BoarderPhreak
Well-Known Member
Ha! I just checked on a different story - and the comment went through no problem!
I see what you did there, Disney. Devious.
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PHOTOS - Disney reveals new lobby design and Trader Sam's lounge for the Polynesian
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
I see what you did there, Disney. Devious.
note2001
Well-Known Member
Those blogs are a place to sing Disney's praises only. They don't want real discussion in them and will limit/delete posts faster than a cat can pounce on a mouse.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
My first thoughts, based on three very vague concept sketches...
Who the heck let those little kids into Trader Sam's, and why are they sitting at the bar for Healthy Snack Time while the cocktail waitress smiles approvingly at them like she's their favorite baby sitter on overtime?!? Get those kids out of the bar and out to the water slide where they belong! Seriously.
The Lobby. Hmm, you really have to peer at this image to find something unique or interesting. It looks like a $125 a night mid-range corporate hotel "theme" lobby three blocks from the beach in Waikiki, but NOT a $400 a night Deluxe Resort designed, owned and operated by the most famous entertainment company on the planet.
The Spring '14 issue of the Pier One Catalog went missing from my mailbox two months ago. I think an intern at WDI stole it and phoned in their order to decorate the lobby. And really, it looks like they phoned it in on many levels.
At least the return to the Polynesian Village Resort name is a classy touch. So there's that.
Who the heck let those little kids into Trader Sam's, and why are they sitting at the bar for Healthy Snack Time while the cocktail waitress smiles approvingly at them like she's their favorite baby sitter on overtime?!? Get those kids out of the bar and out to the water slide where they belong! Seriously.
The Lobby. Hmm, you really have to peer at this image to find something unique or interesting. It looks like a $125 a night mid-range corporate hotel "theme" lobby three blocks from the beach in Waikiki, but NOT a $400 a night Deluxe Resort designed, owned and operated by the most famous entertainment company on the planet.
The Spring '14 issue of the Pier One Catalog went missing from my mailbox two months ago. I think an intern at WDI stole it and phoned in their order to decorate the lobby. And really, it looks like they phoned it in on many levels.
At least the return to the Polynesian Village Resort name is a classy touch. So there's that.
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tikiman
Well-Known Member
Designers have made it clear that the changes are to be more in line with Adventureland and not Aulani. There are only 3 times I have ever heard Aulani mentioned when describing something new at the Polynesian, when they described the new kids club, the new kids wet play area and the infinity hot tub. Other than that they are not trying to emulate Aulani.
asianway
Well-Known Member
An intern or one of their hack celebrity imagineers with a clever twitter handle
BoarderPhreak
Well-Known Member
I bet they have a specific URL that they redirect to, to make it seem like an "innocent error." Better to have the one person that reports such a thing to webmasters than pages and pages of negative comments and/or wasting moderator time in deleting them all for the next week.
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orky8
Well-Known Member
I know I'm in the minority, but I went to the Poly for the first time in March, and the fountain was nice looking, but for some reason made me think of the Brady Bunch. While Ohana was great (both dinner and breakfast), the whole place reminds me of the 70s. It doesn't feel like Polynesia to me, it feels like a 70s knock-off of Polynesia. Just my opinion, and I am sorry for all the people who feel devastated by this change.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
I just got my politely critical comment through and posted at 4:20 PM Eastern. The censor probably just had to take a break for awhile and is back sifting through comments.
Father Robinson
Well-Known Member
Nobody will challenge your opinion. Problem is, that's what everyone loved about it.
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
That about sums up my feelings on the photos.
The Polynesian's lobby needs an update, and it is probably a little dark in there.
I actually like a lot of things about this concept art- the color scheme, the giant Japanese fishing floats, the painted boards below the mezzanine...
However, the central waterfall feature is really too iconic of a feature of that hotel to discard.
Removing it would be like removing Wilderness Lodge's fireplace, rerouting the monorail around the Contemporary, or taking out the suspension bridges at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Hopefully the waterfall-less concept is one of many and Disney will ensure that some version of it remains.
I wouldn't even mind an entirely different centerpiece to the lobby, but if it's not some sort of multi-story volcanic rock waterfall garden the hotel is going to lose a lot of its character.
As for Trader Sam's, I'm glad that Disney World is getting one, but why at the Polynesian? Is this even a good fit?
Why not build a much bigger one at Downtown Disney and charge a cover?
asianway
Well-Known Member
So are you saying if they modernize that would incent you to pay $1500?
The vibe is why people pay what they charge. Just curious if you think the 70s vibe is leaving money on the table
71jason
Well-Known Member
They could, I suppose, but that sounds like asking for trouble. And no bartender is going to want to work that section.
ETA: Yeah, it's a drawing, but unless those bottles are full of fake hooch (cf. Hogs Head in Hogsmeande), it looks like a kid sitting at a full-liquor bar. Which is a minor no-no under Florida law and a huge no-no under WDW policy. Terminated bartender level violation.
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orky8
Well-Known Member
I'm not going to comment on the sanity of those that choose to pay $1500 to stay there. But, if they made the place feel like Hawaii/Polynesia of today, not a throwback to Polynesia, then I could see myself convinced to stay there. And I still might. But the fountain and the lobby in general feels very, very dated. That's my, admittedly, minority opinion.
I would pay good money if they picked up Aulani and plopped it on top of the current Poly (especially with Aulani's pool complex). I have no sentimental feelings for the place, so I'm trying to give my honest opinion. I recognize, others have deeply sentimental feelings.
When I look at pictures of Bora Bora and the amazing bungalows there, they don't look dated with darks woods but modern yet still capturing the essence of their culture. I think Aulani did a good job with this too. And the Poly did a good job as well -- 40 years ago, but it still looks like a 40 year old interpretation of Polynesia.
71jason
Well-Known Member
Ha, rumored 50-seat capacity, good luck to them getting in with all the lifestylers. Orlando ain't Anaheim.
orky8
Well-Known Member
I find that strange. You are saying people loved that it felt like the 70s? I'm not trying to sway anyone, either. I am admittedly, not overly enamored with the concept art, either. I think the issue as someone pointed out is that they are trying to squeeze the modern grand feeling into a smaller space. They need to actually redo the whole building. Instead, Disney splits the baby and then, well, no one really wants 1/2 a baby.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Eh, I have hope Trader Sam's will stick at the Poly.
I just went to Trader Sam's at the Disneyland Hotel two weeks ago. And three years after it opened it was still just as fresh and fun and unique; a great Hawaiian live band playing on the lanai, tiki torches automatically flickering to life at dusk against the darkening SoCal sky, custom logo Trader Sam's barware and accessories for all the drinks, flaming cocktails served with flair to an upscale adult crowd, sinking barstools and all the special effects inside working and being played up by the crazy bartenders, etc., etc.
A little crazy inside at the bar...
More refined outside on the lanai...
It's been open for three busy years, and Traders Sam's at the Disneyland Hotel is still operating just as uniquely and fully as it did its opening summer in 2011. I have every faith the management of the Poly won't screw up their clone after it opens.