News New Polynesian Resort DVC villas building to open 2024

[UNCgolf]

Like the “concept art” for Destino Tower, Riviera and Reflections, this looks like an image of the “blueprints,” albeit one that was first exported to SketchUp.

That doesn't surprise me -- I said somewhere else in this thread that it looks like they're working off blueprints for an upscale apartment building. I know you're not saying it's literally that, and there are some things that wouldn't show up on a regular apartment building, of course, but the underlying structure looks very similar to the kind of apartments they're building near me.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I don't think Disney is really chasing those people, at least not with builds like this. If this was a new deluxe hotel, I'd be more likely to believe that was the goal, but it feels more like they're just trying to get as much money out of DVC as possible.

Fair enough - the real indicator will be if that rumored MK-adjacent hotel ever happens.

I just can’t imagine Disney is cool with those guests forever settling on the Four Seasons, considering the very blatant effort to extract value from them in other forms.

 

[UNCgolf]

Fair enough - the real indicator will be if that rumored MK-adjacent hotel ever happens.

I just can’t imagine Disney is cool with those guests forever settling on the Four Seasons, considering the very blatant effort to extract value from them in other forms.

It's possible they've decided it's not worth chasing their hotel dollars -- that the costs involved in building/running a hotel for them aren't worth the effort. As long as they're still coming to the parks and willing to pay for upcharge services, Disney is okay with the status quo.

But who knows.

 

[GCTales]

That’s the Asian which was to be located where the Grand Floridian was built.

Uhhmmmm.. ooops?

 

[Sir_Cliff]

It's possible they've decided it's not worth chasing their hotel dollars -- that the costs involved in building/running a hotel for them aren't worth the effort. As long as they're still coming to the parks and willing to pay for upcharge services, Disney is okay with the status quo.

But who knows.

That wouldn't surprise me, in large part because Disney doesn't seem to want to compete on service. It seems they'd much rather focus on a demographic that will pay a high premium for the Disney brand and (maybe to a lesser extent?) proximity to the parks that they don't feel has so far been exhausted. If they wanted to compete for the premium or luxury travel market, they would create a premium or luxury product, which they aren't doing. When was the last time Disney actually added any significant new feature or service to the resorts without an upcharge and how many have they taken away in recent years? They're fishing for the sweet spot of how much they can increase prices and lower costs.

In this case, as you've said, we're talking about DVC, so it certainly the goal.

 

[SpaceMountain77]

For me, the Final Jeopardy category and answer are Walt Disney World Resorts and This is the expected lifespan of a Walt Disney World Resort hotel, respectively.

Now, because of DVC conversions, we know that three Polynesian longhouses, one Grand Floridian lodge, and the entirety of Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House) and Wilderness Lodge (Copper Creek) will be around for 40+ years. However, I doubt that any of these hotels were built with the expectation of achieving historical landmark status and some are certainly approaching the end of their lifecycles. Respectfully, the lobby may have been refreshed and reimagined but the island buildings of Caribbean Beach are over 30 years old and, in some places, the concrete and stucco show it. Personally, I think it was easy for decision-makers to raze Barbados and Martinique because the visible aging is known and, in time, the cost to maintain these buildings will exceed replacement.

Do we think that the juxtaposition of these additions with originals is because the originals may be razed in the future?

With the new DVC tower at the Disneyland Hotel, for example, could the stark difference be an indicator of the potential for three new towers at the resort? It does not seem to be designed to fit along with the existing towers as the Tomorrow Tower.

 

[SpaceMountain77]

Also, DVCNews is estimating the new building may have 200 - 250 rooms.

Unless the monorail beam and/or shoreline is redeveloped how is a structure of this size possible?

 

[ShookieJones]

You would think folks committing tens of thousands of dollars for fifty some odd years would demand more.

This bland generic look they’ve been offering their most devoted fans with the likes of the Rivera and now this…!!?? Very disappointing.

 

[lewisc]

I just can’t imagine Disney is cool with those guests forever settling on the Four Seasons, considering the very blatant effort to extract value from them in other forms.

Years ago I read, on the internet so it must be true, Disney discovered they could charge 5 * prices without having to staff the hotel to offer a 5* experience.

GF is themed to resemble a 5*. Good enough for some guests

 

[Club Cooloholic]

So, the conversation centered on Alligator Bayou and Magnolia Bend representing cabins and mansions on a southern plantation, respectively.

Yes, the possibilities ranged from razing Magnolia Bend, building new lodges, and retheming the overall resort to being the first resort to go the way of Discovery Island and River Country. It would close for an extended period of time, be razed, and rebuilt as something entirely different.

It's interesting because when I think of bayou I think more Louisiana and Cajun. The mansions are their own issue, maybe they can market them as representations of houses of ill repute... hmm that wouldn't work.

 

[BrianLo]

Also, DVCNews is estimating the new building may have 200 - 250 rooms.

Unless the monorail beam and/or shoreline is redeveloped how is a structure of this size possible?

Big Pine Key has 200. Doesn't seem like that much of a stretch for something with a few more stories?

 

[Club Cooloholic]

This is the Four Seasons in Maui.

View attachment 627358

Methinks you don't understand the man's point. He didn't want to visit a resort in Hawaii, he wanted to visit a traditional long house style place. Disney is about recreating or in some cases totally creating the images that a place evokes in our heads and making them a reality. Or well it used to be.

 

[BrianLo]

On another note, I wish we got more of a resort view concept art. People seem to think this building is bigger than it really is out of context.

It's no Contemporary/Bay Lake Tower by a long shot. We'd call it a mid-rise.

 

[UNCgolf]

On another note, I wish we got more of a resort view concept art. People seem to think this building is bigger than it really is out of context.

It's no Contemporary/Bay Lake Tower by a long shot.

Definitely not. It's much taller than it should be IMO -- 8 or 9 stories is way too big there -- but there's not room for the building to be sprawlingly large. That's probably why it's as tall as it is, though.

 

[BrianLo]

Definitely not. It's much taller than it should be IMO -- 8 or 9 stories is way too big there -- but there's not room for the building to be sprawlingly large. That's probably why it's as tall as it is, though.

I think the point I was making, every post of 'this looks so much like this building or that building' (save reflections) tend to be pictures of high rises. This is a mid-rise.

It doesn't look like a hotel to me, it looks shockingly like a Canadian mid-rise residential building that increasingly dominates more cities.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

So the Swan Reserve has 300 rooms (which probably translates to the 200-250 DVC rooms given 1 and 2BR allocations). It is 14 stories tall. So, a comparison would be twice that size (horizontally) and half the height. So, a second tower build over Fantasia Golf, in short. That would make a fairly significant impact on the area and surrounding views.

 

[UNCgolf]

I think the point I was making, every post of 'this looks so much like this building or that building' (save reflections) tend to be pictures of high rises. This is a mid-rise.

It doesn't look like a hotel to me, it looks shockingly like a Canadian mid-rise residential building that increasingly dominates more cities.

I think you just missed it -- several people have said the same. It looks very much like relatively upscale apartment buildings in here in Atlanta, and someone else said it looked like that kind of apartment construction in Melbourne, Australia.

 

[BrianLo]

I think you just missed it -- several people have said the same. It looks very much like relatively upscale apartment buildings in here in Atlanta, and someone else said it looked like that kind of apartment construction in Melbourne, Australia.

Ah perfect. I just don't agree with the Hilton and Fairfield Inn Comps... it looks super residential to me. I'd buy a condo in it.

 

[Robbiem]

You're probably right, and it was always a weird design choice to have it visible from within several parts of MK. Still, it doesn't ruin the aesthetics of an existing resort and they went a long, long time before doing something like that again, with one exception being the Swan & Dolphin.

The issue for me isn’t the style of the resort architecture which comes down to person taste but the overall resort design. The contemporary wasn’t to everyone’s taste but the original resort was its own thing And all the buildings worked in relation to each other. Adding the DVC tower and convention facilities spoiled the general aesthetics of the resort and made it look worse. Same with swan and dolphin- the hotels work well with each other but the new reserve tower doesn’t fit in at all

 

[Disney4Lyfe]

Ah perfect. I just don't agree with the Hilton and Fairfield Inn Comps... it looks super residential to me. I'd buy a condo in it.

I agree. Looks nothing like a Hilton or any such. Def reminds me of modern condo complex!