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

[SingingMom]

I think that the S/D actually have a more deluxe 'feel' to them than the WDW owned deluxes do! I prefer the Dolphin because I can just go downstairs to Picabu...vs walking over from the Swan. Yes, WL has some terrific theming, but in all reality, I tend to find I don't really notice the theming after a few days at a resort. My only issue with the S/D is housekeeping. I've had days when no one came, and other days when I have returned to my room to relax late afternoon, and housekeeping arrived around 4:30-5! I realize that you can't count on your room being serviced before noon, but it's a bit much to have them come knocking late afternoon!!! I've also had days when no water bottles were left...and other than wifi, that's the only thing I use out of the resort fee services!!!
I'm heading back to the Dolphin in two weeks...can't wait to get there!!!! Just love it...the pool is a ton of fun and one of my favorites at WDW. I need to get a couple of new books to bring with me and just plant myself out there!!!

In regards to housekeeping at the Dolphin - since it is such a large hotel, I'm sure it takes a while to get through all those rooms. I always call as I'm leaving the room for the day if I want the room serviced by the time we return. It's always been taken care of for us. I almost get the feeling they are glad to know a room is empty and ready for cleaning! Lol

 

[happymommy]

Quick question. When I've been at the S/D and moved to a WDW resort, it has been either BC or BW, so I took my own bag to the new resort. This time I'm moving to SSR. Will the Dolohin move my bag to SSR, or should I plan on taking a cab?

If it were me, I'd take a cab with my stuff. It would probably be easier, and wouldn't cost but a few dollars. That way you know where your bags are! Just drop them off early with bell services at SSR and be off for the day.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Quick question. When I've been at the S/D and moved to a WDW resort, it has been either BC or BW, so I took my own bag to the new resort. This time I'm moving to SSR. Will the Dolohin move my bag to SSR, or should I plan on taking a cab?

Only from reading here, not personal experience, is that bags will be delivered either way, S/D to Disney and Disney to S/D.

 

[goofy4tink]

Thanks Dan. I'll see what transpires and report back.

 

[NancyIL]

Thanks all for your input. Not sure yet what we'll do. This trip started out to be just DD and I booked at the Swan then we decided to invite my SIL and nephew to join us then my mom sort of invited herself so I changed the res to the Dolphin... I was really excited about staying in BW area and am reluctant to give it up...

I love the Swan (especially) and Dolphin, and I'm looking forward to staying at the Swan for 4 nights in December. However, you might want to reconsider your use of SPG points, as they can be transferred to many airlines on a 1:1 basis. Right now, 20,000 SPG points transferred to American Airlines by August 7 = 25,000 AA miles plus an additional 5,000 mile bonus. If American Airlines is your airline of choice, 40K SPG points = 60K AA miles - which is a roundtrip Milesaver economy plane ticket to Europe during peak season, or two domestic roundtrip tickets with 10K miles left over. So - compare the value of your points used for the Dolphin vs. air miles.

** I just reread your first post and saw that you booked your air using "points" - whether SPG points or FF miles. If you used SPG points directly for your flights, then my guess is you have a lot of SPG points to burn - so might as well use them.

By the way - the Dolphin's rooms, while tight with 5, are larger than those at Caribbean Beach (360 sq. ft. vs. 314 sq. ft.). The Dolphin's lobby is also a WOW experience - especially in December!

 

[sharona]

I love the Swan (especially) and Dolphin, and I'm looking forward to staying at the Swan for 4 nights in December. However, you might want to reconsider your use of SPG points, as Starwood points can be transferred to many airlines on a 1:1 basis. Right now, 20,000 SPG points transferred to American Airlines by August 7 = 25,000 AA miles plus an additional 5,000 mile bonus. If American Airlines is your airline of choice, 40K SPG points = 60K AA miles - which is a roundtrip Milesaver economy plane ticket to Europe during peak season, or two domestic roundtrip tickets with 10K miles left over. So - compare the value of your points used for the Dolphin vs. air miles.

** I just reread your first post and saw that you booked your air using "points" - whether SPG points or FF miles. If you used SPG points directly for your flights, then my guess is you have a lot of SPG points to burn - so might as well use them.

By the way - the Dolphin's rooms, while tight with 5, are larger than those at Caribbean Beach (360 sq. ft. vs. 314 sq. ft.). The Dolphin's lobby is also a WOW experience - especially in December!

Thanks for the info Nancy, I appreciate your input. I have a decent amount of points/miles at the moment and I want to use them before they devalue the programs any further!!! Europe is not in the plans for the next few years so if I wait around for an opportunity to get better value on the points it could backfire on me (although SPG is one of the more stable programs). For this trip I used SW points for the airfares - the points required were very low for our flights so it worked out well. This is an "extra" trip for us as we have already been on a couple of vacations this year and before I booked this I promised myself that we would only go if I could use points and miles for the hotel and air so I'm going to stick to that despite my 2nd guessing the other day.

@ckelly14 Thanks for your suggestion. I checked into SVV and several other SPG and Hilton condo sites but I decided that we definitely want to be on site for this trip because it's such a short stay and also because, with our diverse group, I want everyone to be able to come and go as they please without worrying about transportation to/from the parks. If my Mom gets tired and wants to take the boat back to the hotel she can, instead of having to stick it out with us if we were off site. Same for everyone else if DSIL and DN want to stay longer at AK than we do, they can do so. With one day at each park, the BW area seems like the best place for us to be. And despite being a little crowded during those short times when we're all in the room, I know DD and I will have a great time with DSIL, DN and DM! We have all traveled together several times and always have fun!

 

[hsmamato2]

Ok I am having problems with the search feature here.... about MDE, please refresh my memory.... I have the Dolphin booked- but I haven;t yet input for MDE - do I have to call the hotel line to make sure that the names are listed properly before I input to mde,so we are in the 'system'? Otherwise what happened last year was since the s/d site only asks for the main persons name at booking, then mde wasn't accepting the number of peeps in the room we had tix for.... help please!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Yes, call the resort and make sure all names, including kids, are listed on the reservation.

 

[luvallprincesses]

Ok I am having problems with the search feature here.... about MDE, please refresh my memory.... I have the Dolphin booked- but I haven;t yet input for MDE - do I have to call the hotel line to make sure that the names are listed properly before I input to mde,so we are in the 'system'? Otherwise what happened last year was since the s/d site only asks for the main persons name at booking, then mde wasn't accepting the number of peeps in the room we had tix for.... help please!

I called recently for this purpose and it was updated a few hours later although they say it may take up to 24 hours for names to appear linked in MDE.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Sharona, DH and I stayed in an alcove room by ourselves in Nov. I do not want to be negative but I cannot picture staying in a room with 5 people. The bathroom is smalllll. I know you want to use points and stay onsite for transportation to and from the parks but man oh man, it will be more than tight. Thanks for allowing me to share my opinion.

 

[OKW Lover]

Quick question. When I've been at the S/D and moved to a WDW resort, it has been either BC or BW, so I took my own bag to the new resort. This time I'm moving to SSR. Will the Dolohin move my bag to SSR, or should I plan on taking a cab?

We've done it Diane. Its been a few (2-3) years now and I believe we were moving from the Dolphin to either OKW or BW at the time. Anyway, they handled it just fine.

 

[happymommy]

Sharona, DH and I stayed in an alcove room by ourselves in Nov. I do not want to be negative but I cannot picture staying in a room with 5 people. The bathroom is smalllll. I know you want to use points and stay onsite for transportation to and from the parks but man oh man, it will be more than tight. Thanks for allowing me to share my opinion.

I agree. That wouldn't be a vacation to me. I'm stressing about sharing one room with just me, DD, and DH! We'll be fine, but she needs more sleep so will have to figure out how to let her sleep in and not disturb her when we get up.

 

[Auntof2]

I should know the answer to this as I've stayed here before, but would love opinions. We'll have 8 people on our trip and at least 2, possibly 3 cars onsite as we're driving down (I realize we'll be paying for parking). I am torn on if it will make more sense to drive to the TTC to get to the Magic Kingdom, or would the shuttle be smarter? Not sure how bad traffic is in the morning (on a Friday and Saturday) trying to get to the TTC and park.

 

[OKW Lover]

I am torn on if it will make more sense to drive to the TTC to get to the Magic Kingdom, or would the shuttle be smarter?

Going to the MK I always recommend the bus because it drops you off right at the park. If you drive to the TTC you'll then have to do the tram to monorail/ferry in order to get to the MK. Traffic would be just as much a problem for the bus as driving.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I should know the answer to this as I've stayed here before, but would love opinions. We'll have 8 people on our trip and at least 2, possibly 3 cars onsite as we're driving down (I realize we'll be paying for parking). I am torn on if it will make more sense to drive to the TTC to get to the Magic Kingdom, or would the shuttle be smarter? Not sure how bad traffic is in the morning (on a Friday and Saturday) trying to get to the TTC and park.

As Jeff said above, certainly the bus to MK. And for AK also. I have never had a problem to either park. And boat or walk to Epcot and Studios.

 

[maxiesmom]

I want to double check, are roll-aways still available? They are no longer listed on the S&D web site as an amenity.

 

[ckelly14]

As Jeff said above, certainly the bus to MK. And for AK also. I have never had a problem to either park. And boat or walk to Epcot and Studios.

I agree. Buses to MK and AK are generally stellar from the S&D.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I want to double check, are roll-aways still available? They are no longer listed on the S&D web site as an amenity.

Yes, they are.

http://swandolphin.com/feedback/special.html

 

[SFMommy]

Hi! I just booked an Executive Suite at the Swan for our 8 night stay the first week of May 2016. I have a few questions…


1. For anyone who has stayed on a rate that includes breakfast for 2 daily…where is breakfast and what is included? We haven’t added it yet…it is $45 per night more to add breakfast for 2 daily.


2. Has anyone ever bought the Kids Dining Pass for $25/day? What restaurants were included? How was the value?


3. Has anyone used the Personal Pantry? Thoughts?


4. What kitchen amenities are in the Executive Suites….just coffee maker and mini fridge? Or anything else more substantial?


5. What on-site store sells food items, water, etc. and how are the prices?


Thank you!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Answer to #2....

http://www.swandolphinrestaurants.com/kidspass/index.html

I looked at it when my grandkids were with me the past two years. Did not take it. I would think it very restrictive on your overall eating options. You would have to be at the resort for the kids meals at the 'appropriate' times, and then the adults would most likely be wanting to eat there along with the child, as opposed to eating somewhere else. The value may be there, but certainly not the flexibility.

#3 Here is Personal Panty menu, if you have not seen it. I do think the prices are relatively decent, for a Disney deluxe resort. I have not tried it.

http://www.swandolphin.com/pantry/pantry_menu.pdf


#4 I think it is coffee maker, frig (both of which are in regular rooms also) and sink.

http://www.swandolphin.com/accommodations/exec.html

#5 Picabu sells those items. Not sure the prices, however, I am pretty sure they tack on a 13% 'service charge', even on grocery items, as is done on the meals at Picabu. The food is good there.

As for #1, I would think Picabu, Fresh, and possibly Garden Grove.