New Disneyland Dream Suite signage - What do you Think?

[dl1955pounds]

Well, I saw it in person yesterday. It's much like I expected - I hardly even noticed it. They're the kinds of signs that you walk by and don't even pay attention to. I've been a Disney freak for a long time, and I have a keen sense of how-things-are in Disneyland, and I will say again here, the aesthetics of NOS are in no way hindered by these signs. And this is coming from me, someone who was pissed off when they added artificial-looking "stage lighting" and a big TV to the Space Mountain queue in 2005.

You'd think there'd be more threads about how the Haunted Mansion lighting was upgraded in this past refurb, and that Constance has a newly-enhanced face, or that the loading ramps for the omnimover have new patterns on them. Those changes are a lot more noticeable than these tiny signs. It's almost as though one guy, who has taken pictures of minor things and blown them out of proportion on Disney sites for years, put them on a website and everyone freaked out. Sort of reminds me of Al Lutz's old site in the late 90's... at least the chipped paint that Lutz used to point out was a valid concern.

[Datameister]

Well, I saw it in person yesterday. It's much like I expected - I hardly even noticed it. They're the kinds of signs that you walk by and don't even pay attention to. I've been a Disney freak for a long time, and I have a keen sense of how-things-are in Disneyland, and I will say again here, the aesthetics of NOS are in no way hindered by these signs.

Mmm, that's good. My hope (and suspicion) is that I won't be as put off by these signs in person as I am in the photos. That's often how these things go. In fact, I was relatively relieved by the DreamClouds over the entrance when I saw them in person, because they just weren't quite as horrendous as they looked in the photos. Similarly, the holiday castle lighting was more impressive in person than in photos, despite its problems. So I suspect I won't be bothered too much by the signs while I'm there, but they'll still be bothersome.

[disneyland255]

New updates to Haunted Mansion? Please start a new thread on this dl1955pounds.

[MasterGracey]

Originally Posted by dl1955pounds

Well, I saw it in person yesterday. It's much like I expected - I hardly even noticed it. They're the kinds of signs that you walk by and don't even pay attention to. I've been a Disney freak for a long time, and I have a keen sense of how-things-are in Disneyland, and I will say again here, the aesthetics of NOS are in no way hindered by these signs. And this is coming from me, someone who was pissed off when they added artificial-looking "stage lighting" and a big TV to the Space Mountain queue in 2005.

You'd think there'd be more threads about how the Haunted Mansion lighting was upgraded in this past refurb, and that Constance has a newly-enhanced face, or that the loading ramps for the omnimover have new patterns on them. Those changes are a lot more noticeable than these tiny signs. It's almost as though one guy, who has taken pictures of minor things and blown them out of proportion on Disney sites for years, put them on a website and everyone freaked out. Sort of reminds me of Al Lutz's old site in the late 90's... at least the chipped paint that Lutz used to point out was a valid concern.

The Mansion just re-opened on Friday, and a lot of people have yet to ride it still. I noticed the little changes yesterday - other than taking pictures - all we did yesterday was ride the Mansion three times. So great.

Madame Leota in red lighting is creepy and slightly unnerving! I like it! And the speed ramps getting plussed was really nice to see, as well. Little things, but they add a lot.

But really - these are nice things, but extremely minor. And really, Disney should be plussing attractions constantly anyway. The Disneyland Dream Suite is getting much more attention than any plussing going on because it is isn't an attraction being plussed - it was an attraction being removed completely with something we'll never get to see.

[disneyland255]

LaughinPlace.com has pictures of the New Dream Suite. Let's just say, the suite is BEAUTIFUL!

http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-573.asp

Mousetimes.com

http://mt.mousetimes.com/index.php?o...d=451&Itemid=1

Just noticed there are some pics up here on MiceChat. Sorry for posting these...hope it isn't a problem.

[Gymnogyp]

bah... i think this place was better when it was the gallery. This "Dream Suite" business is just a nightmare.

[drownedprocess]

I beleive the castle on the logo looks more like Sleaping Beauty Castle than Cinderella.

[Gullywhumper]

I like the suite, when I saw this picture of the balcony with the early morning sunrise over the Rivers of America I got really emotional! I saw Walt sitting in the chair to the left in the picture, dressed in a robe, having his early morning cigarette -yes, Walt smoked - and coffee, while looking out at the river and Mark Twain. This is most likely what Walt would have done in the early morning hour that this picture was taken. Walt used to love to walk around the park in the early morning before opening. If he had lived longer, as he aged, he most likely would have spent more time just sitting, looking out over his park. I really hope, when the Year of A Million Dreams is over, that the suite remains as a private VIP suite for very special guests, such as the Disney family.

I would like to see the signs removed though, I agree that they are tacky, not so much for the design, which I admit Seawolf greatly inproved upon, but for the fact that this is a private apartment and in Walt's day there would have been no signs for sure! I would also like to see the stairs above the entrance to Pirates removed. Those very public stairs were needed when the Suite was The Disney Gallery -and function now as a grand "show-off" promenade into the suite, but the back entrance is much more discreet and was to be the only entrance in the original design. I also agree that the Walt and Roy Disney initials on the balcony railing need to blend in and not stand out in gold. Oh, the security camera definately has to go! Can you imagine cameras like that on Sleeping Beauty Castle or the exterior of the Haunted Mansion? The ugly camera has to go now.

The original entrance to The Royal Suite, as it was to be called in Walt's day, is from the courtyard between the Pirate Shop and the One of A Kind Shop on Royal Street. The wooden staircase in the Royal Court leads up to the main entrance door, which leads into a hallway Once you enter this hall, the dining room (with a door directly into the Club 33 kitchen) is to your left, straight ahead is the public parlor to entertain guests. This parlor had it's own wet bar and small kitchen facility. Both these rooms have access, via french doors, to the grand balcony, overlooking the Rivers of America. To the right of the hall was an entry door directly into the private rear patio. Beyond the public parlor was the private family parlor, then beyond that, two bedrooms for overnight guests. One guest bedroom and one bedroom for the Disney family grandchildren, plus a small bathroom. The last room was the master bedroom, accessed from the private patio. The door at the rear of the master bedroom led to a private bathroom that included a shower with multiple shower heads, much like modern delux showers.

Those rooms became The Disney Gallery, with the hall, dining room and family parlor, plus the master bedroom, becoming galleries. The public parlor with the wet bar and small kitchenette became the merchandise area. Of course the balcony became known as the Fantazmic Balcony and the private rear patio became a nice quiet outdoor space for events and just relaxing. The two small bedrooms off the private parlor became office and storage space and the bathrooms were left locked and unused. Most of you know this, however the Dream Suite has changed this configuration greatly.

The new "Dream Suite" uses the private parlor as the entry and main parlor, the former public parlor as the children's bed room -the "Frontierland Bedroom"-with the wet bar and kitchenette area as the children's bathroom. The master bedroom retains it's intended purpose as does the private patio and river view grand balcony. The small bedrooms become a grand Fantasyland themed bathroom and the former bathroom at the rear of the master bedroom becomes an entry hall for the elevator installed behind Tarzan's Treehouse. Also, a breezway style corridor now connects the rear hallway to the elevator with the rest of the suite, eliminating the direct patio access between the master bedroom and rear private patio and taking a bit of patio space away.

Most of you have probably noticed that the old main entry hall and dining room are not included in the new Dream Suite. I can only hope that these beautiful rooms are put to good use in the future. Half the dining room went to Club 33 kitchen storage a while back, it would be a shame to loose the other half to more storage space. As I said before, if the stairs above the Pirates entrance are removed after the "YOMD" campaign, the now unused hallway can become the main entrance to the Royal Suite -as the suite was intended to be called. The breezway can be extended along the rear patio to connect to the door that already leads from the hall to the patio. (The direct access between the current suite and hallway has been blocked by the conversion of the public parlor to a bedroom.) Then the remaining half of the origional dining room can be used for dining in the suite when needed. The door to the Club 33 kitchen can again be opened up to the dining room. This room also has direct access to the grand riverview balcony and it would be less awkard to utilize this balcony in the evening via the dining room after dinner to view Fantazmic or just enjoy the view, than trying to access the balcony, once the children are "put to bed" in the Frontierland bedroom, via that room's balcony access.

On a side note, I used to be a Disneyland Castmember and one of my duties was to deliver supplies all over the backstage areas of Disneyland. Up the staircase from the Court of Angels, there is a rather good sized storage area, the entire second floor above French Market, the Jewel of New Orleans and the former Mardi Gras Shop. This area can be directly accessed from the main hallway of Club 33 and would make a perfect addition to the Club. The views would be of the New Orleans Square / Frontierland Railroad Station as well as the Haunted Mansion and Rivers of America. The space is large enough for a good sized dining room as well as some storage and auxiliary kitchen / prep area. There is no reason to use any of Walt Disney's Royal Suite for Club 33 expansion.

Oh, on a final note, when the Year of a Million Dreams is over, the tacky signs -and camera - come down, the gold paint is painted over on the railings, the stairs over the Pirates entrance are removed, the original Royal Court entrance is restored, the dining room is refurbished and reconnected to the suite and the "Dream Suite" is no longer being marketed to the public. Then, a tasteful address marker similar to the Club 33 marker, can be put next to the Royal Court stairway. I really like the idea of using the Walt and Roy initials from the balcony as a subtle entrance marker.

Whew! I went on! I must say that I do like the suite! I just want to change it a little (see above). Oh, if anyone wins and is going to boycott, call me! I'll stay in the suite for you!