I just don’t understand this. Even on vacation, I spend a lot of time in the room - I even sleep there sometimes. I want it to be totally unique, something I can’t get anywhere else. I really don’t care if it’s stylish or in line with current design philosophies - if I cared about those things, I don’t think I’d be the sort of person who spends their vacations at theme parks. Besides, if I did care about those things, I could get them outside a theme resorts gates for much cheaper.
And there is absolutely nothing about theming that should be “dated, tired, or dull.” Actually, it’s spaces like the GF pictured here that are dull. As for dated and tired, WDW should exist largely outside of current trends. It should have the confidence to be timeless, a transportation. The execs inability to understand this gets us stores like the confectionary and rooms like this. Honestly, the defense that is emerging - I want theming, but not in stores or rooms (or restaurants) -confuses me a lot. Why go to a theme park?
When I shifted from staying at WDW to Uni about a decade ago, one of the things that bothered me is that, while the public spaces at Portofino were wonderfully themed (and the prices a fraction of Disney’s), that theming didn’t carry as fully into the rooms as at WDW. It’s very nice of WDW to make sure that’s no longer an issue.