News Disney Riviera Resort announced

DonaldDoleWhip

Well-Known Member
Interesting point. The Coronado Tower is a different (but related) architectural theme. Riviera is different from CBR. The Cove is different from the Swolphin. Reflections will be different from Wilderness. The last tower to match its nearby theming would be Bay Tower (which, absent the A-frame, isn't that match-y).
It's technically not a tower, but the Villas at GF deserve a shoutout here too.

The original resort was inspired by the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego; the new wing was inspired by the boxy starkness of Walmart, which they also have in San Diego. Observe the subtle but complementary differences - Disney is nailing it with these expansions!

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Creathir

Well-Known Member
Basically, if the Riviera didn’t tell you in writing it was themed, it would be hard to figure it out. Even Disney’s more lackluster resorts convey a clear sense of place in a way the Riviera does not.
Is this more the fault of the theming implementation itself or the topic?

The topic is fairly generic, spanning an entire coastline, crossing hundreds of miles and centuries of architecture and influence from two very different cultures.

To me it screams Mediterranean coast, with a very distinct French influence. Look no further than the balconies to get a sense of that.

The other resorts mentioned are very specific in their theme and direction. The GF being probably the most “varied” yet it was modeled after a very specific location in its own right, once again highlighting the theming with specificity.
 

xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
I know you are kidding, but there’s actually quite a bit to do at the resort when you consider it’s a short walk to CBR too. Between the two there are multiple pools, lots of dining options and activities like boat and bike rentals (I think they still have them at CBR) plus I’m sure they will have the regular DVC recreation options too. You can also hop the gondola to Boardwalk area for even more options. You could easily spend half a week without entering the parks and have plenty to do.
You probably forgot. We are supposed to be ignoring CBR. RIviera has quite enough to do on it's own. As a totally separate resort which just happens to be built right smack dab in the center of an existing resort. Please, going forward, ignore CBR.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
Is this more the fault of the theming implementation itself or the topic?

The topic is fairly generic, spanning an entire coastline, crossing hundreds of miles and centuries of architecture and influence from two very different cultures.

To me it screams Mediterranean coast, with a very distinct French influence. Look no further than the balconies to get a sense of that.

The other resorts mentioned are very specific in their theme and direction. The GF being probably the most “varied” yet it was modeled after a very specific location in its own right, once again highlighting the theming with specificity.
Screams Mediterranean Coast?! Hardly. I looks like a typical hotel with architectural influences from 2004' It screams Resort Hotel Anywhere USA... If you have to hunt and search for the meager details that are there, I would say they didn't do a great job in thematics... It looks like a nice hotel...but does not seem up to the old Disney standards that built the other deluxe resorts. It is great to have a hotel with Sky Liner access... but they could and should have done a nice job on the design...It is funny that when they released the original first piece of art how many were saying that it was not of the actual hotel, but just the basic idea of a hotel...ha ha... it is looking every bit as plain as promised...
 

Missing20K

Well-Known Member
None of this is true concept art. They’re all renderings more than likely built off of the Revit model.
I'd be willing to be significant sums of money they are all Revit models using Lumion or maybe V-ray for rendering. No good artist would ever repeat patterns they way they are repeated in this "artwork". Look at the roof tiles in particular, for example. Shadows are too "perfect". There is virtually no depth of field present. Nearly the entirety of each image is over-exposed, washed-out. Every single shutter is the exact same shade as the others of the same kind. The blue shutters that are in shadow still are bright royal blue. These incongruity's are what make people think "something just seems off" when viewing the renderings. It's very hard to quantify, but qualitatively people realize the image just looks strange.

There has been virtually no change from the early concept "art" to what the later releases show (other than adding entourage). They are still oddly framed, showing far too much detail in areas they shouldn't, and lacking any real artistic aesthetic.

It's not as though WDI is incapable of producing good concept art. The artwork for the new TPFKAE is leaps and bounds better than all of the artwork released for any of the new hotels. They obviously didn't feel it necessary to devote the proper resources to create the concept art for which Disney became known. And judging by how many people "can't wait to stay here" I guess it was a judicious use of the firm's top concept artists, as they were quite obviously not tasked with creating the hotel concept art.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
It's not as though WDI is incapable of producing good concept art. The artwork for the new TPFKAE is leaps and bounds better than all of the artwork released for any of the new hotels. They obviously didn't feel it necessary to devote the proper resources to create the concept art for which Disney became known. And judging by how many people "can't wait to stay here" I guess it was a judicious use of the firm's top concept artists, as they were quite obviously not tasked with creating the hotel concept art.
There is a good chance that these renderings were not created by Walt Disney Imagineering but the architect.
 

Missing20K

Well-Known Member
There is a good chance that these renderings were not created by Walt Disney Imagineering but the architect.
True. I'd venture to say that marketing does all the approvals for what "art" gets released.

Perhaps I should have used DIS as the entire company, as opposed to just WDI, when commenting on their ability to create compelling concept artwork. The outside arch firm may have created the renderings, but DIS still approves and releases them as their own.

Did WATG do all of the new towers? I know they've done other hotel/DVC work.
 

Missing20K

Well-Known Member
I honestly don’t know who is doing the new hotels. What else did Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (because that is a name that deserves to be said) besides the original Grand Floridian?
They did the Disneyland Paris Hotel, Honk Kong Disneyland Hotel, and the Tokyo Disneyland Resort Hotel. I was also under the (possibly mistaken) impression that they are responsible for some of the interior renovations at the hotels.

EDIT: They are also the architect for the Reflections DVC as well. I thought I saw their name floating around.
 
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nickys

Premium Member

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
So the first rooms have been declared at Riviera.



I imagine they will be putting out more details soon about points charts, pricing and the timeline for sales etc.

Can a tiny two-person studio really be called a "villa."

Or a "studio."

Marketing.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
All DVC rooms are villas. It’s the terminology they have always used. DVC resorts are listed on the WDW website as Deluxe Villa Resorts.

Doesn't mean the appropriation of the word makes sense.

Now, don't get me started on how in a theater with just one elevated audience tier it gets called the mezzanine and not the balcony...
 
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GoofGoof

Premium Member
You probably forgot. We are supposed to be ignoring CBR. RIviera has quite enough to do on it's own. As a totally separate resort which just happens to be built right smack dab in the center of an existing resort. Please, going forward, ignore CBR.
You can’t make me ignore CBR;) I’m going to walk over there just because they told me I’m not supposed to ;)

The only reason they wanted to differentiate the 2 is to make sure nobody was expecting Riviera to have moderate priced points...even though many, many people kept speculating that it would be a moderate DVC. Based on the initial points from the declaration it looks to be closer in line to VGF points per night. Nothing moderate about that. We need to see the prices per point now...I’m predicting $200 or higher.
 
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GoofGoof

Premium Member
The original GF is in there too. And Port Orleans. And the Yacht and Beach before their creeping de-theming. And all three of the top-tier hotels in Tokyo.

But that’s a high bar that the Riviera misses by a lot. I’d argue the list of Disney resorts that are more clearly, boldly, and satisfyingly themed then the Riviera includes Riverside, Coronado pre-tower, Boardwalk, Contemporary, Polynesian, as well as Paris’ Disneyland Hotel and Newport Bay club.

Basically, if the Riviera didn’t tell you in writing it was themed, it would be hard to figure it out. Even Disney’s more lackluster resorts convey a clear sense of place in a way the Riviera does not.
I’m not even arguing the theme is well done, just that it looks better now than it did in that first (non-concept art) picture released by Disney and it doesn’t look anything like my local Holiday Inn. I think the resort theme could end up being a lot more subtle than some of the more obvious ones.
 

pdude81

Well-Known Member
You can’t make me ignore CBR;) I’m going to walk over there just because they told me I’m not supposed to ;)

The only reason they wanted to differentiate the 2 is to make sure nobody was expecting Riviera to have moderate priced points...even though many, many people kept speculating that it would be a moderate DVC. Based on the initial points from the declaration it looks to be closer in line to VGF points per night. Nothing moderate about that. We need to see the prices per point now...I’m predicting $200 or higher.
The price per point doesn't change by resort. Unless there is an unforecasted raise it'll be $188
 

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