One of the most appealing aspects of staying on property at Walt Disney World is the variety of elaborately themed resorts available to choose from. Recently released photos of the refurbishment underway at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn (one of my top three resorts at WDW) reveal a glance at a design trend that has been sweeping deluxe, moderate, and value resorts alike. Disney is systematically refurbishing guest rooms with a generic slate of laminate flooring, variations on the same platform bed, and stark white linens. Individual resort theming is limited to accents on furniture, wall art, and textiles like pillows and curtains. It’s all very clean and minimalist, and some guests are wondering if this is an effort by Disney to cut refurbishment costs at the expense of the immersive theming we’ve become accustomed to seeing in resort rooms.
A Minimalist Upgrade?
Disney already has a resort dedicated to midcentury modern, minimalist design. Unfortunately, the A-framed Contemporary is currently experiencing a bit of an identity crisis after debuting new room designs featuring The Incredibles in 2021. The midcentury connection between the resort and this particular movie franchise would make aesthetic sense if it weren’t for the enormous Mary Blair mural in the Grand Canyon Concourse area, featuring the natural wonder, its inhabitants, and the history and culture of the region’s population. Obviously, the mosaic is a valuable resort icon, and rooms incorporating design elements inspired by Blair’s use of color and signature modernist expressive style would make for a more cohesive Contemporary theme. The opportunity to include subtle Disney character touches (that don’t make guests feel as if they stumbled off the monorail into the All-Star Movies resort) using Mary Blair concept art is another benefit of moving Contemporary room design in this direction. Although the Incredibles rooms are well-executed and consistent with the style of the resort, the red, black, yellow, and gray don’t seem to work well with the rainbow color palate we see in the resort’s main areas.
IP in Resort Room Design
The Incredibles rooms reflect a growing effort to include more Disney characters and intellectual property in deluxe resort design, like the understated Mary Poppins theme in The Grand Floridian’s new DVC rooms and the overt display of Moana characters and symbols at my beloved Polynesian Village Resort. The afore-mentioned BoardWalk Inn rooms feature artwork depicting Mickey, Minnie, and other Disney friends, perhaps to match the recently added façade at the Carnival Pool, but it’s all charmingly on theme, and because of the throw-back look of the animation, it still matches the early 20th century vibe guests expect from this resort. Veteran moderate and deluxe resort guests, including yours truly, may instinctively balk at the idea of some of these additions, because if we wanted to stay at Art of Animation, we would stay there. However, when I think back to my first on-property stay at Port Orleans Riverside, I remember the simple thrill of finding hidden Mickeys on the rug or subtle Disney character tie-ins to the theme. That’s what makes it Disney and not the Hilton.
How Do Deluxe Room Refurbs Compare?
I still don’t know if I approve of giving The Incredibles or Moana such an obvious presence in a deluxe resort room, but I must admit those room designs and color palates are on a completely different level of imagination and innovation than the recent refurbishments in lower-priced resorts. The rooms at All-Star Movies and Music, for example, have been given a similar clean-and-bright makeover, albeit one that is reminiscent of a Holiday Inn Express. Disney has decided not to customize the wall art or textiles in these rooms, and has instead reduced all theming at both resorts to a low-budget print featuring Mickey, Minnie, and Donald over the beds, a catch-all piece of artwork depicting Huey, Duey, and Louie dreaming of sports, movies, and music hidden behind a fold-down table bed, and two chairs decorated in a generic fabric covered with record, sports ball, and movie reel icons. The Poly’s bold turquoise textiles, accented with warm pinks, purples, and the orange of Maui’s tattoo-inspired accent wall, along with its heavy, custom furniture (adorned with South Pacific imagery) may feel superior to the new Contemporary rooms, but at least those do still have some custom touches, like the large, rounded picture windows with inset mid-century style curtains.
Change Is Hard, But Necessary
These kinds of changes always require an adjustment period for WDW regulars, especially those of us who think of the place as a home away from home, as the DVC tagline suggests. While my first reaction is to object, for instance, to the uniform liquid white canvas Disney designers are painting on, looking at the new rooms from a more objective design perspective, and especially in direct comparison to the previous room design, it’s impossible not to recognize the improvements. The sunny yellow walls, sage accents, and sharp gray herringbone patterned floors at the Boardwalk Inn, for instance, are a much-needed upgrade from the mauve couches and 90s hunter green carpet that decorated these rooms before. Sticking to the locale or historical period of a resort theme is important, but as Walt always said, why not try to “plus it”?
J. Daugherty Nichols 