Cove will join Swan and Dolphin in Marriott portfolio at Walt Disney World

When you look over the past several years, and what's on the drawing board, it really is remarkable the amount of lodging and resort development that is occurring both at WDW and around Orlando in general.

It feels a bit like Vegas 10-20 years ago when you couldn't build resorts and hotels fast enough. Eventually the bubble will burst (like Vegas did), but for the foreseeable future, Central Florida is like a runaway locomotive with tourism and bullish visitation projections.

They really are in a "build it and they will come" mode...and it seems to be working.

There will obviously be a huge push for Galaxy's Edge just like there was for WWHP. And the 50th anniversary 2021 stuff will also probably draw a big bump. The question is whether that will be a sustainable bump or whether they will need to continue to expand just to keep all the hotels full. I suspect they know more than this armchair quarterback.

I stayed in Dolphin a few years ago because a friend had a room on race weekend, and it was a total dump. Were they still Starwood properties then? Everything was in desperate need of replacement in the rooms and in the halls.

S/D probably went a few years too long before upgrading/renovating. It was overdue, although I really had no complaints staying there multiple times over the past decade.

However, I know that as of last year, they just finished sinking $150M into the properties upgrading them and I think you'd be pretty satisfied with their new decor and design elements. Long overdue, but the improvements and room upgrades are pretty nice. I stayed there last fall and it was on par with any other upscale business class property around.

My bigger complaint is that it wasn't the Disney experience that you get even at the value resorts. I like that you describe it as "business class," because that's something different than a resort hotel, even when it's the "cheap" properties.

And I came to a realization that there’s a percentage of conference attendees that could give a hoot. Our last trip to Disney was for a large, annual meeting (my partner’s) and you better believe we took advantage of Disney and the parks. We were at a deluxe resort and we had a good option for multi-day tickets. But there were many, many attendees who didn’t set foot in a park in a week. They spent the time either working or drinking at a hotel bar somewhere. Springs is now an excellent choice for the people who don’t want or need a theme park, too.
I’ve always had the impression that at least one or two of the resorts cater to that kind of traveler- maybe they actually need more.

I liked staying at the S&D. Only downside from my perspective is that you don't get the Magical Express service. I didn't realize it was a Marriott property now. Points would get us a few nights free.

Marriott purchased Starwood in 2015.

I gave some consideration to staying at the Swan or Dolphin this fall when we can up for a couple nights for the Epcot Food and Wine. I thought it might be nice if I drank a little too much to just walk back to the hotel (or catch a boat). Decided to save the extra money, stay off property, and spend more on food and wine. Didn't regret it.