Has Disney Declared War on Theming?

[OThopeful35]

I agree the new renovated rooms do look a bit sterile.

 

[BayouQueen]

I'm hoping they look better "in person." We just stayed in a refurbished room at Grand Californian in DL and it was beautifully and tastefully themed -- much more so than it appeared in photographs.

I'm crossing fingers and holding out hope for the WDW resorts.

 

[maxiesmom]

It's all personal taste isn't it, you can't please everybody. I loved my room at Wilderness Lodge, but the amount of people that complain they are "too dark" or "too rustic looking", I would'nt be surprised if they toned down the theming in those eventually.

There were many posters complaining that CSR looked too dark, so I bet that has something to do with the more stark look of the new rooms.

 

[Regan117]

Wasn't this just discussed at length in another recent thread?

I like the updates. They're cleaner and classier. Period.

 

[glocon]

For me, when we go to a themed resort, I like the resort and the rooms to match the theme- that's why we picked it in the first place. It would be sad walking into a room at AKL and CR and not being able to tell which is which.
I say keep the theming. Not necessarily Mickey Mouse, but the general theme of the resort.

 

[mom2rtk]

Wasn't this just discussed at length in another recent thread?

I like the updates. They're cleaner and classier. Period.

Is there ever a "period" involved in matters of design preference?

 

[Buzzsgramma]

I will never forget walking into the BWV the first time we went as an owner....I almost cried it was so lovely.....17 yrs later////not so much ...i for one hate them doing this......
I have booked the Grand Floridian for Dec...for hubby and I before they ruin that hotel......

 

[maxiesmom]

Is there ever a "period" involved in matters of design preference?

Nope.

 

[Planogirl]

These newer rooms look like a blander version of Holiday Inn Express to me. That by itself isn't "bad" but it certainly doesn't make the Disney hotels stand out.

 

[georgina]

For me, when we go to a themed resort, I like the resort and the rooms to match the theme- that's why we picked it in the first place. It would be sad walking into a room at AKL and CR and not being able to tell which is which.
I say keep the theming. Not necessarily Mickey Mouse, but the general theme of the resort.

Have they de-themed the rooms at AKL? You've still got animals and the gorgeous lobby. CR never appealed to me in any part, but I have never seen the rooms.

I'm not going to complain about the refurbishments. I like what I have seen so far.

 

[Nanaberry]

Y

Maybe the off-site Disney themed places go quicker because the themes make people feel like they are staying on-site.

Yea...or everyone loves all things Disney....Disney tshirts, handbags, leggings, the list goes on and on....
Marketing geniuses they are. Dunno why it wouldn't work for their resorts too

 

[Scott MC]

OH! So many opinions on this thread, but I'll start by saying that OP, I agree with you 100%. While I don't hate the newly refurbished rooms (for the most part), I really miss some of the theming. I've been staying in deluxe resorts since 2009, and have never felt that any theming was over-the-top. I think the biggest problem lately (and I've said this a lot lately on various threads), is the removing of bed runners and decorative pillows. I'm fine with the white sheets, pillows, etc, but come on, you've got to decorate the bed a bit, OR do what the Doubletree I stayed at last night did, which is at least put a big, puffy, white duvet on the bed. Disney is now just using white sheets and a thin blanket in-between. Talk about cheap looking! I've recently looked around on TripAdvisor at various recent shots of all deluxe rooms and especially at the GF and Contemporary, the rooms truly look like Housekeeping was interrupted and unable to finish making up the room. It's a trend I hope passes quickly!

I think they look fantastic.

This may not be to your taste, but it doesn't mean Disney is doing something wrong.

But since they are to your taste, it doesn't mean Disney has done completely right either. It's a matter of opinion.

I agree.

Plus I prefer white bedding on a hotel bed than those crazy comforters and stuff. I think it all looks cleaner and probably IS.

Yup, agree, but add a decorative pillow....which can be removed immediately if you're afraid of any germs they may carry.

Wasn't this just discussed at length in another recent thread?

I like the updates. They're cleaner and classier. Period.

Eh, I'm going to say that just because you think they're cleaner (which I agree with) and classier (which I don't agree with), doesn't mean that there's a period there. No one on this board is the end all and be all of hotel room design.

For me, when we go to a themed resort, I like the resort and the rooms to match the theme- that's why we picked it in the first place. It would be sad walking into a room at AKL and CR and not being able to tell which is which.
I say keep the theming. Not necessarily Mickey Mouse, but the general theme of the resort.

Exactly.

I will never forget walking into the BWV the first time we went as an owner....I almost cried it was so lovely.....17 yrs later////not so much ...i for one hate them doing this......
I have booked the Grand Floridian for Dec...for hubby and I before they ruin that hotel......

Too late. Gorgeous new rooms from 2014-ish, but but stripping the beds of the runners and decorative pillows....room looks very unfinished. The room was designed originally to have those items there to pull the design together.

 

[Shanti]

Have they de-themed the rooms at AKL?.

No, not yet.

 

[Scott MC]

No, not yet.

Ah, but they have removed the pretty reddish pillow and bed runners from the bed....again....room looks unfinished.

 

[shh]

I haven't seen the mod and deluxe updates, so may love those. I truly don't mind sleek, understated, even stark and I travel a lot as well from basic no frills to high end. I like all the chain hotel room looks.

Having said all hat, I HATE HATE HATE Pop's refurb. The second I saw them, all I could think of was how much they looked like hospital rooms. And due to family health issues, I've been in quite a few different hospitals and hospital rooms during the past decade...so I unfortunately have a lot of experience in this area.

I hate the cheap institutional walnut wood grain cabinetry tables, the stark white walls, the laminate floors, the sterile white beds. I know when we're back this Dec, I'm either staying mod or in one of the all stars.

I have never felt that unpleasant a reaction at any room at any hotel. Strange. Maybe it's just me.

 

[Shanti]

They're cleaner and classier.

The renovated resort rooms are no more or less clean than they were before.

There is nothing particularly "classy" about sterility. There have been many styles of interior design over the years. Some ornate, others minimalist, but there isn't one style that is objectively better or more upper-class than another. It's always been a matter of taste.

The reason the current loss of theming at Disney concerns me isn't because I don't like or understand minimalist design. It's because minimalist design doesn't fit with the various Disney resorts' theming. The only exception is the Comtemporary, which was designed to be minimalist. The look fits with the theming at that resort. It does not fit with the theming of the other Disney resorts, however.

I will also add that some of the refurbs don't just look minimalist. As another poster mentioned, the quality of materials is actually an issue with some of them, making them look cheap.

 

[adelaster]

Curious, is there a photo archive of rooms? As a newbie I have no context for this discussion.

 

[Shanti]

Curious, is there a photo archive of rooms? As a newbie I have no context for this discussion.

It's a pain to load photos here, so I'll just provide a pair of links to illustrate old vs. new room styles at the Boardwalk.

The Boardwalk has two parts, the Inn (hotel) and the Villas (DVC). The Inn's rooms have not been recently renovated, while the Villas have been recently renovated. So you can look at Disney's current room galleries of each to get an idea of where Disney room design used to be, and where it's been going the past few years.

Boardwalk Inn (not recently renovated): https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/boardwalk-inn/

Boardwalk Villas (recently renovated): https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/boardwalk-villas/

It's still hard to tell all of the difference unless you've actually stayed there, because much of the theming and charm in these rooms have been in the little details (custom-made lamps to match the theme, figures carved into the backs of chairs, a painted scene on a dresser, etc.). The room photos don't show the detail all that well.

 

[allsaintsatx]

I don't care what they do to the rooms, turn it into a huge plastic cube, just please don't take away all the rugs. I love the rugs. Those pergo floors are cold on your bare feet in the morning and loud when neighbors are running, as they all will do, at 6am in the morning. It's already fairly loud with the rugs.

And I understand a whole lot of folks say "the rugs are dirty". That's probably true. But they're rugs, and I'm pretty sure they can clean them. I clean my rugs at home all the time. And mine have been known to have dog puke on them from time to time! Yes, rugs can be hard to clean sometimes, but so can swimming pools. Pools are actually very hard to keep clean. And even then, you are still very likely to be swimming in some other person's urine. That, to me, is way worse than a maybe dirty rug. Are we going to also stop swimming in the pools? Will we be elated when Disney announces, because of cleanliness concerns, they're going to dig up the dirty hard to clean pools? I'm being sarcastic of course (please don't take away the pools! And please don't pee in them)

And this pergo floors/stark white linen thing is not new. We stayed offsite at the Annabella near Disneyland 6 years ago in 2011 and that is almost exactly what the rooms looked like - pergo floors, plain white bed linens, bed off the floor a little. Here's a picture:
Sorry for the edit, but my now teenage DS was 7 at the time and in his tight whiteys so I edited him out!


And if y'all think stark white and no rugs somehow makes the room feel cleaner, that's great! Just please don't take out all the rugs from all the rooms. Can't we have a Disney Divorce, and the pergo people get 50% of the resorts and the rug people get the other 50%? I think that's only fair!

 

[BayouQueen]

Speaking of the new bare floor look that @allsaintsatx mentioned...
Seems like the refurb rooms are also getting bigger, more modern televisions. When we stayed in a new room at Grand Californian this past week, we did hear a lot of television noise from adjoining rooms. I think this is because of the combination of big new TVs and less carpet. And I mean a whole lot of television noise. They may end up having to do something with volume control on the TVs...or bring back more carpet.

I wonder if the room designers think of this stuff. And wonder if other people are encountering this in other resorts.