Seasons to be cheerful
Christian Sylt visits new Disney attraction Toy Story Land and samples the latest luxury at an Italianate villa style hotel in Orlando
Entrances to hotels don’t get much more regal than this. A porter in a gatehouse that looks like an Italian villa asks for my name and waves me down a palm tree-lined drive. To the sides are landscaped gardens and mansions with sweeping arches and curved terracotta roof tiles. They would fit right in on the Riviera but the lack of hills or coastline on the horizon are the giveaways that it’s far from France.
I’m actually at the heart of Disney’s theme park complex in Orlando but it seems like a whole new world.
The hotel I’m staying at is the Four Seasons Resort Orlando and it looks like a giant sandcastle dotted with intricate iron balconies and topped with turrets. If you’re thinking that Disney has done a Med-themed hotel then think again. There’s nothing Mickey Mouse about it.
Marble abounds in the lobby – on the floor, the check-in desks and even the walls which are lined with exotic
Rooms on the upper floors have spellbinding views of Disney’s parks
art. Metal panels carved in the shape of water swirls sit behind the lobby and a chandelier with giant glass bulbs shaped like bursts of fireworks hangs above a spiral staircase. It gives a hint of things to come.
The rooms aren’t dominated by any theme and don’t even have any mouse ear designs hidden in the décor as you usually find in Disney’s own hotels. Rooms in the Four Seasons are like a cocoon of luxury, with furniture bound in cream-coloured leather, deep carpets, avant-garde art on the walls and a walk in wardrobe. Then come the high-tech touches that are easy to get used to.
There are Bose wireless speakers so if you want music in the bathroom or on the balcony you’ve got it. A bedside ipad can be used to call room service (24 hours of course) or make restaurant reservations and the bathrooms even come with their very own magic mirror. A remote control conjures up a television screen in the middle of the mirror so you can watch movies whilst soaking in the tub.
The hotel is in the middle of a gated community where the cheapest houses are worth £1.5 million and although a room at the Four Seasons doesn’t cost that much, it still comes to a princely price with rates starting at £409 per night.
Rooms on the upper floors have spellbinding views of Disney’s four parks so at night you can see a series of fireworks displays.
It’s like a widescreen son et lumière all from the comfort of your balcony. Unlike Disney’s own hotels, there’s a pool for adults only and it comes complete with underwater speakers. If you fancy something more adventurous there are hot tubs and a lagoon with a sloped entrance so you don’t need to use steps to get in. I thought I’d seen it all when I came across the infinity pool with water which flows over the edges so it looks like it’s part of the lake next door. Then I found the main event: a lazy river which is anything but lazy.
Powerful jets propel you round at speed past water sprays from gunpowder barrels and waterfalls roaring through castle ruins. Guests walking by can even take part by firing hoses on unsuspecting punters bobbing past on the rubber rings. It all has an air of Pirates of the Caribbean and it won’t be long before the little ones are pestering you to take them to see the real thing.
This is the hotel’s only weak spot as although it is just ten minutes from the fairytale-themed Magic Kingdom park there’s no path to walk there. If you’re not driving you have to take the bus but that visits all of the parks in a loop whereas Disney’s hotels have a
separate service for each one which can be quicker.
Walt Disney World might not sound like a place for adults and children to share refined experiences but they are there if you want it. Fancy seeing a Broadway production in the morning? Head to Disney’s Animal Kingdom park where the Festival of
the Lion King show features the most famous tunes from the movie belted out by singers in African outfits.
If it makes you want to see the real thing there’s a safari tour next door which takes you right past rhinos, giraffes, elephants and lions. Even the park’s main roller coaster isn’t just a thrill-fest as it sits inside a replica of Mount Everest with a queue which weaves around cabinets displaying relics from expeditions.
Disney constantly seems to outdo itself and just when you think it can’t surprise you any more, it does. The most ingenious ride of them all is Toy Story Mania which sits inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios moviethemed park next to Epcot. The ride is packed with so many effects that kids are endlessly entertained whilst parents are left asking “how did they do that?”
Sitting in a ride car you don 3D goggles and take control of a springaction shooter which appears to launch everything from baseballs to custard pies at on-screen targets themed to the Toy Story movies. Unlike most rides, this one fights back meaning that you get blasted with bursts of air cleverly timed to the 3D projectiles hurled at the screen.
It was joined recently by Toy Story Land, an outdoor area which uses design wizardry to make you feel like you’ve been shrunk down to matchbox-size and dropped in a garden. Benches appear to be made from lollipop sticks (with a pink stain where the ice cream was meant to be), giant footprints are carved into the concrete pathways and huge fairylights are draped above them.
The star attraction is Slinky Dog Dash, which looks like a kiddie coaster but has a real bite. Its entrance is underneath a giant cardboard box which appears to have contained a track for miniature cars. Massive bottles of glue next to the queue tell the story of how the track was made and then comes the twist that instead of being a car, the roller coaster is actually a giant Slinky Dog toy which is meant to have been dropped on to the track.
The dog even has a bobbing tail but don’t let that fool you. It soon rockets up so high that you can see far outside the park though there’s little time to admire the view. Before you know it you’re veering into sharp turns and drops which can catch you off guard if you’re sitting at the back and can’t see the track ahead. At one point it actually stops and reverses for a few seconds before accelerating even faster.
Kids will go ga-ga over it but after adults have spent all day hot-footing it around the parks, stepping back into the Four Seasons might be the happy ending that they are really looking for. Ten nights in Orlando costs from £3,847pp with Virgin Holidays including scheduled flights from Edinburgh to Orlando, room only accommodation at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando with car hire included. Price is per person based on two adults travelling and sharing a Lake View room. Price is based on a departure on 11 October 2018. To book, visit www.virginholidays.co. uk or call 0344 557 3870. Disney’s 7 Day Ultimate Ticket costs from £387 per adult and £367 per child (aged 3-9). The ticket includes unlimited access to all six Disney theme and water parks. To book, visit www.attraction-ticketsdirect. co.uk or call free on 0800 787 0962.