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News Coronado Springs Expansion - Gran Destino Tower
- Thread starter P_Radden
- Start date
eddie104
Well-Known Member
The haven’t built any new resorts until recently here stateside. What about the bungalows at the Poly or Kidani Village ??
voodoo321
Well-Known Member
But this one sentence sums it all up for me perfectly. It's not just this hotel. Driving on property doesn't seem magical anymore. There isn't much difference from the outside world. The only way I know is the sign. The lines are blurred.
Sam Magic
Well-Known Member
Disneyland Hotel wasn't built by Disney. It was built by a third party in the 1950s because Walt couldn't afford to build a resort on his own. The first Disney built and operated resorts were the Golf Resort, the Poly, and the Contemporary all in WDW.
When Disney finally gained ownership of the Disneyland Hotel (and the legal rights to build Disney resorts in California) they originally planned on building a new Disneyland Hotel in front of it. That hotel was to be themed similarly to the Grand Floridian. Here were those eventually cancelled plans:
The plans were cancelled and what was built instead was the original DCA and Paradise Pier; two of the laziest and most 'un-Disney' projects ever. Which is why Disney has spent billions this decade in fixing these issues.
eddie104
Well-Known Member
You would think Disney would have torn those hotels by now already and built new elaborate ones more fitting for the original Magic Kingdom. I mean I guess they have their charm but nothing really saids Disney about them. The GCH is only hotel they built in Cali and it certainly looks like it.
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DrummerAlly
Well-Known Member
I'm sure this will grow on me with time, but for now, I can't help but think that it just looks like a nice casino.
Magic Feather
Well-Known Member
Retracting this statement. Meeting/Boardrooms were added on the Lower Lobby level of the tower, as well as Destino Plaza, an outdoor event space.
Rteetz
Well-Known Member
I can see Destino working in a major metro area.
GlacierGlacier
Well-Known Member
Have a nighttime shot, Courtesy of @Bioreconstruct
Are the iconic deluxe resorts really iconically Disney if they're just copying other architecture?
The Polynesian is copying Polynesian architecture. The Grand Floridian is copying lake and seaside resort architecture. The BoardWark and Yacht & Beach Club are also simply copying lake and seaside architecture. Wilderness Lodge is copying Pacific Northwest architecture. All those supposedly iconically Disney resorts can be just as much savaged for being seen anywhere else that is by the shore or at a national park.
Just like the Gran Destino is savaged for being seen like a Vegas hotel: "I've seen it elsewhere, therefor, it ain't Disney!!!" And I've seen most of Disney's deluxe resorts elsewhere. And they ain't "Disney" originals.
Disney purposely stole the resort aesthetics from other resorts because, you know, they want to show they have resorts!!
And we all know we're talking about Disney, here, right? Where most of their iconic IP is ripped off from the public domain (princesses) or purchased IP license from popular existing IP (Bambi, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins)? Disney did the same exact thing with their legacy resorts: copy and paste. Only the Contemporary can be seen as a novel build (and aside from the grand gesture of the monorail passing through the lobby... leaves a lot to be desired).
The only architecturally daring and unique Disney resorts are the Swan and Dolphin.
The Polynesian is copying Polynesian architecture. The Grand Floridian is copying lake and seaside resort architecture. The BoardWark and Yacht & Beach Club are also simply copying lake and seaside architecture. Wilderness Lodge is copying Pacific Northwest architecture. All those supposedly iconically Disney resorts can be just as much savaged for being seen anywhere else that is by the shore or at a national park.
Just like the Gran Destino is savaged for being seen like a Vegas hotel: "I've seen it elsewhere, therefor, it ain't Disney!!!" And I've seen most of Disney's deluxe resorts elsewhere. And they ain't "Disney" originals.
Disney purposely stole the resort aesthetics from other resorts because, you know, they want to show they have resorts!!
And we all know we're talking about Disney, here, right? Where most of their iconic IP is ripped off from the public domain (princesses) or purchased IP license from popular existing IP (Bambi, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins)? Disney did the same exact thing with their legacy resorts: copy and paste. Only the Contemporary can be seen as a novel build (and aside from the grand gesture of the monorail passing through the lobby... leaves a lot to be desired).
The only architecturally daring and unique Disney resorts are the Swan and Dolphin.
Jon81uk
Well-Known Member
Which is also why they have not aged as well in my opinion, they are very much products of their time.
larryz
I'm Just A Tourist!
Of course Paradise Pier is "un-Disney" -- they bought it from a Japanese company in 1995.
And my point about the Disneyland Hotel Tower Complex is the remarkably sterile external design... they are clearly foreshadowing Epcot's Big Blue Box.
xdan0920
Think for yourselfer
Maybe, and this is just me spitballing here....
You are not the lone arbiter of what people like? Or expect at WDW?
I don't like a Vegas style tower hotel rising up out of the middle of WDW. That's just me. Why does that opinion offend you?
larryz
I'm Just A Tourist!
I don't think your opinion offends as much as the idea of complaining about the appearance of a resort hotel in a resort made up of resort hotels and theme parks.
xdan0920
Think for yourselfer
Why though? What are we even doing here? Aren't we all here to share our opinions on these things? I love Old Key West, I am not yelling at people who hate it and calling them morons(paraphrasing). Ya know what I mean?
I think you completely missed the point of what he said. I'm sorry, I don't think, I know you missed the point of what he said.
xdan0920
Think for yourselfer
Nah, I got it loud and clear.
Jon81uk
Well-Known Member
I agree with this.
The only hotel at WDW that is iconicically Disney is the Contemporary, where else in the world can you ride a monorail through a hotel?
I agree the Polynesian is classically Disney, but is not particularly unique or a one-off. Similarly Port Orleans (particularly French Quarter) is very classically Disney in that it does a great job of recreating the architecture of a city district or area and invoking the nostalgia of that style of architecture.
The Gran Destino tower may not have the same ability to invoke that nostalgia, but neither do the Swan or Dolphin really.