The Polynesian: Rebooted

[jt04]

OK, I can't resist as this is the intro to my AI of the resort to end all AI's. Then I retire.

Disclaimer: No Imagineers or other creatives should read past this point :lol:

OK, this is a hot topic on every board these days and it got me thinking (sorry ) and I came up with some ideas that then tie into some other ideas and it meshed so well I need to write it all down. So this will just be an intro into a much bigger resort wide reimagining. And then I will retire from Armchair Imagineering. Really! No, REALLY!

:wave:

 

[jt04]

Let me start by saying that I have always thought the land around the MK monorail is underutilized so I believe the rumors of resort expansion are true. The poly is the perfect resort to reconfigure because it has by far the most potential acreage to work with and I intend to use it fully. To help the reader understand the bigger picture, when I am finished the TTC will no longer function as it does now all of its operations will be relocated. A portion of the MK parking lot will also be utilized. This will make more sense later but for now just go with it. I will be adding more daily until I finish describing the project. This will eventually create the need for a new thread as will soon be seen. It is strictly from my own ideas. And they are free for the taking.

First things first. An Aulani like tower would be added on the existing parking lot for the Poly resort. Such a tower would have half of the rooms facing the Magic Kingdom and be located next to the monorail line. It would be comparable to the Contemporary in height but with no facilities on the roof, only utilities. (More on this later). The top floor will be suites only and rather exclusive. The tower would be wide enough to match the capacity of two longhouses (more on this later). The tower will eventually be a DVC. (More on this later). The difference between this and the Aulani design is that this will be a glass tower similar to the new DLR hotel design. The tower's rooms will begin at the fourth floor similar to the Contemporary. The bottom floors would be common areas for recreation, meeting space, cuisine, the lobby and elevators.
Of course the tower would only take up a relatively small portion of the parking lot. The rest of the space will be parking facilities with the roof having tennis courts and a small pool area. This 'green roof' would be exclusive to the tower's guests. The entire facilities 'footprint' would take up the entire parking lot. The northeast corner of the MK parking lot would become the temporary Poly parking lot. A temporary elevated walkway and free valet parking would minimize the impact.
The rooms in the tower facing south would not have the advantage of overlooking the MK but would have great views of the Palm and Magnolia Golf Courses which would be a great selling point for many.

More soon.....

 

[jt04]

OK, with the new tower in place I think it is more obvious where this is going. By adding this capacity it allows two of the long houses to be shut down to be replaced. In my plan the seperate wings of the Poly would still exist, however they would be designed to create as many rooms as possible facing the MK. Afterall that is why the MK facing rooms at the CR sell so well and why the BLT has done very well even exceeding expectations.

So in the case of the Poly the new wings would be aligned on an east-west axis and parallel to the new tower. The new tower would have unobstructed views over the current Ceremonial House (which remains in my plan) and over the main pool (which would also remain). The new wings would be located to the east and west of these common areas. Each wing would decrease in height as they get closer to the water so as create as minimal an obstruction as possible while maximizing the number of rooms. Not all north facing rooms will have a view of the MK but all rooms that do not would have lanais or balconies overlooking the new and improved landscaping or pools.

This would be a slow transformation but would add capacity as each section opened so the Poly would gain rooms as the years passed. This transformation would take years however it would not require closing the resort.

The new wings would reflect the style of the new tower and be similar to the DVC in Hawaii and have many of the same architectural elements so the look of the current resort buildings would end up looking very different in the long term. Only the Cermonial House would remain as is.

As they say no good idea goes away so I would bring back the original idea for the resort's look. The original idea, I believe, was to build a building that evoked (not so subtley) the shape of a volcano. I am going for the same effect here but in a much more subdued way. So in my design the buildings would taper down from the main tower when viewed from a distance. The full effect only observed from the front of the MK and surrrounding resorts or on the water of the SSL. I will go into more detail on this later.....

to be continued.....

 

[jt04]

The Big Picture

For those not following what I am describing (understandable) I thought I would explain it in a different way. Picture being out on a boat on the SSL and looking at the Poly. The silhouette of the Poly would appear something like The Atlantis in the Bahamas. In other words a large central tower and then shorter and shorter wings as the structure moves away from the core. Somewhat of a pyramid shape. Except in my design instead of one structure the Poly's 'wings' would be seperate buidings with the shorter ones closest to you but still creating a similar silhouette. Again like a pyramid but with a flat top (central tower) so even more like a volcanic shape. Since it is not one building it would also create depth to the appearence. Then by using forced perspective and just the right placement the optical illusion would be complete. And especially appealing from the water or the Contemporary. I'm not trying to create a literal volcano, just alluding to it through architecture.

Completing the Design

Now that we have the main tower and the wings and the desired effect I have a few finising touches. There are two cresent shaped beaches behind the Poly. In my design these would be lined with 2 story individual bungalows abutting side by side. Similar in floor plan design to the 2 story DVC's being built today. Each would have its own section of beach front with a deck and umbrellas etc. A perfect location for watching the WP and fireworks. Several units would share a dock where the complimentary watercraft would be docked. These would likely be the premiere DVC accomadations on property.

There is a chunk of land between the two beaches and this would be the new location of the nightly Luau.

Of course this design requires the removal of the ferry boat dock but to do that a new transportation system is required. That will be another thread and the final installment of AI from me.

Next time I will tie together all the elements of the new Poly resort as I would reimagine it. Saving the best for last....

 

[jt04]

Putting a bow on it.

OK, everything is in place building-wise but there is so much more. As I said the resort's accomadation buildings will be all glass. Similar to the way they are covering the hotels at Disneyland. But instead of blue, my glass would be the 1970's ever popular dark smokey quartz slate color. That always has seemed sophisticated and reflects luxury to me. It also is close to the color of pumice to carry through on the volcano theme. So as not to create a gray monolith, green plantings growing up between the buildings would add color to the resort when viewed from other resorts.

LED lights at the intersections of the glass panels would create a grid similar to the lights on the Contemporary. However, these would be more subtle and capable of changing color to evoke different patterns including lava flowing down. Again, only suggesting at such but very subdued. Much more like a Christo art installation than a literal volcano. These lights could be used in slightly different sizes or wattages to create a 3-D forced perspective optical illusions at night. Again though, very subtle, almost inperceivable. Classy.

Now on the roof of the main tower would be heat exchange units and air conditioning clevely shrouded by some sort of permanent apron along the top of the building. On days when the temerature and dew point are just right, smoke (water vapor) would be seen rising from the apex of the impressionistic "volcano" that has been created. Very stylistic to the point that someone in the know would have to explain the entire concept thereby creating that 'eureka' moment for people.

"Oh yeah, now I see what you mean". "Cool"! :lol:

Next time and final installment, all the ameneties.....

 

[jt04]

Plussing the resort.

As I said earlier I would move the Luau to the spit of land between the crescent beaches that will be home to the DVC waterfront villas. This will permit the land where the show is now to be devloped with villas and the lower sections of the 'volcano's' silhouette.

By moving the show it will also place it close to the main pool. Close enough so that people using the pool could enjoy the show. There would be two options. Guests of the Poly could pay a cover charge and watch the show from the pool area while enjoying a beverage and light snacks. The dinner show would still be available to all and that seating would be just in front of the stage. The main pool area would only be available to adults an hour before the show with the pool closing to those under drinking age. One of the features of the new stage would be a roof that lowers so that guests can enjoy the MK fireworks. Possibly timed to the end of the Luau.

But where do the families with kids go? Glad you asked. The northeast corner of the MK parking lot that was used for temporary parking while the main tower complex was being built would become a brand new waterpark. This would be available to any and only guests of the MK resorts. Similar to the Stormalong Bay feature at the Epcot resorts but on a larger scale. More features than River Country but not as big as the two major waterparks. The only way into this new water park would be with the proper resort ID utilizing the new RFID tech. It would only be a short walk by elevated ramps from near the monorail station. Oh, and guests of the DVC's main tower could just slide in by waterslide from the tower's "green roof". How cool would that be?

So there you have it. Amazing and lucrative DVC accomadations, double or even triple the room capacity, guaranteed to be sold out every night due to the new features I have Armchair Imagineered.

Comments, complaints and critiques welcome as always. Or perhaps I have boggled you into an utter loss of words. :lol:

 

[raiden]

Im happy that you will never touch The Polynesian Resort.

 

[jt04]

^ This isn't even constructive criticism. Considering though, I'm sure it is the best you could do. :wave:


Moving on :lol:

I forgot to mention one thing, since the new beach villas will eliminate the ferry boat service there would be the need to reconfigure the MK's transportation network. I have found a way to make it 'user friendly' and fix the current issues of inconvienence and costly operations. That will be a thread in and of itself.

 

[wilsonhanks]

^ This isn't even constructive criticism. Considering though, I'm sure it is the best you could do. :wave:


Moving on :lol:

I forgot to mention one thing, since the new beach villas will eliminate the ferry boat service there would be the need to reconfigure the MK's transportation network. I have found a way to make it 'user friendly' and fix the current issues of inconvienence and costly operations. That will be a thread in and of itself.

I am impressed with the amount of response your idea has received! You must be held in high regard by your fellow posters!

 

[terp79]

I have to agree, leave this resort alone.

 

[jt04]

I am impressed with the amount of response your idea has received! You must be held in high regard by your fellow posters!

Oh no, if there were any flaws in my plan my critics would be flaming away. Obviously they have been silenced by the perfection of it. :king:

 

[wilsonhanks]

Oh no, if there were any flaws in my plan my critics would be flaming away. Obviously they have been silenced by the perfection of it. :king:

true :animwink:

 

[goofy donald]

Personally I just think these plans are to big to sustain itself. for one thing i actually like the fact that poly is one of the few remaining non dvc resorts and would hope it stays that way. as well what you've created here isn't really the polly considering the fact that you've tore down over 75% of it so far. i have a few more things I disliked about the concept as well however the most prominent thing I can think of would be that you put the amenities and parking quite a distance from the rooms and I would not be pleased with that if I was a guest there. I believe you made a valiant effort here however, I think its hard to out do the current polly and it should be left more to its original design.

 

[jt04]

Personally I just think these plans are to big to sustain itself. for one thing i actually like the fact that poly is one of the few remaining non dvc resorts and would hope it stays that way. as well what you've created here isn't really the polly considering the fact that you've tore down over 75% of it so far. i have a few more things I disliked about the concept as well however the most prominent thing I can think of would be that you put the amenities and parking quite a distance from the rooms and I would not be pleased with that if I was a guest there. I believe you made a valiant effort here however, I think its hard to out do the current polly and it should be left more to its original design.

Thanks for the constructive criticism. So rare in an era of self absorbed whining. Anyway, I regress, um, I mean digress. :lol:

I guess I should have explained from the outset that I was "Armchairing" under some self-imposed restrictions and assumptions.

First and foremost, this is part of a much bigger plan that would completely remake the transportation system and some day I will explain that. Especially now that I have the time. :lookaroun

I wanted to at least double the number of rooms which is why building "up" was necessary.

I wanted to allow for at least half of the resorts rooms to be DVC. Love 'em or hate 'em, they are key to further park expansion of any consequence IMO.

I wanted the resort to have the premiere DVC rooms on property. By adding waterfront villas with private beaches, docks and MK views, I think that is possible.

I wanted as many rooms as possible to have views of the nightly fireworks. Lets face it, this just sells. This is the reason for the "tiered" volcano shape of the resort's buildings.

I wanted energy efficiency and LEED certification. This is the reason for the all specialty glass exteriors of the new buildings. I am not a greeny but some tech can save significant costs and makes economic sense and is quite marketable. Not to sound too cynical. :lol:

I wanted to "procure" the TTC and use that area to generate revenue. When I add in my transportation plan it will all make more sense. It is a combination of a "Less is More" strategery and new tech. Makes me :sohappy:

As for parking, I guess I need to learn to photoshop.:lol: The parking would still be exactly where it is now. The current parking lot's footprint would become a 3 or 4 story parking facility with a green roof and central glass tower. The parking facilities footprint would be much larger than the tower's footprint (hence space for the green roof). Temporary parking would be in the nearby MK lot but after construction that becomes my water park. The water park is key to keeping all of the MK resorts full all of the time.

It would be easy to Armchair Imagineer some magical something or other. Point being these things don't get done in a vacuum and there are always "bigger picture" considerations that must be factored in. I have tried to do that.

I'd love to read other attempts at it.