Is Disney taking the 'Mickey' out of its resorts

Really?

See, I never had interest in staying at Saratoga Springs. They could decorate the rooms like Main Street USA and I still wouldn't want to stay there. I have to like both the room and the resort itself. Maybe I'm in the minority.:confused3
Nah, I don't think either side of the spectrum is a minority, or majority. There are plenty of both out there.
I like both too, truth be told but resort is way more important than room. I may be able to look past a room decor if I like everything else but no way can I look past a resort if I hate it, no matter how great the rooms are. Right now, CSR is where this applies for me. I love the look of the rooms in photos but had a really bad experience on our first stay there. I am having a very hard time booking there now. Maybe one day. Now, if they hadn't redone the rooms, CSR would never ever even cross my mind.
 
I am quite disappointed about this trend. I stayed in one of the new Coronado rooms last year, which are very 'clean and modern' but the theming is gone out the window. To me, that was part of the charm. Hidden Mickeys on the bedspreads, Disney touches - it's like a 3-star hotel at a 5-star price. Very disappointing.
 
I prefer the clean lines, too. We are Pop lovers, and I MUCH prefer the new rooms. We booked AKL for our next trip and I REALLY wish they were redone...they look so outdated compared to what we just had at Pop.
 


Nah, I don't think either side of the spectrum is a minority, or majority. There are plenty of both out there.
I like both too, truth be told but resort is way more important than room. I may be able to look past a room decor if I like everything else but no way can I look past a resort if I hate it, no matter how great the rooms are. Right now, CSR is where this applies for me. I love the look of the rooms in photos but had a really bad experience on our first stay there. I am having a very hard time booking there now. Maybe one day. Now, if they hadn't redone the rooms, CSR would never ever even cross my mind.

I stayed at CSR in January and had an amazing experience. The new rooms are beautiful and very comfortable, CMs were great, it was very peaceful. You should give it another go. :) After the dig site fixes are complete of course
 
@HopperFan

You keep speaking in facts when it is in actuality only your opinion.

You have no idea if someone would now choose to stay at a value because of the new room design. My opinion is it won't be rare at all.
It is your opinion that Disney is stripping the room of nice touches, while some of us think the refurbs are the nice touches...

Like you said, something for everyone.

Trust, I'm a BIG bubble believer and none of these new designs have done anything to burst my bubble, only makes it bigger. :)
We stayed at Pop because of the room refurb! Wouldn’t have considered it without the update but we needed an extra night and wanted to check it out. No interest in All Stars though even with updates. We are all weirdos in our own way, and the way we approach booking :)
 
I haven’t read any of the replies yet- just read your question and jumped to the last page to answer—- YES!

Now I’ll go back and see what others have to say, and why my opinion is wrong :D!
 


Anything that helps them fight bedbugs is a fantastic thing in my book. The all white bedding, the hard floors, etc... go for it. As for themes, I like subtle more than in-your-face, or cluttered, so I like the new rooms. The theme that is there is more inline with the hotels instead of "Disney" in general, IMO.

But, "liking" something or "not liking" something is an entirely subjective thing so you just have to check it out for yourself and go from there, no right or wrong answer.
 
Disney presents the new "Wilderness Nature" Resort ...................

The only connect to nature, and sitting between the Wilderness Lodge and the campground is .... a carport big enough for a few RVs ............


Just gonna guess no Mickey aka Disney inside as well.

dpz1rhsxoaiagcp-jpg.359189


https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...d-mixed-use-resort-on-bay-lake-300733846.html
 
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Advertising/marketing guy chiming in. Not an expert by any means, but this is my theory...

I think we're seeing a shift in the customer that Disney is attracting.

We're all Disney fanatics here, right? The changes are depressing and I think we love that whole immersive feeling, but we're still gonna go back year after year. DisUnplugged kinda talked about this on the recent show. There's the Disney fanatic who go yearly, sometimes multiple times a year. Then there's the casual fan who goes once every few years...and then the person who saves up and either goes on a once-in-a-lifetime trip or once every 4-6 years. My family used to go once every 4-6 years. Now we go every year—sometimes a few times a year.

Disney isn't making money off us. We're still gonna go. They just need to keep us "happy" and entertained with new stuff.

Disney is going after the casual fan or once-every-few-years person. They're going after the Star Wars fan who is going to finally give Disney a chance in 2019. Who is this person? They're young parents; they're business people who are in town on a convention. Maybe the mom or the dad has been putting off Disney for as long as possible and finally the kids are old enough that they point at the TV every time a commercial comes on and kick and scream until mom and dad say "we're going to Disney!"

These people haven't bought into the magic yet and frankly the thought of going to the "happiest place on earth" feels forced. It's all "kiddie stuff". "We won't enjoy it!" they exclaim. "We're doing it for the kids. One trip." They claim.

Now, the old Disney would have magic everywhere you turn. It's that immersive feeling! The mom or dad would gag at the amount of hokey Mickey decorations. They just dealt with crowds and long lines and bought $300 worth of souvenirs, and now we need to go back and squeeze Goofy's nose to turn on a light? Bleh.

So Disney is shifting about 70% of its hotels to a more adult friendly experience.

Let's take a look at the convention people. Dave is from Wisconsin and in on business. His buddies have been making fun of him all week! "Hey Dave, you gonna go ride Small World a bunch of times? You gonna come back with some Mickey ears?" Dave returns from his trip to his buddies ribbing him. "How was the magic?" they ask. "Actually..." he begins "the room was meticulous, felt like a Sheraton. The pool was really nice. Not what you'd expect from Disney. At night I ate at the new rooftop lounge and then took a stroll around Disney Springs. I only went to check out the Star Wars Land. The parks aren't really for me, but we're already planning our next trip. Carol from accounting loves Disney, so she gets her fix... and well, I can't wait to eat that Porterhouse at the Yacht Club restaurant again"

Long story short, the customer isn't changing, the target is. As Universal goes after older customers, Disney needs to find a way to pull in the crowd that doesn't drink the Kool-Aid without sacrificing the magic inside the parks. The only way to do so is to rid the rooms of the kitschy magic and bolster the amenities. It all comes back to the almighty dollar.
 
Advertising/marketing guy chiming in. Not an expert by any means, but this is my theory...

I think we're seeing a shift in the customer that Disney is attracting.

We're all Disney fanatics here, right? The changes are depressing and I think we love that whole immersive feeling, but we're still gonna go back year after year. DisUnplugged kinda talked about this on the recent show. There's the Disney fanatic who go yearly, sometimes multiple times a year. Then there's the casual fan who goes once every few years...and then the person who saves up and either goes on a once-in-a-lifetime trip or once every 4-6 years. My family used to go once every 4-6 years. Now we go every year—sometimes a few times a year.

Disney isn't making money off us. We're still gonna go. They just need to keep us "happy" and entertained with new stuff.

Disney is going after the casual fan or once-every-few-years person. They're going after the Star Wars fan who is going to finally give Disney a chance in 2019. Who is this person? They're young parents; they're business people who are in town on a convention. Maybe the mom or the dad has been putting off Disney for as long as possible and finally the kids are old enough that they point at the TV every time a commercial comes on and kick and scream until mom and dad say "we're going to Disney!"

These people haven't bought into the magic yet and frankly the thought of going to the "happiest place on earth" feels forced. It's all "kiddie stuff". "We won't enjoy it!" they exclaim. "We're doing it for the kids. One trip." They claim.

Now, the old Disney would have magic everywhere you turn. It's that immersive feeling! The mom or dad would gag at the amount of hokey Mickey decorations. They just dealt with crowds and long lines and bought $300 worth of souvenirs, and now we need to go back and squeeze Goofy's nose to turn on a light? Bleh.

So Disney is shifting about 70% of its hotels to a more adult friendly experience.

Let's take a look at the convention people. Dave is from Wisconsin and in on business. His buddies have been making fun of him all week! "Hey Dave, you gonna go ride Small World a bunch of times? You gonna come back with some Mickey ears?" Dave returns from his trip to his buddies ribbing him. "How was the magic?" they ask. "Actually..." he begins "the room was meticulous, felt like a Sheraton. The pool was really nice. Not what you'd expect from Disney. At night I ate at the new rooftop lounge and then took a stroll around Disney Springs. I only went to check out the Star Wars Land. The parks aren't really for me, but we're already planning our next trip. Carol from accounting loves Disney, so she gets her fix... and well, I can't wait to eat that Porterhouse at the Yacht Club restaurant again"

Long story short, the customer isn't changing, the target is. As Universal goes after older customers, Disney needs to find a way to pull in the crowd that doesn't drink the Kool-Aid without sacrificing the magic inside the parks. The only way to do so is to rid the rooms of the kitschy magic and bolster the amenities. It all comes back to the almighty dollar.

Except...I blow your theory right out of the water.

We are both 45, no kids. We go to Disney every 3 years (as we can afford, I'd go every year along with trips to other places if we could afford it).

I've been going since the 1980's.

I was watching a video of flower/garden and teared up when I just heard Epcot music in the background. I know that's ridiculous and I deserve the strange looks, but what can I say, the magic and nostalgia is strong in this one.

Some of us just like the new design, no need to try and theorize it. :)
 
Disney presents the new "Wilderness Nature" Resort ...................

The only connect to nature, the Wilderness Lodge and the campground is .... a carport big enough for a few RVs ............


Just gonna guess no Mickey aka Disney inside as well.

dpz1rhsxoaiagcp-jpg.359189


https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...d-mixed-use-resort-on-bay-lake-300733846.html

That screams "NEW CONTEMPORARY" to me. It's not a bad design for a new downtown Hyatt but nothing about this says Disney to me at all. It'd go well over by the Swan and Dolphin and the Epcot resorts but Magic Kingdom?!

I'm disappointed they're not doing a thai or asian themed resort like they used to have on the books but I guess we're in too PC of a culture for that anymore.
 
Advertising/marketing guy chiming in. Not an expert by any means, but this is my theory...

I think we're seeing a shift in the customer that Disney is attracting.

We're all Disney fanatics here, right? The changes are depressing and I think we love that whole immersive feeling, but we're still gonna go back year after year. DisUnplugged kinda talked about this on the recent show. There's the Disney fanatic who go yearly, sometimes multiple times a year. Then there's the casual fan who goes once every few years...and then the person who saves up and either goes on a once-in-a-lifetime trip or once every 4-6 years. My family used to go once every 4-6 years. Now we go every year—sometimes a few times a year.

Disney isn't making money off us. We're still gonna go. They just need to keep us "happy" and entertained with new stuff.

Disney is going after the casual fan or once-every-few-years person. They're going after the Star Wars fan who is going to finally give Disney a chance in 2019. Who is this person? They're young parents; they're business people who are in town on a convention. Maybe the mom or the dad has been putting off Disney for as long as possible and finally the kids are old enough that they point at the TV every time a commercial comes on and kick and scream until mom and dad say "we're going to Disney!"

These people haven't bought into the magic yet and frankly the thought of going to the "happiest place on earth" feels forced. It's all "kiddie stuff". "We won't enjoy it!" they exclaim. "We're doing it for the kids. One trip." They claim.

Now, the old Disney would have magic everywhere you turn. It's that immersive feeling! The mom or dad would gag at the amount of hokey Mickey decorations. They just dealt with crowds and long lines and bought $300 worth of souvenirs, and now we need to go back and squeeze Goofy's nose to turn on a light? Bleh.

So Disney is shifting about 70% of its hotels to a more adult friendly experience.

Let's take a look at the convention people. Dave is from Wisconsin and in on business. His buddies have been making fun of him all week! "Hey Dave, you gonna go ride Small World a bunch of times? You gonna come back with some Mickey ears?" Dave returns from his trip to his buddies ribbing him. "How was the magic?" they ask. "Actually..." he begins "the room was meticulous, felt like a Sheraton. The pool was really nice. Not what you'd expect from Disney. At night I ate at the new rooftop lounge and then took a stroll around Disney Springs. I only went to check out the Star Wars Land. The parks aren't really for me, but we're already planning our next trip. Carol from accounting loves Disney, so she gets her fix... and well, I can't wait to eat that Porterhouse at the Yacht Club restaurant again"

Long story short, the customer isn't changing, the target is. As Universal goes after older customers, Disney needs to find a way to pull in the crowd that doesn't drink the Kool-Aid without sacrificing the magic inside the parks. The only way to do so is to rid the rooms of the kitschy magic and bolster the amenities. It all comes back to the almighty dollar.

I used to be a fanatic. Went 2 or 3 times a year. Now, we go every other year. I don't like the direction the resorts are going in. Also don't care for things like alcohol in the Magic Kingdom or the changes going on at Epcot. On top of that, it's basically twice as expensive to go as it was 10 years ago. We're just one family, but if Disney doesn't care about us, that's pretty dumb given the amount of money we spent there.
 
I wouldn't call myself a Disney fanatic and I like the changes in the rooms. However, I don't stay onsite much any more because the value isn't there and I HATE the new security checks.

You want theming? Stay at RPR at Universal, it's over the top!
 
I wouldn't call myself a Disney fanatic and I like the changes in the rooms. However, I don't stay onsite much any more because the value isn't there and I HATE the new security checks.

You want theming? Stay at RPR at Universal, it's over the top!
You think it's more themed than Poly at Disney? We just checked out last week, from our 4th stay there and it feels pretty much the same as Poly. I mean, there's no Universal theme there. Unless you count the 1 day a week Character Meal with Minions. I guess in a way all 3 of their main resorts are themed (I've never stayed at the others so can't comment) heavily but not Universal themed. But in that way, Disney has themed resorts too, BWI, BC, YC, WL, AKL, are heavily themed. Even if not Disney themed any more. And PS, Lowes just implemented the dreaded security checks.
 
Yeah, last year at the wilderness lodge, the rooms were pretty boring when it came to the decor from years past.
 

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