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Credit: DVCThe recent trend of Disney parks losing their “tacky” Disney-ness has been much lamented by park fans over the last year or two. As the company announces more buildings and rethemes, fans have started to call it the “Marriott-ification” of Disney, as new additions to the parks and resorts have become modern, minimalist, buildings reminiscent of any small town strip mall. As the things that once made Disney Disney are stripped away, they’re being replaced with generic décor and design ideas, leaving many wondering what the point of staying on property is if the hotels look like any other chain location. One user took to social media to make a point about it.
Last year, Disneyland announced the addition of the Villas at Disneyland Hotel, a new Disney Vacation Club (DVC) tower, and negative reactions flooded the internet. With concept art depicting wood paneled accents, minimalist features, and simple character posters place along the walls, many demanded to know what had happened with the theming. “Using ‘the magic of Disney storytelling’ while showing a picture of what could reasonably be a Hilton is kinda silly to me. Looks like a really nice place to stay! But call a spade a spade,” one guest had commented. Another compared it to a Marriott, stating, “Looks like a Marriott. I’ll just stay at a Marriott for half the price. When I stay at Disney, I want theming.”
The trend continued with the building of the new DVC tower at Walt Disney World’s Polynesian Resort, which many are worried won’t match the current aesthetic or theming of the rest of the Polynesian Resort. It’s also made its way to other updates and redesigns across the various Disney parks and resorts, including restaurants like Disneyland’s Jazz Kitchen, and has become a source of contention among Disney fans. Recently, one fan took to social media to make a point about the modernization of various Disney locations.
On X, formerly Twitter, user @Ncucerzan posted four similar looking photos of various hotel lobbies and asked in the caption, “Let’s play a game: It’s called “Find the Disney World Resort Lobby” There are 4 photos and there is only one Disney Resort. Do you know which one it is?” The point of the thread was to point out the de-Disneyification of the resorts as they have modernized over the recent years.
Let’s play a game:
It’s called “Find the Disney World Resort Lobby”
There are 4 photos and there is only one Disney Resort. Do you know which one it is? pic.twitter.com/qEK1tFxA11
— Nick Cucerzan (@NCucerzan) January 2, 2024
One of the commenters on the post guessed correctly and then Nick responded with “You got it! It’s sad when we as fans and “experts” have to second guess ourselves. If we have a hard time making that instant connection then what about those “once in a lifetime” guests?” Many of the comments agreed that many of the Disney hotels felt bland and generic compared to the expected experience for the premiere theme park company. User @kstetser commented on the post, mentioning their recent experience at Disney saying, “We were just in a refurbished Boardwalk Villa and except for uninspiring Disney artwork, it could have been any random condo. Poor quality workmanship, outdated fixtures and boring color scheme. Very disappointed.”
Most of the comments shared similar expressions of disappointment and incredulity over the similarity of the photos. @baltinerdist replied saying, “Do the exact same thing with rooms. Unless there’s explicit Disney art in the rooms, most of the resorts, including the one of the cost of mortgage for a week are also no better than the hotels above.” “It’s the one with the super immersive theming, creative attention to historical details, and commitment to creating a…. Wait a minute…” joked @CH_Plan.
While several comments did actually guess correctly, they were all doubtful or followed by “right?,” “I think,” or some similar question. To be fair to Disney, @acjohanson did argue for the company, saying, “We as fans and experts spend hours as hours looking at different resort lobbies from hotels around the world. The once in a lifetime guests will remember their visit forever and aren’t comparing to other experiences.”
Disney has always been seen as a “must do” vacation spot renowned for its unique styling and commitment to theming. These expectations worked hand in hand with the company’s rich history and love for illustration, animation, film, and music. Disney theme parks, and by extension its resorts and hotels, strove to create an environment in which its guests felt as though they had left the world they knew behind them and entered one filled with magic and promise. However, some feel that the current trend with many companies, Disney included, is heading toward a design philosophy that focuses on being cheap to build and maintain while appealing to the widest consumer base possible.
In the end we may see this trend of “corporate Ikea” continue as the company continues to do whatever it takes to remain king. Old school guests can grumble about the “good old days” when rides based on original premises were still being made and parking your car didn’t cost an arm and a leg but as long as the numbers stay in the black there is reason to expect a change in the future. Unfortunately, this modern design shift seems to be sticking around for the foreseeable future, although we can hope that one day Disney will lean back into their heavy theming and immersive designs that are truly reminiscent of a Disney vacation.
Have you noticed this trend in Disney’s recent designs? Do you miss the old-school Disney theming, or do you think it’s fine? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!