studios.

 

[note2001]

It sounds like they're going to re design the gardens/fountains below the station again. If there's less natural light then it makes sense. Sigh.

 

[lazyboy97o]

So the rendering may be (most likely?) dated back to when tires were kicked around how to proceed with Poly DVC. Even in the rendering there are a ton of partitions suggesting all studios.

I would not read too much into this art. Genesis Studios is a rendering firm, so the art is not really concept art like it is popularly considered. It is an end result of some level of design work, but is not a piece intended to inform and guide design work. More likely the exterior is a simple elongation of the existing longhouses to study mass and scale and not a representation of actual floor plans which may not have even existed when the art was created.

 

[Horizons1]

Not bad. It reminds of the art for the proposed 80s renovation

 

[MisterPenguin]

 

[MisterPenguin]

Interesting to call the old look “mid 20th century”; I thought the point was that the architecture was 1500 years old. I’d love to see a before from the same angle.

It was a mid-Century fad to adopt "Tiki" aesthetics. While there may be elements of ancient Polynesian art and culture, it was all adapted to an American sensibility.

 

[JoeCamel]

View attachment 500124

Same guy that did soarin' do those beams on the middle and end?

 

[tirian]

The fountain is gone, but it doesn't sound like the lush entrance is going anywhere. The gardens and waterfalls will still be there. The description says, "...a design inspired by colors, patterns and textures found throughout the resort" and that seems to be pretty accurate from the pictures. The cladding on the top mirrors that on the sides of the longhouses. The high peak is consistent with some of the entrances to the longhouses and the entrance and shades at the quiet pool.

To me it looks like an improvement from the existing look.

The exterior fountains will stay and the new entrance could be beautiful. As I said, it depends on the cladding.

 

[tirian]

It was a mid-Century fad to adopt "Tiki" aesthetics. While there may be elements of ancient Polynesian art and culture, it was all adapted to an American sensibility.

Yep, it was a California thing.

As long as nobody pretends it’s museum-authentic, there’s nothing wrong with that.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Yep, it was a California thing. As long as nobody pretended it was authentic, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Everything I know about Tiki culture I learned from The Brady Bunch.

 

[_caleb]

Yep, it was a California thing. As long as nobody pretended it was authentic, there’s nothing wrong with that.

I agree. Originally, tiki was just decor loosely inspired by the South Pacific, and it evolved into a subculture. It's meant to feel exotic, but it's not an authentic culture, per se. The most popular tiki decor is also mid-century (Trader Sam's at the Disneyland Hotel, The Poly, etc.), but there are other expressions of the genre.

 

[surfsupdon]

Is this project a need, or something superfluous? Out of all the Resorts, I do not look at Poly as one that needs major improvements.
Although trivial and mostly minor, let’s get hot tubs and a waterslide at all Values and a new landscaping package to Contemporary and BLT.

I like the way the rendering looks, but I don’t dislike what is currently there.

 

[Tuvalu]

Is this project a need, or something superfluous? Out of all the Resorts, I do not look at Poly as one that needs major improvements.

I can vouch for the monorail station as a NEED. When we were there last month (before the refurb was announced) my husband encountered several loose boards on the platform and commented that it was unsafe. Additionally, security screening has been moved inside the building (and off the platform) which is okay during reduced crowds, but will be a total mess when things return to normal. I imagine a new screening area will be incorporated into the changes.

 

[DisneyOutsider]

I can vouch for the monorail station as a NEED. When we were there last month (before the refurb was announced) my husband encountered several loose boards on the platform and commented that it was unsafe. Additionally, security screening has been moved inside the building (and off the platform) which is okay during reduced crowds, but will be a total mess when things return to normal. I imagine a new screening area will be incorporated into the changes.

I agree with this. I'd imagine that the maintenance coming to the monorail station could just about be classified as "emergency" and probably what prompted this renovation in the first place.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Is this project a need, or something superfluous? Out of all the Resorts, I do not look at Poly as one that needs major improvements.
Although trivial and mostly minor, let’s get hot tubs and a waterslide at all Values and a new landscaping package to Contemporary and BLT.

I like the way the rendering looks, but I don’t dislike what is currently there.

Id add to this a complete gut job of the GF lobby and the Grand Canyon Concourse at Contemporary(but dont touch the mural)

 

[wdwmagic]

Looks like the construction materials are starting to arrive.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Looks like the construction materials are starting to arrive.

View attachment 500521


View attachment 500522

That was quick!

 

[_caleb]

That was quick!

Narrator: ”And that was the last time anyone said that about this project.“