Swan And Dolphin?

[captinhookedondisney]

I heard that there was something wrong with the statures on top of hte Swan And Dolphin I wasn't sure what is was.


Thanks!

 

[MomofKatie]

Well, those dolphin statues definitely don't look like dolphins to me- . Other than that, I haven't heard of anything wrong with them.

 

[KayR]

I was told that they are on the wrong buildings.

I can't remember the exact history, but the gist is that when they were set on the buildings, they were put on the wrong one. It would have cost too much money to correct it, so they were left there.

This is what we were told when we were on an illuminations cruise one time. Don't know how true it is...

-Kay

 

[GottaLuvMickey]

All I know of is that The Dolphin is referring to a dolphin fish... as in Mahi Mahi... We stayed there when I was little and never understood why there was a "goldfish" fountian in the lobby or why there were "Goldfish" on top of the building.... but the statues are on top of the correct buildings and I used to work at Disney World and never heard anything being 'wrong' about either of these hotels... it's just that a lot of people don't know that they mean 'dolphin fish' not a bottlenosed dolphin or whatever...

 

[spiceycat]

agreed the dolphin (fish) is on the dolphin, the swan is on the swan.

don't let anyone tell you that the darker area at the dolphin is for the monrail - that is a joke too. there are hotel rooms in that area - it was never planned for the monrail.

 

[GottaLuvMickey]

Now with the whole monorail thing... I'd forgotten about that, but my husband used to rooml with a guy that was in transportation at Disney and he was told by a higher up in the transportation dept that the dark area is actually rooms, yes.... but they were designed to be removeable for a future possible monorail expansion. I also remember being told that when I was in Traditions on my first day. I just don't think the expansion is going to happen... but they just planned ahead for the possibility of it.

 

[ahecht]

From http://www.yesterland.com/monoraillegends.html :

Legend: “The black areas on the façades of the Swan and Dolphin can be removed to accommodate future Monorail beams.”

Status: False

It seems that one or more captains of the Friendship Boats that connect the Epcot resorts with Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios have been telling Walt Disney World guests the “interesting fact” that the black areas on the façades of the Swan and Dolphin can be removed to accommodate a Monorail expansion. The story has been repeated on Internet forums and websites. And it’s undoubtedly been repeated to friends, family, and co-workers by Disney guests.

There are two versions of the story. One version claims that the spaces behind the black areas are big empty voids. The other version claims that they are filled with “temporary” hotel rooms that can be removed.

It’s a good story, but it isn’t true. The black squares are simply design features to make the large façades more interesting. Architect Michael Graves likes to use dark and light areas or different materials to break up building façades. I don’t know if the captains honestly believe the Monorail story, or if they’re just having some fun at the guests’ expense.

Around the same time that Michael Graves designed the Swan and Dolphin, he also designed the Aventine in La Jolla, Californa, named after one of the seven hills of Rome. His 16-story, 400-room Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine has three black squares on its façade. His 11-story office tower at Aventine only has a single black square on it. There’s no Monorail planned for the Aventine either.

By the way, the black areas on the Swan and Dolphin are substantially different in size (about five stories tall on the Swan, and about nine stories tall on the Dolphin) and in elevation (starting about seven stories up on the Swan, and starting about ten stories up on the Dolphin). They’re much taller than necessary to accommodate the Monorail.

If the beam did go through the Swan and Dolphin, there would not be a logical place to put a station. The beam would be way too high, and the buildings aren’t nearly deep enough. So where would the Swan and Dolphin station go?

If the builder and architect had really wanted to leave paths for future monorail beams, they could simply have left openings. If they wanted to hide the holes, why did they make the “covering” black instead of really hiding them by dressing them up to look like the rest of the building? Why would they put in “temporary” rooms? (Look up at the black area any evening, and you’ll clearly see that there are rooms and people up there.)

One more point... Take a look a the shape of the Swan and Dolphin. Think about where the hallways and elevators would be. Yep. Giant openings would cut off the hallways.

 

[GottaLuvMickey]

Hey, I'll believe you... I'm just stating what I was taught in Traditions as a cast member... I always wondered about it logically, but I figured people teaching traditions knew more than I did... so I went with it!

 

[spiceycat]

okay i think everyone knows how possessive Disney is.

why would they even consider putting in a monrail to a place they don't own.

answer that would never happen.

sorry.

now it might come to the bc/yc - but first disney would put all their parks on it first.

studio and AK - would definitely happen before any of the resorts.

 

[buzznina]

The dolphins are not based on the mammal dolphin but a version of a nautical dolphin, which was a common symbol used on old world nautical maps.

 

[captinhookedondisney]

i was thinking about it a bit more and i think it had something to do with the piece on the bottom the dolphin was on land and and the swan was on water?

dose that ring any bells