DznyRktekt
Well-Known Member
Agreed it is completely out of scale with the original WATG structure. The new building is basically a big box with a couple dollops of architecture set on top.
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News Swan and Dolphin Tower Expansion - The Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
- Thread starter TarzanRocked99-
- Start date
*Q*
Well-Known Member
I mean... it literally matches the rest of the resort. It might be a little out of scale and maybe there's not quite as much architectural detail, but it more or less looks like just another part of the resort as if it had always been there.
DznyRktekt
Well-Known Member
trainplane3
Well-Known Member
I always felt like there was something off and looking at the Yesterland link from @DznyRktekt , I finally see it now. It's a shame, because (personally) it's nice inside and would love to spend a trip there. I hope it doesn't have the noisiness "problem" BLT has though.
Meanwhile BLT looks cool and the rooms are decent, but...I hate it. I swear you can hear everything going on in the building at most hours of the day and night. Which is odd because it never seems anywhere near full due to the fact anyone can buy into it without a "premium" years after it's been open. I believe GF sold out fast and if you want to buy into it, be prepared for a premium (through first and third part sites, same applies/applied to WL). And the fact that a lot of DVC members seem to be trying to sell (according to my parents) their share in the hotel. Every time I go there, you can tell the rooms been abused. And a 100% personal, hilarious, problem: sliding bathroom doors that don't block out "noises" very well. At least Top of the World is nice.
*Q*
Well-Known Member
Thank you, I had been looking for good comparison pictures. I kinda see what people are talking about it being bland from the viewpoint of the lagoon, I just don't think it's anywhere near the atrocity the Bay Lake Tower is.
DznyRktekt
Well-Known Member
In my opinion, BLT would have been much more appealing to the eye if it were 1/4-1/3 shorter than the original A frame tower. Also it was an interesting design decision to depart from the angular design and move to curvilinear forms. I guess that bridge had been crossed previously by the convention center addition in the 90's.
*Q*
Well-Known Member
Yeah, exactly, it should have been shorter, and they should have done something that complemented the iconic angular shape of the original tower.
COProgressFan
Well-Known Member
You're right that it's not as bad as BLT, but your first quote seems to illustrate the point about the GF Villas. It is too boxy and out of scale. The architectural detail is lacking and seems more artificial (fake dormers vs. real dormer windows with real guest rooms behind). Even the red roof shingles aren't an exact color match. As such, it stands out as an add-on.
Could it be worse? Of course. But if it were really done right, after some landscaping grew in, you wouldn't be able to tell which building was new and which were originals (can you tell which buildings were added to the Poly in 1985? I'm guessing not). They could have chosen to use the exact same design principles of the original buildings, but they chose not to, for various reasons, but primarily due to cost.
*Q*
Well-Known Member
You know, I was looking at that and wondering if that was the red every roof was supposed to be, but maybe the older buildings have just faded and been neglected.
Pixieish
Well-Known Member
The windowless sections on the ends ruin it for me way more than the roof color.
Looks like utility lines are being marked in the area:
http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2017/11/photos-markers-appear-next-to-fantasia.html
http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2017/11/photos-markers-appear-next-to-fantasia.html
It's almost as if you knew something...
But now the question becomes - How soon will the gondola be expanded to include it?
RandySavage
Well-Known 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.
This thing would fit perfectly in the business district of Stamford, Ct.. Looks like the HQ for a medical diagonstics company. Just awful.
This thing would fit perfectly in the business district of Stamford, Ct.. Looks like the HQ for a medical diagonstics company. Just awful.
trainplane3
Well-Known Member
From the ground render, it looks like a box that someone sat on top of. It doesn't look like anything. At least the other buildings are unique. This is just two rectangles, covered in glass, with a "smashed" roof. I was hoping they'd do something interesting to make it fit in.
It's an article on the Site With No Name. They haven't attributed where they got the news or the images.
RandySavage
Well-Known Member
We all were. As virtually every hotel project of the last decade at WDW shows us, making new resort add-ons fit seamlessly with originals/neighbors is way, way beyond modern Disney's capabilities or care.
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trainplane3
Well-Known Member
I was just about to edit my post to say they didn't credit their sources, again. Makes me think it leaked and the announcement should be very soon.
True. GF is a box with the bad side facing the lake and BLT is too tall and overpowers the much better looking Contemporary. At least WL, my home, is still doing good with the new updates there.
RandySavage
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.