It is estimated that Walt Disney World theme parks have a capacity of around 325,000 guests every single day. Add to that the capacity of places like Disney Springs, the BoardWalk, miniature golf courses, and more, and that number skyrockets. People save for years and travel from all corners of the world to visit The Most Magical Place on Earth. Because of that, Disney needs a lot of hotels to accommodate everyone. That is why there are more than two dozen hotels on Walt Disney World Resort property.
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Now, many of the hotels on property are owned by Disney, but a fair number are owned by other companies that work in conjunction with Disney and offer guests perks for staying there.
Two of the most popular non-Disney-owned hotels are the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels, which are owned by Tishman Realty & Construction Corporation and MetLife, but operated by Marriott.
The Swan and Dolphin are located right along Disney’s BoardWalk and are close to both EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Guests who stay there can actually choose to walk to the two theme parks or even take the Friendship boats that go between the parks, the BoardWalk, and the hotels along the BoardWalk.
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Many guests love to stay at the Swan and Dolphin hotels and consider them their favorite hotels on property. However, one guest will most likely never stay there again after a recent experience.
According to a Reddit post from user ragingseaturtle, their recent stay at the Dolphin hotel was nothing short of a “horror show.” The OP (Original Poster) said that their family had stayed there in the past and really enjoyed it, so they were looking forward to staying there again.
From the moment they arrived, the OP started having trouble when the person at the front desk claimed there was no reservation in the system. The OP showed all of their confirmation emails, and after much back-and-forth, their reservation was finally sorted out.
Unfortunately, the check-in issue was only the beginning of their problems.
Here is OP’s story, which they hope serves as a warning to other potential guests.
At about 11am we got a text our room was ready and headed over at 1 to check it out and so my kids could rest. The bellhop couldn’t find out bags despite us having a ticket. 30 minutes of back and fourth suddenly they’re located and we make our way to our room in the East Tower (had West last year).
The moment I got off the elevator I knew this wasn’t going to be good. I felt like I was in the twilight zone compared to last year this floor felt like a motel 6. The carpet was worn, it was hot and incredibly muggy. I opened the door and was slammed in the face by mildew smell. It was so horrible. We left the room and came back again a few hours later hoping it worked out and tried to tough it out but between the smell and the doors not closing properly (assuming they were swollen from the humidity) we called the front desk.
About 2 hours and 30 minutes later (this is now 930 at night) a worker from house keeping comes. This poor guy speaks 0 english and starts spraying some sort of cleaner or liquid all over the room. With what little Spanish I speak I explain it’s not going to work stand by the vent and he smells it and leaves. Another hour goes by and he knocks on the door and on a piece of paper is written “your room will be changed”.
So next morning we get up at 6, repack bring everything down to the bell hop(they refused to to come get our luggage) and go do a park. Our new room was in the west Tower, smelled better but was beat to hell. The bathroom door got stuck closed and I had to essentially rip it open to get my wife out. The carpet again was worn and dirty and door itself didn’t properly close.
We leave dolphin to transfer to Riverside for 2 days, and dolphin says they can transfer our bags. Somehow they wind up transferring them to animal Kingdom, they send someone to correct it and he transfers them from animal Kingdom to carribean Beach. Finally the bell service and river side steps in and goes to retrieve our belongs at 8pm after we had left them for transfer at 7am.
2nd time at the dolphin will be my last. Absolute horror show
byu/ragingseaturtle inWaltDisneyWorld
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Unfortunately, many of the comments on the post echoed what the OP had experienced. Commenters said that while the hotel lobby looked stunning, things took a turn once you got past it and to your room. There were comments about broken light fixtures, musty-smelling rooms, and even rooms that had to be switched because of mold problems.
In October of last year, it was confirmed that the Swan and Dolphin would undergo a massive $275 million expansion and refurbishment. The hotels will expand their convention space to become one of the most in-demand convention spaces in the country.
The Swan and Dolphin rooms will also be upgraded during the expansion and refurbishment. At this time, all of the rooms at the Swan Hotel have been refurbished and refreshed.
Related: Disney Hotel Under Refurbishment, Crews Replace “Sketchy” Balconies
We do not know when the guest rooms at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel will begin, but the massive project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2026.
Hopefully, these much-needed renovations will make the Swan and Dolphin hotels the premier non-Disney-owned hotels that they once were. Both hotels still have a large price tag, but many guests feel that at least one of the hotels is not worth it.
Have you ever stayed at the Swan and Dolphin hotels? Do you think they have gone down in quality and are in need of a makeover? Do you think they are worth the high price tag? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
The post Guest Calls Stay at Popular Disney World Hotel a “Horror Show” appeared first on Inside the Magic.
