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!
Related but going down a different road question: any idea how this is going to affect the Wedding Pavilion during the construction? We’re currently planning a September 2023 WDW wedding, and we’re basic so of course the Pavilion is high up on our venue list. I’m really worried about jackhammers and drills going off as I walk down the aisle, which…no thank you. Disney makes a killing on that venue fee, so a part of me thinks they wouldn’t put it at risk. But then they’ll make a ton more off DVC sales for this building, so maybe they don’t care if Pavilion bookings slow down for a year or two. Do you have any thoughts on whether couples should avoid the Pavilion until the construction is over? Thanks!
You ask what compelling reason DVC may have for a separate condo association. Easy answer: resale restrictions a la Riviera.
So disappointed we never got to see Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, and seeing huge additions along the lagoon just makes me dread larger crowds. Also agree on Riviera Resort. Our 2 bedroom was great, but felt like an apartment, not Disney. And it’s a long walk through the massive building to get to the skyliner.
An ugly building that doesn’t fit in next to the Poly, just like the Reflections monstrosity…
That little stretch of beach was a hidden gem. Not shocked it was discovered by Disney executives looking to make money.
I have fond memories and pictures of me and my son hanging out on the swing on that beach in the early morning while I sipped tea and he played in the sand in our last trip. I also loved the rooms that had that view- guess I’ll take a monorail view instead, please.
Couldn’t agree more.
The permits filed, the new map — Strongly suggest to me that it will be the same association. Certainly it could legally be a new association, but it would be odd to have 2 different associations separate by maybe 20 yards. Even CCV and BRV have more physical space between their actual buildings. BRV is actually somewhat removed from the main WL building which houses CCV.
Good point. Anther reason to add it to the current association is contracts would be for 40 years instead of 50 like a new resort. Turning that asset over faster has to look good to the old ROI.
Love this blog!
If they are on the same leisurely Tron, Grand Floridian Walking Path, and Ratatouille construction pace, we will see that new Holiday Inn Poly tower sometime in 2030. I do hope that they put a bigger pool in though. The two existing pools are too small for a resort as big as the Polynesian. It is difficult in the warm months to find a place to sit by the pools too. Lets hope they don’t use up a bunch of real estate to build more of those monstrous cabanas either.
The hotels built at Disney World since Bay Lake Tower have been disappointing. They are all ugly, plain, modern style high rises with little to no theming.
Bay Lake Tower, Gran Destino, Riviera Resort, and Swan Reserve all fall into this category.
Even though Swan Reserve is a non-Disney hotel, Disney still has the final say over its design. In fact, it was Disney that insisted that the original Swan and Dolphin not be built as plain, modern hotels.
Reflections Lakeside Lodge and the Polynesian addition will also fall into the category of ugly, plain, modern high rises if and when they are built.
I refuse to refer to Reflections by its absurdly pompous and awkward proper name “Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge.” That name sounds like it was coined by the type of person who would go around speaking in a fake British accent in order to sound “sophisticated.”
Gran Destino and Riviera Resort in particular have a fake, garish Las Vegas type of appearance. This is partially due to the use of fake building materials in their construction.
For example, they both use fake stucco in place of real stucco, brick, or stone in their facades. Even the “slate” shingles at the Riviera are fake and are just simply painted to look like slate shingles.
Gran Destino and Riviera Resort are both tarted up with glitzy fake looking ornamentation to give them a minimal semblance to theming. This combined with their large size and high rise stature further complete their Vegas appearances.
The Riviera Resort and Gran Destino both could have been beautiful if they had been built out of real building materials and used authentic Riviera and Spanish styles of architecture. Neither one has true Riviera or Spanish architecture.
The lobby area and grand staircase at the Riviera Resort are ridiculously small and cramped. There are areas where it’s uncomfortable for two people to pass by each other. This could be a safety problem in the event of large crowds or a fire evacuation as there could be crowd crushes or stampedes.
Bay Lake Tower and Swan Reserve don’t look Vegas, but instead look like ordinary luxury hotels that could be found in any major city or upscale suburb in America.
The Polynesian and Wilderness Lodge are the two most beautiful, richly themed resorts at Disney World. They are both masterpieces in theming and architecture.
There is no reason to desecrate either one of them with an ugly, plain, modern addition that has a bare minimal amount of theming slapped on as an afterthought.
There are numerous beautiful, rustic, real life park lodges that Disney could use as inspiration for another park lodge style resort that would be significantly better than Reflections.
The beautiful Civilian Conservation Corp built 1940 Pere Marquette Lodge and cabins in Grafton, IL is a favorite of mine that could provide some inspiration.
Admittedly, there are less real life sources of inspiration for a Polynesian style resort, but that shouldn’t be a problem as the original Polynesian Resort provides enough inspiration in its own right.
Stunned to see a Pere Marquette Lodge mentioned, as I used to go there as a child. It really does remind me of Wilderness Lodge inside, which is not an expected sight in Illinois!
When do you think this project will start? I don’t want to pay all that money to stay at the Polynesian with construction going on
I have visited Walt Disney World six times over my lifetime, the first four times with my parents in the 70s and 80s, then with my wife in 1998 and again with my wife, in-laws and then 10-year-old nephew in 2001. Each and every time, we stayed at the Polynesian. I fell in love with the resort the first time around and would never have considered staying anywhere else. I loved the theming, the original simple but very well themed cave pool, the waterfalls in the lobby and in front of the main entrance, the beach with an unobstructed view of the castle, and of course the Polynesian Luau was a must-do every time.
Since my last visit they’ve removed that wonderful Sunset Point and added the clutter of bungalows which would never be worth the price of a stay, taken out the waterfall, closed the Luau for good, and now they’re going to add this gawd-awful monstrosity of a DVC facility. This is “Polynesian?” HARDLY. They’re going to turn this beautiful south-seas island themed resort into – AT BEST – Waikiki Beach – or – frankly – what might as well just be Miami. If I were going to stay there, I might as well just GO to Miami instead and spend a lot less money.
After all, I certainly won’t be going to the theme parks any more anyway. Not with the price gouging, the reservation systems, and the nickle-and-diming with Lightening Lane and everything else. Disney pricing has always been “outrageous” to begin with….but the theming and the immersion and the incomparable level of “guest” service were second to none and made it a worthwhile rare splurge.
Not anymore. Not under the reign of Bob Paycheck. Now Disney is all about the money and we the “guests” are now just “cu$$tomers.” I don’t see myself visiting, let alone staying at, a Disney park or resort ever again as long as I live. I shall merely follow blogs such as this and chortle as I read about the people who are still willing to continue paying more and more for less and less.
Thank you Mr. Bricker for providing these wonderful photos through which I can cherish the memories of what used to be.
It is my understanding that there is a site where you can sign to ask management to remove Chapek. It’s gaining steam and needs more signatures. Where it goes, I don’t know. It is time for change.
I completely agree with you. I stayed at the Poly in 2019 and felt it was overpriced, as the rooms were shabby, but my little daughter loved the pool. When we stayed there last year, I loved it with the refurbishment and the whole feel of the Poly. I chose the Poly again for our trip this year in August. Prices keep going up. No sale participation. Now they will take away spirit of aloha and build a crowd inducing monstrosity. I guess next year, I will just save money and book a moderate resort. They are more than nice and cost half the price. I can live without the monorail convenience. I did fine without it at the Poly last year when it was still in refurbishment. Eventually Disney will just put price itself.
I totally agree. Disney is quickly destroying the magic.
I’ve been to Oahu, and this just makes. me think of Waikiki and all the hotels down the beach, whereas the Poly makes me think of a true Polynesian Village on a remote island. One does not work well with the other. In all honesty, I’ve never been able to afford to stay at the Poly (it’s my dream bucket list resort) but I visit for the ambiance and treats like Ohana’s and Trader Sam’s. Being able to wander the grounds and sit out among the palms and landscaping is an escape to me, and having this tower that doesn’t fit aesthetically I feel will ruin the magic that IS the Polynesian.
Walt’s (and his crew’s) original view was so good, so perfect, that Disney has been living off it’s residuals for decades. They could fill the lake with Super 8s and they would still be sold out and the parks would be packed. For now at least.
It’s difficult to judge how well something is doing based on it’s online fanbase, but I think it may have some merit as an indication of future thoughts of the general fanbase (see Thrones, Game of). I’ve been seeing it for a decade on the forums, but instead of just a few disgruntled posters, the majority now seem to be very negative against the direction Disney is going. It’s not a good sign when so many “Superfans” don’t enjoy the new offerings of the company (I would consider most people who post on forums, regularly read/watch Disney blogs, or go to the parks semi regularly to be superfans). These superfans were created by falling in love with the parks (among other thing ie. films,). With new construction that looks like generic downtown business districts (The new hotels, avengers campus, parts of the new EPCOT, parts of Disney Springs, etc.) and other projects that are ok, but no where near what they should be (ST GE, Ratatouille taking 5 years and being an exact clones), superfans will begin to lessen or drop out their support, and fewer new superfans will be created. Fewer super fans means fewer blogs (not yours, yours’ will last forever) fewer youtube channels, less buzz. Even though they are probably a very small percentage of Disney’s profits themselves, they are massive ambassadors and champions of the brand and create content that influences many people’s decision into taking a trip to Disney. With less off them (or if they’re more negative), families will find other ways to spend thousands of dollars.
We can still enjoy our time there, even at the new, substandard creations, but they don’t create the same feelings as walking down Main Street USA, or strolling through the countries. True, you can still do those things, but they are more and more being replaced or tarnished by having new, poorly themed construction forced in.
Maybe Disney will continue to make huge profits for decades in the future, but I think there will be a tipping point where the specialness of what once was, no longer outweighs what it has now become, and people will be sick of getting nickeled and dimed for a product that is no longer greater than what they can find cheaper somewhere else.
As for this hotels like these, I wouldn’t really mind them if they were concentrated more in one area and didn’t negatively effect other parts of the resort that were lovingly themed with such care. Putting them all around DS with some meeting rooms and convention centers would make sense to me. I understand there may be a need for these towers, and some people don’t need or even enjoy the immersive theming of the other resorts. But, when they shoehorn them next to these existing properties, that tells me they want the benefits of the theming, without doing the work required. It just shows that right now Disney has lost what made them special, resorting to strip mining their existing properties, trying to wring out every last penny of nostalgia and profit from the creations of greater men and woman.
Walt Disney said to his employees when they were first designing the first Disneyland, “If you make your guests feel like he’s been cheated you’ll never see him again.” But the current management of Disney evidently never read that, which I would believe, or they just don’t care because they’re going to make their millions and then skedaddle and it’s not their name that’s going to be ruined. I just feel so sad for the memory of Walt Disney.
As for being cheated, the parks are already packed to the gills and yet they’re going to put up another hotel with hundreds of rooms so that more people come to pack the parks even further and make the lines even longer? And the view from the seven seas lagoon is going to look more like New York City from the Hudson River than it does Disney World. Spending $15,000 for one-week only to stand in line for hours is not what I call a vacation. It’s what I call getting mugged. People will catch on after a while.
Darius, thanks for that well-written, thoughtful and heartfelt analysis,..
I very much agree about the need for more amenities in the new buildings, and I was hoping they would put in a large pool, but it appears to be a smeller one based on the picture- we will see!
*smaller lol. Also not thrilled this is going in, worried about the relaxed tropical vibe-big towers do not mesh with the existing. As a current owner, I bought for the lush theming and sense of peace. I agree about increased crowding in hotel and beach- we couldn’t get in the pool or near the restaurants last trip.
Everyone complaining. Same everyones will be in line waiting for the first available reservation.
Inserting that monstrosity onto the beach there will absolutely mess up the feel of that entire area. Why screw up the monorail loop resorts? I agree with you that it will add to already miserable congestion in the lobby around Ohana as more people will want to eat there, even if they do add a restaurant and the monorail line will be more congested. Pay a premium for a worse product. That part is definitely on theme with recent developments.