The Swan and Dolphin Resorts at Walt Disney World introduced the biggest renovation and enlargement within the inns’ historical past, with an funding of $275 million over the following few years that can entail modernized upgrades to visitor rooms and current assembly areas, plus the addition of 120,000 sq. toes of conference area. This covers all the things we all know concerning the undertaking, together with idea artwork and commentary.
The enlargement will convey the triplex’s whole assembly area to 469,000 sq. toes among the many three buildings of the Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve to go along with its 2,619 visitor rooms making it one of many largest conference properties on the East Coast. The extra area will broaden the resort’s largest contiguous occasion area to 175,000 sq. toes, making it among the many largest resort areas within the nation.
“We sit up for delivering such a significant transformation for our prospects. These enhancements will likely be an awesome addition to our iconic and award-winning operation,” stated Space Basic Supervisor Sean Verney. “It positions our property to stay on the forefront of assembly and conference venues globally.”
Assembly House Growth
Within the first main enlargement of the Walt Disney World Dolphin’s assembly area in over twenty years, a brand new two-story annex will likely be constructed. Connecting to the resort’s current conference area, it can supply 41,000 sq. toes of multi-purpose area and 24,000 sq. toes of extra pre-function area on the primary ground.
The second ground will home a sublime ballroom providing 41,000 sq. toes of divisible occasion area, with 14,000 sq. toes of pre-function lobby area. Right here’s a take a look at the two-story atrium that can spotlight the conference middle enlargement on the Walt Disney World Dolphin:
Upon entry into the brand new construction, visitors will likely be greeted by an ethereal, open atrium, that includes pure mild from floor-to-ceiling home windows, full with a winding staircase and two-story chandelier. The inns’ authentic Michael Graves design-style will carry by the brand new area with a contemporary aptitude, that includes water themes alongside heat, picket touches.
The extra, trendy areas enable teams to develop attendance or accommodate a number of occasions on every ground. An expanded lobby will improve the circulation between the brand new and current areas, with enough area for interacting and networking alternatives alongside the way in which. State-of-the-art occasion expertise will likely be put in all through the brand new construction. For teams needing much more area, outside energy and infrastructure will likely be added subsequent to the annex to simply add non permanent buildings in an environmentally pleasant method.
The undertaking will break floor in November 2024 with an anticipated completion in late Summer season 2026.
Occasion House Refresh
The resort’s current 333,000 sq. toes of assembly area on the Swan and Dolphin can also be being enhanced with an all-new trendy look and with new capabilities in occasion expertise. Ballrooms, carpeting, air partitions, corridors and breakout areas on the Walt Disney World Dolphin have lately accomplished an improve.
Comparable enhancements on the Walt Disney World Swan are underway and will likely be accomplished in phases, with the ultimate work accomplished by Summer season 2025. When completed, the prevailing assembly areas on the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin will supply a recent, shiny ambiance with a combination of whites, blues, grays and pure wooden that align with the inns’ water theming.
Visitor Room Renovation
To additional improve the visitor expertise, the hotelier is transforming all visitor rooms within the Walt Disney World Swan Resort. This follows the introduction of 349 new luxurious visitor rooms with the opening of the Walt Disney World Swan Reserve resort three years in the past. The brand new, trendy designed visitor rooms within the Swan and Dolphin function luxurious tile flooring in addition to new appointments.
The reimagined rooms within the Walt Disney World Swan will likely be accomplished in 2024. You learn that appropriately–this will likely be carried out by the top of this yr, or within the subsequent couple months. We did a double-take when seeing this within the launch, so we confirmed with the Swan & Dolphin. This room refresh is already underway, has been accomplished in phases, and will likely be carried out by the top of 2024.
The undertaking is the most recent within the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin’s dedication to investing within the property to supply the perfect visitor and shopper expertise whereas constantly exceeding trade requirements and embracing progress and innovation for the long-lasting vacation spot.
This $275 million enlargement to the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin will exchange about half of the outermost floor parking behind the Dolphin Resort. Though not a part of the Swan & Dolphin’s announcement, permits and plans element this, and it seems as if 3 of the 6 rows of parking areas on this subsection of the lot will likely be misplaced.
Readers have dropped at our consideration that the parking state of affairs on the Swan & Dolphin is already dire, with lengthy waits for valet and time spent attempting to find areas. Presumably, it will exacerbate these issues by each lowering the variety of parking areas and including to demand by advantage of accelerating conference bookings.
There’s no purpose to consider that the Swan & Dolphin will try to offset or exchange the parking areas misplaced to building of the brand new conference middle. This actual property is just too priceless, except they have been to interchange one of many floor heaps with a parking construction, which I might see occurring down the street in the event that they need to broaden additional onto extra floor spots.
Within the close to time period, the most certainly consequence is rising the price of normal parking to discourage visitors from parking and inspiring them to take Uber, Lyft, or Mears Join as an alternative. One other risk is rising the allocation to valet parking, which might enable workers to extra ‘effectively’ park autos. We’ve seen that occur with most of the third occasion inns close to Disneyland to maximise their parking area and income. That’s been terrible for visitors, so right here’s hoping the Swolphin doesn’t go that route.
Turning to commentary, I discover this undertaking fascinating for a couple of causes. For one factor, $275 million is rather a lot to spend on a conference middle enlargement and modernization of some, however not all and even most, of the prevailing assembly areas and visitor rooms on the Swan & Dolphin.
Venture prices have ballooned for the reason that Swan Reserve and the final cycle of Walt Disney World enlargement, which is known as a bigger-picture subject. That is however a superb instance of that, and I can’t assist however marvel what the finances on this is able to’ve been if it have been introduced concurrently the Swan Reserve. For that matter, it makes me marvel how rather more Vehicles and Villains Lands (and many others) will value, and the way far the $60 billion will go as in comparison with final decade’s spending. On the plus facet, hopefully there gained’t be as a lot waste. Disney spent tons of of hundreds of thousands at EPCOT on, primarily, lateral strikes or issues that don’t even exist as of 2024.
As for the Dolphin conference middle enlargement, I can’t think about that it’s related to most readers of Disney Vacationer Weblog. Regardless, I respect that the crew behind that is persevering with the outside model of the late Michael Graves. Increasing or refreshing the Swan & Dolphin is an unenviable process. Graves’ design is distinct and iconic, but in addition seems dated to many. There’s no nice technique to take care of that–modernization means dropping a few of what makes these inns distinctive, nevertheless it’s what up to date visitors want. A troublesome compromise, to make certain.
Lastly and on the threat of stating the apparent, the Swan & Dolphin spending $275 million on (principally) assembly areas strongly means that its conference enterprise has bounced again. We’ve by no means heard affirmation of this for Walt Disney World as an entire–it hasn’t come up on earnings calls lately, and there was some extent at which it was accepted as standard knowledge that companies might by no means resume in-person occasions to the identical diploma as their peak in 2019.
Earlier this yr, we noticed main occasions at Coronado Springs and Yacht Membership, nevertheless it was troublesome to establish the scale or frequency as in contrast with comparable 2019 occasions. Group occasions stay considerably of a blind spot for followers and websites like this–we frequently know when massive ones are occurring, such because the latest Gartner IT Symposium, and have a tough thought of their scale and scope. However there are nonetheless unknowns, together with their affect on occupancy, crowds, eating reservations–and even restaurant viability.
All of that’s past the scope of this put up, nevertheless it’s largely past the scope of all posts right here. It’s however essential and related for trip planners, on condition that conventions and group occasions do have oblique impacts and second order results for everybody else.
Turning to the room refresh on the Swan, it’s fascinating that that is already underway and will likely be carried out by the top of this yr. It’s additionally shocking and, actually, disappointing that this seems similar to the present rooms on the resort that have been refreshed a couple of years in the past (pictured above). My finest guess is that undertaking received interrupted in ~2020 and wasn’t resumed till lately.
To make sure, there are clear variations between the earlier room refresh and the 2024 one. The wooden or laminate versus carpet, elevated bedframe with storage beneath, and headboard all instantly soar out. Nonetheless, I want they might’ve been a bit extra bold with this, taking inspiration from the newer and brisker Swan Reserve.
From my perspective, there’s a world of distinction between the common Swan & Dolphin rooms and the Swan Reserve rooms (pictured above). See our Swan Reserve Resort Evaluation for why we’re such followers of the brand new resort–and keen to stroll a bit farther for it.
We’ll cowl the professionals & cons of the Swan Reserve vs. Swan & Dolphin quickly, however all else being equal, I’d relatively keep on the Swan Reserve proper now. (Though I do love the rooms with balconies on the Swan & Dolphin–that may be sufficient to tip the scales.)
For many who are unfamiliar with their affiliations and labels, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin inns are thought of Deluxe Resorts however are managed by Marriott. On account of an settlement method again within the Eisner days, these are the one third occasion inns which might be handled like precise Deluxe Resorts and bookable by the general public. (Shades of Inexperienced is analogous, minus the final half.)
From a sensible perspective, this contains the brand new Lightning Lane Multi Cross, Single Cross, and Premier Cross pre-arrival reserving home windows. Forward of their go to, visitors may even have the ability to buy and plan Lightning Lane passes, which permits visitors to skip the standby line and be a part of a shorter line for choose points of interest and experiences.
Visitors of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin will have the ability to buy these passes as much as 7 days upfront of their keep, similar to different on-site Deluxe Resort visitors. This will likely be an enormous benefit and, in contrast to Early Entry, solely a handful of third occasion inns at Walt Disney World will supply the 7+ day reserving window. Dolphin/Swan/Reserve are among the many uncommon few that do.
Learn our Information to Lightning Lane Multi-Cross and Single Cross at Walt Disney World for all the things it is advisable to find out about these new line-skipping methods.
Though the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort inns are usually not owned by Disney, they’re very a lot on-site inns. Situated on Crescent Lake alongside BoardWalk Inn and Yacht & Seaside Membership, the Swan & Dolphin even have a greater location (in my estimation) than most Disney-owned inns. To every their very own, however I’d put Crescent Lake proper up there with the Magic Kingdom monorail loop.
The Swan & Dolphin even have higher on-site perks than most Disney-owned inns now that Disney’s Magical Categorical has been retired. Along with Early Entry, Swan & Dolphin visitors are eligible for Prolonged Night Hours, whereas Worth and Average Resort visitors are usually not.
Mainly, the Swan & Dolphin are handled as Deluxe Resorts in each regard besides transportation. Even then, they’re nonetheless inside strolling or boat distance of EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so it’s actually solely a difficulty for Magic Kingdom. And there’s an easy-enough workaround for that.
Not like different third occasion inns which might be technically on-site, the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin actually supply the perfect of each worlds. All the advantages (for now, at the least) of staying in a Disney-owned resort, plus a rewards program, higher administration, and extra aggressive costs. About the one factor you’re compromising is Disney IP infused into the resort.
It’ll be fascinating to see what else this $275 million transformation and enlargement brings to the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin from a guest-facing perspective. Even when that is principally for assembly area, it’s however reassuring to see the property proceed to obtain funding and upgrades. Regardless of the tasteless and boring exterior, the Swan Reserve turned out to be a really nice shock–right here’s hoping for extra like that (minus the Scranton Workplace exterior) sooner or later!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about inns on our Walt Disney World Accommodations Critiques web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Critiques. To economize on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys put up takes a novel take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Experience Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the perfect place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for all the things it is advisable to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider the enlargement plans for the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Lodge? Shocked that this undertaking is projected to value $275 million? Every other ideas concerning the room refresh, added assembly area, or the rest mentioned right here? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
