News Swan and Dolphin Tower Expansion - The Walt Disney World Swan Reserve

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member

UpAllNight

Well-Known Member
Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I regard the Swolphin as a hundred times better looking than the Contemporary or Bay Tower.

The interior is getting a great upgrade moving away from the beach tent cabana look to something more upscale.

See here: http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2017/07/swan-dolphin-resorts-update-new-lobby_7.html

The interior has never offended me, but there's several places in the parks where you can see the exterior and I don't like it at all. I agree on Contemporary however.
 

danlb_2000

Premium Member
I hope whatever it is, it isn't as ugly as the Swan and Dolphin

I have always found this to be one of the more beautiful resort views at WDW.

home_1.jpg
 

UpAllNight

Well-Known Member
Off topic a bit but what are they like to stay in? I know they're not ran by Disney, but for a 3 week stay it's around £1700 per person less than Yacht Club, so I'm considering it.
 

danlb_2000

Premium Member
Off topic a bit but what are they like to stay in? I know they're not ran by Disney, but for a 3 week stay it's around £1700 per person less than Yacht Club, so I'm considering it.

I have stayed at both an really love them. They provide Disney Deluxe level amenities for closer to moderate pricing. You just need to be aware of the perks that are and aren't included. There is a thread in the Resorts forum that discusses this.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
We stay at the Dolphin quite a bit. It is a beautiful hotel, the amenities are actually nicer than the Disney Hotels, it is art of the Starwood resorts, so you can use your travel miles as well. The remodel will be nice, but sad to see the whole theme of the original lost. Michael Graves was a brilliant architect and artist...these iconic buildings should be considered great works... It was a bold move to build and they still look amazing.
 

DisneyOutsider

Well-Known Member
Off topic a bit but what are they like to stay in? I know they're not ran by Disney, but for a 3 week stay it's around £1700 per person less than Yacht Club, so I'm considering it.

I have stayed at both an really love them. They provide Disney Deluxe level amenities for closer to moderate pricing. You just need to be aware of the perks that are and aren't included. There is a thread in the Resorts forum that discusses this.

I co-sign this statement. Great value for the level of service and the location that you get. It's an even better value if you don't have a car, as they charge a parking fee.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Off topic a bit but what are they like to stay in? I know they're not ran by Disney, but for a 3 week stay it's around £1700 per person less than Yacht Club, so I'm considering it.

It's fully deluxe. [That's Disney deluxe, not Four Seasons deluxe.]

See here for more:

So, some background on the Swan and Dolphin: The Swolphin both is and isn't a Disney hotel. Basically, Disney is letting an outside hotel chain run a Disney resort rather than run it themselves. They did this to attract conventioneers who were used to hotel chains and had points with them (originally Westin and Sheraton, both bought out by Starwood, which is now bought out by Marriott).

It is a Disney resort:

* Disney advertises the Swolphin as a Disney resort on their site and it shows up in resort searches.
* Disney has a say in how they operate.
* Disney characters show up for their character meals.
* Disney gets a share of their earnings.
* Disney provides free transportation within 'the bubble' (buses and ferries, but not Magical Express to/from the airport).
* Disney staffs their Disney ticket center.
* If you stay at the Swolphin, parking is free at the parks (but not at the Swolphin itself).
* You get Extended Magic Hours
* You get the 60 day window for FastPasses.
* Park purchases can be sent to the Swolphin for pick-up later.
* You get all the golfing perks of staying at a Disney Resort

It is not fully Disney:

* You can use Starwood/Marriott points there, which you can't at other Disney resorts.
* The accounting system is separate which means you can't charge to room at the parks.
* They don't do MagicBands (no free ones, no MB door unlocking, but, you can buy your own or use old ones from other visits).
* They charge for parking at the Swolphin (other Disney resorts don't charge for parking at the resort).
* They have a mandatory resort fee.
* You don't have Magic Express to/from the airport (but you do have free bus and ferry within the Disney bubble).

As a convention resort, the clientele is more adults and less children. Occasionally, the lobby will be full of conventioneers moving to their next event. And it's cheaper than the other resorts on Crescent Lake (the lake between Epcot and Hollywood Studios). Often $200 a night or more cheaper.

It is very much a Deluxe resort. It has high class restaurants and shops. Excellent pools. A spa. Character dining. A gym. Children's activity center. Full room service. Full business class services. People argue over whether it's appropriately themed enough to be a Deluxe. While you're not going to get a bed shaped like a pirate ship, it's as nice as the Contemporary or Yacht, Beach, Boardwalk, or Floridian whose theming is nothing more than fine architecture and art. And the Swolphin has that, though, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And, you can walk to two parks. I love that. And you can walk to any of the fine restaurants/bars of the other resorts on the lake including the BoardWalk.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd choose the Dolphin over the Swan. Mostly because most of the amenities (completely shared by the two... same owner) are in the Dolphin: gym, laundromat, all-night cafeteria, ice cream shop. The Swan is just slightly more luxe than the Dolphin, but, I'd rather not carry laundry to another building.

I'll be staying at the Dolphin the first week of September!
 

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
I rather fancy the looks of the Swolphin. The bridge.the walk from one hotel to the other is spectacular, a great sight. The hotels are starting to age well too.

Pity about the sightline issues.

And shame they are ripping out original interior. (From what I gather?) What looks outdated 20, 30 years after it was built, to later generations looks like the splendid original decor. Invariable, after 40 or 50 years great regret sets in that a beautiful cohesive whole has been destroyed for an interior that soon after looks more dated than what it replaced. Think 1930s art deco building with an interior replaced by a 1960s one. Or 1990's/2000's blights in EPCOT.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
I rather fancy the looks of the Swolphin. The bridge.the walk from one hotel to the other is spectacular, a great sight. The hotels are starting to age well too.

Pity about the sightline issues.

And shame they are ripping out original interior. (From what I gather?) What looks outdated 20, 30 years after it was built, to later generations looks like the splendid original decor. Invariable, after 40 or 50 years great regret sets in that a beautiful cohesive whole has been destroyed for an interior that soon after looks more dated than what it replaced. Think 1930s art deco building with an interior replaced by a 1960s one. Or 1990's/2000's blights in EPCOT.

I don't weep for the interior redecoration because I went years wondering why they have a circus theme until I finally realized it was a beach cabana theme... which really doesn't go well with the tropical paradise outside theme. Beach cabanas as full-on tents is more of a northern clime thing.

I still have yet to figure out Picabu. :D

But over all, I love the Swolphin.
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Off topic a bit but what are they like to stay in? I know they're not ran by Disney, but for a 3 week stay it's around £1700 per person less than Yacht Club, so I'm considering it.

I've stayed at the Swan probably 6 times, and also stayed at the Dolphin a few times, down through the years. I love the location, never need a car, (I use Disney transportation to the parks), and the rates are far more reasonable for my budget, than the Yacht or Beach Club, or Boardwalk hotels.
 

UpAllNight

Well-Known Member
I've stayed at the Swan probably 6 times, and also stayed at the Dolphin a few times, down through the years. I love the location, never need a car, (I use Disney transportation to the parks), and the rates are far more reasonable for my budget, than the Yacht or Beach Club, or Boardwalk hotels.

It is looking like the most sensible option but the Yacht Club seems to have a pull over me which is blinding me (let's assume it's the massive pool). Next time the location of the Epcot resorts appeals, it's just deciding which....
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
It is looking like the most sensible option but the Yacht Club seems to have a pull over me which is blinding me (let's assume it's the massive pool). Next time the location of the Epcot resorts appeals, it's just deciding which....

The Yacht Club is very nice. It's good to try different hotels (I've stayed at various ones on property at WDW); and if you have your heart set on the Yacht Club, by all mean, try it..
 

UpAllNight

Well-Known Member
The Yacht Club is very nice. It's good to try different hotels (I've stayed at various ones on property at WDW); and if you have your heart set on the Yacht Club, by all mean, try it..

My dilemma is that I could have an additional 2 week break in Europe for the price difference between the Swan/Dolphin and the Yacht club haha
 

Biff215

Well-Known Member
My dilemma is that I could have an additional 2 week break in Europe for the price difference between the Swan/Dolphin and the Yacht club haha
I've never stated at the Swan/Dolphin, but Stormalong Bay is tough to beat. Of course it's not going broke over.

As others have said, the current resort was well done and has been there a long time so I'm not as against a third tower. I just hope it manages to complement what's already there, especially when viewed from around Crescent Lake.
 

NiarrNDisney

Well-Known Member
I wonder with a rumored third tower and a major interior reno/refurb if the pools may be upgraded with a better slide and or more activities?
 

TarzanRocked99-

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So now that I've been playing with Google Earth Pro more, I thought I scope out where the height balloons were. Going by the various photos, here's the balloon placement:

View attachment 214270

At least, generally. The wind was moving them around.

This does lend credence to what @marni1971 and @TarzanRocked99- were saying about a tight fit for a tower.

So, let's drop a tower in...

View attachment 214271

The footprint of the tower (without the porch) is 1.1 acres. The footprint of the Swan is 1.3 acres. Theoretically, if it's taller than the Swan, it would have just about as many rooms as the Swan... unless it's going to be a luxe niche brand of Marriott with large suites as I read on a Twitter post from a Marriott insider. But, things change, brands could change, footprint could change, roadways could change, OR... nothing happens.
This is pretty impressive, your location is spot on and it will have much less rooms than the Swan, but they will be suites. Also look for a rooftop signature restaurant.

Tishman will own the building, the question is now what brand (Marriott's call) will it be part of. The Dolphin is Sheraton and Swan is Westin. This building will be a third although still part of the complex.
 

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