Should Disneyland Paris have delayed the opening of the New-York – The Art of Marvel hotel?

Today’s editorial is somewhat unique and requires a different kind of introduction. As you may have guessed, after months of work, Disneyland Paris reopened the New-York – The Art of Marvel Hotel on June 21st, the first Marvel hotel in the world.

Our chroniclers were able to test it. I would like to point out that our three reviewers were not invited by Disneyland Paris. They paid for their stay, which took place before the Insidears event (where this time we are invited by Disneyland Paris).

Given the setbacks they encountered, it seemed appropriate to ask them the following question: Should Disneyland Paris have delayed the opening of New-York – The Art of Marvel?

Three chroniclers, three opinions: Make your choice!

Yes, Disneyland Paris should have delayed the opening of New-York – The Art of Marvel hotel! By Marie

There is no question here of questioning the professionalism and the will of the Casts members. Quite the contrary. The latter, in spite of the more than doubtful organisation, were able most of the time to correct the errors due to haste and poor preparation.

We explain ourselves.

Staff are quickly overwhelmed.

Firstly, we were not allowed access to our room until mid-afternoon, which was well after the advertised time. It was explained to us that the room was to be examined by the housekeeper. However, when we entered the room, we could see with displeasure that the cleaning had been botched or simply forgotten (marks on the carpet, crumbs on the floor, slippers already used, etc). The bathroom products were also missing. These inconveniences are evidence of poor internal organisation and overworked staff. By postponing the opening of the hotel, the teams could have benefited from a more thorough preparation and could have worked in a more serene and less stressful environment.

Work still in progress at the New-York Hotel …

First of all, it was clear that the right-hand side of the roof was still under construction. Moreover, a large part of the team had the unpleasant surprise of having a direct view from their room of the construction site with the material piled up here and there.

The rooms also gave the impression of having been finished in a hurry. A poorly screwed-in ventilation grille, a sticker still under the toilet bowl are all indications of a quick job or a hasty check.

This is not what you expect when you book a room in a 4-star hotel. Again, by delaying the opening, this kind of inconvenience could have been largely avoided.

Events postponed…

The most regrettable thing is the near absence of exclusive events linked to this “opening”. Indeed, with the exception of a 10-minute Spider-Man flash show, no special event came to punctuate this day, contrary to what had been announced. Everything was pushed back a few days. This suggests that the opening of the hotel would have benefited from extra time.

A salvo of customers sacrificed…

In conclusion, the experience was a bitter one. Indeed, it suggests that this was a trial run or even a false start before the ‘real opening’.

Yes, Disneyland Paris should have delayed the opening of New-York – The Art of Marvel hotel! By Floflo

I had the chance to test the New-York – The Art of Marvel hotel on the opening day (21 June 2021). To make the most of the experience, I took a night with half board (breakfast and dinner), for a total price of 663€ for 4 people.

Disneyland Paris should have been delayed from the New-York Hotel…

The rooms were not checked. The view was horrible, so much so that I changed rooms (I had a view of the building site and the car park where the materials were piled up). Unpleasant smells were present throughout the hotel.

The hotel itself is not finished. The works in the corridors were in the process of being installed. Construction sites are visible in several places in the hotel. Gardens are not finished. Even the ice machines are not installed in the common areas, leaving gaping holes behind the doors.

The whole hotel seems to have been finished in a hurry. Furniture has splinters or marks. Traces of paint have sometimes leaked onto the floor. The ventilation panels or the light fittings are badly installed. And even the wallpaper is already peeling off…

Equipment is defective. Television has functions that are not available. The hair dryer has a false contact. The magic passes had to be redone regularly to access the room as they were deactivating.

I felt a lack of organisation and preparation. I had problems with restaurant reservations. Although the Casts were pleasant, they were poorly trained (they didn’t have the answers to questions and were quickly overwhelmed).

Positive points

This opening avoids a second postponement (already a year late).
The artworks are beautiful and present everywhere in the hotel.
There is a subtlety to the decoration although it may seem too plain for many people in the rooms.
The super hero station is one of the best interactive experiences in the hotels and probably the best photo spot in the resort.
The bars/restaurants are very nice. There are a variety of cocktails at fairly good prices. Manhattan has one of the best food and beverage offerings at Disneyland Paris.
The scent of the hotel, although not very present in places, is pleasant.
Sports complex is a magnificent, fun, and rich place (swimming pool, sports hall, outdoor sports area, themed basketball court, children’s play area). This is a real asset for the hotel.

To sum up, the opening of the hotel should obviously have been postponed. This would have allowed to correct the small problems that have accumulated. However, the hotel has some definite assets, its many activities, its Marvel touches and its excellent restaurants could make it one of the best hotels.

Disneyland Paris was absolutely right not to delay the opening of their Hotel New-York – The Art of Marvel! By Nimmerland

Since 2019, the former Hotel New-York was redesigned and originally it should finally be reopened on June 15, 2020, but this reopening unfortunately had to be canceled. One year later on June 21, 2021 it was finally time : The Hotel New-York – The Art of Marvel opened its doors ! But was that maybe too early?

When the first pictures of the hotel were published, I was quite skeptical whether the stay there would give me the right Disneyfeeling or whether the realization was too sloppy for me. But I do love Marvel – especially Ironman and Spiderman – so I couldn’t resist a booking, even though you have to dig pretty deep into your pocket for the 4**** hotel. Up to 1130 € you pay here for 2 people a night, so you have to ask yourself what this hotel has to offer for such a price. Even for Disneyland prices, this is a high-priced category.

The opening day of the New-York hotel is here!

Since it was not known whether there were any special features (limited merch, events, special charactermeets, etc.), we arrived – like many others – very early. After several checks to see if we really had a hotel reservation, we were able to enjoy the sight in all its glory and already the view of the outdoor area made our hearts beat a little faster. At this point, the windows were still being cleaned, but well, last measures always take place at short notice.

First step in the New-York hotel

And then you enter the entrance hall and it is breathtaking. Ok, there were a lot of people there, but that’s how an opening works. The huge hall first directs the focus to Ironman’s suits and then you discover more and more details.

But before we could explore all the big and small works of artwork we were welcomed by an incredibly friendly and kind cast member. Upon check-in, 3 Cast Members immediately took care of our booking and helped us visit the Super Hero Station, even though we couldn’t make a booking through the app – it must have had a small glitch.

Our luggage was brought to the rooms. We were also shown the most important places so that we could quickly find our way around. After arriving, we also wanted to get to our room quickly, which was prepared.

We opened our door and then we could take in our new home and you could tell at a glance that the mix of the themes of New-York, Marvel and art were brought into excellent balance.

First problems

Unfortunately, the view was more of a backyard in a bad part of New-York. A construction site adorned the view of the huge window. Actually, a green roof was probably supposed to be built here, but I guess they didn’t manage to do that. Stupidly, the coffee machine then also ran out when one tried to make a coffee. Not exactly the start you want.

Friends didn’t fare any better here, each of us had noticeable defects in our room. But in the end we were kindly provided with another room where all these flaws were fixed. Stupidly, the water in the shower did not work properly in our new hotel room. The cast member who brought our luggage promised to take care of it, so we first explored the hotel.

The collector’s key to the hotel could not be purchased, but one or the other thing in limited edition.
After visiting the Super Hero Station, which is a great addition to the theme, we walked through the corridors to admire the artwork. As a lover of comics, I particularly enjoyed looking at all the different styles and artworks, which were excellently integrated into the New-York flair.

Discovery of the Manhattan restaurant

In the evening we visited the hotel’s own restaurant “Manhattan” and were extremely positively surprised by the food presented. This restaurant will definitely be one of our new favorite places to eat. The visit was slightly impacted by the fact that our waitress was quite overwhelmed. Everything took quite a long time, the wine was missing and then the bill was incorrect. too. But due to the friendly nature of the waitress, we still felt well taken care of. And hey, it’s always a little bumpy the first few days.

Des soft-opening…

But now back to the introductory question, was it too early for the opening of the hotel? I think the opening was at the right time.

Because Disneyland certainly needs visitors after all this time to put a lot of money in the coffers and such a high-priced hotel is a good addition, especially because the Disneyland Hotel is closed. But I would have liked to see the implementation simply as a soft opening. The first days at special prices seen as a soft opening, where guests are aware that they are a test person and therefore pay differently.

Here, the last mistakes can be identified and corrected. The staff can get used to the workflow. The guests are also prepared for the fact that there will be numerous bumps in the road due to the special situation. In addition still a few specials as rare Character meets (as for example Iron man) and bang we would have been happy.

It’s not that hard to make the guests happy, give us a little magic and don’t just keep this for press moments.

I wish Disneyland Paris would put as much heart and soul into such matters as each and every Cast Member. Because they really did a wonderful, outstanding job opening the hotel and made us happy, despite all the flaws.