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I’ve always thought one couldn’t take a much more luxurious vacation than a Disney vacation, and if one stayed at a fancy hotel in the Disney parks, one could have everything one might possibly want. It’s probably because I’ve never stayed in anything close to a luxury hotel, but apparently none of the options are quite fancy enough. That’s the only reason I can think that Disney World’s letting an outside hotel chain into its premises, even if it is a Four Seasons.
USA Today reports that the “ultraluxury” hotel chain has reached a deal with Disney World to build one of their hotels in the Magic Kingdom (or at least with room views of it), to open in 2014. With 444 rooms, multiple restaurants, an athletic center with pools and tennis and basketball courts, and a spa, this will be the largest Four Seasons in existence. Well, nothing associated with Disney is ever done by halves.
I can’t get over the fact that rather than building its own branded super fancy hotel, Disney is opening its doors to an outside one. Perhaps it realizes there is something to be said for already recognized brand names. Maybe the type of people WDW hopes to attract with the Four Seasons are more lured by its prestige than anything Disney could hope to replicate.
There’s evidence to suggest the truth of that idea. USA Today spoke to Stacy Small, president of luxury vacation planning company Elite Travel International, about Four Seasons’ venture into the Happiest Place on Earth. She says that her clients usually stay at the Grand Floridian, currently Disney’s nicest hotel, but that some also might stay at the Ritz Carlton or Waldorf Astoria outside of Disney World. She’s sure that many of her customers will want to stay at a Four Seasons Disney.
Having read about the fanciest rooms the Grand Floridian has to offer—priced at somewhere close to $2200 a night—my mind is still blown that even that might not be ritzy enough for some potential Disney World guests. But because I won’t ever be staying in anything close to one of those Grand Floridian rooms, it doesn’t affect my Disney World vacation at all.
I wonder if Disney World is always in such a state of flux. Since I started writing about it almost two years ago, it feels like at least every quarter I’m making an announcement about some major change to the theme park’s facade. I guess the images I’ve always had of it –admittedly born in large part from yearly viewing of the Disney World Christmas Day parade – was that it was one thing that didn’t change much.
In just these past couple years we’re looking at a major Fantasyland overhaul, a remake of Pleasure Island, a luxury living community built outside of the park but on its owned land, a new theme park based on a James Cameron movie, and now a Four Seasons overlooking the Magic Kingdom.
Perhaps Four Seasons execs were thinking of building in Orlando, and Disney would rather cut a deal to offer one of the hotels in their park rather than have it be competition. Either way, it looks like what I always thought was impossible is soon to happen: Disney World’s vacation offerings are about to get even fancier.
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*(This image by UggBoyUggGirl is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
