Pop Century

[Eeyore2U]

I hope this qualifies as Rumors/News. We were driving back from the All Star Sports Cafe last week. We saw the new Pop Century Resorts. They are IMHO disgusting. It is the worst design/theme I have ever seen. They are next to CBR and if it is such a drastic difference it's sad.

 

[YoHo]

You mean their is something Uglier then a 50 foot high guitar?

I think we should all hope and pray that the delayed construction is left delayed forever and that eventually the themeing is redone.

 

[toefungus]

I think that the theme is ok, but the purple is just.....yuck! I hope that it will look better up close.

 

[Eeyore2U]

There are phrases all over the buildings in LARGE letters. There were a couple of HUGE yoyos that were gross. If someone like that moved into my neighborhood I think I'd ry to round up the neighbors in protest. Like they did in Arkansas with the Osborne lights!

 

[All Aboard]

I completely agree.

Personally, I love the All Stars (if that gives some perspective.) I think the hyperbolic icons at the AS's are quite cool and well done. (especially Movies)

However, each time I drive past Pop Century, I too get nauseous. The buildings are just plain awful looking. So far, I am very disappointed with Pop Century.

 

[d-r]

<h1>Platform Shoes!</h1><p>
<strong><blink>GROOVY!</blink></strong>

 

[JeffJewell]

Personally, I love the All Stars... (snip) ...However, each time I drive past Pop Century, I too get nauseous

...I'm curious, would you go into more detail about the differences you see between the broad iconic theming of PC versus the broad iconic theming of the AS?

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that I don't think either of these resorts is themed particularly well. Specifically, I feel there is a clear difference between, say, Port Orleans (where the buildings and landscaping are intended to take your imagination to some other place, some other time), and the Values (where I see no attempt to take anyone anywhere).

The Values appear to rely on simple recognition to inspire a memory (hey, there's Pongo! Wow, I remember that movie), whereas the other resorts can actually give you the feeling of being somewhere other than Florida, somewhere of which you had no previous experience.

Personally, I find it difficult to even describe the Values as being "themed," rather, it seems to me they are "decorated," which I consider a vastly inferior concept. There's a pizza place near here with Disney characters painted all over it (in flagrant disregard for most or all of our copyright laws, I'm quite certain) that could be described as being "themed" even better than ASM, if not on nearly as grand a scale.

Anyway, I was just curious if the different reactions to Pop Century and the All-Stars were a result of personal preference for one set of icons, or if I'm overlooking something when lumping the two resorts into the same "poorly themed" basket.

Jeff

 

[YoHo]

What if instead of huge yoyos, they were huge.......YoHos. Then it wouldbe perfect.

 

[JeffJewell]

they were huge.......YoHos

...if they were huge HoHos?

Jeff

 

[larworth]

Why would Disney want to adorn their new motel with a giant replica's of this cream filled chocolate snack cake. Won't a twinkie be a much more recognizable icon.


Ohh, you said YoHo's and not HoHo's. Sorry.

 

[Eeyore2U]

I'm glad someone else went to the YoHo, HoHo remark. I think that a pink elephant is a more appropriate symbol.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

Personally, I find it difficult to even describe the Values as being "themed," rather, it seems to me they are "decorated," which I consider a vastly inferior concept.

WOW!!!!! For years I've been searching for the right words to put this concept across. And for years the task eluded me. "Decorated" is the perfect description!! And a blind man can see that it is indeed 'inferior'.

Thank you and well done, Jeff!!! Well done indeed!!!

 

[All Aboard]

Where to start. Ok, theming. What does it mean? Seems that Jeff has joined Landbaron in deciding that "theming" means taking you to a geographic location when it is applied to a WDW resort. I disagree. Instead, theming is the underlying element that everything about the resort is based upon. Until the All Stars were built, that was a geographic location (except of course for the Contemporary.) Now the All Stars have expanded the elements upon which theming is based. The theme of Pop Century will be the decades of the 20th Century. That's a theme. History is a theme, art could be a theme... literature, water, space, health, evil, religion... these could all be themes. Theming isn't limited to geography.

The Ramada Inn has no theme, the Holiday Inn has no theme. But the All Stars have themes. One has a sports theme, one has a music theme and one has a movies theme. The theme is carried from the buildings themselves to the lobby to the food courts to the gift shops to the pools to the play areas. It's theming, not decoration. It's a consistent subject matter upon which everything about the resort is based.

One might argue that the All Star Movies is the only Walt Disney World resort with "Disney" theming.

Now, about why I like the All Stars and not Pop Century. Simple matter of taste. I think PC is ugly. The buildings coming up right now are bright purple. Like another poster mentioned, the theming includes a bunch of giant words attached to the buildings. That's ugly. Buzz Lightyear is not ugly, Pongo is not ugly, surfboards are not ugly. In fact I think they are kind of cool. That's not what I see at Pop.

I can understand folks that think the All Stars are ugly. That's fine, opinions vary. But, don't be surprised if alot of folks who like the All Stars (like me) end up hating Pop. There's a big difference to me.

 

[YoHo]

gcurling, what if All Stars movies looked like Hollywood boulevard or the tower of Terror out of Disney studios instead of like a motel 6 with a giant dalmation?

I think what's needed here is a good illustration, but I can't think of one. All I can say is that a Disney resort based on movies should look the same as a Themepark based on movies. The DIsneyland Hotel is a resort Decorated to look like Disney. it looks thousands of times better then the allstars and still just looks like your typical hotel.

 

[Eeyore2U]

I told my wife about the post. She said it doesn't have anything to do with theming. It has to do with a simple matter of taste. This is simply decorated/designed tackily. Her other comment was "do they think people paying less have less taste"

 

[Peter Pirate]

gcurling is RIGHT! Landbaron, JJ & Yoho are...ummm, err, ahhh....WRONG!!!

Theming is firmly in place at AS & PC. Whether you like the concept is irrelevent. Whether you think they went far enough is irrelevent. Whether they're "cheap" is ...You got it, irrelevent.
Webster says "theme" is "the topic or subject of something". Pretty straightforward and the AS & PC Resorts are certainly themed.

Now is it good or not? I would like to say that the Disney snobbery that I tried discussing is rearing its ugly head. First, PC isn't yet complete & the landscaping is not in place. Maybe it will appear vastly different when it is. Second, "Disney" doesn't have to mean elaborate (Splash Mountain = elaborate; Mad Tea Cups = not elaborate)... and the ellusive "magic" means so many different things to so many different people that I think it is "snobbish" to label the Values as non-Disney, cheap, garrish, basic or non-Disney (did I say that already? ) when it is clearly a Disney themed Resort that many, many people enjoy staying at. People who may not be able to stay at a deluxe, but still many who can but find the AS's offering what they or their children like or want in an on-site hotel and this could be anything from simple dollars and cents to love of the totally whimsical and blatent overexposure of huge icons (there is no accounting for taste).

gcurling defines theming perfectly...

 

[Eeyore2U]

Peter Pirate,

I go back to my original point. What I saw was visually unappealing. I don't care about the theme. I'm not talking Disney Snobbery. I'm not talking anything but the way they look. IMHO the only way landscaping can help is if they totally block the view of the buildings.

 

[YoHo]

If the Polynesian resort had the same level of service as the all stars, had exterior doors and had the same price, but still looked like the polynesian, which would you stay at?


I'm not going to agree or disagree with JeffJewell's statement. I merely think that the Allstars are ugly and would have much preferred that they look like old school hollywood for Movies. Music and sports are harder, but I can think of a couple ways to make it a little better. I think if we took a poll on the resorts board as to why people like the All Stars resorts, the themeing would come in dead last if at all. You know what, I'm going to start that poll. If I'm wrong, then I'll shut up. But I have a hard time believing that people choose it over other options due to its "Theme."

 

[Peter Pirate]

Good idea Yoho! And if i'm wrong I'll...Do something...

Eyore2U, Idon't disagree with your assesment, it's the anti-theming screeming meemmee's that I find contention with. We all have different tastes here on the DIS...Heck, Yoho & I were romantically linked in a vicious and salatious attack not so long ago on a now locked thread and yet here we are disagreeing...Well, not totally, I agree Yoho that I'd like your vision of the budgets better than what they've done...I'm just saying who am I to cast dispersions?

 

[HorizonsFan]

If the Polynesian resort had the same level of service as the all stars, had exterior doors and had the same price, but still looked like the polynesian

I think this hypothetical may be flawed. Could the look of the Poly (extensive landscaping) be maintained if they only charged what the AS charge. My point is that the theming (or decorations if you will) rely very little on landscaping and require much less maintainence than your average moderate therefore the lower price. Just a theory...

...if they were huge HoHos?

mmmmmmmmmmmmm... HoHos...