While Disney details take many forms, I tend to think about them in three varieties. First are those “hidden in plain sight” – the details you notice even if you’ve never subscribed to a vlog, read Disney Files Magazine or thanked a Phoenician for your ability to do so. They’re the animals carved into the Tree of Life. The rock formation that puts the “grizzly” in Grizzly Peak. The towering toys of Toy Story Land. Designed to be discovered with relative ease, they’re the kind of details that overtly set the scene and, hopefully, inspire you to explore further.
Next are the “second reads” – the details you likely discover only after taking a closer look. The peanuts in the pavement of Storybook Circus. The chess pieces in the architecture of Florida’s (and Tokyo’s) Haunted Mansion. The crates littering the landscape of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, marked as containing mining explosives from companies with names like “Lytum & Hyde.”
And then there are those in the “if you know, you know” category – the kind of details that call for a little explanation. The clicking sound in the Main Street train station (Walt Disney’s Disneyland dedication speech in Morse code). The layered rockwork of a Disney’s Wilderness Lodge fireplace (a geologic representation of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim strata). An “Office Space For Rent” sign above a realty office at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (a nod to the first office space Walt Disney leased in California).
As my favorite Disney developments deliver details in each of those categories, I was delighted by my first look inside the model room for the Island Tower addition to Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. Fulfilling Members’ wish for more accommodation options at this beloved resort, the new tower’s villas are richly layered with thoughtful details, from delicate depictions of Moana moments hidden in plain sight (including the vibrant mural image on this magazine’s cover and back cover), to wayfinding themes of “land” and “sea” that define various spaces as you take a closer look, to intricately detailed sculptures that allow those “in the know” to tell equally intricate stories about Polynesian cultures and traditions. You can take your own closer look at that model room – and those details – in the pages ahead, and you’ll find QR codes linking to filmed explorations of those same spaces through Disney Files On Demand.
We’ll explore more of the new tower (scheduled to open this December) – from its natural-elements-inspired lobby to its waterfront bar and grill – in the next edition of Disney Files Magazine. In the meantime, I’m off to find more details. And maybe a Dole Whip.
Welcome home,
Ryan March
Disney Files Editor
Please note: Theme Park admission is not part of the ownership interest and is sold separately. Some options shown are Membership Extras. Eligibility requires new Members to have an ownership interest with 150 Vacation Points or more purchased directly from Disney. This is an incidental benefit subject to availability, change or termination. Fees may apply. Many Membership Extras require proof of Membership in the form of your valid digital Disney Vacation Club Membership Card and corresponding valid photo ID. Learn more online at DisneyVacationClub.com/MemExtrasPolicy.
