We are big fans of Swan/Dolphin. On the negative side, I believe the new resort fee is 18/night (up from 17), which does also include 2 bottles of water per day, so as long as you remember to "collect" those, really closer to 10/day. As others mentioned, you also have to pay for your own airport transportation (as well as parking, if you rent a car.) You also cannot participate in Dining Plan, but that is MUCH less of a bargain than it used to be (and Swan/Dolphin restaurants are not on Disneydining plan). On the plus side, Dolphin is probably the objectively nicest "hotel" on all of Disney property (with possible exception of Grand Floridian main building), with Swan a close second (others may flip them, but we prefer D). With the changes to Grand Floridian "quiet" pool, it is now really the only hotel with a second pool where you can do real lap swimming (and really the only Deluxe), and the Dolphin "big" pool also has a slide (just like the Disney hotels). They have a very nice playground (Yacht/Beach closed theirs a few years ago to expand sand-bottom play area for kids). The gym is arguably the nicest on property (and in fact there are two-one in Swan and one in Dolphin), the beds feel like a luxury hotel (not a motel), and the Dolphin's counter service is open 24 hours (or very nearly so)- I have gone well past midnight and VERY early a.m. when still dark outside. They also have a nice assortment of gourmet restaurants and their character dinners probably have the nicest food of any character meal at Disney (although a more limited selection of characters.) At least during our prior stays, Swan and Dolphin also had MUCH better wifi service than other sections of Disney parks or resorts, although I understand Disney hotels are peridoically improving (we are staying Beach Club in three weeks, so I hope so). They are maybe 100-150 yards further walking to Epcot than Boardwalk, and actually closest walk to both DHS and Fantasia mini-golf. As just noted, we are staying Beach Club next trip, so clearly we place some value on the "Disney magic", at least sometimes, but it was also because with the spring discounts, Beach Club and Dolphin were comparable and wanted to try something new. If comparing to a moderate, my wife literally would not let me choose a moderate over Dolphin. (And I would also be afraid to risk the decreased wifi reception - at least at Beach, I can go over to convention area at Yacht Club, which has very strong wifi.)
