I thought the Dolphin was great last year, but the Swan...
WOW!! DH and I agree that we've found our perfect Disney resort!
We loved that it had a more intimate feel than the Dolphin, and we especially loved that it is so much more navigable. I can't overemphasize how wonderful it was that the Friendship boats, the bus stop, the elevators and our room were only short distances apart...invaluable when walking 10+ miles a day in 90 degree heat!
(At least, that's what the pedometer said!)
As far as service goes...top notch. Our room was ready when we checked in around 4pm. I contacted the resort before our arrival and knew that we'd been upgraded to a balcony room. I had no idea, however, that the balcony was attached to a
*deluxe alcove room*, complete with a bouquet of balloons, a mini-cheesecake, chocolate dipped fruit and a card from the hotel manager, wishing me a happy birthday! OMG, I was in heaven!
We were on the 5th floor, on the West side, Room 592. I loved all the extra windows, and the wonderful views. It was, indeed, perfect.
*happy sigh*
Even though there's only the two of us, it was wonderful having the extra space to spread out. Loved, loved, loved the Hollywood bath set up with the two sink areas...so much easier getting ready in the morning when you're not tripping over one another.
Housekeeping was impeccable. We came back to the room at all different hours...12:30pm, 3pm, 4:30pm...and the room was always clean, beds made, lots of clean towels, bottles of water replenished. We left a tip in a envelope every day, and there was always a note left for us, thanking us for the tip. Very nice.
Spent more time at the quiet pool on the Swan side than the Grotto pool this trip. Was a little disappointed that the Splash Grill was closed during our time there, but can kinda understand the reasoning: there was never more than 3 or 4 people at the pool when we were there. The Cabana Bar on the Dolphin side was open, but we ended up inside at the Fountain because it was just too darn hot to eat outside, anyway! Turns out the snack we had at the Fountain was the only meal we ate at the S/D. We had ressies at Blue Zoo and Il Mulino, but ended up canceling them because we just weren't that hungry because of the heat. (A recurring theme for the week...out of 11 ADRs I'd made for sit-down breakfasts, lunches and dinner, we only kept 4 of them.)
As for the parks themselves, crowds were practically non-existent, save for the Sunday night EMH at the MK on 5th. Once we made our way past the throngs on Main Street waiting for the MSEP and Wishes, navigating the rest of the park was a breeze. The only FP we actually used during the week were at DHS for TSM on Wednesday morning. As for the rest of the "headliners" - Tower of Terror, Rock -n- Roller Coaster, Soarin', Test Track, Mission Space, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion - most times they were walk-ons, at most a 20 minute wait. Reason #1 why we love September!
Which brings us to Reason #1 why we love September
a little less this year...the heat and humidity!
OMG, it was absolutely brutal!
DH and I usually tolerate the heat really well (if you can deal with the NYC subways in August, you can pretty much deal with anything!), but this year was different. I don't know if we were just worn down by the excessively hot summer NY had this year, but it just felt so much worse this year than last year. Even at night, there was no relief...the sun may have gone in, but the humidity never subsided. I'd also read some things about the shops and restaurants in the parks not feeling as cold as in past years, and I definitely found this to be true. We'd be hit with a blast of cold air as we'd walk into the Swan and go "Ahhhhhhh...". In the parks, it was cool, but not refreshingly so. Except for the Haunted Mansion. Wonder why, LOL.
So, it looks like next year we'll definitely be back at the Swan, just not in early September.
I think.
Who knows...the lure of an empty park is mighty hard to resist!
PS - I have three $25 restaurant.com certificates that I did not use...one for Il Mulino and two for Blue Zoo. I'll be happy to mail them to anyone who wants them. Please note that you can only use one per party, per month, per restaurant. PM me your address if interested. ETA: The certificates have been spoken for.
A few room/resort pics:
I think of a Disney cruise as an "in addition to" WDW, rather than as an "instead of."
