>There is already Magic in the Rooms

Disney announced last week that they were going to transform some of their Resort rooms into “specialty” rooms. These rooms will be in the “Riverside” section of Disney’s Port Orleans Resort and also in Disney’s Contemporary Resort. They will be like the rooms already in Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort that have a Pirates theme. The new rooms in Port Orleans will be Princess Rooms while the specialty ones in the Contemporary will be aimed at adults and have a health-and-wellness theme. The new 512 Royal Rooms will open to guests in February or March of next year. Disney says it expects the health-and-wellness suites to open by November (these will take over the entire 14th floor of the Contemporary).

What kid or even a kid at heart wouldn’t want to stay in a Pirate or Princess Room? Years ago, when they first announced that the Cinderella Suite in the Castle was to be stayed in, my family and I thought that would be pretty cool. The problem was it was only offered as a special prize and you had to win to stay there. Now people can stay in a specialized room without having to win, they will just pay a little more money. I think the extra special details like the water faucets looking like Aladdin’s genie lamp, will be fantastic.

But what I don’t think people realize is that there is Unknown Magic in the Disney Resort rooms already. That they have special themes and details that are Magical. Everything from the headboards at the Animal Kingdom Lodge to the details on the bedspread at the Grand Floridian add to the Magic that is available in every Disney Resort Room. I stayed in the Caribbean Beach years ago and the bed posts and the armoires were decorated with pineapples. When I stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside, the rooms had beds that seemed like they were made of logs and sticks, which was really neat, it added to the feeling of being back in the woody area of the south. And it’s not just the moderate and deluxe resorts that are like this, the value resorts have their own special themes in the rooms to add to your enjoyment. For example in the All-Star Movie Resort, things like the shower curtains being covered in stars and the stars above the beds add to the excitement of staying in these rooms. In Pop Century, the bedspreads showing Mickey and friends enjoying different activities that were popular in the different decades do the same thing.

There are so many little details that Disney adds to every area of the Walt Disney World Resort, including the rooms you stay in, that help to make your stay magical. The housekeeping staff adds to that magic also, by leaving special welcome towels when you first get to your room. Besides the room’s décor being themed and designed around that theme, there are usually ‘Hidden Mickeys’ somewhere in the rooms also, either the woodwork, the bedspread or the curtains. So, even if you get a “regular” Disney Room, you are still going to find some Magic.

So, if you are a first time visitor to the Magic Kingdom, getting one of these new themed rooms might be a great thing for your family; but please don’t think that the non-Royal or Pirate rooms in Disney Resorts are just your regular hotel room, they are anything but that. They all have details and special items in them that make staying in them a Magical Experience.

For the full story on the new rooms check out this Orlando Sentinel Story: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/the-daily-disney/os-disney-princess-hotel-rooms-20110425,0,6470887.story