Dolphin Hotel at Walt Disney World

Dolphin Hotel Opens at Walt Disney World

If you’ve ever wanted to live in a world full of wonder, Walt Disney World’s elaborate Dolphin Resort just might be the place for you. Opening on June 4, 1990, this deluxe hotel, located in the heart of Walt Disney World, was designed by renowned architect Michael Graves. Graves is also responsible for the Team Disney Building at the Disney Studio in Burbank, with its huge statues of the Seven Dwarfs holding up the building. While there are no dwarfs to be found around the Dolphin, a pair of stylized 56-foot dolphin statues—inspired by Italian Renaissance design—grace the rooftop. Inspired by Florida itself, the Resort features distinctive architectural silhouettes on grass expanses and white sand-shored Crescent Lake, and sitting across the lagoon from its sister resort is another Graves designed masterpiece, the Walt Disney World Swan Resort.