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frame of reference. The
Caribbean Beach Resort
's theme is much more effective at
night, thanks to creative lighting. By day, the resort looks like a Miami condo devel-
opment. In 2009 the hotel created pirate-themed suites, which are a big hit with little
buccaneers. The playground and swimming pool fit in nicely with the pirate theme,
and the shop has a large collection of toys from the
Pirates of the Caribbean
movies.
LILIANE
Coronado Springs and Port Orleans Riverside are among my fa-
vorite resorts.
Coronado Springs Resort
offers several styles of Mexican and southwestern
American architecture. Though the lake setting is lovely and the resort is attractive,
the theme (with the exception of the main swimming area) isn't especially stimulating
for kids.
The
All-Star Resorts
comprise 30 three-story, T-shaped hotels with almost 6,000
guestrooms.Thereare15themedareas:5celebratesports(surfing,basketball,tennis,
football, and baseball), 5 recall Hollywood movies, and 5 have musical motifs. The
resort's design, with entrances shaped like giant Dalmatians, Coke cups, footballs,
and the like, is pretty adolescent, sacrificing grace and beauty for energy and nov-
elty. Guest rooms are small, with decor reminiscent of a teenage boy's bedroom.
Pop
Century Resort
is pretty much a clone of All-Star Resorts, only here the giant icons
symbolize decades of the 20th century (Big Wheels, 45-rpm records, silhouettes of
people doing period dances, and such), and period memorabilia decorates the rooms.
Across the lake from Pop Century is
Art of Animation Resort
, with icons and decor
based on
Cars, Finding Nemo, The Lion King
, and
The Little Mermaid
.
Pretense aside, the
Contemporary, Bay Lake Tower, Swan
,and
Dolphin
are es-
sentially themeless but architecturally interesting. The Contemporary is a 15-story, A-
frame building with monorails running through the middle. Views from guest rooms
in the Contemporary are among the best at Walt Disney World. Bay Lake Tower at
the Contemporary Resort is a sleek, curvilinear high-rise offering bird's-eye views of
Bay Lake. The Swan and Dolphin resorts are massive yet whimsical. Designed by
