Disney's Hotel New York synthetic ice skating rink

[Festival Disney]

I have to say, I think it was a huge mistake making the Ice rink permenant.

When we took a strole around the lake in July, the Hotel looked amazing but... as soon as you got up close all you could hear was this booming music being played onto the ice rink and a really huge fan blowing icey cold air.

The fan also has a load of cables that are just draped through the fountain.

What should be a place of peace and tranquility has been ruinied by this monster!  :evil:

[Riebi]

I´m here totally with you. During my visit there was only one time one kid at the "ice" rink. All the other time there was only a bored CM waiting for someone that is interesting in ice skating while the temperature hits 35 °C.

What a absolute vaste of time and place. I loved sooo much the ambience at rockefeller plaza. Bring this back! And puss: No it never was that perfect but it was near. I remember well wonderfull late evening summer nights with a violin player, shimmering lights in trees and a nice gazpacho soup on the terrace. That was one of my best evenings at DLRP. Now you have only sometimes the possibility to choose a seat in this very  pent-up small ugly outside restaurant area at the right. While you are looking at a bored CM waiting for guests. While the big air blowing machine makes noise. While you miss the wonderful fountain. The plaza is just a shadow of its former self. Sad. Sad. Sad.

By the way: I was last april at germans Europa Park. Staying here at a 4 star hotel I have to say: The evening at the hotel was much better then you could get it at the moment at DLP - We had a buffet in the same quality as DLP  b u t   we had a nice couple of two musicians (a singer and a guitar player) which sung nice italien songs. (We later saw them at the spanish hotel singing (spanish songs))It was wonderful. And a big fountain show take it´s way at the plaza inside the hotel every 30 minutes. Rememberd me so much at the old times at DLP. Why not having a couple of two that make the round from HNY to SL to NPBC. Every hour some music for 15 minutes makes you thinking that there was always music in the restaurant. It´s a good and effective way to make guests happy while looking at the budget. A ice rink on a plaza in summertime is the wrong way.

[dagobert]

By the way: I was last april at germans Europa Park. Staying here at a 4 star hotel I have to say: The evening at the hotel was much better then you could get it at the moment at DLP - We had a buffet in the same quality as DLP  b u t   we had a nice couple of two musicians (a singer and a guitar player) which sung nice italien songs. (We later saw them at the spanish hotel singing (spanish songs))It was wonderful. And a big fountain show take it´s way at the plaza inside the hotel every 30 minutes. Rememberd me so much at the old times at DLP. Why not having a couple of two that make the round from HNY to SL to NPBC. Every hour some music for 15 minutes makes you thinking that there was always music in the restaurant. It´s a good and effective way to make guests happy while looking at the budget. A ice rink on a plaza in summertime is the wrong way.

I think nearly every hotel is better than any Disney hotel in terms of quality at the moment. We have been to Copenhagen last week and there we stayed in a new 2 star hotel and it was cleaner and nicer than Sequoia Lodge. I really hope that Disney realizes that their hotels, except for DL Hotel, are so overprized and that the quality is bad.

I haven't been to Europa Park, but friends told us that this park is great and has overpassed DLP in terms of cleaness, maintenance and even the hotels offer a better quality. Our friends are regular themepark visitors and they are big DLP fans, so I trust their opinion.

[Disneyland Paris Treasures]

Nicolai, they still have lights in the trees!

Yeah, sort of ... but they look like this:

... I remember well wonderfull late evening summer nights with a violin player, shimmering lights in trees and a nice gazpacho soup on the terrace. That was one of my best evenings at DLRP. ...

Ah, that sounds wonderful Riebi! It really is a shame how they treat this area. Rockefeller Plaza is supposed to be the "Fantasia Gardens" of Hotel New York and it seems management is not aware of that. It is this plaza that guests of the other hotels see when they stroll by on their way to the park. It is this what the HNY guests see when they come back after a long day at the park!

Let's have another look at the panorama:



Aside from the limousines I don't see anything that should be too hard (or too expensive) to achieve? Add the lights to the trees, extend the outside area of the bar and the restaurant a bit, have a band play some nice music now and then and bring back the fountains in summer and the ice rink in winter!

[Riebi]

I think nearly every hotel is better than any Disney hotel in terms of quality at the moment. We have been to Copenhagen last week and there we stayed in a new 2 star hotel and it was cleaner and nicer than Sequoia Lodge. I really hope that Disney realizes that their hotels, except for DL Hotel, are so overprized and that the quality is bad.

I haven't been to Europa Park, but friends told us that this park is great and has overpassed DLP in terms of cleaness, maintenance and even the hotels offer a better quality. Our friends are regular themepark visitors and they are big DLP fans, so I trust their opinion.

Europa Park is nowadays cleaner and has a better hotel standard. The cleaness is great and the restrooms are soooo nice themed. In that point they are now better then DLP. The hotel standard is higher just because they have only the german 4 star superior standard for Hotels. They have no 3 star and no normal 4 star hotels. So that´s a normal thing. I thing the main problem is that the Disney Hotels haven´t anymore the german standard like at the first years, they have now the french standard and that mean always a bit lower then the rest of its neighbour countries.

But DLP is friendlier, better themed and makes more fun. The biggest thing about europa park is, that they have only thrill rides OR rides for small ones. Nothing between. Nothing for the whole family. And that´s ALWAYS very boring for one part of the family. I saw this really clear cause
And another problem are the really high prices for drinks and food at Europa Park. I paid more as for DLP and I had not the possibility to get a bottle. Just mugs for one use only. That means that you have to drink all your mug before you get to an attraction etc. etc. etc.

Ah, that sounds wonderful Riebi! It really is a shame how they treat this area. Rockefeller Plaza is supposed to be the "Fantasia Gardens" of Hotel New York and it seems management is not aware of that. It is this plaza that guests of the other hotels see when they stroll by on their way to the park. It is this what the HNY guests see when they come back after a long day at the park!

That´s the point! It´s THE hotel area to sit outside in the summer! To watch lake disney, NPBC in the distance and have a nice meal under the sky. Not this cheap looking "GIVE ME MONEY" Attractions and not a ice rink during summer times.

[pussinboots]

Yeah, sort of ... but they look like this:

Haha. Yeah, I took a picture of that as well. As mentioned earlier, there were once lights in a lot more trees, notably those randomly twinkling ones in trees around Central Plaza, on the castle hills and around the Disneyland Hotel. They finally re-strung some of the Disneyland Hotel trees last year, but they no longer twinkle.

It doesn't seem that difficult or expensive to bring them back. Heck, normal people do this sort of thing in their gardens every December.

But about Rockefeller Plaza, I suppose a big part of the problem is that it isn't very inviting to linger in. A city square becomes lively when it's surrounded by lively establishments with steady streams of people going in and out. Rockefeller Plaza is three walls and two doorways. A few bistro tables and umbrellas aren't going to fix that, especially not in the winter. That's why I think they need to expand Disney Village in that direction... Build a bar with a covered patio or a food court.

[dagobert]

Europa Park is nowadays cleaner and has a better hotel standard. The cleaness is great and the restrooms are soooo nice themed. In that point they are now better then DLP. The hotel standard is higher just because they have only the german 4 star superior standard for Hotels. They have no 3 star and no normal 4 star hotels. So that´s a normal thing. I thing the main problem is that the Disney Hotels haven´t anymore the german standard like at the first years, they have now the french standard and that mean always a bit lower then the rest of its neighbour countries.

I hope this is not true for the Vienna International hotels (Dreamcastle and Magic Circus), since they are operated by an Austrian company and I think we have the same standard than Germany. According to wikipedia.de (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotelstern#.C3.96sterreich) Germany and Austria have the same classification system. Hopefully VI can maintain the German standard and will stay above the Disney hotels.

[Riebi]

OK just a short off topic comment:

I think the standards of the non-disney hotels are another. And normaly VI has a higher standard.

[pussinboots]

I always assumed Disney somehow managed to avoid accountability by using keys instead of stars. Because according to the official website, the Disneyland Hotel is not a four-star hotel but a four-Mickey-shaped-key one. It seems like something they'd try.

[john-laws]

really that was great photo. thanks for sharing it

[SwipatronSparks]

I always assumed Disney somehow managed to avoid accountability by using keys instead of stars. Because according to the official website, the Disneyland Hotel is not a four-star hotel but a four-Mickey-shaped-key one. It seems like something they'd try.

they just use keys in the place of stars as far as the UK grading system is concerned the DLH is a 4 star hotel but so is the HNY lol

[Samninetysix]

On the plus side.......At least my ass won't get wet when we go skating!

[bigrossco]

On the plus side.......At least my ass won't get wet when we go skating!

WRONG if its raining it will  /

[Samninetysix]

You gotta see my missus (Jayna62) on that rink, she never lets go of the sides and her little feet are shuffling along at about hundred miles per hour (that's 160kph to the euro mainlanders ) going click click click click click click click click click click click click

[panooxy]

What should you wear to an ice skating rink? I'm going to see an ice skating show and I'm not sure how to dress. Will it be really cold? Should I wear a hat and gloves? Or is it just like room temperature?
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