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Jessica Figueroa··39 Comments·2 min read

PHOTOS: Disney Builds Test Rooms for PIXAR’s “The Incredibles” Overlay of Disney’s Contemporary Resort Hotel

They said it was ludicrous. Inconceivable! The Incredibles? At Disney’s Contemporary Resort? I mean, when we ran the news of a “The Incredibles”-themed steakhouse taking over The Wave… of American Flavors restaurant at the resort, even we thought it was a stretch…

However, if you ask Elastigirl, she’d say anything is possible.

It’s no secret that a mandate was made to those in Walt Disney Imagineering and management at the Parks and Resorts that the goal is now to “leverage IPs” wherever and whenever possible. And in an attempt to do so, they’ve fully remodeled two rooms in a quiet corner of the Contemporary Resort to test them out. You can see where the classic modern art “fried egg” carpets meet the new, mid-century modern carpets in red, orange and yellow. There’s even the Incredibles logo woven in.

In between the two rooms, you have modern artwork depicting Mrs. Incredible showing off her super-stretchy powers while “riding” the monorail. Maybe she’s just saving guests stuck in a broken down one?

Grey wood panels line the doors and floorboards, with monorail-esque chevrons zooming past the walls.

Here’s a glimpse of the rooms as they appear across the rest of the resort, with dark wood and metal paneling. Currently, the rooms are void of any Disney themeing at all, and many guests had actually complained about the lack of characters at the resort. If this redesign were to be carried out in full, Disney’s Contemporary Resort would be the first Disney resort hotel to receive a full IP overlay.

The redesign would be a better fit for Bay Lake Tower next door perhaps as the orange and yellow tones would match their design color scheme far better, but whether this will carry over to the neighboring DVC resort is still unknown.

This redesign brings up a number of problematic ponderings. If the resort gets a full-on Incredibles overlay and Chapek’s “inevitable” Incredibles Steakhouse takes over, what will happen to the iconic Chef Mickey’s? What about the Mary Blair murals? Will it still all make sense in the gutted, retro-futuristic concourse of Disney’s Contemporary IP Resort? And what of the future of the soon-to-be-also-gutted Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort? Is no monorail resort safe? And while we’re at it, when will we get new monorails, anyway? Tune in next time to find out!

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Jessica Figueroa
Jessica lives in South Florida with her 15-pound cat Gordo and a small army of Tsum Tsums. You can contact her, ideally with photos of your cats, at [email protected]

39 Comments

  2. Boo! This is so disheartening. I love the classic Mary Blair artwork and it’s fine with me to not have IP in all the rooms, but plz keep hidden Mickeys! In fact, I feel that’s what separates the deluxe resorts from the value (besides $300!), the value resorts are “larger than life” with IP and the deluxe have more subtle touches. I liked the FIRST Incredibles movie but it certainly doesn’t need a full resort. I bet they’ll change the most beloved Chef Mickey’s to a Pixar pals theme. It just stinks. Chapek must go! And leave the GF alone!!!

  3. Can’t say I’m a fan of this. The Incredibles would be much better served in another resort, like (wait for it), Art of Animation.

    Not every resort needs to be extensively burdened with IP. In fact, some of the most popular and expensive resorts (Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Boardwalk) have had the least Disney character presence over the years.

    I’m not sure guest complaints about light theming should be of significant concern when existing IP is already being heavily leveraged in the parks and the resorts in question certainly don’t seem to be underperforming.

  4. Please no. Don’t get me wrong, the Contemporary needs a major overhaul. The current interior design aesthetic is terrible, with all the charm of an airport hotel. The present problem is the interior design is incongruous with the iconic 1971 architecture. Even though the resort is called “The Contemporary,” it’s actually fits squarely within the modernist movement. (Remember, contemporary/current ≠ modern; modernism was largely a 20th century movement.) The resort should go back to a late mid-century modern/1970s aesthetic. Bringing back the abstract southwest theme would also be nice. While the hotel shouldn’t be a period piece, the interior design must reflect the architecture of the structure, otherwise it will always feel a bit awkward. While the Incredibles does have a mid-century aesthetic, it’s not quite the right kind; that aesthetic just doesn’t jibe with the sui generis structure, which, while definitely in the modernist tradition, is not necessarily mid-century modern. More to the point, characters/IP are basically the antithesis of the Contemporary, which is an awesome, severe, one of kind structure softened with Mary Blair’s artwork (there used to be a few more Mary Blair figurines scattered about the concourse). Characters are often used a crutch to mask poor design choices and win over ignorant fans. That Disney is unwilling to respect this fantastic work of architecture is immensely depressing.

  7. I’ll be the sacrilege one here, and say from just the few photos of the outside…I actually like it. Way better than the current look, which is straight up ugly.

    If the overlay is done subtly enough that it can work with the architecture (of which that Incredibles test portion looks way better with the Contemporary architecture than the current design), I may actually be ok with it. I like the use of a stylized look for the incredibles characters as seen with Elastigirl, but also working with subtle design motifs with the geometric half circles and such. It also gives off a more retro 70s vibe that goes with the original vision of the hotel. I mean, they really could have gone full character overlay and just slapped on giant stock photo decals all over the place. It actually looks like a unified design vision is being played out with the test sample.

    Since it’s a corporate mandate, and I’m sure plenty of Imagineers themselves aren’t thrilled with having to do it, if they can kind of strike a balance in the design and execution, I’m game.

  8. When they removed the Orange and Silver light strips which once festivly illuminated the Guest Room Hallways, making the Grand Canyon Concourse a beautiful sight for all, AND the giant Wall Maps in the Guest Rooms were removed, that was the end of the Contemporary Resort Hotel as I knew and loved it…

    Thank goodness that I saved all those Orange/Silver light strips and they cover the ceiling in my world, and i saved aGiant Wall Map along with Mary Blair wall pictures for myself.

  10. To be honest, I think it’s actually very fitting of the resort and its overall aesthetic. No one said Mary Blair’s murals were going anywhere.

  11. Its more likely it will be a limited number of rooms and this feels like a great stylistic fit with the contemporary that kids and adults would probably enjoy. I think it’s a great idea providing it doesn’t imapct much beyond the wave and a limited number of rooms!

  12. Maybe it will just be one floor… Kind of like POR, only some of the buildings are the princess theme.

    2. IP stands for Intellectual Property. So, Mickey Mouse, Star Wars, and the Incredibles are all Disney-owned IP.

    1. It stands for “intellectual property.” Aka, the disney-owned characters, stories, and their worlds. Star Wars is an IP, for example, as is Toy Story, etc.

    2. IP stands for Intellectual Property. Basically the brands that Disney owns (Pixar, LucasFils, ESPN, etc.).

    3. Intellectual Property (IP) – a work or invention that is the result of creativity

      Basically everything at Disney Parks could be considered Intellectual Properties as they are creative entities owned by Disney. However recently, the term IP has been leveraged towards movies and TV shows that can be synergised in the parks. The Polynesian is a creative invention by Disney but it is not connected to a movie, etc…thereby lacking an IP.

  15. Why is the assumption that this would be a full building overlay and not just select, price inflated, floors?

  16. Wow, this is interesting. While I agree Disney character designs would be very appropriate, not sure how I feel about the Incredibles being chosen. And WHAT??? The Grand Floridian is going to be gutted too??? OMG day it ain’t so! 😞

  17. It sounds like this would just be a single floor and not the entire resort, like the Princess and the Frog rooms at Port Orleans or the Pirates rooms at Caribbean. If that’s the case, I really wouldn’t see a problem with this at all.

  18. I am not happy about this at all. Can they just leave some things traditional Walt Disney or does everything have to sell an IP?

    1. You do realize that nothing at the Walt Disney World resort existed during Walt Disney’s lifetime…?

    2. Walt Disney died five years before the Contemporary opened. Five years! Nothing at Walt Disney World has anything to do with Walt, except for the name.

  20. Chapek sounds like he’d approve of Eisner’s dumb idea of a hotel shaped like Mickey. Sorry, I’m very tired of Disney IP everywhere, and even more tired of character breakfasts, character photo ops, and the wild overuse of characters. Leave the character IP to the family-priced hotels. I’d pay a premium at the Contemporary, Polynesian and Grand Floridian for a true hotel experience, such as at the Four Seasons or the Swan and Dolphin–singular aesthetics, calm beauty, and unique hotel identities. Sure, take a restaurant here or there and make it a character or film-inspired experience–no problem. But I think most hotels–where you return to after a long and hectic day in a park–should, in general, be a welcome and relaxing respite from the hustle and bustle of the colors and imagery in the parks. Grand Floridian should be a relaxing Main St. The Contemporary should be a calming Tomorrowland. The Polynesian should be a slowed-down Adventureland. Premium prices demand premium experiences, and we get enough of the IP already in the merchandise, restaurants, and in the parks. We shouldn’t be overwhelmed in the hotels with a park experience; we should be immersed in a Disneyfied hotel experience that takes the Disney aesthetic to a higher and less obvious commercial level. Like Ron Burgundy would say, “Stay classy, Disney.”

  21. I’m hoping itll just be an option, not required. Like the princess or pirate rooms found at other resorts

  22. While I am completely against this change in every way, if a compromise had to be reached why couldn’t just the Garden Wing, or just one section of the Garden Wing, be the only rooms that are converted? Then Disney still gets to push their IP garbage while the main building (which is really what I think of when I think of the Contemporary) would remain untouched. And here’s another problem that isn’t too hard to solve. Instead of gutting The Wave and turning it into Incredibles Steakhouse, why can’t they just keep the Wave and build the steakhouse somewhere else on site?

  23. Seems to fit well.

    But definitely gives ammo to the multitudes who get so excited when they find something new to complain about.

  24. If you want characters . . . . go to Fantasyland! There are many good ideas for how to provide a good guest experience, and there might be a couple that don’t involve an IP?

  25. Don’t do the incredibles. If there must be character overlay here make it Mickey or Mickey and friends. There’s no better hotel for Mickey and friends to go. The iconic contemporary with the iconic mouse and friends. This way the beloved chef Mickey can stay and also if done properly even the Mary Blair stuff can blend in with a Mickey and friends theme. I know they want new IP but I think they forget sometimes that it started with a mouse and that he is truly timeless. Mickey is what people still associate with visiting a Disney park first in their minds. If there must be characters let’s bring back some classic yet modern Mickey.

  26. I can state very proudly that The Incredibles is my favorite Pixar movie but the thought of it taking over The Contemporary makes me want to vomit.

  27. Love the overlays! I think the Contemporary is the perfect fit for the Incredibles. The resort was designed in the late 1060’s so it has that “mid-century” look. As for the Mary Blair mural, it is iconic but I doubt no one knows who she was or even the fact that’s suppose to represent the Grand Canyon. Do they even call that open area the Grand Canyon Concourse any more? It would be better suited if they could remove it or parts of it and place it in the new resort they are building or somewhere over in the Fort Wilderness area.

    Guests want more “Disney” in that hotel – I say give it to them!

  28. Please I hope they are not considering a full overlay, but rather select rooms. AND DO NOT TOUCH THE GRAND FLORIDIAN. (Except maybe just a refurb of the resort)

  30. Please at least choose a good ip🤦 I mean why don’t we make The Good Dinosaur Polynesian resort while we’re at it💀

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