The **New** Swan and Dolphin Resort thread ~ April 2012 ~ Please read post #1 - Page 90 - The DIS Discussion Forums

cheryterese · 10-12-2012, 05:38 PM

Can a family of 5 stay in a Dolphin Standard room?

Does Magical Express go to Dolphin?

Thanks!

Mouseteacher · 10-12-2012, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheryterese

Can a family of 5 stay in a Dolphin Standard room?

Does Magical Express go to Dolphin?

Thanks!

Yes - 5 in the Dolphin and no to ME.

cheryterese · 10-12-2012, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mouseteacher

Yes - 5 in the Dolphin and no to ME.

Do they bring in a rollaway? From what see the standard room has 2 doubles.

Mouseteacher · 10-13-2012, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheryterese

Do they bring in a rollaway? From what see the standard room has 2 doubles.

Yes. However I believe there is a charge for the rollaway.

Swan only allows 4.

PNO4TE · 10-13-2012, 06:25 AM

The Food & Wine Classic here last night was fabulous. The S/D staff did themselves proud!

magsmum · 10-13-2012, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheryterese

Do they bring in a rollaway? From what see the standard room has 2 doubles.

We bring an air mattress (we fly SW so just throw it in a suitcase but know others just bring as a carryon) and my teenage son happily sleeps on that.

weatherboy80 · 10-13-2012, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PNO4TE

The Food & Wine Classic here last night was fabulous. The S/D staff did themselves proud!

Good to hear as we will be there tonight

Did they have enough tables or seating set up this year? We have a party of 6 going and was hoping to find a place to sit or at least stand together.

SideshowBob · 10-13-2012, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weatherboy80

Good to hear as we will be there tonight

Did they have enough tables or seating set up this year? We have a party of 6 going and was hoping to find a place to sit or at least stand together.

It was great last night!

Yes, I noticed a lot more seating this year and saw groups together at tables. The overall set up is larger this year and never felt "crowded" last night even though increased attendance.

SleepingBeauty69 · 10-13-2012, 10:26 AM

We returned recently from our first trip to the Swan & Dolphin. I wanted to thank everyone on this thread for all of the wonderful information, it was all very helpful! We had a mostly wonderful time in Disney, we are fairly regular travelers, but this was our first time at this resort. We were able to plan this trip because of my DH’s Starwood points. Unfortunately this was one of our less than magical trips, for two reasons. One was our room at the Swan. Don’t get me wrong, the staff was phenomenal and we enjoyed the Java bar, Shulas and Pecobu restaurants while there. The room was spacious. The “storage” was deceiving, the large dresser had top drawers that were not deep enough and the cabinets below them, although spacious, didn’t pull out, so it was not very useful for putting clothes in there [I like to unpack our clothing, and I bring tissue paper to line all of the drawers after wiping them down, just a personal preference]. The bathroom was less than desirable because the ceiling was peeling VERY badly and in poor condition. It dropped pieces randomly throughout our stay. I understand the reason though, no fan, so I’m not sure why they can’t address that either with a different ceiling product that won’t peel or by installing fans?? The other more disturbing problem we experienced was our a/c vent. It spewed out quarter sized dust balls. All day. Every day. God only knows what we were breathing in when nothing was being tossed out of the vent. If we were staying any longer than the 3 nights we were there, and weren’t on Starwood points [aka: for “free”] I would have switched hotels. The other problem we encountered, and this has nothing to do with the Swan, was the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT. We were very excited to be there during this event. We enjoyed our first evening there. The second time however, we arrived after a day at Hollywood Studios, probably around 8:30pm. People were drunk. Very drunk. I felt like I was at a Frat party. Not the environment for a family with young children [although we encountered many inebriated parents pushing strollers and whooping it up, so maybe we’re in the minority on this]. I guess you could say shame on us for going there, but this is Disney. I was shocked. It was a totally inappropriate environment for my young boys and we were very disappointed! I’m sorry to be a “downer” and I hesitated to share our negative experience but felt it was only fair to pass along. The Grotto pool looked in very good condition, I can’t say the same for the Swan pool, after our 1st day, it looked like the pictures the other poster shared of the Grotto pool.

SRUAlmn · 10-13-2012, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SleepingBeauty69

We returned recently from our first trip to the Swan & Dolphin. I wanted to thank everyone on this thread for all of the wonderful information, it was all very helpful! We had a mostly wonderful time in Disney, we are fairly regular travelers, but this was our first time at this resort. We were able to plan this trip because of my DH’s Starwood points. Unfortunately this was one of our less than magical trips, for two reasons. One was our room at the Swan. Don’t get me wrong, the staff was phenomenal and we enjoyed the Java bar, Shulas and Pecobu restaurants while there. The room was spacious. The “storage” was deceiving, the large dresser had top drawers that were not deep enough and the cabinets below them, although spacious, didn’t pull out, so it was not very useful for putting clothes in there [I like to unpack our clothing, and I bring tissue paper to line all of the drawers after wiping them down, just a personal preference]. I thought I was the ONLY one who did this!! The bathroom was less than desirable because the ceiling was peeling VERY badly and in poor condition. It dropped pieces randomly throughout our stay. I understand the reason though, no fan, so I’m not sure why they can’t address that either with a different ceiling product that won’t peel or by installing fans?? ITA! It was actually our only complaint about the Dolphin during our stay in June. The other more disturbing problem we experienced was our a/c vent. It spewed out quarter sized dust balls. All day. Every day. God only knows what we were breathing in when nothing was being tossed out of the vent. They actually switched our room before we even got into it because a similar thing was happening in the room we were supposed to be in. If we were staying any longer than the 3 nights we were there, and weren’t on Starwood points [aka: for “free”] I would have switched hotels.

Replies in red

It seems like the S&D have some major functional issues going on that need to be addressed. However, I think fixing ventilation and AC/duct work type issues would be pretty extensive and VERY pricey!

nessz79 · 10-13-2012, 02:05 PM

Quote:

People were drunk. Very drunk. I felt like I was at a Frat party. Not the environment for a family with young children [although we encountered many inebriated parents pushing strollers and whooping it up, so maybe were in the minority on this].

I'm sorry to hear this as we are headed up that way Friday for F&W and are bringing our children and my elderly in-laws. We have been to F&W on a Friday last year and although we did see a few drunk people here and there that were a little loud or obnoxious, it wasn't like a frat party and I never felt insecure or that I couldn't have my kids there (although they weren't there that time). We'll have to play things by ear and if we notice things getting out of hand, we'll just head back to the hotel a bit early.

I'm hoping it was just a fluke.

We've only stayed at the Dolphin once before this. Although our room was not great, it seemed like it was because it was tucked away in the corner of the hotel. We felt isolate and it was very dark in our room (little natural light and not such good lighting inside). We're hoping for a better experience this time as we love the location and the actual resort is very nice.

albryant1 · 10-13-2012, 06:06 PM

I also want to thank everyone on this thread for all the valuable information you gave us before our first trip to the Dolphin this week.

Our family of two adults, three kids (ages 8, 6, 3)stayed at the Dolphin from Sunday 10/7 to Friday 10/12. In March, I booked a standard room at the teacher rate of $159, but was pleasantly surprised to be put in room 11033 which was almost at the end of the floor on the East side overlooking the water and Boardwalk entrance. The roof of the wing was right below our window, but the view past that was great and we enjoyed watching Illuminations from our room each night

Overall, the room was fine, though I was disappointed with the dated and TINY bath facilities which were less than ideal for a larger family. The three kids slept in one bed together and even though it was a full size and not a queen, it was fine! We had plenty of space to keep our suitcases without feeling cramped. The mini fridge kept water and juice/milk boxes cold, but we also kept a cooler stocked with ice for our half and half for coffee and other snacks like string cheese. The coffee was terrific!

The location was fantastic. We had only been to Disney one other time and stayed at the Contemporary (which we LOVED). We missed not being able to walk to Magic Kingdom for our two days at that park, but being able to walk to Epcot and the Boardwalk and Beach/Yacht club areas more than made up for it. We really enjoyed being able to leave our car behind and just walk everywhere those days. We did not use Disney transportation at all, so I cannot comment on the buses or boats.

The only restaurant we ate at was The Fountain, and it was very good (both for food and ice cream

). We also had a great meal at Beaches and Cream at Beach Club and reasonable pizza at the Boardwalk Pizza window.

I wanted to share our experience with credit card charges for the room and the hold for incidentals since I had lots of questions about that before going and had difficulty finding a straight answer. When we checked in, our credit card was pre-authorized for the total room/tax/service/parking charges AND was pre-authorized for $100 for incidentals. We were NOT charged $100 per day as I had previously read, though we never charged to our room, so I imagine if you do room charges, they may hold more each day to cover that.

I think this is our last trip to Disney, but if we were to go back for a short trip, I would not hesitate to book the Dolphin again. A much longer trip than five nights and I would probably be looking to book a 2-bedroom villa instead - hotel rooms are just a bit small for five people!

SRUAlmn · 10-13-2012, 06:32 PM

Speaking of CC charges, I never mentioned another issue we had during our stay in June. After we checked out, my mom's CC was charged and credited back and forth about 5 times over the 4 days following our check out. It was charged for about $200 less than our full amount. Then it was all credited back. Then charged again. Then credited back. Over and over daily

It was finally charged accurately, but it was a little concerning while it was happening.

Flews · 10-14-2012, 03:25 PM

We're at the Swan now. Everything is absolutely great!

Regarding some previous posts, the pool is just fine. Absolutely no issues whatsoever.

As for the F&W Festival at Epcot, we too were very uncomfortable with all the drinking. Granted, it was Saturday night, and Epcot was very crowded anyway. Still, it wasn't even 8 pm. We were not impressed with the hordes of (mostly) young people, drinks in hands, roaming through the streets, with all the related boisterous behaviour and noise associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Here we were with our 4-years, dodging lurching adults and their foul language, as we made our way back to the entrance. As my wife said, 'isn't this supposed to be Disney?

We will try again tonight. Hopefully it will be much more peaceful and relaxing, as we remember it from previous years.

Again, no issues with the Swan (including the brand new, fantastic kids play structure that we hadn't heard about!).

Cheers,

olive · 10-14-2012, 04:48 PM

Ooh - where is the new play structure? Does it replace the playground area near the grotto pool, or is it in addition to that?

10-12-2012, 05:38 PM	#1336
cheryterese DIS Veteran Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Western NY Posts: 997	Can a family of 5 stay in a Dolphin Standard room? Does Magical Express go to Dolphin? Thanks! __________________ Rick Me(Cheryl) Sam(7) Madeleine(5) Matthew(4) February 6th - February 12th 2013 ~ Port Orleans Riverside ~ Mom's Birthday Trip! October 26th - November 7th 2011 ~ Off site ~ Second Family Trip January 26th - February 4th 2010 ~ Off site ~ First Family Trip April 2004 ~ Port Orleans French Quarter August 2002 ~ Wilderness Lodge (Honeymoon!) Trip Report: 1st Family Trip with a 4 year old, a 2 year old and a puking baby!

10-13-2012, 06:25 AM	#1340
PNO4TE DIS Musician Piano Teacher Can't stay awake at night for the "hen parties" Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Fredericksburg, VA Posts: 30,580	The Food & Wine Classic here last night was fabulous. The S/D staff did themselves proud! __________________ Elin "Music... this is the favorite passion of my soul." ~ Thomas Jefferson ‎"Good wine is a necessity of life for me" ~ Thomas Jefferson In memory of June. 09/04/06. "Keep the board going for me while I'm gone..."

10-13-2012, 10:26 AM	#1344
SleepingBeauty69 Earning My Ears Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Woodcutter's Cottage in the Forest Posts: 32	Room Issues + We returned recently from our first trip to the Swan & Dolphin. I wanted to thank everyone on this thread for all of the wonderful information, it was all very helpful! We had a mostly wonderful time in Disney, we are fairly regular travelers, but this was our first time at this resort. We were able to plan this trip because of my DH’s Starwood points. Unfortunately this was one of our less than magical trips, for two reasons. One was our room at the Swan. Don’t get me wrong, the staff was phenomenal and we enjoyed the Java bar, Shulas and Pecobu restaurants while there. The room was spacious. The “storage” was deceiving, the large dresser had top drawers that were not deep enough and the cabinets below them, although spacious, didn’t pull out, so it was not very useful for putting clothes in there [I like to unpack our clothing, and I bring tissue paper to line all of the drawers after wiping them down, just a personal preference]. The bathroom was less than desirable because the ceiling was peeling VERY badly and in poor condition. It dropped pieces randomly throughout our stay. I understand the reason though, no fan, so I’m not sure why they can’t address that either with a different ceiling product that won’t peel or by installing fans?? The other more disturbing problem we experienced was our a/c vent. It spewed out quarter sized dust balls. All day. Every day. God only knows what we were breathing in when nothing was being tossed out of the vent. If we were staying any longer than the 3 nights we were there, and weren’t on Starwood points [aka: for “free”] I would have switched hotels. The other problem we encountered, and this has nothing to do with the Swan, was the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT. We were very excited to be there during this event. We enjoyed our first evening there. The second time however, we arrived after a day at Hollywood Studios, probably around 8:30pm. People were drunk. Very drunk. I felt like I was at a Frat party. Not the environment for a family with young children [although we encountered many inebriated parents pushing strollers and whooping it up, so maybe we’re in the minority on this]. I guess you could say shame on us for going there, but this is Disney. I was shocked. It was a totally inappropriate environment for my young boys and we were very disappointed! I’m sorry to be a “downer” and I hesitated to share our negative experience but felt it was only fair to pass along. The Grotto pool looked in very good condition, I can’t say the same for the Swan pool, after our 1st day, it looked like the pictures the other poster shared of the Grotto pool.

10-13-2012, 06:06 PM	#1347
albryant1 Earning My Ears Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 10	Dolphin Trip Report I also want to thank everyone on this thread for all the valuable information you gave us before our first trip to the Dolphin this week. Our family of two adults, three kids (ages 8, 6, 3)stayed at the Dolphin from Sunday 10/7 to Friday 10/12. In March, I booked a standard room at the teacher rate of $159, but was pleasantly surprised to be put in room 11033 which was almost at the end of the floor on the East side overlooking the water and Boardwalk entrance. The roof of the wing was right below our window, but the view past that was great and we enjoyed watching Illuminations from our room each night Overall, the room was fine, though I was disappointed with the dated and TINY bath facilities which were less than ideal for a larger family. The three kids slept in one bed together and even though it was a full size and not a queen, it was fine! We had plenty of space to keep our suitcases without feeling cramped. The mini fridge kept water and juice/milk boxes cold, but we also kept a cooler stocked with ice for our half and half for coffee and other snacks like string cheese. The coffee was terrific! The location was fantastic. We had only been to Disney one other time and stayed at the Contemporary (which we LOVED). We missed not being able to walk to Magic Kingdom for our two days at that park, but being able to walk to Epcot and the Boardwalk and Beach/Yacht club areas more than made up for it. We really enjoyed being able to leave our car behind and just walk everywhere those days. We did not use Disney transportation at all, so I cannot comment on the buses or boats. The only restaurant we ate at was The Fountain, and it was very good (both for food and ice cream ). We also had a great meal at Beaches and Cream at Beach Club and reasonable pizza at the Boardwalk Pizza window. I wanted to share our experience with credit card charges for the room and the hold for incidentals since I had lots of questions about that before going and had difficulty finding a straight answer. When we checked in, our credit card was pre-authorized for the total room/tax/service/parking charges AND was pre-authorized for $100 for incidentals. We were NOT charged $100 per day as I had previously read, though we never charged to our room, so I imagine if you do room charges, they may hold more each day to cover that. I think this is our last trip to Disney, but if we were to go back for a short trip, I would not hesitate to book the Dolphin again. A much longer trip than five nights and I would probably be looking to book a 2-bedroom villa instead - hotel rooms are just a bit small for five people!

10-13-2012, 06:32 PM	#1348
SRUAlmn #1 Fan of the World Champion Baltimore Ravens Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: SC Posts: 7,754	Speaking of CC charges, I never mentioned another issue we had during our stay in June. After we checked out, my mom's CC was charged and credited back and forth about 5 times over the 4 days following our check out. It was charged for about $200 less than our full amount. Then it was all credited back. Then charged again. Then credited back. Over and over daily It was finally charged accurately, but it was a little concerning while it was happening. __________________ Me DH Our "Baby" Christmas 1994 - POFQ Christmas 1997 - Polynesian September 2004 - Pop Century (first trip together) January 2007 - POFQ (Wedding Planning Trip) July 2007 - Contemporary (WDW Wedding & Honeymoon) Thanksgiving 2007 - Pop Century July 2008 - Grand Floridian, Coronado Springs Jr. Suite, Contemporary Concierge MK View July 2009 - Boardwalk Inn Deluxe Club Level July 2010 - Animal Kingdom Lodge (Savanna View) June 2012 - Dolphin (2 Bedroom Grand Suite) **June 2013 - Port Orleans Riverside - Royal Room

Sponsored Links
The DIS Register to remove Join Date: 1997 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 1,000,000

10-14-2012, 03:25 PM	#1349
Flews Earning My Ears Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Near Ottawa Posts: 58	We're at the Swan now. Everything is absolutely great! Regarding some previous posts, the pool is just fine. Absolutely no issues whatsoever. As for the F&W Festival at Epcot, we too were very uncomfortable with all the drinking. Granted, it was Saturday night, and Epcot was very crowded anyway. Still, it wasn't even 8 pm. We were not impressed with the hordes of (mostly) young people, drinks in hands, roaming through the streets, with all the related boisterous behaviour and noise associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Here we were with our 4-years, dodging lurching adults and their foul language, as we made our way back to the entrance. As my wife said, 'isn't this supposed to be Disney? We will try again tonight. Hopefully it will be much more peaceful and relaxing, as we remember it from previous years. Again, no issues with the Swan (including the brand new, fantastic kids play structure that we hadn't heard about!). Cheers, __________________ Flews

10-14-2012, 04:48 PM	#1350
olive Mouseketeer Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 464	Ooh - where is the new play structure? Does it replace the playground area near the grotto pool, or is it in addition to that?

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread: