With so many great resorts at Walt Disney World, it can be difficult to choose which is right for your meeting or event.
You can't go wrong if you check out the Epcot resort area, primarily because the location is terrific. It includes the Yacht & Beach Club and Beach Club Villas, Boardwalk Inn, and the Dolphin and the Swan. But the best part about the enclave is its distinctly grown-up flavor: It offers some of the finest dining at Disney, as well as music and entertainment options that meeting-goers will appreciate in the evenings. Plus, its medium size gives your meeting a more-than-manageable feeling.
A canal links the resorts to Epcot and MGM Studios, and therefore ferry boats or walkways are the best ways to reach Epcot's back door — the World Showcase — another decidedly grown-up entertainment and dining venue at Walt Disney World.
Disney's 372-room Boardwalk Inn has a 20,000-square-foot conference center and is fronted by an authentic wooden-planked boardwalk. Evening strolls can encompass simple pleasures such as playing arcade games or enjoying Italian ice, or some later-night options might take attendees to the ESPN Club or four clubs and lounges, including Jellyrolls, which offers dueling pianos.
The Yacht & Beach Club Resorts combine for a total of 1,267 rooms and 73,000 square feet of convention space.
The Starwood-managed Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels expanded their meeting space last year, and now offer more than 329,000 square feet of meeting space, which features 84 meeting rooms. The Dolphin now has 110,500 square feet of contiguous indoor exhibit space.
Delegates will appreciate the Westin Heavenly Bed at the Swan, and high-speed Internet service from guest rooms in both hotels. At the Dolphin, groups can now enjoy a new dining option: bluezoo by celebrity chef Todd English. Your attendees will not be disappointed! And a new spa will open in 2005.