New Tower at Polynesian Village Resort: Timeline, Details & Construction Progress
Walt Disney World has announced plans to build a new DVC tower at Polynesian Village Resort. In this post, we’ll share details and a timeline, permits, and new summer construction photos. Plus, our opinion of the Disney Vacation Club expansion and why this is likely happening. (Updated April 18, 2024.)
Located on the shores of Seven Seas Lagoon and on the monorail line to Magic Kingdom, the project replaces Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, a luau featuring traditional Polynesian dances, live music, and an all-you-care-to-enjoy tropical feast. Spirit of Aloha is now permanently closed.
The new Disney Vacation Club tower will essentially be between the existing Polynesian Village Resort and Disney’s Wedding Pavilion, which itself is adjacent to the Grand Floridian. This high-profile Magic Kingdom resort area has already become overcrowded in recent years with the addition of the Villas at the Grand Floridian. A new tower will only exacerbate that, and could end up putting undue strain on infrastructure such as the monorail.
“It’s no secret that our Members and guests love the monorail resorts at Walt Disney World,” said Bill Diercksen, senior vice president and general manager of Disney Vacation Club. “Expanding our Disney Vacation Club offerings at the Polynesian would give our Members and Guests yet another incredible option for staying close to the magic while making vacation memories that last a lifetime.”
The proposed Disney Vacation Club tower addition that’s being built at Polynesian Village Resort is currently slated to open in late 2024 at Walt Disney World. Plans for the Poly tower include a variety of guest room types, new recreation offerings, and dining options. DVC indicates that more information and project details will be shared at a later date.
During the question & answer portion of last year’s Condominium Association meeting, Disney Vacation Club board member Yvonne Chang confirmed that the new tower will be part of the existing Polynesian Villas & Bungalows condo association. That’s really the only key detail that’s been shared about the Poly tower since it was announced, and the single piece of concept art (above) was released.
Barring an asterisk to this or last minute change of plans, this should mean that all current direct and resale owners of Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows will have access to the new Poly tower as part of the 11 month booking window, along with combined annual dues and the 2066 ownership end date for all owners. This is exactly what Disney Vacation Club did with the Big Pine Key addition at Grand Floridian, so it’s not a total shock.
Nevertheless, it wouldn’t have been without precedent to do two different condo associations. That’s exactly what happened a few years back at Wilderness Lodge, which now has separate associations for the Boulder Ridge Villas and Copper Creek Villas & Cabins. The new Poly tower is larger and more distinct than the Grand Floridian or Wilderness Lodge additions, so separate associations was an entirely plausible outcome here.
In our view, adding the tower to the existing association is the right move. Several years ago, we addressed a common question: Why is Disney Vacation Club Availability So Limited? That’s worth reading, but in case you don’t want to bother, part of the reason was the bungalows. Adding the new Poly tower to the current condo association should help dilute those points, improving overall availability.
Additionally, this provides more variety for DVC members who already own at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. This will add duo studios, dedicated 1-bedroom villas, dedicated 2-bedroom villas, 2-bedroom lock-off villas, and (maybe) Grand Villas, as well as (probably) a different type of deluxe studio than in the current longhouses. This will make the Poly Villas far more versatile.
Finally, it won’t be subject to the dreaded resale restriction, since that does not exist as part of the current condo association. I’m starting to wonder whether this protectionist “experiment” at Disney’s Riviera Resort was deemed a failure, and perhaps we won’t see it at the Cabins at Fort Wilderness or Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge. (Then again, it did appear again for the Villas at Disneyland Hotel, so perhaps not.)
All of this makes buying at the Polynesian Villas & Bungalows more attractive to us. Granted, that’s because we’d probably only consider buying via the resale market–and I’m still very hesitant until both seeing this in person and experiencing the degree to which it burdens the resort’s infrastructure. One thing is for certain, though–this seals the deal that we wouldn’t buy at Disney’s Riviera Resort!
Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows currently has 380 Disney Vacation Club villas, including the largest Deluxe Studios at any Disney Vacation Club resort at Walt Disney World. There are also the unique over-the-water two-bedroom Bora Bora Bungalows, which are not nearly as popular and have been problematic for their impact on the points pool.
This follows other work around Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort in the last few years. That included enhancements to the Great Ceremonial House, a new porte-cochère, and rebuilt monorail station. All of that looks good, a nice step forward for the resort that maintained its thematic integrity while bringing needed improvements to the aging property.
Room refurbishments were also part of the Poly’s overhaul. See our Review, Photos & Video: New Moana Rooms at Polynesian Village Resort for a tour and thoughts on the changes from our most recent hotel stay. If you’re looking at the existing DVC rooms, see our Review, Photos & Video: New Rooms at Polynesian Villas.
Now let’s turn to a construction update as work progresses on the Polynesian tower as of mid-April 2024…
Polynesian Tower Spring 2024 Construction Update
Construction continues to speed ahead on the DVC tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. We recently stayed at the Contemporary and saw progress during many monorail rides and trips around the Seven Seas Lagoon; here are photos showing the work completed to date, as well as the scale of this structure as compared to the existing Poly longhouses, Wedding Pavilion, and Grand Floridian outer buildings. As you can see from the photos above and below, the Poly tower quite literally towers above them!
Just in the span of a few days, we saw considerable progress. The Poly tower has been fully enclosed for a few months now, with work moving to interiors and on exterior painting and accents. More than any in-park project, the Poly tower is really being constructed with remarkable speed. (If TRON Lightcycle Run or the EPCOT overhaul were built with this sense of urgency, both would’ve been done years ago!)
It’s interesting to watch the work–to the extent that it’s still visible. Construction workers are all over the place outside and on the ground level, but work has now moved to the inside of the tower, too. The Poly tower looks better with these coats of paint than it did as plain concrete, but that’s not saying much. It’s still absolutely hideous.
The boxy tower is still very incongruous with everything else around the monorail loop, and sticks out like a sore thumb. That’ll be the case when it’s fully finished, since it’s obviously not going to get any shorter or have a visual profile consistent with the existing Polynesian Village Resort. I still can’t believe Disney thought this was acceptable to build on the shores of Seven Seas Lagoon. It was one thing with Disney’s Riviera Resort or Gran Destino Tower, which are comparatively isolated, but this is part of the ‘skyline’ of Magic Kingdom’s monorail loop.
This tower is progressing even faster than did Disney’s Riviera Resort or Gran Destino, and those went up pretty quickly! It’s also amusing how much faster Walt Disney World builds resorts versus attractions. Maybe “amusing” isn’t the right word. It’s a little discouraging. Defenders of Disney will point to the comparative complexity, which is at least partly fair. But CommuniCore Hall and Plaza and the surrounding trees in EPCOT aren’t exactly the pinnacle of Imagineering. The unfortunate reality is that Disney purposefully prolongs construction timelines in many of those projects to spread capital expenditures over multiple fiscal years. But I digress.
The bottom line is that the DVC tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort should easily make its Late 2024 scheduled opening timeframe. If anything, that seems like it’s on the conservative side if the project keeps up its current pace. Then again, with Disney Vacation Club sales slowing and both Riviera and Aulani still having plenty of unsold inventory–not to mention the newer Villas at Disneyland Hotel and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness–perhaps the pace will slow so DVC can allow its existing properties to sell first.
This would also explain why Disney hasn’t announced much else about the Polynesian tower. As ugly as this building looks from the outside, it’ll sell like hotcakes. (As noted above, I think it’s hideous…and would still consider buying here as a matter of practicality.) As such, saying as little as possible about the Polynesian tower so it doesn’t steal the spotlight from other new resorts that are being actively sold is probably the savvy move.
Polynesian DVC Tower Commentary
I realize change is inevitable, but I’ll miss this path and the beaches it passes. I’ve spent many a morning photographing the sunrise over here, using the twin and triplet palm trees on these beaches to frame the Polynesian’s longhouses.
Newer Walt Disney World fans may not realize it, but this stretch of land was once relatively tranquil. I don’t recall what it was like before the Wedding Pavilion was built in the mid-1990s, but up until the Villas at Grand Floridian, it was a peaceful area with large swaths of beach and green space between the Polynesian and Grand Floridian. Now, there’s a lot of parking and development, with more on the horizon. Really has a “paved paradise to put up a parking lot” kind of feeling to it.
My sincere hope is that the Poly tower is built as if it were a standalone resort like Riviera Resort or the planned Reflections, rather than in the style of Bay Lake Tower or the Villas at Grand Floridian. Meaning, that it contains counter and table service restaurants and other amenities.
The last time we stayed at the Polynesian, the beach was packed with guests during the Disney Enchantment fireworks–to the point that there was literally no available space–and the lobby was incredibly crowded with people waiting to be seated at ‘Ohana and elsewhere. The existing Polynesian infrastructure is often already stretched to its breaking point, and this tower needs to provide relief to that. Adding guest rooms without amenities will further exacerbate those problems, so we really hope that isn’t the plan.
Regular readers will recall that I was harsh about the proposed Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge (above), which was supposedly a “nature-inspired” resort. It was slated for the former River Country water park location along the shore of Bay Lake between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness.
Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge was one of the projects put on indefinite hold as a result of the closure. Based on Walt Disney World’s activities on that construction site and scrubbing all references to Reflections from the internet, the project was safely assumed to be cancelled. I was ecstatic. Absolutely over the moon in response to its cancellation. Reflections was a half-baked plan from the start, and Disney not proceeding with it was a good thing.
This Poly tower news makes me wish that Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge were never cancelled. Not because I’ve suddenly had an about-face on Reflections (far from it), but because it would mean that this very-similar looking project at the Polynesian would not be happening.
Perhaps it would be simply a matter of forestalling the inevitable, with the site between the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Village Resorts slated for future expansion down the road. I’d still roll the dice on that. At least delaying development might mean getting something that looks appropriate for the area, and has some semblance of theme.
As for commentary about the design, I had to check my calendar when I first saw the Poly tower concept art, thinking maybe it was April Fools’ Day. Much to my disappointment, this is not a lame joke. (It is lame, just not a joke.)
I won’t rehash all of it here, but my criticisms of this new DVC tower at the Polynesian are nearly identical to those of Reflections. That’s in no small part because this project bears a striking resemblance to the cancelled Reflections tower. (My bad–Imagineers were inspired by the original Poly plans. Sure thing.)
Disney’s recent approach to developing hotels adjacent to existing resorts doesn’t inspire much confidence, and this looks like a generically modern design that would be at home in Holiday Inn’s portfolio.
Anyone who has been to pretty much any major metro area in the last few years has undoubtedly seen something at least vaguely similar to this Polynesian addition. It looks a lot like mixed-use developments in Anaheim–not to mention the Disneyland Hotel DVC tower (below), or even the cancelled Reflections plan.
That these three designs are virtually indistinguishable despite being located a three very thematically-different resorts should say all that needs to be said. Despite Disney’s best efforts to invoke past plans and history to preemptively stymie criticism of this unambitious addition, the actual “inspiration” is simply modern, generic hotel/condo/apartment towers.
Perhaps some of you will dismiss this as needless negativity, especially those who were looking forward to Reflections or are big fans of recent Walt Disney World resort additions. That’s obviously your prerogative, and to each their own.
The thing is, we have not been negative about every hotel change at Walt Disney World. To the contrary, we’ve been more positive than the average reader about recent resort reimaginings, changes, and expansions. The DVC conversion at Grand Floridian makes complete sense, and those rooms look nice. The new lobby at the Contemporary is fantastic.
Beyond that, most of the new room designs in the last few years are generally good, with Riviera Resort (above) providing the template for how those should be done. Every DVC room redo since then–from Saratoga Springs to Boulder Ridge and even the new Disneyland Hotel–has been a marked improvement. Disney is getting function right–it’s form that’s the problem.
More specifically, it’s the new builds and cost-cutting design that I find problematic. In the last few years, Imagineering has really found its groove with the interiors, including room redesigns. By contrast, it seems like the prevailing sentiment is that the exterior and integration of theme simply does not matter. It’s cheaper to build boxy towers, so that’s what they do.
When you compare Walt Disney World resorts built before the mid-1990s to ones built or redesigned in the last few years, there’s generally a clear division. Current projects are often interchangeable with real world Holiday Inns or other mid-tier chained brand hotels.
Look at the difference between BoardWalk Inn or Beach Club and the new casino tower at Coronado or the Fairfield Inn Des Moines Airport Riviera Resort. There simply is not the same depth of detail in the designs with new builds at Walt Disney World–they are not themed.
One explanation is that Disney simply doesn’t want to spend on themed architecture, which eat into profit margins on DVC contract sales. This makes sense, and also explains why Disney is adding these towers alongside existing resorts rather than making them standalone properties. By building adjacent to current hotels, they can share infrastructure or don’t need to offer every amenity on-site.
Another explanation is that the company wants to make things as crowd-pleasing as possible so as to not alienate any potential customers. The thing about this approach is that when you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one. Either way, I don’t get it.
I’m not entirely unreasonable about development at Walt Disney World, I just think it needs to be done in a sustainable way, and one that’s respectful of what already exists. Like Gran Destino Tower or Disney’s Riviera Resort, I have no doubt that this Poly tower will have great guest rooms, offer worthwhile features, and functional enhancements to the Poly.
I’d imagine it’ll also add 1-bedroom and larger rooms to Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, something that has been requested by DVC owners for years. From that perspective alone, I suspect many members will consider this addition a “win.”
As much disdain as I have for the exterior appearance of Gran Destino and the Riviera, they are both excellent resorts if all you care about is their substantive offerings and view them only from the inside, or in isolation. To be fair, that may be the case for many of you.
The outside appearance of Four Seasons Orlando isn’t exactly anything special, but it’s a great hotel on the inside. The critical distinction is that Four Seasons is known for superlative service, not Disney design–and the Four Seasons didn’t impact the existing ‘skyline’ of Walt Disney World when built.
Personally, I think it’s very fair to say that Walt Disney World should aim higher as themed design and immersive environments are its calling card. Exterior design being “good enough” for downtown Anaheim should not be the bar by which Imagineering is measured. Something being sufficient to “complement” Angel Stadium is not quite the same as it fitting with the flagship Grand Floridian or iconic Polynesian. Those are exemplars of themed design, and if additions aren’t capable of matching their look, they simply shouldn’t be built.
At this point, I feel like I’m wasting my breath with all of this, though. If you don’t look at the concept art for the Polynesian tower at the top of this post and immediately think that it’s out of place, there’s probably nothing I can say that’ll change your mind. We simply have different tastes and expectations about the caliber of product Walt Disney World should be delivering given the costs and its rich legacy. To me, this is all very obvious, but I suppose reasonable minds may differ.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of this Walt Disney World news? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about a new tower being added to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort? Happy that DVC is expanding the Poly Villas, or wish they’d build a new stand-alone resort? If you’re a Polynesian (hotel) fan, are you upset by this or indifferent to it? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Honestly,
they’re gonna need to figure out a way to double-decker the monorails.
Tom, I completely agree. What I fail to understand is: why do they keep adding more rooms when the lines are the parks have grown so long? Do we really need to have more and more people?
Like most people posting comments, I have been to WDW numerous times over the last 50 years. Unfortunately, the “magic” is gone for me now. I can remember the days when the rides were unique, the bus drivers spoke to you, cast members were helpful and you didn’t need a phone. All of that is gone now. For the most part, the new rides (Frozen (ugh, thrown in there to make more $ because the movie wasn’t bad enough), Remy (very disappointing), Star Wars Land (because Bob Iger loves Star Wars and Disney just continues to squeeze it beyond death) are awful. I mean how many more specifically themed lands are we going to have: Pandora, Star Wars, Toy Story…has Disney scared away all the creative people?? Same thing with the hotels. There is no theming anymore. The rooms at most hotels are basic now, with maybe a little something Disney themed thrown in (and I hate those fold down beds-like an ironing board). It’s awful. The theming is why people go. This proposed hotel looks awful. It could be any hotel, in any state, just change the landscaping. I mean it’s not bad enough that they built those bungalows in front of the hotels, now they want to take away a beautiful stretch of sand and stuff another hotel on it. Sad, very sad. I promised my kids and grandkids that we would go together two years ago, but then COVID hit. We are scheduled to go in May 2023, but I’ve already told them it will be my last trip. If not forever, then for a very, very, very long time. I have finally opened my eyes that there are better and cheaper destinations than WDW and I plan on seeing them.
Sounds like what has really lost the magic, is you.
Thanks for this post. I am curious of Bob Iger would have approved of these generic cookie cutter Holiday Inn style structures. Could the change in leadership of Bob Chapek in recent years be a cause for this? My guess is not in that Contemporary addition happened years ago for example. My family tried booking their vacation using their phone just last week. The wait was an outrageous 3 hours and then when they finally got someone; they were told the department they needed was closed and to call back tomorrow. They tried again and again another 4 hour wait. Seems they are encouraging people to use the internet; but the small details matter. In fact the small details are all that has ever mattered. They are everything that makes Disney great. A unique, one-of-a-kind hotel structure with intricate theming is also part of that. Excellent service via phone should be as well. All large-scale projects get final approval by the CEO and Board. It is obvious current leadership does not require these details and high standards as mandatory for the Disney Brand. It is a big blow to the quality of the Disney brand for generations ahead. If regular cutting corners is the M.O. ; what can we expect next? Very disappointed and thank you for it pointing out this in your article. It is not in least bit negative. It is a positive article reminding Disney of the amazing brand legacy to represent in each and every project. Sadly at times lately they have forgotten.
Bob Iger approved the cookie cutter structures for the Disneyland Hotel and Reflections that Tom mentioned in the original post. I figure if WDW can theme a three floor building, they can theme a six floor building. This is a cash grab to stick more people in a giant box.
(Okay, a giant box without a monorail running through the middle of it to make it look more sleek and less like the original Watergate building in DC.)
As a DVC member since 2006 – VWL (I know…Boulder Ridge) – we have been through the re-imagining of Copper Creek and the destruction of the pool area (it’s nice now, and trees are growing, but still…), the over-water bungalows, the clearing of land and abandonment of Reflections and now the sorry state of the Boulder Ridge rooms which hopefully get redone ASAP. So now we get a Marriott, er, tower next to the Polynesian? After having stayed there and at the Grand Floridian and having a nightmare getting back from the Magic Kingdom (before walking path) because the boats are small and the monorail is packed…I am not sure how more people staying there is a good thing? Yes, I guess the path will “re-open” then, but still…sometimes some open space is not a bad thing…it’s a good thing. Forget a tower, build a few more longhouses that blend in, not the airport Hyatt next door.
Exactly. As Boulder Ridge is our home, the first thing I have thought of with each of the announcements of VGF and now Poly is when the heck are they going to get on with the delayed refurbishment of BRV!? And the path . . . Rip, I hope they bring it back but highly highly doubtful.
Edit, sorry by “path” I’m referring to the path between Wilderness Lodge and Ft. wilderness!
@AgentMay, I am bereft over the loss of that path. I loved that walk and always thought of it as a big advantage to staying at either FW or DWL.
The little patio around the gigantic venerable banyan tree just outside the Spirit of Aloha entrance with romantic lighting and,.. I can’t go on. It is (insert curse word) inconceivable that such a location would be decimated to make way for another,.. oh i give up,..
Tom if you would just give up this blog I could sever all connection to the once beloved kingdom,..
I like it. It kind of looks like Aulani. They did such a nice job on the recent Poly room refurb that makes me optimistic for what these rooms will be like. And the beach in the picture would add more space for fireworks viewing as I agree the current beach is too crowded. I am glad they are adding more DVC inventory with this and VGF so I have more options to use my points. I am one of those DVC owners you mentioned that is hoping this includes one bedrooms.
There isn’t a large enough Face Palm emoji for this!
I immediately had feelings similar to those you express about this announcement. It’s like shoehorning an elephant’s foot into Cindarella’s slipper!
The resorts around Seven Seas Lagoon need to be themed! With some theming to soften the exterior it wouldn’t look so out of place on the available land between the Transportation Center and Contemporary inside the Monorail loop. It seems to me that Disney has figured out that building UP instead of sprawling resorts requires less expenditure on infrastructure, maintenance, and housekeeping as it’s centralized and there isn’t the need for golf carts, man lifts, etc. everywhere to get around and maintain the suites and property. Makes fiscal sense, but some of that savings could and should be returned to theming the exteriors, and I’m not talking a 5 story bowling pin on the corner of the building!
Oh, and I whole heartedly hope to run into you and Sarah one day when we’re on vacation!
More guest rooms and not more attractions in the parks (OK, AFFORDABLE ATTRACTIONS) or even another park? No problem. We’ll just cram more people in. They’ll pay. And pay. And pay some more. As long as they make money, they don’t care. Still disgusted from our January trip. And Tom, I agree about the building. If you squint and back up, it goes perfectly well with Poly. And Wilderness Lodge. And Holiday Inn. I’m just a bitter old woman…
Honestly, why doesn’t Disney just waive the white flag and have Tom and Sarah volunteer 2 days a month as senior idea and design consultants. Bet we’d all be much better off!!
The thing is, I don’t doubt for a second that Imagineering presented corporate leadership with a menu of ambitious and thematically-appropriate designs.
In situations like this, the end result is not a creative failure. This is a conscious decision due to space, operating costs, margins, and a slew of other variables. When things like this are announced, plenty of Imagineers are just as frustrated as fans–they just can’t say so publicly.
Tom I have been a reader for years and enjoy your information and ideas. I have never agreed with every SINGLE word in a post. – until now. It seems like Disney is just building giant boxes to house giant numbers of people – who can look out their windows at the former themed resorts as part of the magical experience. (then stampede over and invade their amenities). Just too many people-
In addition to the disappointment regarding the lack of theming of recent and proposed hotel towers, I am disappointed at the intentional overcrowding of resorts, parks, and even the very acreage at WDW. I can’t imagine what they are thinking…
well, as someone who needs a 2-bedroom, I like this because otherwise we could never stay at Poly (well we could get 2 studios but that’s kind of a pain). But I totally see the downsides, too.
Have to agree with what a lot of other posters are saying here. Grand Floridian is a conversion, so it won’t impact monorail traffic. But adding rooms at Poly is going to be a mess. The monorail is already tedious, overcrowded, and unreliable–it took me nearly an hour to get from EPCOT to the Grand Floridian the last time I used it. Increasing capacity without improving infrastructure is really killing the Disney experience.
Insert Michael Scott meme: “NOOOO, GOD, PLEASE NOOOO!”
I imagine the absolutely gorgeous walking path between the Polynesian and Grand Floridian will be inaccessible for the next several years now? The monorail resort loop is simply too valuable of an area to leave undeveloped by Disney. WDW feels more and more like a major city instead of an escape nowadays. There’s more traffic, more construction, and more generic looking buildings showing up all the time. The new residence inn at Flamingo Crossings has more interesting architecture than what Disney is showing for this.
I hate timeshares, I hate DVC, I hate the Disney Dining Plan, I hate Genie+, and I especially hate all the “creative” ways that WDW has been attempting to separate guests from their money the past five years or so. You know what? How about Disney just sells DVC “Cabanas” in Tomorrowland and they can have a little DVC tent city that looks like a homeless encampment.
They actually did try selling cabanas behind Tommorowland/Main Street a few years ago! They were white plastic tents with seating and “snacks”. It was a joke and obviously not successful. Anything to make a buck…
Thanks Tom – agree with your thoughts. I am guessing Disney is pushing for more and more DVC to reduce risks of another pandemic- after all DVC pay whether you can vacation or not. Won’t be surprised to see Yacht Club hotels rooms changed in the future
Agree with your comments. Our family has been coming to Disney World since 1976, DVC owners since 2002. We have taken the entire family every year, and this year was not enjoyable, as we could not plan our days in advance, such as fast passes etc. until the morning, then having to get up and do that at 7:00, and spending the day on your iPhone trying to arrange the next step. NOT enjoyable! Very disappointed in what has been taking place. Once again building more rooms to bring people in and yet same amount of parks etc. for the people to go. All Disney cares about any more is the almighty dollar. I do not believe that is what Walt Disney envisioned, he has to be frowning down on what is taking place.
Just got back from a week at WDW, and it was the most disappointing trip ever – for all the reasons you list. Walt must be spinning in his grave; I really don’t think this is what he imagined at all. He would likely object to the steep cost increase and the reduction in what you get for those extra dollars (MANY extra dollars). You know, a lot of it just ain’t fun any more.
And BTW, Tom, your opinions expressed in this article are worded a bit graciously for the behemoth money grabber that Disney has become. Maybe Holiday Inn should take over all the resorts…
The removal of advance planning and waking up at 7 to choose the first thing and then wait to plan the next absolutely DESTROYS the ability of relaxing. We used to be able to have that stress at home while building the best days ever – so that the second we got off the plane – straight to magical express and not worrying about anything – it was all set. Sure not everyone is like this, but for my family and many others – we freaking hate staring at our phones when it’s family time. We should be looking at each other and the amazing place we are in.
Thank you for the information Tom, and for including your link to your Reflections post. I had to check your Reflections post to understand whether all the images I was looking at in this post were of the new tower or had been included by you as a compare and contrast. I agree with your analysis. I love the current look of the Lagoon – 3 very distinct hotels. I am very disappointed that such a bland and irrelevant building is going to be added to the mix.
Def agree that the Poly couldn’t handle this as an addition to with the current amenities. The transportation will be even worse. I always look at the faces of those standing by at the Floridian waiting for monorail space and seeing it arrive already full. Cant imagine the most expensive resort not being able to have monorail service.
I agree wholeheartedly. Thank you for putting such a fine point on it.
Wow, I completely misused the phrase “put such a fine point on it”, which isn’t even the phrase. What I mean to say was: well-said! Ha