Virtual Imagineer (Florida): What would you do with the Disney resorts?

[rutgers1]

Play the role of an imagineer. Let's come up with a feasible plan for the Disney resorts in Florida (renovations, new hotels) that would take them where the idealists on this board would have them go. Let's hear it!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I have always wanted a Colonial themed resort, sort of like the American Adventure style.

My second choice would be a resort themed like Hugh Hefner's house.

MG

 

[Padrepride]

I too would love an American-Colonial or American-Western style resort. I still love the idea of a Disney's America.

 

[YoHo]

The African Village? The old FW/WL plans?

Neither of those take a bit of imagineering talent as the plans were developed by Imagineers a long time ago and both are better than anything they've actually built.

 

[doconeill]

Bring back the Asian Resort theme. Nothing current has made use of that. Something perhaps designed around the Forbidden City.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

The African Village? The old FW/WL plans?

Neither of those take a bit of imagineering talent as the plans were developed by Imagineers a long time ago and both are better than anything they've actually built.

That's a very bold statement considering AKL and WL. Not saying it's not true, just bold.

Can you back it up by describing these old plans? What makes it so much better?

MG

 

[YoHo]

AV could do it better, still, when I get back later today I'll try to lay it out.

Wilderness lodge is pretty good, but don't get me started on AKL. It's pretty, very pretty. It isn't good.

 

[libertybell7]

How about one modeled like the lost city of Atlantis?...

 

[YoHo]

OK, First of all, I'm going to do my best to explain the African Village idea. The reason is that I don't actually know the deal with the FW/WL plan, I've just heard of it. Also, I'm pretty sure that plan wasn't instead of WL, it was perhaps instead of the DVC. Also, the African Village idea was a modification of the FW/WL plan.
Also, the first thing to mention is that TDS has a hotel that's essentially a part of the theme park. THAT is was the African village was to be, but it was even more.


The concept behind the African village was to take Disney Storytelling and themeing to the next level. AND, to prove that you could do that at all accomodation levels.

Imagine the Harambe Village. In the Park. To one side, you see a 100+ year old colonial magistrate's mansion. Inside is a Deluxe level resort with colonial style and luxury with all the amenities antendent with it.
On the other side of the street is a market house, or colonial barracks or some similar mid level building. This is the Mid level resort. Then down the way, the town locals live in more basic accomodations. The local shaman holds fort. The value resort. Smaller rooms, basic amenities, but lots of chacter and story. Finally, on the edge of town are the tents of the visiting zoologist expedition. Out to see the animals in their natuarl habitat. This is a camp ground.

All the facilities would share pools and obviously resturants which would be part of the park as well. Price of the accomodations is based on room size, size of the specirfic part of the resort and probably proximity to the main part of the theme park.

It was a completely new idea in Disney resorts. a jump in Imagineering.
Instead we got the AKL which has about as much African Authenticity as my local Pier 1 combined with a zoo.

The difference is that AKL is nothing new. It's the same thing Disney's been doing for decades. In some ways, it's worse, because the people that built it never understood what Disney was doing when they built the poly and the Contemp or even WL.
This idea was revolutionary. It was a leap forward. It was in short, exactly the kind of thing that Disney used to be famous for. Before the dimwits took charge.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

OK, First of all, I'm going to do my best to explain the African Village idea. The reason is that I don't actually know the deal with the FW/WL plan, I've just heard of it. Also, I'm pretty sure that plan wasn't instead of WL, it was perhaps instead of the DVC. Also, the African Village idea was a modification of the FW/WL plan.
Also, the first thing to mention is that TDS has a hotel that's essentially a part of the theme park. THAT is was the African village was to be, but it was even more.


The concept behind the African village was to take Disney Storytelling and themeing to the next level. AND, to prove that you could do that at all accomodation levels.

Imagine the Harambe Village. In the Park. To one side, you see a 100+ year old colonial magistrate's mansion. Inside is a Deluxe level resort with colonial style and luxury with all the amenities antendent with it.
On the other side of the street is a market house, or colonial barracks or some similar mid level building. This is the Mid level resort. Then down the way, the town locals live in more basic accomodations. The local shaman holds fort. The value resort. Smaller rooms, basic amenities, but lots of chacter and story. Finally, on the edge of town are the tents of the visiting zoologist expedition. Out to see the animals in their natuarl habitat. This is a camp ground.

All the facilities would share pools and obviously resturants which would be part of the park as well. Price of the accomodations is based on room size, size of the specirfic part of the resort and probably proximity to the main part of the theme park.

It was a completely new idea in Disney resorts. a jump in Imagineering.
Instead we got the AKL which has about as much African Authenticity as my local Pier 1 combined with a zoo.

The difference is that AKL is nothing new. It's the same thing Disney's been doing for decades. In some ways, it's worse, because the people that built it never understood what Disney was doing when they built the poly and the Contemp or even WL.
This idea was revolutionary. It was a leap forward. It was in short, exactly the kind of thing that Disney used to be famous for. Before the dimwits took charge.

I can pretty much visualize the village as you describe it. No doubt it would be a cut above.

That said, we need to be somewhat reasonable with the dollars. Do you know what this would cost? Especially with the budget level rooms paying a smaller portion of the shared "deluxe level" amenities?
I mean, I'm sure if the price tag was in the ballpark they would have built it. Not perhaps because of pure old Disney principles, but because it would fit with the new Disney (max dollars).
Just think, a resort so fantastic that would fit all levels of budget, plus have a reasonable build price tag.

Fill every room + reasonable build cost = max $$$.

So, why was it never built?

MG

 

[YoHo]

Reasonable with the Dollars?

What are you talking about? Disney makes profits on all levels of their rooms. Before they built the Mods and Values, Disney maintained a two year waiting list for their rooms and frackin 90+% occupancy.

They went from one of the smallest studios to being a multibillion dollar multinational conglomerate.

They went from borrowing against Walt's life insurance to gold plated dishes in the executive dining room (that didn't used to exist)

Saying it would cost too much is the worst excuse for anything Disney has done in the last 30 years.

As for why it wasn't built. Eisner was scared. After he screwed up Euro Disney, he was afraid of trying to do anything innovative.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

What are you talking about? Disney makes profits on all levels of their rooms.

They have never charged value resort prices for "super deluxe" resort accommodations, which in part is what you suggest.
I think it's impossible for most here (unless we had access to all the numbers), to say this would be a fiscally feasible resort.
Now, had you said it would be a super-deluxe resort, and charge super-mega dollars, I would agree they would fill the rooms and turn a nice profit.

MG

 

[YoHo]

I didn't suggest that at all.

(actually, if you run the numbers through the inflation calculator, you'll see that they did use to charge Moderate prices for the Poly and Contemp.)

The Deluxe accomodations would still cost more and have better amenities. The difference is that the pools would be shared and the grounds would be shared and also shared with the theme park itself, so it would end up being much more cost effective.


After all, Disney was able to give almost the same quality of accomodation for DxL/PO as they do for the Poly and charge less.

 

[doconeill]

The shared amenities, even if limited to the pools, etc. would likely devalue the deluxe aspects of the resort. The deluxe at least would probably need an exclusive pool.

This would greatly reduce the savings that can be realized.

However, the idea of shared theming across multiple levels is an interesting idea.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

There shared amenities, even if limited to the pools, etc. would likely devalue the deluxe aspects of the resort.

This is my point exactly. Not only the pools, but the grandeur of a deluxe hotel lobby also comes to mind. I just think if part of the resort was priced at value level, things such as that would need to suffer.... Especially if the build cost was extremely high.

MG

 

[YoHo]

How would the Granduer of the lobby be compromised? They'd each have their own lobbies. If I'm staying at Pop century (I'll kill myself before I do that) I can still hang out in the WL lobby. SO what's the difference?

And, the quality of the pools at the Deluxes is only slightly better. You wouldn't need exclusive pools, just different levels of pools closest to each resort. After all, they all offer multiple pools.

But even ignoring that, that's a pretty sad argument.
They couldn't do it, because they can't distinguish the level of service?
What about room size, quality of furniture, bathroom, beds? Proximity to the Restaurants. Room service. Proximity to the actual theme park entrance...

The biggest difference would be that the lower resorts would be closer to the Themeparks than a typical value or Mod has, but then Fort Wilderness is close to the MK too, so that doesn't mean squat. I would assume, and again, I don't have access to blue prints or anything, that it would be a street off the main Harambe street.

None of which really matters, because all your arguments are assuming a fixed old school structure. You're thinking of What Disney did and trying to fit this into it rather than realizing that this was instead of what Disney did do.

You're assuming that the Disntinctions between the mods, the values and the deluxes are valid distinctions. I'm telling you that those distinctions were mistakes. I'm telling you that every single resort mod or value with the possible exception of Dxl/PO was an imagineering mistake.

Think of it from that perspective. That I don't want to use Disney's model at all, because I think it's wrong.