Credit: Chad Sparkes, FlickrThe EPCOT resort area has a dining landscape that rewards guests who know where to look beyond the parks themselves. Restaurants at the BoardWalk, the Yacht Club, the Beach Club, and the Swan and Dolphin hotels sit within easy walking or boat distance of EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, giving guests the option to step outside the theme park dining circuit without stepping far outside the resort bubble. The Swan and Dolphin campus in particular has historically punched above its weight in terms of dining quality, operating as a Marriott property under a long-standing agreement with Disney and hosting a collection of restaurants that would hold their own in any major city.
Bourbon Steak by Michael Mina is the jewel of that collection. The James Beard Award-winning chef behind a global portfolio of acclaimed restaurants brought his Bourbon Steak concept to the Walt Disney World Dolphin just one year ago, replacing the long-running Shula’s Steak House with a fine dining steakhouse built around prime and Wagyu beef, an extensive shellfish and caviar program, and a whiskey and cocktail offering that earns its name. For the Disney dining community, Bourbon Steak represented one of the most exciting additions to the EPCOT resort dining scene in years. Date nights, anniversary dinners, birthday celebrations, the kind of reservation that gets made weeks in advance.
On June 25, a kitchen fire changed that situation.
The fire broke out in Bourbon Steak’s kitchen during dinner service. Smoke pushed through the building’s ventilation system and out to the Dolphin’s exterior, creating alarming images that circulated widely on social media. Resort management evacuated the lobby and several guest room floors as a precaution. No injuries were reported, and the official statement from the resort was clear: “Pictures make it seem the fire was much larger than it was, as the ventilation system is meant to push smoke outside. No damage to hotel and only in the restaurant.”
Bourbon Steak has been closed since that night. Nearly a month later, it remains closed, and the resort is now communicating directly with guests about the situation and what comes next.
What the Swan and Dolphin Is Telling Guests
The hotel is actively reaching out to guests with existing Bourbon Steak reservations by email, informing them of the closure and offering assistance rebooking at one of the Swan and Dolphin’s other restaurants. The language in that outreach describes the closure as lasting “for the foreseeable future while repairs are completed,” which is more open-ended than most guests with upcoming reservations would hope to read.
A notice posted on the Swan and Dolphin website is public and worth reading in full: “Dear Guests: Please be advised that our Bourbon Steak restaurant is temporarily closed. We invite you to join us at one of our other 22 outlets, including 5 signature restaurants: Celebrity Chef Todd English’s bluezoo; Il Mulino Trattoria; Kimonos, Amare or Rosa Mexicano for Coastal, Italian, Sushi, Mediterranean and Mexican cuisines. Guests may also opt for enjoyable meals at our casual, quick stop or lounge venues. We look forward to welcoming you back to Bourbon Steak soon!”
September 16 Is the Number Everyone Is Tracking
The clearest signal available about the restaurant’s planned return is coming from the reservation system itself. Guests attempting to book a table at Bourbon Steak currently cannot make reservations until September 16, 2026. That date does not constitute an official reopening announcement from the Swan and Dolphin or from Michael Mina’s team, but it represents the earliest window the restaurant’s own booking system is currently accepting, which is a meaningful indicator of internal expectations.
A reopening in mid-September would mean Bourbon Steak was closed for approximately twelve weeks following the June 25 fire. Kitchen fire repairs can be extensive depending on what the fire and subsequent firefighting water and suppression agents affected. The fact that the restaurant’s damage was confined to the kitchen rather than the dining room may be working in its favor in terms of repair scope.
Guests with upcoming Disney World trips that include a Bourbon Steak dinner as a planned event should operate on the assumption that September 16 is a hopeful indicator rather than a guaranteed date. The hotel’s “foreseeable future” language in its guest communications suggests that the timeline may shift depending on the pace of repairs and inspections.
What the Swan and Dolphin’s Other Restaurants Offer in the Meantime
The Swan and Dolphin campus operates 22 dining outlets, including five signature restaurants. Guests looking for a substitute fine dining experience have meaningful options. Todd English’s bluezoo, the signature seafood restaurant at the Dolphin, is one of the campus’s most acclaimed restaurants and represents a genuine alternative for guests who wanted something elevated. Il Mulino Trattoria brings Italian fine dining to the campus. Kimonos offers sushi. Amare provides Mediterranean cuisine. Rosa Mexicano rounds out the signature restaurant collection with coastal Mexican food.
None of these is Bourbon Steak, and none of them replicates the specific appeal of a prime steakhouse with a Wagyu program and a deep whiskey list. But the Swan and Dolphin’s dining depth means that guests who had built their evening around the Dolphin campus are not left without options.
The Restaurant That Arrived One Year Ago and the Road Back
Bourbon Steak Orlando opened only a year ago, making the kitchen fire and extended closure a significant interruption for a restaurant still establishing itself in the Disney dining landscape. The concept had been building its following among annual passholders, convention guests, and date-night diners before the June 25 incident. Its menu of shellfish, caviar, crab, and prime beef cuts had earned it a position among the most anticipated dining reservations at Walt Disney World.
The “Reopening Soon” language on the Bourbon Steak website and the September 16 booking window both suggest the restaurant intends to return in full, which is the outcome that guests and the broader Disney dining community are clearly hoping for. A year into its run, Bourbon Steak had established itself as something genuinely worth the reservation.
If you had a Bourbon Steak reservation affected by the closure or if you visited the restaurant during its first year of operation and want to share what the experience was like, drop a comment below. And if your Disney World trip includes a planned visit to the EPCOT resort area and you want to know which Swan and Dolphin dining options are worth your time in the meantime, ask below and we will point you in the right direction.
