News Disney Riviera Resort announced

eddie104

Well-Known Member
The whole point of a discussion thread is to share your thoughts...I was discussing what I was seeing...not other members, but thanks for taking a moment to do that...and I am sorry I am not excited about what I am seeing...How can one be excited about bad design decisions? If you want all sunshine and roses there is a Disney owned website where you can all breathlessly discuss each and every detail or lack thereof.... We were discussing this particular project...and man I WISH they would do something amazing and surprising and beautiful.... I would LOVE to feel positive about it.
Fair enough but I also have the right to say how I feel. Some people actually like Disney projects and look foward to them. The constant negativity, complaining and moaning is not only annoying but begins to take over a thread for no reason. This hotel may not be up to your “standards” which is fine but plenty of people will enjoy it.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
Fair enough but I also have the right to say how I feel. Some people actually like Disney projects and look foward to them. The constant negativity, complaining and moaning is not only annoying but begins to take over a thread for no reason. This hotel may not be up to your “standards” which is fine but plenty of people will enjoy it.
ok you have stated your opinion...
I have never moaned once...lol
and you are welcome to your thoughts ...
 

MickeyMinnieMom

Well-Known Member
BLT may not be an imagineering masterpiece, but views of the MK, Contemporary and monorail from ~ 9th floor can't be replicated. That's what I care about most about in WDW -- not what the building looks like for a minute before I head into the lobby.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
I'm not negating your point but at the end of the day I'm not too upset that a new hotel looks a little basic on the outside. We have plenty more that don't. Yes, the exterior can def add to the beauty/theme of any building but for me personally it's more about the interior (rooms, restaurants, lobby) and pool. I'm not booking a hotel based on the building itself vs. what it has to offer.
That is a curious response coming from someone that uses the Wilderness Lodge as their name on here...Obviously the weel themed lodge structure does have an impact on you...
The entire "Disney Difference" was built on going a step further...Creating beautiful and transportive environments....When it becomes pedestrian and un interesting, I find it hard to be a cheerleader. Will it be nice? I have no doubt and every confidence... Will it be a signature Disney themed resort? I am not so sure.
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Perhaps, but my bet is we get almost exactly what the concept art shows. I'm hoping for more, but I just don't see it. For me at least, the pool area and rooftop restaurant elements should enhance the project, not make or break it.
My whole point is the concept art shows next to nothing. A far away look at the hotel tower where a car would approach. Generally not the most appealing part of a resort. Nothing on the inside, nothing of the actual theme and really not even a close up look at possible details on the exterior of the tower. There are places like Wilderness Lodge or Polynesian where the architecture of the physical buildings is a major part of the show and then there are very well themed resorts like Universal’s Royal Pacific (which many people feel rivals the Poly on overall theme) where the hotel towers are just rectangle buildings but there are many theme elements to make the resort feel very Polynesian. See below.
Yellow building is the hotel tower:
ADBEA1AF-A1D6-4854-BF95-74EDB45BCF38.jpeg


The lobby has some great theming:
17103545-D3D2-4524-945F-9445F65823F5.jpeg

319FBE19-5E07-473A-A281-46A3529EBC58.jpeg


Plus a very tropical feeling pool area.
91920EC3-151E-49C5-94B3-7747DB71A43F.jpeg
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
That is a curious response coming from someone that uses the Wilderness Lodge as their name on here...Obviously the weel themed lodge structure does have an impact on you...
The entire "Disney Difference" was built on going a step further...Creating beautiful and transportive environments....When it becomes pedestrian and un interesting, I find it hard to be a cheerleader. Will it be nice? I have no doubt and every confidence... Will it be a signature Disney themed resort? I am not so sure.
You may end up being right, but I am still finding it hard to understand how 1 vague and undetailed piece of concept art can lead to the conclusion that the whole resort will be pedestrian and uninteresting and it won’t be signature Disney themed.
 

eddie104

Well-Known Member
My whole point is the concept art shows next to nothing. A far away look at the hotel tower where a car would approach. Generally not the most appealing part of a resort. Nothing on the inside, nothing of the actual theme and really not even a close up look at possible details on the exterior of the tower. There are places like Wilderness Lodge or Polynesian where the architecture of the physical buildings is a major part of the show and then there are very well themed resorts like Universal’s Royal Pacific (which many people feel rivals the Poly on overall theme) where the hotel towers are just rectangle buildings but there are many theme elements to make the resort feel very Polynesian. See below.
Yellow building is the hotel tower:
View attachment 316351

The lobby has some great theming:
View attachment 316350
View attachment 316352

Plus a very tropical feeling pool area.
View attachment 316353
Now you know every hotel Disney builds is suppose to look like the Vatican. ;) :p
 

eddie104

Well-Known Member
Disney’s Vatican Resort...there’s so many jokes there...I just can’t.

Wilderness Lodge and AK Lodge are the pinnacle of resort theming but Disney has done some other great resorts too.
The AK Lodge is my absolute favorite themed resort by Disney. I also adore the DLP hotel at the front entrance because it is just so beautiful and fits right in with the rest of that gorgeous park. Recently the Shanghai Disney hotel is also really nice with very good themed elements throughout.
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
I always looked at Disney’s Polynesian as an authentic look at old time Polynesia. Very natural, very real.

I look at Universal’s Royal Pacific as an American themed boxed hotel in Polynesia. Authentic in decor, but still Americanized and fake.

I’ve stayed at both. I liked both a lot.
I felt like the lobby area at Royal Pacific was a lot like the open air lobbies very common in Hawaii. Royal Pacific has glass around it (between humidity and rain they need it) but the concept was the same. Obviously the beach you looked down on was not on par with the real deal in Hawaii. That’s where the illusion ends. Poly has always been one of my top 2 or 3 at Disney but I was surprised how much I liked Royal Pacific.
 

BigThunderMatt

Well-Known Member
I always looked at Disney’s Polynesian as an authentic look at old time Polynesia. Very natural, very real.

I look at Universal’s Royal Pacific as an American themed boxed hotel in Polynesia. Authentic in decor, but still Americanized and fake.

I’ve stayed at both. I liked both a lot.

Poly reeks of 1970s nostalgia with a price point it by no means deserves given it's open campus style and the fact that it resembles a tacky motel. Royal Pacific offers a similar price point but with a much more luxury feel. Don't get me wrong, I think some of the deluxes at WDW deserve the price point. Poly gets by on rose-colored nostalgia and the fact that it's across the lake from MK.
 

pdude81

Well-Known Member
You may end up being right, but I am still finding it hard to understand how 1 vague and undetailed piece of concept art can lead to the conclusion that the whole resort will be pedestrian and uninteresting and it won’t be signature Disney themed.

While the concept sketch is based on a real model, so are the cartoon pictures of people with giant heads that they draw for visitors. We shouldn't take the details too seriously
 

prberk

Well-Known Member
I'm not negating your point but at the end of the day I'm not too upset that a new hotel looks a little basic on the outside. We have plenty more that don't. Yes, the exterior can def add to the beauty/theme of any building but for me personally it's more about the interior (rooms, restaurants, lobby) and pool. I'm not booking a hotel based on the building itself vs. what it has to offer.

And in that case, then, what would you say that the Bay Lake Tower offers by itself?
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
Poly reeks of 1970s nostalgia with a price point it by no means deserves given it's open campus style and the fact that it resembles a tacky motel. Royal Pacific offers a similar price point but with a much more luxury feel. Don't get me wrong, I think some of the deluxes at WDW deserve the price point. Poly gets by on rose-colored nostalgia and the fact that it's across the lake from MK.
Location Location Location!! And that is true of all Disney Monorail hotels...In the real world outside the WDW bubble, they would not be on par with a Waldorf Astoria except for their theming and location... Even though I loathe the lobby remodel, the Poly is still my favorite resort on the monorail line...the laid-back feeling around the resort is a nice break from the hactic world of the parks.
 

MickeyMinnieMom

Well-Known Member
And in that case, then, what would you say that the Bay Lake Tower offers by itself?
I know you didn’t ask me, but as a BLT owner, here’s the appeal to me:

— It’s part of the Contemporary — so contemporary design from the outside and in. Consistent with the original in that sense.

— Amazing views available of MK, monorail, lake, and other resorts at a distance.

— Walk to MK.

The second two are the things that you can’t get anywhere else in the world.

So I don’t care that the theming of the hotel itself isn’t uniquely Disney except for the artwork.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
And in that case, then, what would you say that the Bay Lake Tower offers by itself?
That is a good question...Without the rest of the contemporary Resort, it offers great views and proximity to the Magic Kingdom...I LOVE the roof lounge, and the mini lobby and public spaces are very nicely done. The rooms themselves are pretty nice though I will say the maintenance at BLT is lacking...We have issues every time we stay there... The building is clean and modern...they could have given it just a bit more of the flair of original main building... The structure on the top seems to bne a nod to it....
 

eddie104

Well-Known Member
I know you didn’t ask me, but as a BLT owner, here’s the appeal to me:

— It’s part of the Contemporary — so contemporary design from the outside and in. Consistent with the original in that sense.

— Amazing views available of MK, monorail, lake, and other resorts at a distance.

— Walk to MK.

The second two are the things that you can’t get anywhere else in the world.

So I don’t care that the theming of the hotel itself isn’t uniquely Disney except for the artwork.
I hate the brutalist architecture of the Contemporary but love the Monorail feature as well as the interior with its wide open feel.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
I hate the brutalist architecture of the Contemporary but love the Monorail feature as well as the interior with its wide open feel.
The contemporary has changed over the years...the original decor and colors softened the hard lines of the architecture with vibrant color and lots of lighting... The current incarnation seems too plain and lacks the excitement it once had... and yes! the Brutalist style comes through more now than when it was new...
1537967464960.png
1537967530400.png
 

MickeyMinnieMom

Well-Known Member
I hate the brutalist architecture of the Contemporary but love the Monorail feature as well as the interior with its wide open feel.
I prefer the look of the BLT exterior to the Contemporary. But either way, I love the views and walking to MK, so they’re winners in my book!

We’ve stayed at Poly, BC, BW, SSR and Grand Californian in DL. Pros and cons of each, but for location I just can’t beat BLT.
 

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