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

trainplane3

Well-Known Member
Count yourself lucky.... until they build a 25 story glass tower on the opposite Bay Lakefront in the next decade and fully erase the Wilderness feel.
The rumored/leaked/cancelled (then) Fort Wilderness resort complex had me concerned. That thing looked like a monster and would take over a chunk of the land. The only way I'd be fine with it is if they did a 100% true to WL/FW log cabin design and keep it like 7 floors or less. Even then, that thing was huge.
 

HauntedMansionFLA

Well-Known Member
The rumored/leaked/cancelled (then) Fort Wilderness resort complex had me concerned. That thing looked like a monster and would take over a chunk of the land. The only way I'd be fine with it is if they did a 100% true to WL/FW log cabin design and keep it like 7 floors or less. Even then, that thing was huge.
Wasn’t something going in where River Country used to be?
 

Nubs70

Well-Known Member
If only WDW DoD something along the lines of the Elbphilharmonie. That is a unique building.
downloadfile.jpg
 

WDW95

Active Member
The new hotel looks worse (for its location) than the worst I could have imagined (thought it was going to be an architectural sister to the Swan)... and seeing the tripe that goes up in and around Orlando, I can imagine some awful buildings.
View attachment 266892

This thing would fit perfectly in the business district of Stamford, Ct.. Looks like the HQ for a medical diagonstics company. Just awful.
This is not an official rendering of the building, is it? At least I hope not.
 

Horizons '83

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No

MarkTwain

Well-Known Member
Truly, nauseatingly awful. This'll probably be the most visually disruptive building to be added to WDW in the past decade... maybe two.

My question is, did Disney have any control over this, or was this out of their hands given that it won't be their hotel? I could see Tishman/Sheraton/whoever doing something like this without a regard for context, but Disney has always shown some minimal (even if not enough) effort to make additions visually fit. But this... is something else.

I'll be really worried for WDI's future if they had any hands in this. Regardless, way to trash Michael Graves' architectural legacy. And just a few years after his death too. :grumpy:
 

MarkTwain

Well-Known Member
Also - it's a shame this is going to tower over the mini-golf course so much, too. Fantasia Gardens is such a great little respite in the middle of the WDW property, and now it's going to be completely overshadowed by this reflective glass cube. Even if the site and height had to be used, a little more Michael Graves-style whimsy would've made for a more attractive neighbor.
 

danlb_2000

Premium Member

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Truly, nauseatingly awful. This'll probably be the most visually disruptive building to be added to WDW in the past decade... maybe two.

My question is, did Disney have any control over this, or was this out of their hands given that it won't be their hotel? I could see Tishman/Sheraton/whoever doing something like this without a regard for context, but Disney has always shown some minimal (even if not enough) effort to make additions visually fit. But this... is something else.

I'll be really worried for WDI's future if they had any hands in this. Regardless, way to trash Michael Graves' architectural legacy. And just a few years after his death too. :grumpy:
Also - it's a shame this is going to tower over the mini-golf course so much, too. Fantasia Gardens is such a great little respite in the middle of the WDW property, and now it's going to be completely overshadowed by this reflective glass cube. Even if the site and height had to be used, a little more Michael Graves-style whimsy would've made for a more attractive neighbor.

Yes, Disney had final approval. They put up the Bay Lake Tower, so...

Grave's designed a resort duo for a company. They're not tearing those down. This is a separate building. Don't see how that is an insult to him. He can't design from the dead. Anyone who tried to copy-cat him would be called a copy-cat (especially by the group that hate the Swolphin's look).

The mini-golf is staying. Don't know where you saw it was going.
 

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