Join us as Tom rants about the new Polynesian DVC resort and the changes to Fort Wilderness. All this and more on this episode of News Today with WDW News Today.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Stage 89 Replay – https://stage89.com/stream
00:35 Opening
01:08 Walt Disney World Annual Passholders Receiving Increased Dining Discount This Month
03:07 Construction Walls Block Country Bear Jamboree Exit in Pecos Bill Cafe at Magic Kingdom
03:47 Lari the Armadillo Gets a Mailbox and Lantern at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom
05:17 Tom Raves About Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Exterior
07:21 New Chip ‘n’ Dale Bus Debuts at Walt Disney World
07:56 Be Our Guest Vacations – https://beourguestvacations.com/wdwnt
08:25 Show WDWNT – https://wdwnt.shop
10:15 Piglet Joins Winnie the Pooh Meet and Greet in Christopher Robin’s Bedroom at EPCOT
10:49 New Pandora — The World of Avatar Mugs, Apparel, and Na’vi Translator at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
11:51 Critically Endangered Addax Born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
13:10 Official Name, Opening Window, and New Concept Art for DVC Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
15:22 Tom Rants About Island Tower
20:02 Disney Requests Extension on Another Reflections Lakeside Lodge Construction Permit
21:08 Tom Rants About Disney’s Treatment of Fort Wilderness
23:49 Wine Bar George at Disney Springs Gets New Menu With Profiterole, Fried Gnocchi, Lamb Chops, and More
25:08 Disneyland Investing $5 Million in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln Refurbishment
26:13 New Pixar Fest Marketplaces Now Open at Disney California Adventure
26:32 ‘Turning Red’ Meilin & Ming Lee Meet and Greet Returning for Pixar Fest 2024
27:39 Disneyland Paris Confirms Final ‘Disney Dreams!’ Nighttime Spectacular Performance Date, Return of ‘Disney Illuminations’
28:14 Tom’s Quick Rant on Disney Dreams! and Disney Illuminations
29:38 Fantasy Springs Monorail Wrap Debuts on Tokyo Disney Resort Line
30:54 Sign-off
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My wife and I have been a part of DVC at the Poly since 2015. I think what's additionally disappointing is that DVC members are getting the shaft in getting to experience this expansion first. Sure, I can understand they want to see fast cash coming from non-DVC customers with deep pockets to stay there first but, it still feels like a slap in the face to those that belong there, pay their dues and should be entitled to stay at their home resort first over others.
I guess I’m the alone with my opinion about the Poly tower. I don’t think it’s ugly or an eyesore. It reminds me of the hotels along Kaanapali beach. I like it.
You said it, Tom. They could and should have used the style from the original concept art. Timeless architecture that would have 100% harkened back to the original magic and vision of Walt Disney World. A building that anyone would have begged to stay in because it looks like you're in Hawaii or Acapulco. The aesthetics to the eye would have been as mesmerizing and unique as the Contemporary and original Poly buildings. The 'Island Tower' (more blandness – no magic in the name) looks almost identical to recent townhouses in Richmond, Va. and other larger cities across the USA. Nothing is special about it, and the interior could be any one of the casinos in Las Vegas. Very sad and bland. What a $$$ mistake to make that cannot be undone.
Since Fort Wilderness is already in the vicinity, why not build the Reflections project in the spirit of Native American culture
Totally agree with you on that lobby for the Poly tower, looks like tower at Coronado springs yuke
I worked as a DVC Sales guide for years and Disney Vacation Club simply became “timeshare” with a Disney logo slapped on it…. All the good people are gone.
Wish WDW would just hire you for advice for their projects,because you "get" why we spent extra to stay on property. The themeing is fading. I stay elsewhere. I can get similar themes at half the price. Sad,because for 10yrs I was a diehard stay on property fan.
We are very concerned about a refurb at AK lodge. We believe they will flatten out the theme making it 2 dimensional as opposed to the three dimension presently there.
My thought are, let Ai gather intel from everything we are saying. I’m sure Ai can create “the magic” and present it to Disney with better concept rendering that would far surpass what imagineers are putting out there to date.
Just study old Disney- the template is there! I don’t get what’s so hard about that!!! They are cutting costs and making everything sterile feeling. We all want to feel the magic and that comes at a cost they don’t want to pay. Sadly, we are the ones paying for it!!!! We stopped AP after 14 years and considered DVC, but it doesn’t make sense anymore
Speaking for your entire audience: We need the Tom Coreless Rave music & lighting.
Said the same thing about the contemporary changes absolutely soulless and under whelming
1. STOP building more DVC resorts/rooms of any kind at WDW and give us more resorts in other places around the U.S. or the World!
2. If you are not going to stop doing this, give us another park to go to so there will not be so many people in the parks!
See Tom? This is what happens when you hang out at Tokyo Disney Resort for days at a time and then you have to come back to WDW, and the harsh reality of Floridian inferiority hits. So you hate the new Island Tower as much as I hated (and still do) the contemporary dvc tower which is another monstrosity that decimated the aesthetics of the Contemporary resort. As for the island tower…I think it’s not that bad. It just doesn’t belong at WDW. That said I agree with your assessment. On a side note… now that we have the Fantasy Springs Hotel at Tokyo DisneySea as back drop to one of the most jaw dropping lands (port?) ever created, I can’t wait to see how Universal thematically integrates the Helios Hotel into their Epic Universe park.
Just had a heart attack mishearing for a minute thinking I heard illuminations was coming back (to epcot) 😭😭😭😭
GO TOM!!! The tower looks like crap! Nets?? WTH??
OMG, Tom!!! 100% agree and it's been my rant for a long time too. The decline of immersive theming in the resorts. Thank you for echoing, on a public forum, the WDW "burr" that has been between my toes for too long!!!!
Contemporary DVC Resort SW [it doesn’t have any resemblance to the Polynesian Resort].
I wholly agree with you about the new Polynesian Tower! We are current DVC Polynesian owners and are totally disappointed with what they are doing. Also, thanks so much for mentioning that you can watch the Stage 89 replay! I had purchased our streaming ticket, missed it and and was so disappointed so I deleted my confirmation email. When you said streaming is still available I hurried and looked for it and moved it out of my trash! lol
THANK YOU TOM – BRAVO! Your rant on the Poly tower is spot on and I agree 100%. There are admittedly some things they could do with color to punch up the Polynesian feel to improve this, but it still will not be up to the standard we have come to know as the "Disney Difference". So milquetoast in its current iteration, this tower more evokes the mediocrity of Riviera more than it does classic Poly. To say it a disappointment would be apropros.
I just love the rants (both positive and negative.) As a DVC member with Polynesian as my home resort, the sight of this makes me wince. I'll get a better look up close next week…
I agree with Tom! Polynesian Tower/ DVC looks bad. The problem I have is the Polynesian already has problems with getting people on the monorail in morning and afternoon it’s difficult to use the monorail . How much worse is it going to get when DVC Tower is open. I know the backup is the Contemporary is first for pickup then Polynesian, and The Grand Floridian. I do know you can walk on the walking path. Thank you Tom
Imagine if they had built an homage to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel aka the Pink Palace of the Pacific. I know imagineering can do it because the new Fantasy Springs Hotel has some of the same vibes but more fantasy instead of mission deco
I don't disagree with you not liking the cabins, but in my opinion they are replacing completely crappy trailer cabins with less crappy cabins.
Disney needs an enema.
FREE TINKER BELL!!
Something is not well… I feel that the "Island Tower" of Blandness, may actually be less popular than "Granulated Grunion"!
Disney’s trend toward this ultra-sterile look has been happening for years. The rooms in all hotel classes are empty and flavorless. When I finally started to afford Disney hotels, I was disappointed to find the rooms far less cozy than a Hampton Inn. I’ve been doing it for the convenience of the food services, but I continue to question if it’s all worth it. I might be heading back to the hotels on Palm Parkway soon.
I honestly think that Polynesian tower was only greenlit to address DVC capacity issues at Poly as fast as possible
I hate the Poly tower and I hate the idea of Reflections. Period. I don't have anything else to say that you didn't already say.
I'm praying that we get passholder preview week before it opens to public?!! Please….Disney see this?!! 🙂
Thank you for saying this…I hate this too!! Please….give us the LUAU back!!! This is awful…I mean, it's pretty but boring…give me theming for Disney?!! Doesn't have the Disney feel, and neither do the cabins at Fort Wilderness?!! I will try the quick service in Fort Wilderness (hopefully change my mind?), but I loved the sit down version of the restaurant!
This new DVC edition has as much Polynesian influence as a New York street. Themed resorts at Disney seem to be gone with the Magic!
I am commenting as a watch a little more of your video…LOL! We won a Motorhome, a couple years ago and immediately bout annual passes, we may eat a couple meals at the campsites, but add on more reservations of the places we love!! June trip…Sci-Fi, Oga's, Akershus, and Jiko's (this was the last minute trip that I wasn't gonna make reservations, but 20 percent discount got me!!) We have 2 more trips planned behind this one! Point being…just because we are staying in the campground, doesn't mean we won't be making reservations! Next trip 2 Halloween party reservations, and planning tons of dining!
Tom, if you want to love the Island Tower even less: Nothing about the name is even correct. Obviously, it's not an island. But it's also not a tower. A tower is specifically a building that is taller than it is wide. Why couldn't they just give it an interesting – and more accurate – name? Like Mo'orea Wing? Or Molokai TowerS?
Whatever, the issue here is the hotel division, as you say. They clearly think "current trends" in hotel design are more important than Disney design (cuz they are cheaper). But that lobby is a Disney problem. Disney is petrified of the color black. Polynesia is made of lava. It's black! Get used to it! Even worse, Polynesian designs are black-focused. I think that's why that floor may be black and white. But the black isn't deep enough, which is why the black at the base of the pillars looks so out of place. It's like the Polynesian "inspired" floor needed to be connected to the "modern hotel" theming on the poles. As far as design goes, it fails on so many levels, though I'll wait to see the real product.
ALL the DVC properties SUCK. Period. They're either like a newer Marriott property like OR look like Condo's from S. Florida. There's no effort here anymore, no intention, no thoughtfulness. I mean ust look at Bay Lake Tower. It is straight out of N. Miami Beach. It's garbage.
Speaking of rants, how about the rant from Jenifer Lewis that she knows what mental illness looks like?
So I'm going to Paris Disneyland next year, partly due to Tom's recommendations. After being shockingly impressed by the entertainment offerings at the Studios Park, I looked into Disneyland's… WTH? That Splashes of Colour thing is an abomination. Now I learn I'm not going to see Disney Dreams? Great…