Disney Finalizes Deal with Four Seasons

Disney announced recently that their plans to sell 298 acres to Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts for the purpose of developing “a world-class family resort destination that offers the exceptional service and amenities and one-of-a-kind guest experiences that are the hallmark of both our brands.” Color me less than excited about the deal…

Maybe I’m just pessimistic, but I guess I just don’t understand why Disney can’t do this on their own – it just smells of so many of the other vendor deals that have popped up around Walt Disney World as of late, from the new T-Rex Restaurant and all of the reported expansion that’s said to take the place of Pleasure Island after it closes to existing restaurants like Rainforest Café and Planet Hollywood. It really makes me wonder – is the Mouse just out of creative juice for this kind of stuff, or is it simply an easy way for Disney to subsidize expansion costs by letting another company pay for it in exchange for a chunk of the revenues…

The thing is, I don’t want an experience that I can also find outside of Walt Disney World when I come to visit. I want unique attractions and restaurants and hotels, not something that can also be found in shopping malls or overpriced downtown areas across the country. Is Disney really not capable of building a world-class, luxury resort on its own? If the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary aren’t considered to be of this caliber, then what’s stopped them so far from building a high-end, luxury hotel of their own? Am I the only one who feels like Disney is kind of selling out part of their magic by outsourcing functions like this to other companies instead of stepping up and doing something new and creative themselves???

I suppose one other question that could be posed would be whether this is actually even going to be a Disney-themed resort or if it will be similar to the other Downtown Disney resorts just off-property that are close to the magic, but not close enough to partake in the special features like Extra Magic Hours and Disney’s transportation (with the exception of The Hilton)? Maybe it is all about money to give the Mouse the capital needed to begin other projects, but still, it just doesn’t sit right with me.