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PHOTOS - Disney reveals new lobby design and Trader Sam's lounge for the Polynesian
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Father Robinson
Well-Known Member
When does the work of removing the water feature begin? I'll be there in 3 weeks and want to see it one last time. Will be the most bittersweet part of the trip for sure.
TinkerBell9988
Well-Known Member
Thanks for sharing all that you can, tikiman. Your website is awesome, as is your knowledge of the resort.
asianway
Well-Known Member
Per blue ocean strategy they know the rubes will come anyway. As I've said before the guests are the problem
Either out of ignorance or a lack of understanding, the very same rubes defend the madness while they get less value for the product.
Could he have been talking about the Disney Inn (Golf Resort)? It didn't open in 1971, but in 1973 - so was in planning/construction when the MK opened.
Any time now. Precise date is shifting.
Communicore
Well-Known Member
Why don't they just make this over just like they did to the Grand Canyon Concourse? Eliminate all traces of the 70's (except the monorail) and make it sterile and antiseptic. Add Stitch too, since he "belongs" there. Construct a huge food court like Everything Pop too.
The best way to describe the way I feel about this "re-Imagined" Polynesian Lobby is that I have such perfectly beautiful memories of so many visits over the years. Images ingrained not only visual, but the sounds, the smells and the overall blissful experience of the Lobby alone... seems as if they will be robbed from my memory with a picture of this new "under-whelming" re-do. This is like ripping the heart out of the Polynesian. This gorgeous, iconic feature breaths so much life into lobby and its guests! Yes, it could be improved -but not gutted. I too do not want to pay the large price to just be disappointed. This new concept simply stated is just not good enough, and does not live up to the dreamy, and practically perfect in every way lobby that has existed, welcomed and wowed for so long. Channel the inner Walt Disney "RE-Imagineers" and give us an experience that will draw us back! Not drive us away!
Gabe1
Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
That could be a great thread. Name the great fountains of yesteryear
prberk
Well-Known Member
As an architect who has already designed a few hotels (though none of them was built so far or I could have afforded the Poly a little more often) I can assure you, that the lobby design works, it's not about the positioning of the waterfalls and tropical garden (the "rainforest"), it's about the capacity of the lobby, about floor area and the size of the reception. Positioning the garden feature in the center makes pretty much sense anyway in a building that has an atrium design! A good hotel lobby in a holiday resort (the Poly is neither a convention resort nor an airport or city hotel) is not about rational functionality but about atmosphere, immersion and theming. Becket had done a brillant job there (not in the longhouses because the prefabricated room modules turned out to be a flawed design idea) in the late 1960ies, when actually the Tiki Culture was already in decline (Walt loved Tiki Culture when it was on it's zenith in the 1960ies, the Poly is one result, the Tiki Room the other) Today hundreds or even thousands of hotels worldwide feature an atrium etc. with a garden, waterfalls or other water features. The Poly was one of the first of it's kind in an era of architecture that was still dominated by the cold and functional International Style. The new design is far more functional, it reduces the lobby from a location where you like to stay and spend time (the German technical term is "Aufenthaltsqualität" meaning the quality of sojourn, how much do you like to stay at a place or room) to a mere traffic space, you rush through, the suites with the sofas to the left and right are not placed around something, they are placed a the side, out of the way. Everything looks like they wanted to create a runway for the guests. If I remember the time I spent an the Poly lobby just by sitting there, doing nothing but people watching and inhaling the atmosphere of the place, the new design is nothing less than a desaster. There is nothing to discover anymore. When you come in the Poly now, you walk around the rain forest, you want to see it from all sides, you want to find out what is behind, where can you go, there is something to discover.
The new lobby is a bean counters lobby, easy to maintain, functional, without anything special, without anything unique, without any magic, totally UNDISNEYISH! The mini-fountain, as a very poor substitute for the gone rainforest (how ironic - SAVE THE RAINFOREST!
BTW, Tiki Culture has a revival since the late 1990ies (which hit me right on, I love it!) which brought back Tiki bars etc. in many cities of the western world. And waterfalls are an absolute essential element of Tiki styled locations. Take them out (there are four in the GCH rain forest atrium) and the Poly has lost it's Tiki character. I am quite sure Walt would be not amused although he never saw the finished Poly. But he wouldn't be amused about almost everything TDO does in his name so what does it matter anyway. So TDO, take away the waterfall and volcano from the Nanea Pool as well and replace it with some cheap fake rockworks, easy to clean, I am quite sure it is too expensive to maintain too and you could save some bucks here as well. And after you did it don't forget to raise the room rates!
The only solace to me is, that I will NEVER again have to fight the urge to stay there despite the insane room rates. With actually sub-par rooms concerning cleanliness and mousekeeping and with outdated and loud ACs (at least in the Fiji LH) what reason do I have to pay these prices anymore?
Can't agree more, especially with the first paragraph.
prberk
Well-Known Member
If the running water is an issue, then how did Gaylord do it in Florida AND Nashville AND Dallas..., and how do other malls, hotels, and others do it? It has to be fixable; maybe just not cheaply.
I agree with the architect (@Spike-in-Berlin ) who said that it was a centerpiece that invited you to check out the hotel as a true resort in itself, as opposed to a little fountain on convention hotel with a merely functional lobby. The Polynesian should be just that -- Polynesian in theme, with the tiki style abundant, rich in tropical paradise style throughout. It should should feel like it has transported you. And the lobby should be inviting and rich, not merely functional.
I hope the Disney folks who see this will at least consider what we have said -- and note how the deep, heartfelt responses have been not just nostalgic, but with purpose -- that we are nostalgic for the grand scale and truly rich design that transported us all in the first place. Again, I say: WDW intends to be a destination, with true RESORT hotels that are destinations in themselves, not airport or business hotels. It should act like a destination resort.
flynnibus
Premium Member
Let's note mix apples and oranges. Try putting a pot of hot water in a 1 cubic foot box.. then put the same pot of hot water in a 10 cubic yard box
Kman101
Well-Known Member
Disney can claim it "needs" to do whatever they need to do but we all know they could fix it if they wanted to. I agree that we don't know EVERYTHING going on but unless there's something impressive that's being hidden, the new design is very underwhelming. I know it will "look" better once it is done, concept art doesn't mean it's completely set in stone, but we all know the reasons. Let's not play the Disney spin card. They simply don't care and people will still come and pay.
prberk
Well-Known Member
Let's note mix apples and oranges. Try putting a pot of hot water in a 1 cubic foot box.. then put the same pot of hot water in a 10 cubic yard box
I truly don't understand. Please explain this. Are you trying to say that the big water feature did not have enough water? Obviously not what you mean, but I can't figure out what exactly you would mean. Sorry.
The Orlando Sentinel reported today that Disney posted another record quarterly profit, with theme park revenue and profits up also, primarily due to increased prices and a slight uptick in hotel reservations.
Please tell me how it would be that they do not have the money today to fix this, but they found the money to build the resort in the first place, based only on a dream and a plan...
flynnibus
Premium Member
Bigger space means more diffusion of the moisture and bigger air handlers. They are very different concepts to build even tho both are indoor water features.
Not really defending dis... Just saying the two are not really the same