CBR or SWAN/DOLPHIN

[shamrocks]

Hi, anyone have any suggestions or advise on which one of these is a better choice? We'll have 6 adults and 2 children in 2 rooms and will be there in July. We have stayed at CBR before and really like the pools and the atmosphere but never stayed at Swan/Dolphin.

Does it seem really crowded in the summer at the Swan? How is bus service there? Is there enough room for a crib or cot in the room? How are the pools? Do they have the Disney TV with bedtime stories and that ZIP-A-DEE-DO-DA station. (I know that sounds silly but we really enjoy being saturated with the magic 24-7.) Does it still seem like you're staying "at Disney" if you stay at the Swan?

I guess we're also concerened with how "on top" of each other we would feel at the Swan as opposed to the openness of the CBR.


Anything input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[dahess]

We stayed at the Dolphin & loved it so much we booked the Swan for our next trip. 55 days away!!

We have never stayed on Disney property, so I am not sure about the "Disney Feel". We did however go on the Disney Cruise Boat, whice was very "Disney" & loved it.

I can only answer a few questions!

We loved the pool at the Swan/Dolphin, that is 1 of the reasons we booked again.

We LOVE being so close to MGM & Epcot. We take the ferries to and from. It is a quick 5-10 minute drive & our kids loved it each time.

The bus service was great. We never waited real long for a bus, I do know however the buses stop at the Swan 1st, then the Dolphin.

My brother has stayed at CBR & Dolphin & he told me he would choose the Dolphin over a moderate again.

Have a great trip!

 

[CarolA]

I am pretty sure the Bedtime stories and Zip A Dee Do Dah Day are only at the Disney owned hotels.

 

[dtauer]

My kids may be different than yours, but they would both pick CBR over Swan without hesitation and so would we. The location of Swan/Dolphin is fantastic, the grotto pool is great, and the service for us was very good as well. However, we don't like the Swan nearly as much as CBR. We just didn't feel that the theming and "little touches" existed as they did at CBR.

I don't want to upset any of the many, many loyal Swan/Dolphin fans, but our family much prefers the Disney hotels to the Swan. For us, even though the Swan/Dolphin seem onsite due to the location, my kids still group our stay at the Swan with the other offsite locations we've stayed at.

I don't know about the bus transportation from Swan/Dolphin since we took the boat to Epcot and MGM when we were there. In the room we had, a cot would be tight, but no worse then at CBR.

If I remember correctly, when we stayed at the Swan, they didn't have the ZIP-A-DEE-DO-DA station. However, on our recent stay at the Wyndham Palms they did have that station, so it must be available on satellite for anyone to pull off. It was kind of strange to watch at an offsite resort because it kept referring us to guest services in the lobby of our hotel to make priority seatings, get park hours, etc. when of course the lobby at the Wyndham Palms wouldn't be able to do any of those things.