>A Great Place to Relax

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This is one of my favorite views in all of Disney World. Enjoy

 

>Is that a Fish on the Roof?

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This past week the Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings took place. My son was going crazy. He loves this stuff. He knows about all the players, their stats, the money they are making, and their demands for a new contract. He has actually started keeping notes on who is where and what he thinks is going to happen with them; what kind of contract for how many years and all that kind of stuff. So, the one afternoon in doing his research, he was watching the MLB network. And the three hosts of the show are sitting at a very nice desk with a huge Christmas tree behind them with big blue ornaments on them and the lobby that you see looks like there is a bar or something off to the side. The color of the tree and the view of the bar made me think that I knew where this was being broadcast from, but I couldn’t place it. Then they said they were coming from the Dolphin Resort in Walt Disney World. Of course now that he knows that the winter meetings take place here, he’s trying to talk us into going down for them next year. We’d have to think about that.  I mean the Christmas Decorations are up, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is going on, and the weather is about the same, so are the crowds. We might have to put some thought into this one. If we would go down for the Winter Meetings, we probably wouldn’t stay at the Dolphin, but just because we are DVC members and they don’t offer room exchanges for us our points, but we would as we have done many times before visit the Dolphin and its counterpart the Swan, two Unknown Magics that are a short walk over a bridge from the Boardwalk Resort in the Epcot Resort area.

The Swan and the Dolphin are two magnificent Hotels that are on the waterway off of Crescent Lake. Both the Dolphin and the Swan were designed by Architect Michael Graves (who designed the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis, among many other things and he now sells products with his name on them at Target stores across the country.) They were built as part of the Disney Decade, when Michael Eisner was in charge and Disney added many resorts and parks, so that Disney guests could spend more time on Disney property. Neither the Swan or Dolphin are owned by Disney, however, guests at both of them do enjoy some Disney Resort perks like, the Extra Magic hours, Package delivery to the Resort from the Parks and Disney Transportation.

Both Hotels are very distinct from the outside. The Dolphin is a pyramid Shape Extremely large fountains that are shaped like flowers and huge cartoon fish on the roof. The Swan has large Swans on the roof and fountains that look like clam shells. On the outside, both buildings are terra cotta in color accented with turquoise. Although they are separate Resorts, they are connected by a walking path between the two and the share a boat dock. This boat dock is one of the stops on the Epcot, Disney Hollywood Studios loop, which also includes the Boardwalk and the Beach and Yacht Club Resorts. Both of these resorts are aimed at the business travelers and have many business services and the two resorts offer more than 80 meeting rooms with 4 different ballrooms. They also offer 5 different pools, a spa, saunas, health clubs and tennis courts. Both the Swan and the Dolphin also offer special discounts throughout the year that are not included in the Disney offers and are only offered at these to resorts.

The Dolphin and Swan’s restaurants do not participate in the Disney Dining Plan however they do offer some great places to eat. Shula’s Steak house at the Dolphin is one of a chain of Steak Houses named after Miami Dolphin’s head coach Don Shula. These steak houses are said to be some of the best across the country. Another signature dining restaurant in the Dolphin is Todd English’s Bluezoo. This is primarily a Seafood restaurant and has an underwater décor to it. Over in the Swan, there is a sushi bar called Kimonos, which features seafood and nightly karaoke. They also have the Garden Grove Restaurant, which offers a character buffet every night of the week and a Character Brunch on weekends. This can Create Magical Experiences for you and your family.

So, now that you know, you can take the time to go check out what most guests to Walt Disney World who only sees the Swan and Dolphin hotels from the street or maybe even from the boat as they are going to or from Disney Hollywood Studios. Take the time to look around these great Unknown Magics, in the Epcot Resort Areas. They are easy enough to get to by boat, or you can even walk to them from the studios, in a couple of minutes. You may find a new place to stay or a place to eat or maybe just someplace to sit and relax.

 
MLB Winter Meetings logo picture from http://www.lockerpulse.com/MLB/Tigers/