Swan and Dolphin Breaks Ground on Major 120,000-Square-Foot Expansion at Walt Disney World

2 hours ago in "Walt Disney World Swan Resort"

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Walt Disney World Dolphin Meeting Space Expansion 2024 Renderings

Posted: Tuesday November 19, 2024 3:05pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Work is now underway on the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort's latest project, a 120,000-square-foot addition to its meeting and convention spaces.

Executives from Tishman Realty, MetLife, Marriott International, and Walt Disney World gathered to mark the groundbreaking of this major expansion.

Executives from Tishman, MetLife, Marriott International and Walt Disney World Resort came together for the groundbreaking of the latest expansion to the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin. Pictured from the left, Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Area General Manager Sean Verney, Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Director of Sales and Marketing Jim Curtis, Tishman Realty and Construction Principal and CEO John Vickers, Tishman Realty and Construction Principal and Chairman Dan Tishman, Mickey Mouse, The Walt Disney Company Executive Vice President of Global Development Andy Hopkins, MetLife Director of Investments Scott Hochman and Marriott International Area Vice President Mark Gaber.

Expansion Details

Included in this expansion is a new two-story annex at the Dolphin, featuring a 41,000-square-foot multi-purpose area, a pre-function space, and an upper-level ballroom that can be divided as needed. The new building's design will echo the original Michael Graves aesthetic with a modern touch, blending natural light, water-themed accents, and wood finishes.

Walt Disney World Dolphin Meeting Space Expansion 2024 Renderings

Growing Capacity

Once completed, the expansion will bring the total meeting space at the Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve to 469,000 square feet, solidifying its status as one of the largest convention properties on the East Coast. The combined complex also features 2,619 guest rooms to support its role as a major conference destination.

This project is part of a $275 million investment that includes updates to existing event spaces and a full remodel of the guest rooms at the Swan, scheduled for completion in 2024.

Timeline

The new annex is expected to be ready in 2026. This is the first major expansion of the Dolphin’s meeting space since 2003 and is designed to accommodate the growing demand for versatile and modern event facilities in the area.

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Comped44 minutes ago

It's not their core business but they sure could make more money at it if they tried at all to expand clientele and upgrade the facilities to anything approaching the standard of their competitors even on property. There are quite a few third party hotels on property that offer convention and meeting space that exceed Disney in terms of amenities or capabilities, and that's money Disney isn't getting which they easily could...

JoeCamel47 minutes ago

If a conventioneer is in the convention they are not in the parks spending so they take rooms that could be better ROI but they still want whatever revenue conventions can bring. In other words the money is nice but not their core business.

Comped1 hour ago

Most people don't realize that places like Rosen Shingle Creek, World Center Marriott, Gaylord Palms, all have more convention and meeting space than Disney does outside of S&D. Rosen alone has half a million square feet just at Shingle Creek, not including any of his other properties around Orlando. This renovation will still not overtake that property in terms of square footage of event space, but it will firmly put Disney's largest hotel in terms of meeting space, Coronado Springs, at about half of S&D. And both of those are a fraction of the convention center, not including all the hotels attached to it which have their own meeting and event spaces. I'm not sure if the reason why Disney hasn't put a big emphasis on their own hotel convention business is because they know they get business from mid sized clients every year and they just don't want to bother with expanding given they will never land the most lucrative contracts because they require spase or features that Disney doesn't have. I remember during my undergrad event/convention class, this was a topic of discussion for a guest speaker from Visit Orlando, who noted that unless Disney gave people a really good deal, most preferred to save money and stay off-site because the spaces were generally better and prices were lower.

Alice a1 hour ago

So we do a lot of buying shows (retail) every year and, post pandemic, they are getting smaller and shorter as, reportedly, buyers preferred the online options that were offered during the pandemic. Even shows in destination cities like New Orleans and Orlando with perks like Mardi Gras events and exclusive park access has not been the draw it was in the past. I’m guessing this is just our industry (hardware) and not everyone’s, since clearly business is booming enough that they’re building more space?

monothingie2 hours ago

I'm actually kind of surprised that Disney has not leaned in more on the whole convention center gig and are seemingly ceding this to Marriott. Boardwalk, Yacht/Beach, Grand Floridian are basically large meeting/ball rooms. Coronado and Contemporary are much larger spaces, but each have their own set of problems. Swalphon has got the right formula. More and larger modern facilities, hotels rooms to support the hosted conferences, and close access to two parks.

Brian2 hours ago

This will still somehow not be enough for Gartner.

wdwmagic2 hours ago

Swan and Dolphin Breaks Ground on Major 120,000-Square-Foot Expansion at Walt Disney World https://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/walt-disney-world-swan/news/19nov2024-swan-and-dolphin-breaks-ground-on-major-120,000-square-foot-expansion.htm

Chef idea Mickey`=13 days ago

"Great", I need a manual and tutorial to figure it out, after that I'll lose interest in sleep and it's costing me minutes that I should be asleep 🙄🙈🤣

Fido Chuckwagon14 days ago

You can set them to bypass mode so they don’t do this (there are YouTube videos), but yeah, it’s annoying as hell otherwise.

Ayla14 days ago

Correct. It shuts off in the middle of the night - which is why they are garbage.

Chef idea Mickey`=15 days ago

But when you're in the bed you're not moving unless you turn, turn, turn etc 🤣 so no air for you when you lay?

Chef idea Mickey`=15 days ago

When I think of Luxe I think Blacks and Grey's, Violet.. nothing LuX feeling about it, looks the same other than wood implemented. I get for the floors, but why for the furniture. Home2suites has that lol. I stayed there like five years ago and the rooms didn't feel dated. It was the hallways and the elevators. Some elevators got some change while I was there. It's the surroundings of the public places that seem needs upgrades! The interiors don't match the Grandness of the exterior outlook!