Room for 1,000? I’ll Volunteer!

Geez Louise; I’m out of the loop for one weekend, and I miss one of the best Disney rumors in a while.  I spent the entire weekend working on charity fundraisers, community theatre, and family obligations, so I didn’t read about this until Monday morning.  I’m sure you’ve already heard about it, but it was just too interesting to resist discussing.

According to www.wdwmagic.com, WDW Today, and Inside the Magic (I’m sure there are others discussing this, but those are the ones I’ve encountered thus far) a survey is floating around amongst Disney guests to see what they think of proposed Haunted Mansion and Royal themed rooms at Disney’s Moderate Resorts, along the lines of the Pirate-themed rooms at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. 

When I first I heard of the Royal rooms, I was picturing something in the pink and purple Disney Princess color scheme that always seems to feature so prevalently in the Princess merchandise at the Disney Store.  I was, shall we say, less than thrilled.  Once I saw a proposed rendition of the room, however, I changed my tune.  Here’s a picture from WDW Magic’s forums:

To me, this looks like a scaled-down re-creation of the suite inside Cinderella Castle, and I would very much enjoy staying in one of these rooms.  Because let’s face it; a night in the Cinderella Castle Suite seems about as likely for me as a lottery win.

But we’re not kidding anyone; the idea that really got my heart racing was the Haunted Mansion room proposal. WDW Magic quotes the survey as saying, “Come spend the night with a few of the happy haunts who play in an enchanted bedroom inspired by the Haunted Mansion. Rest atop the floating Doom Buggy beds with a couple of friendly spooks and watch glow-in-the-dark, cartoon-like footsteps mysteriously appear as the evening sets in. A sliding bookcase creates a hidden passage to the bathroom and is the perfect hiding place for a hitch-hiking ghost. Oversized furnishings with curvy lines and bright colors add to the whimsy in the room. Guests will delight in finding the hidden special effects that play up the merry, rather than scary, room ambiance.”

On the minus side, this mock-up reminds me more of Dr. Seuss than Master Gracey.  I guess I understand, though.  I mean, it probably isn’t a good idea to have your five-year-old wake up in the middle of the night and have Phineas, Gus, and Ezra staring at him from the edge of his bed.  And I love the hidden passage to the bathroom behind the bookcase.  What a marvelous touch!

Of course, there are many unanswered questions, like: What would the cost be?  How many of these rooms would be available?  And where would these rooms go?  This is entirely speculation on my part, of course, but I would think the pricing would be similar to that of the Pirate rooms at Caribbean Beach.  In other words, about $30 more per night than a regular moderate room.  I have no idea how many of these rooms Disney would create, but if I were Disney, I’d make as many of the Haunted Mansion rooms as the Royal, Pirate, and Nemo rooms combined.  I have a feeling they will be very popular. 

The most interesting question to me, however, is where Disney would put them.  As I listened to the WDW Today team discuss this, I was screaming at my MP3 player where I thought they should go.  Fortunately Matt, Mike, and Len agreed with me.  The mansions in the Magnolia Bend section of Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort would be the perfect setting for the Haunted Mansion rooms (very reminiscent of the theming of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion), and Port Orleans French Quarter would be a nice fit for the Royal rooms.  After all, Princess Tiana deserves some nice digs, don’t you think? (Although my daughter Kira says that the rooms look more like Charlotte’s style than Tiana’s.)

Again, let me emphasize that this is all speculation.  Disney has released nothing on this themselves.  And we’ve certainly never heard anything from Disney on the last rumor I discussed that was based on a survey; that of a new World Showcase pavilion, in http://disneygene.blogspot.com/2010/05/look-at-all-these-rumors-surroundin-me.html.  (A quick note to Disney: I stand by my assertion in that post that World Showcase needs an E-Ticket attraction, and a Russia pavilion would be the perfect home for it.  I’m just saying…)

Do you think Disney should move forward with these rooms?  Would you pay extra to stay there?  Where do you think they should go?  Speak your piece over at http://www.facebook.com/disneygene!