Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
...exactly
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Disney hotels are becomes less themed and more generic. Why?
- Thread starter Marc Davis Fan
- Start date
...exactly
Tomi-Rocket
Well-Known Member
I have been increasingly perplexed by the powers that be who are deciding to make such generic design decisions for the hotels. You couldn’t tell a Disney room from a Holiday Inn or Hilton room. WHY?? I used to LOVE all the hidden Mickey’s and Disney touches in all the class of hotels. Deluxe used to be more subtle and the values much more overt. So now we’re getting boring, generic rooms that are more expensive than offsite AND people staying offsite are getting ADR’S at 180 days and EMH...so what exactly IS the benefit of staying on property anymore? I keep waiting for new executives who will want to go back to the ”Disney Magic”. I may not live to see it. 
daisyduckie
Well-Known Member
Which is not $300 a night.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
What’s the average?
$ 260? $275?
Big difference...considering port Orleans shouldn’t be more than maybe $175...maybe...
I don't now about Port Orleans, but what I have seen of the changes to the values, I like the change. The floors feel cleaner, though they really are not. I would walk on the floor barefoot to the shower, and every time there would be a dirt splotch as soon as my foot hit the wet bottom of the shower. I like the subtleness of the décor in the rooms, it doesn't hit you in the face any longer. Also, at pop with the walk in dual head showers, all I can say is awesome. The Murphy beds are also a plus for us, there is only two of us most of the time, so the second bed is a waste.
All of these changes are just a sign of the times, the new houses being built or the remodeling being done has been the same way. Ten plus years ago my customers wanted very detailed trim and columns and fancy decorated, gaudy theater rooms. And though I do less construction today, projects have a cleaner look. Too the point where casings around the windows have been removed in favor of drywall finished windows.
All of these changes are just a sign of the times, the new houses being built or the remodeling being done has been the same way. Ten plus years ago my customers wanted very detailed trim and columns and fancy decorated, gaudy theater rooms. And though I do less construction today, projects have a cleaner look. Too the point where casings around the windows have been removed in favor of drywall finished windows.
JIMINYCR
Well-Known Member
Renovating the rooms and making them blander doesnt bother me too much because I'm more concerned that the Disney touches are still being found around the rest of the resort. I have to say I do like the hardwood floors better. Walking into our POFQ room, the one detail I did miss was the POFQ printed bed spreads that had always been there. I dont spend too much time in the room so as far as I'm concerned, Disney can save money there if they are using it in other places.
Pirate Magic
Well-Known Member
I just stayed at POP. I like the extra outlets, the shower, the sliding door (instead of the curtain) in the sink area with the lighted mirror. But the in your face theming outside does not fit the inside with just a picture of Mickey in one headboard and Pluto sleeping in the other. Also the Murphy bed is slightly longer than the stationary bed ( which we all kept walking into). There was not a lot of room before the renovation now there is even less. I feel that you are paying a lot more to be in that bubble even in the value resort. Also the housekeeping (or mousekeeping) is not what it use to be, especially when you have 4 adults in a room and you have call for toilet paper after the room has been so called serviced. The magic is gone, sorry Disney it maybe the bottom line for you, but not for me.
...or sell-off hotel ops, should the current management decide that running hotels is not a core competency of an entertainment company...
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Disney NEVER wanted to be a hotel operator...it was always a string of decisions that constituted “necessary evils”...the only exception was Eisner circa 87-97...but then they became timeshare happy...which grated on them because timeshares are low overhead and a whole heap of guaranteed revenue. Eisner was more of a tactician...even as his head went outta whack. Iger is the sitcom guy...no nuance. Believe what you have seen.
That’s a good point. It’s easy to overlook the conservation easements, unsuitable areas, etc., from the outside. But I wish they at least tried to retain the design strategy used for, say, Grand Floridian, Grand Californian, Wilderness Lodge, and the like: relatively compact compared with places like Poly and POR (though not as much as a big rectangular tower, of course), but still immersive theming.
That’s true, they’re more “architectural style” than “story.” POR and the new WL areas are exceptions rather than the rule.
But that said, the style of all the hotels continues to the interior design (rather than just architecture), and guest room design is part of interior design. So just as it would weaken the impact of the architectural style to have unfitting interior design in common areas (and conversely, fitting design strengthens the aesthetic provided by the architecture), the same seems to be true for the guest rooms, even if perhaps to a lesser degree. I could certainly imagine ways to combine the “sleek” guest room design goals with unique-looking features that impressively carry a hotel’s theme into the rooms.
Last edited:
correcaminos
Well-Known Member
You lost me here. How is Polynesian spread out vs Grand Floridian.
Seriously whenever was Polynesian a large resort? I've seen it mentioned multiple times and I'm seriously confused. Makes me wonder if people actually stay there before commenting. I measured each on the map and furthest distance end to end POFQ and Polynesian are really identical at .3 mile with similar depth as well (under .2 mile each). GF is .25 mile but more square.
MinnieWaffles
Well-Known Member
I'm going to be the one person who actually likes the cleaner, more subdued rooms, it's why I like OKW. I like being able to go back to my room and relax after a hectic over stimulating day at the parks so the values hold no interest to me aside from Pop.
You're right, Polynesian vs Grand Floridian is an inaccurate example (Polynesian really just feels more spread out, and GF feels compact). The better analogy would be resorts like POR and CBR vs resorts like Grand Californian, WL, and the Jambo House section of AKL (not counting the savannas). The latter three designs (not coincidentally all developed by the same architect) include a fair number of rooms in a relatively small footprint. And designs like that could be compressed further, while still maintaining architectural quality that is far superior to a rectangular tower.
Last edited:
Jon81uk
Well-Known Member
A lot of the hotels did feel very 90s the old All Star rooms with the wallpaper frieze around the top felt a bit like a kids bedroom, I would rather have something a little more up to date. Also those heavy smelly patterned bedspreads got thrown on the floor before I got into bed and would often stay there the whole trip.
winstongator
Well-Known Member
I’ve heard they’ve outsourced some of the restaurants while universal does more of the restaurants themselves. Now hotels are the opposite. Disney operates a ton while universal has none. Disney giving up control of it s hotels would have many effects. Doesn’t WDW doe things at the resorts to help hotels fill? Who runs dme? Do those non-disney resorts care if people go to universal? Who owns the transportation?
Disney owns those floating hotels and is expanding their operation. What to do with them?
Of the problematic operations I’d spin off it’d be espn. If it’s not linked to Disney play (I see a naming link) I don’t see a huge argument to keep it unless the methods to make Disney play will be applied to espn.
What percentage of hotel guests in 1986 stayed on property? If the theming is down, when did it peak and how far down from that point are we?
yaksplat
Well-Known Member
We stayed at POR in August 2017. Our room was exactly .5 miles from the food court. I have no problem walking that distance, but when it was raining, that was a bit far. Also, that completely eliminated the quick fill up of the mugs. A half mile walk with 5 filled mugs was not something that i was a fan of doing more than once.
This past August, we were at the poly and we were in the furthest longhouse, Moorea, and the walking distance to go get an iced tea was .17 miles.
This past August, we were at the poly and we were in the furthest longhouse, Moorea, and the walking distance to go get an iced tea was .17 miles.
geekza
Well-Known Member
Overweight does not equal apathetic. I can only speak for myself, but my portly build in no way affects my appreciation for aesthetics.
As to the topic, I think some very rational business reasons have been mentioned already. Homogenization saves money and functional living spaces are in fashion at the moment. That isn't to say that I am happy about it. If I'm going to be paying a premium to stay in a Disney resort, rather than at a hotel chain off-property, it's because one of the things I expect is to have the "resort experience," which, to me, means attention to detail and theming that is specific to the resort in which I am staying. I don't think that has been entirely lost, but there does seem to be a creeping sense of "sameness" amongst the resorts these days. Refurbs tend to reflect the era in which they are executed. Heck, if it were up to me, I'd have kept the Contemporary firmly stuck in the 1970's, but that's because I'm old and am actually fond of that era. I know that I'm in a tiny minority, though.
LeighM
Well-Known Member
I like the renovated rooms mainly because the new style is better for my asthma and allergies. I don't mind my room not having a theme but it is important to me in the resort I stay at. I love the Port Orleans resorts because I'm transported somewhere else - it's a great change of pace from the parks. And I hope they never change them!! I stayed at Coronado Springs in March and I hated the look of the tower. It just changed the feel of the resort for me. Plus, I don't like elevators and I would never stay in a hotel tower above the 3rd floor anyway. It's just not me. I'm going to try Caribbean Beach next year, but I'm not liking the look of the Riviera tower or the Skyliner going through the resort. And the new lobby seems to be very generic and boring but I want to try it for myself before ruling it out and judging it too harshly. However, I do NOT like that the lobby food court is not planning on having lunch hours!! That, to me, is crazy.
Badfurball
New Member
We noticed the same trend on their cruise ships. When the Magic got a refurb in 2013, it lost some of its Disney for a more conservative, non-Disney style theming. They called it more elegant, but we call it boring! The adults paying for the cruise grew up with Disney and I would think that when they take a Disney cruise they would want Disney!