News Refurbishment coming soon to Disney's Polynesian Village Resort - Moana details to be included

[MisterPenguin]

View attachment 537515

No theming says you're at the beach better then when it literally says you're at the beach with words...

What the Polynesian really needs are pillows that say, "hula," "leis," "islands," and "Mai Tai."

 

[etc98]

Bunch of photos here that I hadn't seen:

I wonder if part of the reason these images look so much better to me than the photos posted on the Disney Parks Blog is that they’re much more saturated. I don’t know if the finishes in the room itself are really as grey as they appear in the marketing photos, or if the photos are just desaturated. I edited one of the photos to show what I mean:

Edited photo:

In the edited photo, as in the photos above, the wood actually looks like wood, and everything just seems much less drab.

I guess we won’t know what it looks like in person for a while yet, but I really hope it’s closer to the second image.

 

[WDWTrojan]

Source where Disney says they're frustrated high-end travelers are staying elsewhere? Their occupancy rates are quite good overall, especially when moderates have prices comparable to "high-end" nearby hotels.

Their occupancy rates for deluxe aren't super high. They've artificially priced themselves out of the market and instead of trying to create a more popular luxe product that will appeal to a more discerning traveler, they've just turned cash rooms into DVC rooms to lower the inventory.

 

[Scott the Lawyer]

Touché

 

[TikibirdLand]

I wonder if part of the reason these images look so much better to me than the photos posted on the Disney Parks Blog is that they’re much more saturated. I don’t know if the finishes in the room itself are really as grey as they appear in the marketing photos, or if the photos are just desaturated. I edited one of the photos to show what I mean:


View attachment 537568

Edited photo:
View attachment 537569

In the edited photo, as in the photos above, the wood actually looks like wood, and everything just seems much less drab.

I guess we won’t know what it looks like in person for a while yet, but I really hope it’s closer to the second image.

good comparison... I would much prefer the second picture. What a difference a few adjustments can make!

 

[RSoxNo1]

To be clear, all of the non-DVC rooms will be Moana themed now, correct? I wouldn’t be surprised if Incredibles is part of the Contemporary refurb as was rumored a while ago.

 

[solidyne]

Touché

But, oh, to have that map on the wall....

 

[CaptainAmerica]

They are frustrated that high end travelers are choosing these hotels over Disney-owned hotels...

Bro what?

No they're not. Pre-COVID, Disney resorts have been dang close to full capacity with discounts that rarely got above 25%, if that.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

You think they’d ever dare doing this Moana makeover there?

I sure dont.

Different guests.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Their occupancy rates for deluxe aren't super high. They've artificially priced themselves out of the market and instead of trying to create a more popular luxe product that will appeal to a more discerning traveler, they've just turned cash rooms into DVC rooms to lower the inventory.

Pre-COVID a lot of deluxe rooms were also being discounted for group bookings.

 

[GimpYancIent]

good comparison... I would much prefer the second picture. What a difference a few adjustments can make!

Or a couple of strong drinks!

 

[Chomama]

Bottom left

 

[doctornick]

Their occupancy rates for deluxe aren't super high. They've artificially priced themselves out of the market and instead of trying to create a more popular luxe product that will appeal to a more discerning traveler, they've just turned cash rooms into DVC rooms to lower the inventory.

But I’m sure given the prices that the profit per room is quite high for the deluxe resorts. Certainly they’d prefer to have them as full as possible of course, but I think Disney looks at the moderates and especially the values as the way to make money via sheer volume but the deluxes are more focused on revenue per room. The deluxes tend to be smaller resorts anyway so their capacity is a much smaller percentage of the total rooms at WDW. and the higher rack room rates helps to justify the high DVC points costs to stay at the same resorts.

IOW I’m not sure Disney is sweating the occupancy rates at deluxe resorts or is willing to invest a ton of money to make them comparable to “luxury” hotels elsewhere

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Too much Moana for me. The Poly was always my dream resort to do a week long stay at, but not anymore. I'm so tired of IPs being EVERYWHERE!!!! Yes, it's Disney. Yes, I expect a great deal of IPs around the property. But why does it have to be in every. single. resort?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Too much Moana for me. The Poly was always my dream resort to do a week long stay at, but not anymore. I'm so tired of IPs being EVERYWHERE!!!! Yes, it's Disney. Yes, I expect a great deal of IPs around the property. But why does it have to be in every. single. resort?

Do you understand that "Disney's Polynesian Village Resort" is, itself, IP?

 

[tirian]

Part of Alauni's image is that of cultural authenticity and design sophistication. A deliberate choice to dissuade criticism that the hotel was a needless Disneyficiation/invasion of Hawaiian culture and to convince luxury tourists that Disney could defy their expectations.

But at WDW it's the opposite approach, despite the similar theme and price point. Just slap something together, thrown on some obvious iconography and the less discerning Orlando tourists will love it...or at least that's what management seem to think.

It wasn’t always that way. WDW partly earned its premium reputation by not being that way.

Obviously, today’s decision makers don’t understand what made WDW great.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Do you understand that "Disney's Polynesian Village Resort" is, itself, IP?

Yes, I'm not stupid. I meant I'm sick of characters all over the place, shoved in your face at every turn.

 

[tirian]

Too much Moana for me. The Poly was always my dream resort to do a week long stay at, but not anymore. I'm so tired of IPs being EVERYWHERE!!!! Yes, it's Disney. Yes, I expect a great deal of IPs around the property. But why does it have to be in every. single. resort?

I agree completely. I love Disney, but I don’t want to feel like I’m always in a freaking toy chest.

 

[tirian]

Their occupancy rates for deluxe aren't super high. They've artificially priced themselves out of the market and instead of trying to create a more popular luxe product that will appeal to a more discerning traveler, they've just turned cash rooms into DVC rooms to lower the inventory.

Sometimes they also shut down blocks of rooms to make the deluxe resorts “booked.” If you’ve ever been sent down the Very Long Hallway at Yacht/Beach or stayed in one of the outer buildings at the Grand, you know what I’m talking about. I’ve been surrounded by empty rooms a few times, despite being in a “fully booked” hotel. It’s a common tactic in the hotel industry to save payroll, and it isn’t unique to Disney. It’s not unethical or anything like that.

The Contemporary, OTOH, is pretty much always booked solid.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Sometimes they also shut down blocks of rooms to make the deluxe resorts “booked.” If you’ve ever been sent down the Very Long Hallway at Yacht/Beach or stayed in one of the outer buildings at the Grand, you know what I’m talking about. I’ve been surrounded by empty rooms a few times, despite being in a “fully booked” hotel. It’s a common tactic in the hotel industry to save payroll, and it isn’t unique to Disney. It’s not unethical or anything like that.

The Contemporary, OTOH, is pretty much always booked solid.

Yeah um... that is not correct. Sometimes rooms are removed from inventory for various reasons, but those rooms do not count as "booked" when Disney reports occupancy.