Spring 2020 Update

We managed to work in one March visit to Walt Disney World before the Resort was shutdown for the coronavirus pandemic. The high school band from our old hometown in North Carolina was performing on Main Street so we were happy to be there to support them. While there we stayed at the All Star Movies Resort and scored a fast pass for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway! This is a fantastic new ride housed in the Chinese theater that was formerly home to the Great Movie Ride in the heart of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It was another great trip and we were lucky to meet up with two different groups of friends who were in town, one of the benefits of being passholders and Floridians! We did not realize at the time that it would end up being our last trip to the most magical place on earth for a while.

We love “The Orange Bird” !

Enjoying the remodeled rooms at the All Star Movies Resort, the art is the style from the new “Mickey Mouse Shorts” and from the new version of “Duck Tales”

Moonlight over Frontierland

Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom 

Nighttime view of Cinderella Castle just before the fireworks 

Our Piglet fan visiting Pooh’s tree, where Pooh lives “under the name Sanders”

Good Afternoon Magic Kingdom!

Kevin from UP! is always a treat at Animal Kingdom

Cinderella Castle...after “Hapilly ever after”

With a Peter Pan themed ice cream float treat including a chocolate feather!

Hello Main Street U.S.A.!

Twilight on the rivers of America

A visit to Magic Kingdom goes great with faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust...afterwards you’ll feel like you can fly!

Dusk view of Cinderella Castle from Gaston’s Tavern

When we visited in early March they had begun the preparations to paint Cinderella Castle.

When you wish upon a star...

Let’s go on the happiest cruise that ever sailed !

Toy Story section of the All Star Movies Resort

Fireworks over Beast’s Castle

The High School band from our NC hometown was marching down Main Street, we were excited to see them!

Main Street Philharmonic at Storybook Circus

Marching band on Main Street 

Castle rising over Philharmagic

We found the Orange Bird sipper at EPCOT which goes  great with Orange Bird ears!

Little guy carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders!

Piglet’s #1 fan

All Star Movies

Paris, EPCOT

Mickey Mouse “Shorts” photo ops

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is terrific, the ride system has a nice little thrill to it and the special

effects sequences are very clever. You really feel like you are in the world of the new Mickey Mouse “Shorts”.

More fun with Mickey Mouse Shorts photo ops

Onward to Hollywood Studios

Mickey Mouse Shorts photo ops

We finally made it to “Potatoland!”

Great stays at the “Swafindawfin Hotel” (Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resorts)

Souvenir buttons and postcards are available from the front desk and or concierge desk.

This year we stayed at both the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resorts or what Toddler Son insists is “The Swafindawfin Hotel”. These twin hotels provide luxurious accommodations (Disney “Deluxe” level) usually at moderate prices. They have an amazing location between Hollywood Studios and EPCOT on Crescent Lake. 

The pyramid represents an island rising from the sea and the banana leaves represent a jungle at the base of the island

The Swans ride upon the sea (represented by the waves on the side of the building) as they watch the spectacle of the island rising across from them

Designed by famed architect Michael Graves in his signature highly geometric style they are meant to evoke the classic Florida and California grand Mediterranean style resorts of years past, recall historic funerary structures (really!) all cloaked in the abstract language of 1980’s post-modern architecture. Graves sought to provide an alternative to themed Disney architecture (which traditionally evokes a specific style, time and place) with the bold, oversized shapes, fountains, and sculpture that “tell” the story of a geologic event where an island emerged from the sea, launching renaissance dolphins into the air which delighted nearby swans who were so enchanted by the spectacle that they forever turned to “stone” at the sight. 

The renaissance dolphins dance in celebration of the new island rising from the sea

The swans are swimming in the sea (represented by the waves on the building)

A Renaissance Dolphin...they look like fish

In selecting dolphins and swans Graves was trying to find mascots for his design that were not in use as Disney characters. What Disney does say for example at the Grand Floridian is present a Victorian Seaside Resort at the turn of the 19th Century. What Graves was trying to do was to create an environment that is reminiscent of multiple experiences (The Beverly Hills Hotel, a monument, a tropical island, a geologic event like a a volcanic eruption). The overall effect of all of this is almost timeless, it “feels” like these things without actually being any one of them. Being architecture school graduates Mom and Dad here at the blog were very familiar with Michael Graves, post-modern architecture and how abstract architectural design concepts can have multiple overlapping inspirations.

These hotels are not everyone’s cup of tea but our family loves them, Teenage Son enjoys the luxury of the resort, Mom & Dad appreciate the architectural pedigree, and Toddler Son is really engaged by the oversized shapes, intense colors, and use of giant animal statues. The hotels are owned by the development firm that built EPCOT and run by Marriott while Disney owns the land underneath them. So while you still have access to Disney Transportation, extra magic hours, and are “on property” you are not staying at a Disney Resort and you are not issued Magic Bands or eligible for airport transportation. 

Swan Lobby

Dolphin escalator Lobby

Dolphin Rotunda- Main Lobby

Dolphin Fountain at the heart of Dolphin Rotunda

The Dolphin is the larger of the two and is essentially a Sheraton, it has a grand lobby, large convention center and several restaurants, of which we really love the Picabu Buffeteria. The Swan is quite a bit smaller and much more subdued lacking a cavernous rotunda lobby, it is a Westin Hotel. The Swan supposedly has “Heavenly Beds” but we did not really notice much of a difference. The rooms seemed nearly identical. 

Dolphin Room

Swan Room

The Swan does however have the Garden Grove restaurant which is built around a giant artificial tree which has character appearances at certain meals. The Swan prices the meals much lower than a Disney Character Meal, but know that they are run very differently. At the Garden Grove our experience was that only one character appears at a time, and they follow a strict schedule so if you are seated towards the end of the time period when they are done they leave. Disney will give you an 11:45 reservation for a character meal that ends at 12:00 and generally ensure that you will “meet” all of the characters. At the Swan if you are seated at 11:45 and the meal is over at 12:00 you will see whatever character is there for 15 minutes and then the characters will be gone. But the food was really good at least.

Garden Grove Restaurant 

Dolphin Arcade

Swan Hallway

Each of the resorts has their own pool and together they share a beautiful grotto pool. The pools are set adjacent to a picturesque beach where the boys enjoyed s’mores and a Swan Paddleboat ride. There is a connecting causeway between the resorts that is also the boat dock for transportation to Hollywood Studios and EPCOT (or you can walk there too). 

S’More please!

Transportation to Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom and the Water Parks is by regular Disney Transportation busses. You can also walk to the Fantasia Miniature Golf Course pretty easily. The Disney Beach & Yacht club resorts are a short walk away as is the wonderful “Boardwalk” of the Disney Boardwalk Resort. At night the causeway has a music and light show amongst the palm trees that was a very nice touch.

We loved our stays at the Swafindawfin and prefer the Dolphin, but only because the energy is a little more exciting and it’s closer to the restaurant we really like. We would definitely stay again, they are elegant resorts with many amenities in a fantastic location often for a significant discount over the neighboring Crescent Lake Disney Resorts.

Hollywood Studios Tower of Terror visible in the distance

Art on display in Swan Convention Center