Inside Disney’s Heroic Hotel Plans For Paris
When most people think of hotels, a square box with a sign hanging outside springs to mind. Not Disneyland Paris.
With 8,500 rooms, Disneyland Paris is the fifth largest hotel complex in France and it is anything but conventional. Its two Disney nature resorts and six Disney hotels are just as elaborately-designed as its two theme parks. All of the hotels, except for one which looks like a fairytale palace, are based on areas of America.
The hotel Cheyenne was originally inspired by the Wild West but is now themed to Woody and Jessie, the stars of Oscar-winning movie Toy Story. Likewise, the hotel Santa Fe looks like it has come from New Mexico and is themed to Cars, another computer-animated film. The Sequoia Lodge looks like huge woodland retreat and the Newport Bay Club is in the style of a sprawling New England holiday home. They set a high standard to beat.
The theming isn’t just skin deep. Walking into the lobby of the Newport Bay Club is like stepping onto a luxury liner from a bygone era with glossy wooden decking, brass lamps hanging from above, colorful flags lining the walls and nautical objets d’art sitting on shelves. No stone has been left unturned.
One of the restaurants is designed like a ship’s hold complete with brass-rimmed portholes in the wooden walls and arched mahogany beams spanning the ceiling. Even the rooms fit the theme with their deep blue carpets, bed frames that look like they have been made from boat parts and furniture in the style of travel trunks.
The aim is to immerse guests in an escapist environment from the moment they arrive at the leisure complex on the outskirts of Paris. It has helped to make Disneyland Paris Europe’s most popular tourist attraction with an estimated 15.1 million guests visiting its two parks last year according to leisure consultancy AECOM and the Themed Entertainment Association. It is getting even more muscle to keep them streaming through the turnstiles.
In one of the biggest expansions in the 27-year history of the resort, three new lands will debut at its Walt Disney Studios park in phases from 2021. Avengers Campus will be inspired by Marvel super heroes whilst the others will be based on the hit animated film Frozen and sci-fi series Star Wars.
The $2.2 billion (€2 billion) development will include a new attraction starring Spider-Man whilst the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Staring Aerosmith is being re-imagined as a thrilling coaster featuring Iron Man and the Avengers. Concept art of the Marvel land gives it the air of a high-tech industrial complex in-keeping with the real-world environment that the heroes inhabit on the silver screen. The immersive experience doesn’t stop at the gates to the park.
Rooms went on sale this week for Disney’s first-ever Marvel-themed hotel. Called Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel, the property will swing open its doors on June 15. It originally opened in 1992, along with Disneyland Paris itself, and looked like a stylized version of the Big Apple. There were neon restaurant signs, baseballs and apples painted on the floor and black and white photos of New York landmarks on the walls. When it emerges after more than a year of refurbishment it will be a whole new world.
Instead of being based on a specific movie, which would date over time, or a character, which could limit its appeal, the hotel will be a temple to the artistry at the heart of Marvel’s stories. This will ensure that it has a broad appeal and a high-class atmosphere which suits the upscale positioning of the hotel. It also complements the Big Apple theme which is inherent to the skyscraper-like architectural style of the building.
“New York is the home to many iconic super heroes as well as the artists who created them so we thought this was a perfect chance to bring the two together,” says David Wilson, Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering, which designs the media giant’s parks and resorts. “This hotel will be a luxury contemporary Manhattan establishment transporting our guests into a New York art gallery.”
Concept art shows that the lobby will have the appearance of a soaring loft and Wilson says that on either side of it there will be “backlit panels featuring black and white comics. Our guests will also discover Iron Man’s suits of armour on display and stunning pieces of Marvel art on the walls. Stainless steel columns will be engraved with Marvel super heroes while a screen behind the reception desk will broadcast a unique ‘making of’ video showing the works of art in the making.”
Like its counterparts, the hotel’s theme will continue in its 561 rooms and suites. Wilson says that the design inspiration for the executive rooms is the penthouse owned by billionaire Tony Stark, the alter ego of armored Avenger Iron Man. He adds that there will also be suites themed to other iconic Marvel characters and crime-fighting teams which will be featured through “subtle references in the furniture design and stunning pieces commissioned by several Marvel artists.”
The hotel is set to house the world’s largest public collection of Marvel art with more than 300 pieces including some which have never been seen before. More than 50 artists from around the world are behind the collection which Wilson says will feature “comic books, comic book covers, posters, concept art from the films, storyboards, production designs, props, original sketches, media and more.”
The restaurants will take their cues from the New York dining scene. The flagship Manhattan Restaurant will feature freshly-produced Italian food whilst the Downtown Restaurant will have live cooking areas for American, Italian and Asian dishes. Wilson adds that “in the spirit of a typical Manhattan deli, guests will not be surrounded by pictures of celebrities but by 90 unique pieces of art from super hero portraits to character studies and sketches that were never published.”
Die-hard Marvel fans will surely linger in the Skyline Bar which looks like an upscale cocktail bar but instead of having windows it appears to have huge screens which will show a rotating view of New York City. Famous landmarks from Marvel stories are set to feature on the skyline and Wilson adds that there may “even be a few surprise super hero sightings.”
Like any high-end property, the hotel will have fitness facilities, a sauna, steam room and indoor and outdoor pools (themed to the New York City Metro of course). It will also be the first Disney hotel to feature the Marvel Design Studio where children can learn to draw super heroes. They will then be able to compare their creations to the real thing by meeting them at Super Hero Station. It is the kind of experience you usually find in Disney’s theme parks and it doesn’t stop there. Photo opportunities will allow guests to wield Thor’s hammer and step inside the huge cabinets from the eccentric Collector’s museum which features in the Guardians of the Galaxy film series.
“It’s not only about bringing the Disney magic into the hotels with characters and IP it, is also about creating a world of comfort zones where families can enjoy a different rhythm,” says Grégoire Champetier, Senior Vice President, Commercial for Disneyland Paris.
The refurbishment of the Hotel New York is the latest in a series which began in 2012. The Santa Fe and the Cheyenne have been given a glow from the addition of in-room hints to Disney’s Cars and Toy Story movies. At the Sequoia Lodge Bambi appears in suitably-themed woodland dioramas on the walls of the rooms whilst Disney characters dressed in nautical outfits peep out of portholes on the wallpaper of the Newport Bay Club rooms. It was driven by feedback from guests.
“We regularly conduct surveys amongst our guests to ensure that we answer to their needs. A few years back, our guests expressed the fact that they wanted to see more Disney touches in their hotel rooms,” says Champetier.
“Prior to the large refurbishment plan, the rooms of our Disney Hotels were in the theme of the resort but did not have any reference to our Disney characters. During the refurbishment process, we changed that and now our rooms do have references to Disney characters and more subtle Disney touches in line with the storytelling of the Disney Hotels. We also have the opportunity to have Disney character encounters at our hotels, to give them more of the Disney magic during their stay.”
Champetier is a highly-skilled operator with a strong background in hospitality thanks to a six-year stint as Chief Marketing Officer at hotels giant Accor. It is valuable experience which casts a powerful spell at Disneyland Paris as its on-site hotels and entertainment district account for nearly $500 million of revenue as we revealed.
“At Accor, I learned that hotels, even for business usage, cannot be only commodities if they want to drive value and build brand images. A hotel isn’t just a place to stay or sleep but, a place of life and experience. The hotel industry did a lot over the last years to create appealing public spaces with nice lounges, trendy and flagship restaurants, innovative working zones, chill out spaces and great spas.
“In some hotels, the public spaces are more important than the rooms. it’s the case in NYC with the ‘Lounge and rooms’ concepts. Some brands have created very successful concepts with high class public zones (Citizen M, Mama Shelter, Motel One). More recently we have seen very innovative concepts for younger travelers with common rooms and self-kitchens (Jo&Joe). More than others, Disney hotels must defend their difference and their uniqueness.”
Whimsical architecture is just the start. Guests of Disney’s on-site hotels get magic touches like extended park hours and complimentary transport to the parks so that they make the most of their time. Gifts bought in the parks can even be delivered directly to the hotel boutique and, as we have reported, guests can buy meals with a wireless card which also acts as a room key and park ticket. Anyone who wants to splash out further can book rooms which have access to private check-in and lounges.
Despite this uniqueness there is still a need to subscribe to common standards. The advent of online comparison portals has made this essential as consumers are now accustomed to benchmarking properties against each other. Hotels at Disneyland Paris originally rated themselves using a number of keys (the more, the better) but, as we reported, that has changed to a star rating.
Champetier says that Disneyland Paris has “leveled up the experiences across all our Disney Hotels and applied the codes of luxury resorts. When the Disneyland Hotel became a 5-star resort this marked a landmark in our Disney history over at Disneyland Paris. Our efforts made to offer the best experience possible proved to be right and our guests can now choose from a vast array of experiences.”
He adds that “we also renamed the hotel rooms in most Disney accommodations in order to further simplify the booking process so that guests can easily choose from a range of options to meet their expectations and needs.”
Communicating this is no mean feat given the diverse guest profile at Disneyland Paris. Since its ornate iron gates swung open in 1992, the resort has had more than 320 million visits with 44% of them coming from France followed by 17% from Britain, 9% from Spain, 6% from Holland, the same from Belgium and less than 5% contributed by each of the remaining countries.
“Disneyland Paris welcomes guests coming from all over the world meaning that we host guests with different cultures and needs. Hence, we try to cater everyone’s unique needs,” says Champetier. “Our leitmotiv is to answer their own needs and specific features with the right answer and service.
“We will not communicate and address the same message to a French guest who knows quite well our destination compared to a German one who needs more elements and information in order to understand which Disney Hotel suits the best his needs and profiles.” In the Netherlands for example, the Disney nature resorts are especially appealing to consumers.
The same even applies to customers from the United States who are well-acquainted with Disney’s parks. Although some of Disney’s hotels in Paris look similar to properties at its US parks, Champetier points out that there are actually significant differences between them.
“Our Disneyland Paris hotel experience is very different from the Disney US hotels in the sense that the European culture differs from the North American one. For instance, breakfast and dinner in Europe are usually taken in the hotels while the American audience will grab something on the go.”
This kind of flexibility is the magic formula which is driving Disneyland Paris forward. “For our guests, it is really about customization and moving from the everything fits all to giving guests options and more experiences as this is what they continue to ask for,” says Champetier. “This isn’t just for our hotels, but for our resort overall.”
Walt Disney once said that his team’s ethos was that “we keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” The hotels at Disneyland Paris are no different and Champetier adds that “in the future, we will have to develop, by ourselves or third parties, some innovative concepts…It will be excepted from us.” So despite its dominance in the European market, Disneyland Paris’ quest for a happy ending seems set to never end.