Walt Disney World SWAN, DOLPHIN & SWAN RESERVE RESORTS Information & Questions

[patty57]

Nurses discount?

Can someone verify this.

On the s/d website it says you must show proof of employment upon check in

My ds just got his nursing license so he is not employed yet, is this acceptable or does it have to be an employed nurse? He's looking for a job right now, but no luck yet.

I believe I just showed my nursing license. My pay stub would have to be printed off from online, and doesn't even say anything about nursing. I don't work in a hospital.

 

[WeRblam]

We are staying at WDW Dolphin in Sept. We normally don't stay anywhere other than on Disney property hotels but we are going to try the Dolphin this year. We are renting a car and wanted to know if we can use any of the other resorts airline check in (like boardwalk or Beach Club) to check our bags? Has anyone ever done this ? Thanks.

 

[WeRblam]

I just switched our stay from YC to Dolphin for our September trip. We had APs and with AP discount 35% at YC is twice as much as what will be at Dolphin (including the resort fee). We will be there from 9/23~28 to celebrate DS' birthday. We are making a short trip for MNSHHP and F&W so staying at Epcot resort is a must since we plan to spend most nights wandering World Showcase. We've only stayed at Disney owned resort before. However, I think we will be fine at Dolphin since we always rent a car ( I know about a parking fee) so transportation is solved. Also, I have TiW card, so we don't need DDP.

We will be there from Sept 24 - 29th at the Dolphin also! We are Disney fanatics, my son even did a college program last year here. This will be our first stay at Dolphin. Like you we are renting a car, know our way around a bit. Cant wait to do the food and wine festival!! See you there!

 

[NancyIL]

We are staying at WDW Dolphin in Sept. We normally don't stay anywhere other than on Disney property hotels but we are going to try the Dolphin this year. We are renting a car and wanted to know if we can use any of the other resorts airline check in (like boardwalk or Beach Club) to check our bags? Has anyone ever done this ? Thanks.

I think the resort airline check-in is only for those eligible to use Magical Express. Since Swan and Dolphin guests don't qualify for ME, my guess is that you can't check your bags at one of the other Epcot resorts.

 

[mousegear]

We will be there from Sept 24 - 29th at the Dolphin also! We are Disney fanatics, my son even did a college program last year here. This will be our first stay at Dolphin. Like you we are renting a car, know our way around a bit. Cant wait to do the food and wine festival!! See you there!

Lovely! It will be just DS and me this trip since it's quick get away since school is off (Jewish Holiday). I am a little nervous staying "off-site" for the first time but I think we will be ok since I see Dolphin and Swan all the time when we stay at BC/YC.

 

[NewRVLady]

Just an FYI-there is a 30% FALL discount right now at select WDW resorts

Just booked Yacht Club for cheaper than my Dolphin ressie

It was only $10 cheaper for the room-but adding the resort fee and parking-its $50 a night!

Bye Bye Dolphin

 

[dukenilnil]

Staying at the Swan this fall with a car.
To get to the various parks (except maybe Epcot), does it makes to drive from the Swan to AK, MK, HS, since parking will be free there versus trying to walk to monorail, take the bus, or the boat?

(Sorry if this has been covered, but when I searched "parking" got a ton of off-results and "driving" did not have anything either).

 

[SA mom]

Staying at the Swan this fall with a car.
To get to the various parks (except maybe Epcot), does it makes to drive from the Swan to AK, MK, HS, since parking will be free there versus trying to walk to monorail, take the bus, or the boat?

(Sorry if this has been covered, but when I searched "parking" got a ton of off-results and "driving" did not have anything either).

The boat also goes to Hollywood Studio, easy and quick.

If you drive to MK, you have to park, walk/take tram to to TTC (Ticket and Transportation Center) and get on the monorail or the ferry. To me, it's much easier to take the bus.

We drove to AK this last trip and it was nice, but I've never had an issue with the bus.

Where there was an issue this last trip (July 2014) was going to Typhoon Lagoon. After 2pm, everyone gets on the same bus to go to Epcot. Once there, you transfer to a different bus to your resort. It took a long time to get back to the Swan. This is due to the construction at Downtown Disney.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[crostorfer]

We booked at the Swan for the 10th and 11th of October to do MNSSHP and then a day of F&W after spending a few days at Universal. I got a really great rate with a military discount, we're paying $189 a night with a food and beverage discount as well. I'm also a SPG, so hoping for a room category upgrade as well. I'm looking forward to this, I could barely get a moderate for this rate!

 

[Tess]

Just an FYI-there is a 30% FALL discount right now at select WDW resorts

Just booked Yacht Club for cheaper than my Dolphin ressie

It was only $10 cheaper for the room-but adding the resort fee and parking-its $50 a night!

Bye Bye Dolphin

Happy you received a good discount, but you must have had a rather high rate at Dolphin for YC to come in lower. I know from checking when AP rates came out that BC, YC and BWI were all well over $100 per night more than my rate at Dolphin. Love those resorts, but I will walk the extra distance to EPCOT for the savings.

Now, if I could get BC for $149 p/night (not including resort fee); I would be to the Dolphin as well.

 

[mousegear]

Happy you received a good discount, but you must have had a rather high rate at Dolphin for YC to come in lower. I know from checking when AP rates came out that BC, YC and BWI were all well over $100 per night more than my rate at Dolphin. Love those resorts, but I will walk the extra distance to EPCOT for the savings.

Now, if I could get BC for $149 p/night (not including resort fee); I would be to the Dolphin as well.

I was thinking exactly the same thing! I also booked Dolphin for $149/night and even including resort fee and parking fee (b/c we will have a rental car), it easily beat YC/BC/BWI AP rate. It was more than $100/night to stay at YC with AP rate which I believe was 35%. It will be our first stay at Dolphin which makes me pretty nervous and excited at the same time.

 

[ejko]

First time poster here!

I am looking to book three rooms at the Dolphin or Swan for April 11 - 16; 1 for my wife and I and 1 for each of my daughters and their families (2 kids each).

Two questions please:

1. I can't seem to find any discounted rates for the timeframe we are interested in, and several discount codes I've tried (recipe, allears, etc.) on the Dolphin/Swan website won't work. Also, trying to book through Costco etc. all show their rates as only effective for travel this year. When can I expect to see discounted rates available for spring 2015?

2. When we book, should I book all three rooms in a single reservation, or book each room separately? I'm asking in order to pick the option that will be the least hassle for linking FP+ etc.

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

ejko

 

[rymahoney]

Deleted

 

[smithcor]

Booked for Marathon weekend in January - can't wait!!

 

[mpetersen]

Just found out there is a teacher discount for the swan/dolphin.
1- has anyone used this discount? I'm looking for a ballpark figure for Presidents' Day weekend
2- does dcl pick up from here or will we have to go to a other resort to board?

 

[YodasMom]

Just found out there is a teacher discount for the swan/dolphin.
1- has anyone used this discount? I'm looking for a ballpark figure for Presidents' Day weekend
2- does dcl pick up from here or will we have to go to a other resort to board?

I've used the Nurse discount which is the same as the teacher discount. The savings are normally quite good as long as the rooms are available within that category. I would book early for the best rates. I know that the nurse rates I got for this October are much lower than they are now for the same dates, so they do have a certain limit to the number of rooms allowed for that discount.

You may need to check with DCL as to whether they pick up from there.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

So if I bring an old magic band can I use that and get it reprogrammed. I think these were all from the BC/YC if that makes a difference.

Also we have about a dozen of them and I dont know who's is who's etc. Does that matter. I could bring them all I guess if need be.

 

[Dan Murphy]

First time poster here!

I am looking to book three rooms at the Dolphin or Swan for April 11 - 16; 1 for my wife and I and 1 for each of my daughters and their families (2 kids each).

Two questions please:

1. I can't seem to find any discounted rates for the timeframe we are interested in, and several discount codes I've tried (recipe, allears, etc.) on the Dolphin/Swan website won't work. Also, trying to book through Costco etc. all show their rates as only effective for travel this year. When can I expect to see discounted rates available for spring 2015?

2. When we book, should I book all three rooms in a single reservation, or book each room separately? I'm asking in order to pick the option that will be the least hassle for linking FP+ etc.

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

ejko

Welcome to the dis and the S/D thread, ejko.

Not sure of either question, but maybe others will jump in with some ideas.

Booked for Marathon weekend in January - can't wait!!

Wonderful!! Enjoy.

So if I bring an old magic band can I use that and get it reprogrammed. I think these were all from the BC/YC if that makes a difference.

Also we have about a dozen of them and I dont know who's is who's etc. Does that matter. I could bring them all I guess if need be.

Bands can be used and reused many times, no need to reprogram. They just link to your Disney account.

 

[pepperandchips]

So if I bring an old magic band can I use that and get it reprogrammed. I think these were all from the BC/YC if that makes a difference. Also we have about a dozen of them and I dont know who's is who's etc. Does that matter. I could bring them all I guess if need be.

You will want to know whose is whose - you can check in my disney experience to see which numbers match which guests. While you might be able to interchange them among your group for room charging and room keys, you will all need to match your own fingerprints on your park admissions and you will need to know which band belongs to which person for fast passes. However, your magic bands can be reused until the battery dies.

Think of it as if you had multiple debit cards all linked to one checking account - you can use any of those cards to access your account at any time, the color differences are now just for vanity. (so you could wear a blue one from 2013 beach club stay on Monday, yellow from a previous yacht club stay on Tuesday, and they'd both be linked to your current admission media and on site Disney resort room).

 

[vicb]

First time poster here!

I am looking to book three rooms at the Dolphin or Swan for April 11 - 16; 1 for my wife and I and 1 for each of my daughters and their families (2 kids each).

Two questions please:

1. I can't seem to find any discounted rates for the timeframe we are interested in, and several discount codes I've tried (recipe, allears, etc.) on the Dolphin/Swan website won't work. Also, trying to book through Costco etc. all show their rates as only effective for travel this year. When can I expect to see discounted rates available for spring 2015?

2. When we book, should I book all three rooms in a single reservation, or book each room separately? I'm asking in order to pick the option that will be the least hassle for linking FP+ etc.

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

ejko

Welcome! No definitive answer but.... when I booked Dophin for the first week in May this year I don't think any discount rates were available for those dates until about Nov or Dec. I booked with a AAA discount and resort credit of $50 per room. Between the initial booking and my trip that rate dropped several times. Then I would just call and ask to have the current discount rate applied to my reservation. We were lucky that the week we were going was not terribly busy at the hotel so we got a really great rate, even dropped within the last three weeks so you have to be really dedicated about checking on line. Also I started out booking standard rooms and was able ultimately to upgrade to resort view at a much lower rate than the standard started out. Good luck.