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

[HauntedMansionFLA]

they better not! haha actually I think they should do more with mini-golf

I've said for a while now they should turn Disney Quest into an indoor interactive mini-golf - perfect for rainy days too

I hope they would have a family mini golf down at Disney Springs

 

[Next Big Thing]

Ya! A new Star Wars Hotel - Close to DHS

I'm not advocating for a SW Hotel, but I do think DHS deserves more than just "Value" resorts next to it. AoA is fine imo, but I think that Pop Century is on the chopping block as time goes by. Not only does it focus on a specific period of time which will be ancient to some as we progress, but it also is prime real estate for a DHS Deluxe Resort/DVC Resort.

I don't think it will happen for at least 10 years or so when DHS is truly stable, but I think we'll see it down the pipeline.

 

[Millionaire2K]

Swan Dolphin & Lobster. You heard it here 1st

 

[mcrgw29]

I'm not advocating for a SW Hotel, but I do think DHS deserves more than just "Value" resorts next to it. AoA is fine imo, but I think that Pop Century is on the chopping block as time goes by. Not only does it focus on a specific period of time which will be ancient to some as we progress, but it also is prime real estate for a DHS Deluxe Resort/DVC Resort.

I don't think it will happen for at least 10 years or so when DHS is truly stable, but I think we'll see it down the pipeline.

But DHS also has Yacht/Beach Club and the Boardwalk right there; just a short boat ride - or shorter walk - away. They are closer than Pop and AoA are, too.

 

[halltd]

It will certainly be tall enough to alter the skyline in this area and compliment the Swan.

There isn't anything that can complement those hotels...except maybe a wrecking ball. I love the architecture (as I'm a huge Michael Graves fan), but DESPISE the location of them.

Anyone else spot the fault in this sentence? LOL!

As someone else said, they're called footings, not footers. That's my biggest pet peeve of all message boards![/QUOTE]

 

[toolsnspools]

Looking at the area from above, any chance this development would be built over and on both sides of Epcot Resorts Blvd? Something along the lines of my very quick and crude outline?
View attachment 126138

Looks like all the balloons are all on the south side of the road, mainly over the tennis courts. There are 2 shorter ones (blue and red) that are only about 15-20 feet high, that go along the sidewalk at the entrance to the mini-golf.

 

[Clamman73]

Swan Dolphin & Lobster. You heard it here 1st

Possible

 

[Jon81uk]

It is.. softer than any WDW resort I've ever stayed at and a much better overall value. These are good properties. Starwood properties have a very good reputation globally, and there's really no reason to give them flack when compared to the average Disney resort, personal anecdotes aside.

I think the majority have a problem with the exterior look and the positioning of the hotels, rather than the rooms or management. I blame Michael Eisner for putting these in, the buildings are too tall for the location and don't blend in to Epcot and the surrounding area well enough.

 

[raven]

As someone else said, they're called footings, not footers. That's my biggest pet peeve of all message boards!

That's still not the "fault" I was talking about in that sentence.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I think the majority have a problem with the exterior look and the positioning of the hotels, rather than the rooms or management. I blame Michael Eisner for putting these in, the buildings are too tall for the location and don't blend in to Epcot and the surrounding area well enough.

I don't like the way they loom over World Showcase.
Particularly, France.

Other than that, I like the complex very much. Very well appointed and run properties.

 

[djkidkaz]

Maybe the new building will be created in such a way that they are going to be able to alter some of the sight lines of Swolphin we all hate?

 

[GhostHost1000]

I'm not advocating for a SW Hotel, but I do think DHS deserves more than just "Value" resorts next to it. AoA is fine imo, but I think that Pop Century is on the chopping block as time goes by. Not only does it focus on a specific period of time which will be ancient to some as we progress, but it also is prime real estate for a DHS Deluxe Resort/DVC Resort.

I don't think it will happen for at least 10 years or so when DHS is truly stable, but I think we'll see it down the pipeline.

if they get rid of Pop Century for this they would surely have to build a new value resort of that size or larger elsewhere.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

How about Swan, Dolphin, Falcon?

 

[ToTBellHop]

I don't like the way they loom over World Showcase.
Particularly, France.

Other than that, I like the complex very much. Very well appointed and run properties.

Hideous. Never did like swans. So aggressive. As this image shows.

Maybe this will replace the mini golf:

 

[the.dreamfinder]

@marni1971 , is Michael Graves' firm involved?

 

[prberk]

I think the majority have a problem with the exterior look and the positioning of the hotels, rather than the rooms or management. I blame Michael Eisner for putting these in, the buildings are too tall for the location and don't blend in to Epcot and the surrounding area well enough.

I believe that in some ways he actually helped us from having these all over. As I understand the story, the agreement to have non-Disney hoteliers build new "WDW" official hotels on site had been made before he came on board; as he took a look at the property and saw the land mine of Disney hotels that could be built (and the direct revenue from them), he tried to stop the deal -- but could not stop those two that had been started from being built. That is also why they have Disney official bus service. Their contract was different than, say, the Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotels, which were simply going to be treated like "good neighbor" hotels similar to non-Disney ones surrounding Disneyland; but these two hotels were originally signed to be like "official Walt Disney World" hotels, with similar advantages, like Disney bus service.

So, Eisner just kept any more from being built, and had the company limit the promotion of the Swan and Dolphin as the contract would allow; but kept the services by contract. For a while this even included reservations being made to them through WDW Central Reservations (407) W-DISNEY and on the website. That has since disappeared, I noticed, but I'll bet if you call Disney they can still make a reservation at the Swan or Dolphin for you if they want to.

Anyway, that is the story as I know it.

 

[danlb_2000]

I don't like the way they loom over World Showcase.
Particularly, France.

Other than that, I like the complex very much. Very well appointed and run properties.

This is actually a very deceptive photo. The way it was taken makes it look much worse then it appears in real life.

 

[Jon81uk]

I believe that in some ways he actually helped us from having these all over. As I understand the story, the agreement to have non-Disney hoteliers build new "WDW" official hotels on site had been made before he came on board; as he took a look at the property and saw the land mine of Disney hotels that could be built (and the direct revenue from them), he tried to stop the deal -- but could not stop those two that had been started from being built. That is also why they have Disney official bus service. Their contract was different than, say, the Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotels, which were simply going to be treated like "good neighbor" hotels similar to non-Disney ones surrounding Disneyland; but these two hotels were originally signed to be like "official Walt Disney World" hotels, with similar advantages, like Disney bus service.

So, Eisner just kept any more from being built, and had the company limit the promotion of the Swan and Dolphin as the contract would allow; but kept the services by contract. For a while this even included reservations being made to them through WDW Central Reservations (407) W-DISNEY and on the website. That has since disappeared, I noticed, but I'll bet if you call Disney they can still make a reservation at the Swan or Dolphin for you if they want to.

Anyway, that is the story as I know it.

I've always read that it was Eisner that appointed Graves to design the hotels. Considering that Eisner was CEO in the eartly 80s and the hotels opened early 90s that would make sense.

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World_Swan) seems to indicate similar and links to this article http://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/08/magazine/disney-deco.html

 

[raymusiccity]

Maybe the new building will be created in such a way that they are going to be able to alter some of the sight lines of Swolphin we all hate?

It may not be a new building at all. There have been balloon tests behind the TTC and Polynesian areas several years ago, with nothing coming of that. I agree that it's testing sight lines for aerial displays. It could even be for a drone staging area that they want to incorporate into their nighttime displays at Epcot and/or the Studios.

 

[Kamikaze]

This is actually a very deceptive photo. The way it was taken makes it look much worse then it appears in real life.

Its not photoshopped, however. This is a photo that you can take from guest areas.