Well, I don't know about you guys, but my head hurts. A lot. Between weeding out some emotionally biased sources and trying to put together everything that has been spit out today (my take from what I have been able to accumulate: nobody is completely telling the truth), I'm feeling done with it all. So, to quote Ludacris in Fast and Furious: Supercharged, "Let's Forget About all that mess. The party is here; the party is now. Time to act a fool."
So, as much as I would love a "group therapy" thread, I do have some actual news to get out there, and it all begins in Paris.
As many of you may or may not know, quasi-recently, Disneyland Paris's #2 hotel (Hotel New York) was taken out of commission for a multiyear refurb that will eventually turn it into "Hotel New York- The Art of Marvel." While the hotel's datedness demanded a refurb, the reason why Marvel was chosen for the refurb has to do with one of Chapek's biggest mandates to "leverage IP." So, with that in mind, you may be wondering why this is in the WDW forum, especially when that is old news. For better or worse, this is very much the strategy looking at being adopted going forward for WDW's resorts. While none of the resorts are bad enough to mandate a full closure of the hotel (and WDW isn't looking to shrink hotel capacity any time soon), lots of themes have been, and are being, explored for resorts, the most publicly known of which being the potential Incredibles refurb of the Contemporary.
The reason why The Art of Marvel is the comparison here, and not something like Art of Animation, is simply because this is meant to be more subdued, with the characters merely fitting into a designated motif (art deco for Marvel, mid century modern for the Incredibles, organic living for the upcoming Reflections resort, etc.) as opposed to an "immersive" (I hate that overused word) world that puts you into the movie. Thankfully, these developments have been stopped in some places (you can thank Disney Meetings and Gran Destino for preventing Coco from taking over Coronado Springs). Grand Floridian seems to be moving forward with a "Princess" inspiration following a decidedly "regal" motif, as seen in the upcoming Beauty and the Beast Lounge and infiltration of BBB.
If these efforts are given a complete green light, don't expect too many resorts to go under the knife, but the changes will be very noticeable at any resorts that do change. For instance, Poly and AK Lodge are safe with their pre-existing Lilo & Stitch, Moana, and Lion King "touches." Definitely watch to see how Art of Marvel and Reflections are received, as they may be reflections of the future of WDW Resorts.
PS: I know Gran Destino and Riviera fail to fit with this trend. The former was made for conventions, and the later has an AK Lodge level of IP integration that was deemed acceptable.
And now back to your regularly scheduled program where Martin is Walt's Secretary from a Past Life or Djuan Rivers is plotting to tank FOX's movie slate or lord knows what else.
Doing something with the former aviary would be nice, though. That's kind of a waste of space now.
