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

[goofy4tink]

Just returned from a very nice stay at the Dolphin! Yes, I was going to request a room close to the elevators, but I forgot to let them know beforehand. I ended up in a room at the very end of the building!!! Too funny. But the room was nice...no balcony though. I kind of missed not having one. I did the 'green' thing where I didn't get fresh towels each day. Not a big deal for me when traveling by myself!!! I still got plenty of water which is pretty much all I cared about!
When I checked in, I asked about paying my balance due with a gift card. Was told I had to use a regular cc but I could return on check out day and apply the gift card. Okay....I had been told the same thing at OKW in May but when I tried it, the Disney system wouldn't accept the AAA Amex card, so I was a bit nervous about trying to use it again. But, when I returned on check out day, it went just fine!!!! So nothing on my cc and it was all taken care of by the gift card!!!d Yay!!! I had great service at the Dolphin..as usual. My only regret was not having time to sit by the pool.....it was so hot and rainy that I spend downtime in my room, where it was cool!!!!
OH, and they happily transferred my bags over to SSR. It took them awhile to do it, but I expected that!

 

[SA mom]

My wife and I will take our 3-year old to the WDW in October. One of my friends suggested that my wife and I have separate My Disney Experience accounts, so that we do not need to choose the same ride on Fast Pass at the same time. We can wait in line separately for different Fast Pass rides. For example, as soon as my daughter finishes one Fast Pass ride with my wife, she can run to my Fast Pass ride to take the ride with me.

Do you think this is a good idea? Thanks, all!

I cannot see how this would work. Your daughter has to have a valid ticket and be in the MDE system. She will have to enter the queue with one of you. She will only get her allotment of fastpasses (whether that be 3 or whatever Disney decides it is that day.) She can't jump the queue to join one of you in line. Since the system is tied to valid ticket media, it's not like you can make different accounts tied to one ticket. The system does allow different people within one account to make separate fastpass reservations. That still would not help you move through the line more quickly.

Maybe the person that made this suggestion thinks your child does not need a ticket?

Is there a loophole open that I am missing? Anyone?

 

[Gondingl]

Has anyone ever booked a room at the Swan (or Dolphin) using the AAA website?

I just booked a room at the Swan using the AAA website for a price significantly lower than I saw anywhere else (about $40 cheaper per night). The price said it included taxes and fees however I'm nervous because the price I'm being charged at AAA is the price I'm seeing elsewhere before taxes and fees. I don't want to get there and be asked for the extra money.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Has anyone ever booked a room at the Swan (or Dolphin) using the AAA website?

I just booked a room at the Swan using the AAA website for a price significantly lower than I saw anywhere else (about $40 cheaper per night). The price said it included taxes and fees however I'm nervous because the price I'm being charged at AAA is the price I'm seeing elsewhere before taxes and fees. I don't want to get there and be asked for the extra money.

Verify that it includes the resort fee.

 

[GuyFromGulfport]

Has anyone ever booked a room at the Swan (or Dolphin) using the AAA website?

I just booked a room at the Swan using the AAA website for a price significantly lower than I saw anywhere else (about $40 cheaper per night). The price said it included taxes and fees however I'm nervous because the price I'm being charged at AAA is the price I'm seeing elsewhere before taxes and fees. I don't want to get there and be asked for the extra money.

The Swan has a 15% AAA discount, on it's lowest daily rate. Which can make a nice difference! As a AAA member, I'd suggest going Here: Swan and Dolphin Offers, and pricing out a room. Scroll down to the appropriate AAA section. You don't have to pay extra fees through AAA. But, there is a mandatory resort fee of approximately $23 and another $18 to park, per night. Rates fluctuate by the day, it seems. So your mileage may vary. When we stayed there this June, I saw my room go from $225, down to $136, and back up to $220, in a little over two months time. Of course, I got it for the $136, which turned out to be $177 after resort/parking fees.

Good Luck!!

 

[CourtneyBags]

I have a question about the cribs. Are they pack and plays or real cribs? Do I need to bring my own sheets?

I went in February and it was a real crib, not a packnplay. My tall 2 year old fit fine.

 

[Gondingl]

Verify that it includes the resort fee.

The Swan has a 15% AAA discount, on it's lowest daily rate. Which can make a nice difference! As a AAA member, I'd suggest going Here: Swan and Dolphin Offers, and pricing out a room. Scroll down to the appropriate AAA section. You don't have to pay extra fees through AAA. But, there is a mandatory resort fee of approximately $23 and another $18 to park, per night. Rates fluctuate by the day, it seems. So your mileage may vary. When we stayed there this June, I saw my room go from $225, down to $136, and back up to $220, in a little over two months time. Of course, I got it for the $136, which turned out to be $177 after resort/parking fees.

Good Luck!!

Thanks for the suggestions!

So the good news, I found out after calling the Dolphin, the rate I am paying ($170/night) is completely inclusive of taxes and fees - including the resort fee! This is a $34 savings/night - booking through the Dolphin AAA offers would have cost $204/night with taxes and fees.

As for the bad news, it takes 4 business days to get my Disney confirmation number to link up my stay to my MDE . This normally wouldn't be an issue but the window for FP+ selection for my stay opened 14 days ago. Oh well, you win some and you learn some! It just means one day closer to Disney!

 

[Dan Murphy]

That's great, Gondingl!!

 

[Poohlovr]

Back from a great stay at the Dolphin!!
Based on reports I had read here, I almost expected a run down shamble but, as usual, it was very nice.
We had booked a Deluxe Alcove room, but we were upgraded to an Executive suite (king) with the connecting double-double room. We had a balcony on the double-double room with a perfect view of the Frozen fireworks at DHS every night and TOT during the day. We were in the west wing with the entrances to our rooms on either side of the elevators.

I won't say our stay was absolutely perfect because nothing is but the issues we had were minor:
1.A bell man who was just short of rude, but the situation was noticed by another bellman right away and rectified.
2.One room was ready much earlier than the other, but we were texted that our room was ready. When we got back to the hotel to go to our room, we were unable to access the second room for a couple of hours.
3. When we checked in, we were told to pick up the room keys from the concierge when we got the text that our room was ready and give her the ticket for the bell station and she would take care of having our luggage delivered. When I asked her, she told me to take it over myself.
All minor issues that didn't affect our stay at all.

One thing I did notice is how expensive Picabu's has gotten! It was $20 cheaper for the three of us to eat a comparable meal in the parks and I thought the parks had to be the most expensive places to eat. We got a children's chicken strip meal, 2 adult burgers, 1 banana and 3 cokes--$55 at Picabu's. In the park-similar meals cost $32-35. Needless to say that was the only time we ate at Picabu's.

All in all, it was another great stay and we can't wait to go back to the Dolphin again.

 

[SA mom]

One thing I did notice is how expensive Picabu's has gotten! It was $20 cheaper for the three of us to eat a comparable meal in the parks and I thought the parks had to be the most expensive places to eat. We got a children's chicken strip meal, 2 adult burgers, 1 banana and 3 cokes--$55 at Picabu's. In the park-similar meals cost $32-35. Needless to say that was the only time we ate at Picabu's.

Wow! That is a lot! Were the potions at least large enough for sharing? For that price, I'd rather eat by the pool. All the food is so yummy there.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Back from a great stay at the Dolphin!!.........One thing I did notice is how expensive Picabu's has gotten! It was $20 cheaper for the three of us to eat a comparable meal in the parks and I thought the parks had to be the most expensive places to eat. We got a children's chicken strip meal, 2 adult burgers, 1 banana and 3 cokes--$55 at Picabu's. In the park-similar meals cost $32-35. Needless to say that was the only time we ate at Picabu's.

All in all, it was another great stay and we can't wait to go back to the Dolphin again.

Welcome back, Sue. Good to hear another good stay.

One thing to remember at Picabu, they do tack on that 13% service charge, so on a total bill like that, $55, service charge was about $6.50.

In any case, welcome home.

 

[airhead]

We love the Dolphin but this time we are trying the Swan! I'm wicked psyched to stay there!

 

[Dan Murphy]

We love the Dolphin but this time we are trying the Swan! I'm wicked psyched to stay there!

Good choice, CJ.

 

[airhead]

Hi Dan!

 

[hsmamato2]

So.... update on my tech questions... I had changed my first name to just my initial on MDE a week or so ago,and left it alone. (simply b/c I could do this online at MDE,to match the initial on my SPG acct) then when I checked it today,I saw that there were 2 of 'me' on my acct- so I called the tech help line,and he took that 2nd phantom 'me' off,and it worked! after that I put in my current use tix,and linked them to myself and family online, (so easy!) and it looks good! He did mention that I should go to GS before going to the park to prioritize my tix,to use the current one I want to use.(just proved to me he was knowledgeable) Note to anyone, be sure your name on your spg acct matches exactly your name on your MDE....

 

[hsmamato2]

One thing I did notice is how expensive Picabu's has gotten! It was $20 cheaper for the three of us to eat a comparable meal in the parks and I thought the parks had to be the most expensive places to eat. We got a children's chicken strip meal, 2 adult burgers, 1 banana and 3 cokes--$55 at Picabu's. In the park-similar meals cost $32-35. Needless to say that was the only time we ate at Picabu's.
All in all, it was another great stay and we can't wait to go back to the Dolphin again.

Also Picabu's takes 10% off for AAA cards...so that makes it less than in park for us... my DH loves the HUGE portions of lasagna etc he gets there... I consider it = excellent QS options,and about the same/cheaper with the AAA card.... the one time we ate by the pool,we had 14.00 salads which were a small pile of greens in a plastic container... we decided not to do that again!

 

[Lupeix]

Hi Everyone,
I have never stayed at the Swan/Doplhin (I usually stay at WBC), but I have a conference there July 2016 and I am considering taking advantage of the conference rates (specially given that my room will be covered by work). I had some questions regarding the rooms:
- Which rooms have fridge/microwave?
- Can you request connecting rooms? can all types of rooms be connected?

I am considering taking my two kiddos, grandma and granpa will babysit. I will like to have their room connected to ours and I really need a fridge and microwave, since I will likely still be breastfeeding my baby/pumping then.

Also, since the conference is in July, how far in advance do I need to make the reservations?

Whats is the best way to get from the airport to Swan/Dolphin? I rather not rent a car while we are staying there, although I would like to rent a car at check out, since we will likely do other non-Disney stuff after the conference ends. Is there a rental car desk at the hotel?

sorry, I have lots of questions!

thanks for any help

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hi Everyone,
I have never stayed at the Swan/Doplhin (I usually stay at WBC), but I have a conference there July 2016 and I am considering taking advantage of the conference rates (specially given that my room will be covered by work). I had some questions regarding the rooms:
- Which rooms have fridge/microwave?
- Can you request connecting rooms? can all types of rooms be connected?

I am considering taking my two kiddos, grandma and granpa will babysit. I will like to have their room connected to ours and I really need a fridge and microwave, since I will likely still be breastfeeding my baby/pumping then.

Also, since the conference is in July, how far in advance do I need to make the reservations?

Whats is the best way to get from the airport to Swan/Dolphin? I rather not rent a car while we are staying there, although I would like to rent a car at check out, since we will likely do other non-Disney stuff after the conference ends. Is there a rental car desk at the hotel?

sorry, I have lots of questions!

thanks for any help

Don't be sorry, questions are good.

I can answer some of your questions.

First, check some of the rates discussed in this thread. Often, discounted rates, available to the general public, are lower than conference rates.

All rooms have fridges, no roms have microwaves. And they do not allow microwaves in the rooms.

As for connecting, I am not sure. I know you can request adjoining.

I would make a reservation as early as you want to. It can be cancelled and if better rates come between now and then (almost for sure they would), you can always change and get lower rate.

For 5 people, I would probably book a limo, like www.tiffanytowncar.com. And you can then rent at checkout from the Dolphin.

Any more questions, Lupeix, just ask. Enjoy the planning.

 

[Nicmitt]

[QUOTE="Dan Murphy, post: 54252782, member: 9857"
For 5 people, I would probably book a limo, like www.tiffanytowncar.com. And you can then rent at checkout from the Dolphin.
[/QUOTE]

Thank You for posting this!!! I wasn't sure where to begin looking for transportation - I think I was just too busy being sad about missing out on Magic Express hahaha

 

[Lupeix]

Don't be sorry, questions are good.

All rooms have fridges, no rooms have microwaves. And they do not allow microwaves in the rooms.

So what exactly does the "wet bar" on the alcove suites have? I am trying to decide whether it is worth getting one suite and one regular room or two regular rooms. I would like the rooms to be connected so we can put the baby to sleep in one room while the rest of us unwind from the day in the other.

I checked on the SPG site, and there are no rooms available at regular or discounted rates for all the dates I need. I think this is likely because there's a huge block of rooms reserved for the conference. I will wait until the conference rates post.
Everyone beware that from July 8-12th 2016 there will be somewhere between 3000-5000 people attending a conference at the Swan/Dolphin

Thanks for the info on the towncar. I assume I will have to bring a car seat for the baby and booster for the toddler on the ride form the airport, do they help with the installation? I will be arriving by myself and meeting my parents at the hotel.