The two biggest of these are location and price. Regardless of all that, there are benefits of being official unofficial Disney Resorts. Then again, I’m not a critic of architecture and really have no idea what I’m talking about from the perspective of architecture as art–this is all merely my gut-level reaction to the design. Today, I think most of his work for Disney looks straight out of the 1990s, but I can’t really put my finger on why. To his credit, he has a very distinct and “conversation-worthy” approach that makes many of his buildings instantly identifiable, but I’ve always found them to have a cold, impersonal look. Style is largely in the eye of the beholder, but I have to admit that I am not much of a Michael Graves (the architect for the hotels) fan. Suffice to say, the Swan & Dolphin are among the most historically interesting of all the hotels at Walt Disney World, and the size and scale of the hotels has made them controversial and divisive among Disney fans. Turning back to the regular ‘ole Swan & Dolphin, I won’t bore you with the history of how deals Michael Eisner made gave these hotels their murky status (you can read DisneyWar for that) or the contrived, now abandoned backstory of the design choices of the hotels. Until then, you can check out our Swan Reserve Room Tour for more info, thoughts, and a look around. We’ve toured the Swan Reserve several times, but have yet to stay as paying guests–which we’ll do in early 2022. That’s located across the street from the other two hotels, is decades newer, and substantively different. As such, it’s appropriate to lump them together for the purposes of this review.Īs a final note before we get going, we would treat the new Swan Reserve differently. In terms of quality, service, and all meaningful review metrics, they are akin to the Yacht & Beach Club, except without any significant thematic differences. There’s also the question of treating them as one single hotel or two distinct hotels. That’s because, in addition to Early Entry, Swan & Dolphin guests are eligible for Extended Evening Hours, whereas Value and Moderate Resort guests are not.Īccordingly, I’m going to dub the Swan & Dolphin as “official unofficial Disney Resorts.” That mildly incoherent moniker accurately summarizes the arrangement here. One big question is how to categorize them? They are operated by Marriott, but dubbed “Walt Disney World resorts” by virtue of their on-site location plus certain perks that are otherwise typically offered to guests of Disney-owned properties.įrom a guest benefit perspective, the Swan & Dolphin are arguably treated better than most Disney-owned hotels now that Disney’s Magical Express has been retired and so long as the Disney Dining Plan remains suspended. Reviewing the Swan and/or Dolphin is a tricky proposition. This resort review features room photos, thoughts on amenities at both hotels, value for money, and how these resorts compare to Disney-owned accommodations. Writing in the October 1990 issue of Progressive Architecture, after the hotels were completed, architectural historian Vincent Scully observed that “one would have to be a mean old curmudgeon indeed to be less than delighted … at least for a while.” But he went on to deliver a judgment that seems less than positive: “The Swan and Dolphin are cosmic cartoons in toto, their shapes abnormally few, obvious, and vast.The Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin are on-site hotels near Epcot that are Deluxe-caliber. That’s where it is-which makes it acceptable,” said juror Adrian Smith, FAIA. “It’s fantasy architecture, and it belongs in Disney World. The P/A jury carefully hedged its approval of the project. Convention wings for each are on their far sides, bordering their respective parking lots. These fraternal twins are situated on either side of an artificial lagoon, linked by an axial causeway. While most of the Disney World hotels simulate actual places either past, far off, or both, these two played on a kind of Pop imagery: forms of toylike geometry and colors, capped by the super-scaled rooftop creatures that lent the hotels their names. There had to be serious calculation, since the two structures total about 2 million square feet. To diversify its extensive hospitality facilities beyond family-centered environments, the client commissioned two adult-oriented convention hotels: the Dolphin, with 1,510 guest rooms, and the Swan, with 760-both including extensive entertainment facilities. There was some serious calculation behind the two adjoining hotels designed for Disney World in Orlando, Fla., by Michael Graves & Associates (with Alan Lapidus, Architect, successor to legendary hotel designer Morris Lapidus).
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