After three years of renovations, the Disneyland Hotel at Disneyland Paris finally reopened on January 25th with a new emphasis on luxury.
With a five-star rating and a manager with a background at the Ritz and Mandarin Oriental, the hotel is located above the park's main entrance and features a spa, kids' club and styling similar to Florida's Bivity Bovity Boutique. In addition to our studios and 487 rooms and suites, we also offer a pillow menu (choose from seven different neck supports).
Disney's last foray into experiential lodging ended in a tear when Orlando's Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Hotel closed last fall, just 18 months after opening, but the company's latest effort ( (launched just one week before the opening of the new Pixar Place Hotel at Disneyland in Anaheim) is proof of that. A lesson learned about what guests actually want.
Gone are the windowless cabins and mandatory character interactions. Instead, visitors enjoy breathtaking views of Sleeping Beauty's castle and high-tech animated features, including a life-sized version of Aurora's dress made from fiber optic fabric that changes from pink to blue at the touch of a button. You can immerse yourself in the details. “We don't come here just to sleep in a bed,” says manager Majbrit Iconis. variety. “Why come here? It's because of all the different experiences on offer.”
Promising “excellence and immersive storytelling,” the hotel is an extension of the company's two parks in France (which, like Disneyland Paris, also includes a separately ticketed park called Walt Disney Studios); We aim to provide both the comfort of the first word combined with a themed theme. Restaurants, character encounters, and interactive suites inspired by classic films like “Beauty and the Beast” and “Cinderella” feature amenities such as 24-hour room service and premium bath products. Masu.
Lobby of the Disneyland Hotel in Paris (Courtesy of Disney)
Disney's France team, led by veteran Imagineer and art director Sylvie Massara (who is also responsible for the resort's 2021 Marvel-themed hotel), will use Disney's Burbank headquarters for archival art and inspiration. He was tasked with providing props and bringing the studio's films to life. Cinderella also approved designs and interactive details such as the glowing glass slipper in his suite. Artists at Pixar Studios designed a tapestry themed around bravery, brought to life by artisans at a 130-year-old textile workshop in northern France, and now housed in the hotel's Royal Banquet Restaurant. It is hung.
Even the most mundane items throughout the hotel have Disney details, Masala said. variety She watched classic movies “one by one to see the details,” and the process took her back to her childhood. The patterned carpet is dotted with princess emblems (Snow White's apple, jasmine lamp), the doorknob on the nightstand is shaped like a rose, and the swirls on the metal railing in the Castle Club Lounge are reminiscent of the iconic Disney Reproduced from a castle railing designed by an animation artist. Mary Blair in the 1950 version of Cinderella. The highlight of the hotel is undoubtedly her 12,000 glass chandelier that greets guests in the hotel lobby. In its center hangs a castle carved from crystal.
“We thought about comfort,” Masara says. “About what you would expect from a five-star hotel. So the style is inspired by animated movies, so it's not about the style, it's about the comfort level. It's a combination of comfort and storytelling.”
Disneyland Paris did not say how much it spent on the renovation, which included commissioning 27,777 costumes for the hotel's 800 staff, but a hotel press release said it “Represents a significant milestone in the resort's ongoing investment and development.” Celebrities invited to the opening weekend, which included fireworks and light shows at the hotel, included Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan, Poldark's Eleanor Tomlinson and one of France's Emily in Paris cast members. section was included.
It is certainly clear that huge investments have been made in Disneyland Paris, especially after Disney bought out other shareholders in 2017 (the park was originally majority owned by the French government). The opening of Marvel's Avengers Campus at Walt Disney Studios is one example. 2021 with the Marvel-themed Hotel New York. The next step is “World of Frozen,” which opened in Hong Kong last fall and is currently under construction in Paris (opening date not yet confirmed).
Last September, Bob Iger and Parks Director Josh D'Amaro confirmed plans to double the company's investments across its parks and resorts to $60 billion over the next 10 years. In yesterday's earnings call, Iger said the company is “accelerating the growth of our parks and experiences.”
Frozen-themed Royal Suite at Disneyland Hotel in Paris (Courtesy of Disney)
Part of this change comes in recent years as Disney Parks has come at the expense of people with larger bank accounts and the new Disneyland Hotel, which boasts a Frozen-themed Royal Suite that reportedly costs $11,000 a night. This has led to complaints that regular customers are being priced out more and more. Perhaps those doubts will never be dispelled.
A Bloomberg report last fall found that visitors at U.S. parks were spending 40% more per day than before the pandemic. “This is a premium product, and it's basically for wealthy people,” media analyst Laura Martin told the magazine. A CNN report this week ran the headline, “It's never been more expensive to be a Disney fan,” citing increases in ticket prices and perks like paid FastPasses.
Disney officials want to emphasize that the park can be implemented at any level. Guests at Disneyland Paris can choose from his seven hotels located on-site. The cheapest option is Davy Crockett Ranch, which offers self-contained cabins.
But the resort's newest hotel isn't shy about its target audience. An additional Castle Club level is also available, with a private elevator transporting guests directly to the park entrance, as well as access to a private lounge with views of the evening fireworks show. The hotel's gift shop also features a Givenchy kiosk selling children's T-shirts for $177, showing real-life princes and princesses dressed appropriately.
Despite the price tag, this hotel already attracts die-hard Disney fans. Iconis said that in the two weeks since the hotel opened, he has already had one regular park user. The person said the Disney staff at the hotel, who she calls her family, sobbed on her shoulders. “The guests we've met since we first opened, it's like we're back in our childhood,” Iconis says. “There are a lot of emotions.”
