Updated rooms are boring!

[drizgirl]

Yup, the carpeting that came off the giant rolls at Home Depot…carpeting so bad, the bed bugs won’t even burrow into it…

Yet it was still better than those nasty vinyl floors. Especially after a big rainstorm.

 

[surfsupdon]

I would like an entry area rug/mat as you walk into your room at a Value or Moderate. Entering directly from outside always brings in leaves and pine needles especially when it’s wet outside. Not a problem with interior corridors.

 

[drizgirl]

I would like an entry area rug/mat as you walk into your room at a Value or Moderate. Entering directly from outside always brings in leaves and pine needles especially when it’s wet outside. Not a problem with interior corridors.

Seriously. Clearly the people who made these decisions never stayed in a value or moderate.

 

[KaliSplash]

lots easier to clean "wooden" floors

 

[Ayla]

lots easier to clean "wooden" floors

You mean "clean" bare floors.

 

[FutureCEO]

Has anyone else noticed (with the exception of the Moana themed Poly rooms) that the room updates at various resorts are so BORING! All the imagineering magic seems to have disappeared from the boring wooden floors to the standard furniture. Yes they've added a character themed picture or curtains here and there but I'm just not feeling the magic in these rooms

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Contemporary minimalism....I'm not a fan of it and it really loses the charm and comfort a Disney resort room looked liked..

The old way...Warm colors, a golden light, a comfortable way to feel relaxed and ready for the next day..

The new rooms..I feel like I just got into a sterile hospital room with clip art Mickey pics and a sliding prison door to the washroom area..

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Contemporary minimalism....I'm not a fan of it and it really loses the charm and comfort a Disney resort room looked liked..

The old way...Warm colors, a golden light, a comfortable way to feel relaxed and ready for the next day..

The new rooms..I feel like I just got into a sterile hospital room with clip art Mickey pics and a sliding prison door to the washroom area..

You call it Contemporary minimalism, I call it Contemporary IKEA…as far as the sterile medical resemblance, YES, but at least they’re not asking for our medical insurance cards when we make our room reservations…YET…

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I prefer subtle theming and soft colors to the more cartoonish and clashing designs of the past, which screamed "1980s/90s" to me, regardless of what the theme was supposed to be. From both a functional and decorative standpoint, I also like the switch from the old, ugly fold-out sofas to attractively-framed and far-more-comfy Murphy beds in many DVC studios.

However, I agree that many of the newer rooms (with a few notable exceptions, like Grand Floridan and Polynesian) look UNTHEMED, UNIFISHED and CHEAP, with over-reliance on vinyl flooring with no area rugs, Wayfair-grade furniture of the formica-covered-particleboard variety, and an absence of fun theming details, even subtle ones (sorry Disney, but a peel-and-stick mural here and there does not a cohesive theme make!). Plus, the lack of bespoke decorative pillows or bed throws (often pictured in room photos on the Disney website, but long abandoned by the time anyone checks in) make the white-on-white beds look more like a pop-up medical clinic at the Motel 6 (because I'm sure that's a thing, LOL!), than a luxurious place to sleep. And how is it, after all this time, that Disney still hasn't figured out how include enough bathroom towel hangers/bars or entryway coathooks to reasonably accommodate the number of guests staying in a room?

And while I'm totally aware of how nit-picky these kinds of complaints sound, from me or anyone else, I do think that guests who are paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars more to stay onsite have earned the right to judge whether they're getting the benefit of their bargain, even if their opinions on the matter will inevitably be wide-ranging and diverse.

I'm somewhat mixed.

I like some of the older details, like the character shaped lamps. I also happen to like white bedding. I'll take the new bedding over the brown bedcovers of old. I'll take the new WDW flooring over the old brown carpet, though, nice carpet and padding is nice at the end of a long day. The WL mural is cute though, as is the wall light. (Between bedroom and bathroom.)

I am thoroughly with you though on the lack of places to hang a towel/bathing suits/jackets. That was one thing we noticed right away about the new rooms!

A really nice aspect of the prior Contemporary rooms was that there was plenty of places to put stuff- the glass counters/desks/shelves. Those were great! the new rooms have less counter space.

 

[LeighM]

For me it depends on the resort. I LOVE the new rooms at Coronado Springs despite not having many Disney touches. However, I do wish they had the stand alone table and chairs and not the work desk because it doesn't work as well for families who stay there. However, I HATED the rooms at Caribbean Beach and I really hope the newer renovated rooms are better. Those were the most boring, drab looking rooms I had ever seen. I was sad to see the newer Alligator Bayou rooms at Riverside but I could understand why they removed those unique touches - a lot of guests thought it looked aged.

 

[IanDLBZF]

Basically all depends on the resort…
Me and my mom loved the room in the Yacht Club, wilderness lodge was nice too and so is Coronado Springs.
Art of Animation was phenomenal, even with the refurb.

 

[5thGenTexan]

Our standard view room at POFQ last week was groovy,.

 

[LittleMerman]

The new rooms look nice and modern. The rooms that haven't been updated look dated. The style is more clean these days.

Not all the new rooms are overly themed - they definitely theme the deluxe most, moderate second, and value last - but that's out it's always been.

 

[SamandplanningUK]

The new rooms look nice and modern. The rooms that haven't been updated look dated. The style is more clean these days.

Not all the new rooms are overly themed - they definitely theme the deluxe most, moderate second, and value last - but that's out it's always been.

I would politely disagree with this, I'd say it would be the other way around, the AOA rooms are DRIPPING with theming from every inch, whereas Grand Floridian rooms have always been barely themed.

 

[LittleMerman]

I would politely disagree with this, I'd say it would be the other way around, the AOA rooms are DRIPPING with theming from every inch, whereas Grand Floridian rooms have always been barely themed.

You're right about AoA - it's the exception for value resorts. But they're also more expensive. And instead of theming maybe I should have said design for deluxe resorts. A lot more thought went into color palettes, furniture, textures, fabrics, etc.

 

[Tinker218]

I love the new rooms at the Boardwalk Inn. The colors are so pretty and the Disney decor is subtle, but there. The pictures on the walls of Mickey and Minnie in their old-time fashion is so cute.

 

[prberk]

I'll take boring over the atrocity that are the Incredibles rooms at the Contemporary.

I agree in this case, but only because the old “boring” at the Contemporary was actually well-themed and much nicer than the new “Incredibles” rooms that are anything but “contemporary.” Here is what part of my Contemporary room looked like 10 years ago:

 

[James Alucobond]

I agree in this case, but only because the old “boring” at the Contemporary was actually well-themed and much nicer than the new “Incredibles” rooms that are anything but “contemporary.” Here is what part of my Contemporary room looked like 10 years ago: View attachment 728526

This version of the rooms was not well themed. It was simply inoffensive and made some degree of sense given the Contemporary’s reputation as the “conference” hotel.

The rooms now technically have more theming and lean into the midcentury vibes a bit more, but they are horribly executed and look incredibly cheap for a resort billed as deluxe. The decals look like they belong in Art of Animation, the custom throw pillows feel like they’re constructed out of pleather, the floors are ugly and show tons of dirt, the furnishings look cheap, and there’s no warmth at all from any of the fixtures or finishes. The bathrooms are at least good, I suppose.

 

[prberk]

This version of the rooms was not well themed. It was simply inoffensive and made some degree of sense given the Contemporary’s reputation as the “conference” hotel.

The rooms now technically have more theming and lean into the midcentury vibes a bit more, but they are horribly executed and look incredibly cheap for a resort billed as deluxe. The decals look like they belong in Art of Animation, the custom throw pillows feel like they’re constructed out of pleather, the floors are ugly and show tons of dirt, the furnishings look cheap, and there’s no warmth at all from any of the fixtures or finishes. The bathrooms are at least good, I suppose.

They were themed to “Contemporary,” although I know some would argue that. But they were nice and definitely more appropriate than the current rooms for the same reasons you explained.

 

[Dis Dragon]

I only got to stay in the Contemporary once before they changed it. I loved the old rooms...