Disney Vacation through Costco

[meadowlands]

The Main/feature pool is very nice, and the quiet pools are all nice as well. The main slide is fun & the theming here is really cool.



I basically just went onto the Disney site. They have a few different deals going on right now..Give it a look.https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resort-add-ons/tickets/

Awesome...thanks!

 

[bumbershoot]

When working out travel plans including what package, or package vs room only, I get a notebook and just start getting prices and comparing.

The only way to know what's best is to research and find that out.

At what restaurants will kids eat free? Will you go there? What would feeding YOUR child cost each day anyway? Does she barely nibble or does she really eat? What does she like? Wdwinfo.com (that's the info side of the Dis) and allears.net have menus and prices so you can get a feel for what's available and generally what it would cost.

What are the perks you get from a plain old booking at the hotel (early entry) and what are being obtained through the package? You don't want to possibly overpay for perks you though were from Costco but could have been gotten cheaper.

Is the Dolphin and Swan even any good

Yes.

Are the pools nice there for the kid?

Helpful hint...most kids just like a pool, any pool.

The port orleans resorts allow you to choose between them so there are several pool options between riverside and French quarter.

 

[meadowlands]

When working out travel plans including what package, or package vs room only, I get a notebook and just start getting prices and comparing.

The only way to know what's best is to research and find that out.

At what restaurants will kids eat free? Will you go there? What would feeding YOUR child cost each day anyway? Does she barely nibble or does she really eat? What does she like? Wdwinfo.com (that's the info side of the Dis) and allears.net have menus and prices so you can get a feel for what's available and generally what it would cost.

What are the perks you get from a plain old booking at the hotel (early entry) and what are being obtained through the package? You don't want to possibly overpay for perks you though were from Costco but could have been gotten cheaper.



Yes.



Helpful hint...most kids just like a pool, any pool.

The port orleans resorts allow you to choose between them so there are several pool options between riverside and French quarter.

Sounds good! Thanks for the tips. Still working through all the options. My kid usually eats just fries so for her eating is not an issue. That is more for the wife and I

 

[DJFan88]

Also FYI to me the Mandarin thing is a useless perk. There are a few lower price things, but it is still going to cost you extra to use it, and are you going each day? Or does the benefit accumulate to 1 good spa session? http://www.swandolphin.com/activities/pdf/mandara_spa_price_list.pdf?
Agree POR is great! Went to Dolphin, its fine, but if its your first Disney trip, I'd enjoy the Disney environment at one of their resorts. There is a different in that regards.

 

[Nancyg56]

I would start pricing on the Disney website. I just checked your dates and saw a discount in place that would bring your resort and ticket price in line with what I think you may have from Costco, but you will be completely onsite with onsite benefits. For my family it is the transportation that matters a great deal/


The location of the S&D is really nice, but I would still prefer onsite.

I also would not purchase hoppers unless you have planned two parks in one day. hoppers seem nice and we will sometimes purchace them, but I need to know that we will use them. LAst time I bought them for the 9 of us we used them one time. I was not happy.

 

[meadowlands]

POR looks nice and the transportation to and from the airport is huge. I am leaning towards standard tickets and staying at POR. Will save me $600 over the Costco trip too which I can use for better food etc.

 

[DizDaD7]

POR looks nice and the transportation to and from the airport is huge. I am leaning towards standard tickets and staying at POR. Will save me $600 over the Costco trip too which I can use for better food etc.

Sounds good...Have a great trip...

 

[meadowlands]

Thank you everyone for the help!

 

[chris benton]

I did the Costco pkg, and stayed at Swan in November - 5 nights.
Random thoughts:
The free restaurants are the Garden Grove and Fresh Meditteranean. Fresh Med closes after lunch, therefore, free dinner is Garden Grove only. I do believe it will include the buffet options at BOTH. Garden Grove offers a few different themed buffets at dinner, but it "hypes" the seafood sensation buffet on Saturday night, I believe. Reviews are all over the map for it. We did the weekday Breakfast BUffet at GG one day. It was overpriced, but decent, all in all. We didn't eat there at any other meal. We halfway planned the seafood buffet, but when I peaked in at it, it looked kinda tired. That is just my opinion. The breakfast buffet was plentiful, and the good stuff on the breakfast buffet was VERY good, but the bad stuff was VERY bad.

If you are sushi eaters, Kimonos should be a plan. It's not fantastic, but it's very good for disney for the price. It didn't seem like disney highway robbery for the quality at all. Matter of fact, if we do the Coscto package again, we'll eat at Kimonos at least twice.

Their pool complex is AWESOME. The Swan has one big rectangular pool and a hot tub, but if you take a quick stroll across to the Dolphin pool, they have a sprawling pool system. It's just freekin awesome. Two of the pools are heated, there's a slide, a kiddie splash type thing, and three or four hot tubs. Also, behind the waterfall, there's a very decent sized seating area with bathrooms. The Swolphin pool complex is AWESOME.

Ok, so you will not be able to get the dining plan, but if you do your math, and figure out that the dining plan would be a waste of money, then just throw that out of the window. Remember, you PAY for your meals on the dining plan, and if you overpay for those meals, then what's the point? Yes, you can absolutely make the cost worth it by incorporating character meals, or ordering the expensive items, I totally get it. BUt for us, NOT doing the dining plan was a no brainer for the way we eat. We'd probably wind up throwing a ton of food away (but still paying for it.)

The location - ten minute walk to epcot. Quick boat ride to both Epcot and Hollywood. And then, just to throw this out there -on top of the restaurants at Swan and Dolphin that will be a quick walk from your room, you HAVE to include the restaurants and street shows at the Boardwalk because it is basically at the hotel's back door. (Pro Tip: Ample Hills Creamery on the Boardwalk for ice cream is fkn fantastic; I thought the Boardwalk Bakery was a letdown.) You can also walk to Hollywood - 15 minutes-ish. The epcot walk is seriously 10 minutes. It's RIGHT THERE!

The Costco price is the price. There is no hidden fee. If you get a car, you will have to pay the parking fee though.

The hotel rooms and amenities are usually described as deluxe feel with the moderate price. You'll have to add some money for your trip to the hotel from the airport. I'd suggest 150.00 which will include a decent car service to the hotel, and uber to get back to the airport - (uber cannot pick you up from airport proper, or else it would be 100.00 round trip. )

Now, use the disney site to price out a value / moderate / deluxe hotel rate with the same hopper tickets. I'd guess if you wanted to be very similar, try pricing out one of the Epcot resorts?

Now factor in the dining plan vs what you'd REALLY eat for meals - really add up some restaurant costs by looking at menus of places you'd go to.

Now go back to the costco package, and remember, that price is THE PRICE. No hidden fees. I thought it was too good to be true, or maybe I was overlooking something.

I would be happy to try and answer any specifics that you post.
We had a fantastic time. The Mrs had really no interest in Disney. She is a frequent traveler, and she does stay at pretty decent hotels. She rated The Swan pretty high, and I think that helped her really enjoy the Disney experience. She wants to go again. For all who say the Swan isn't a full Disney Resort experience, I have no reason to not believe them. But I will say we had an absolute blast, and would not hesitate to book the Costco pkg again. We do not need all of the Disney "in your face, all the time" experience though. I posted a quick report in one of the Swan threads, but I'll happily try to share info on specifics if you have any questions. The Costco experience was great also. I had no questions about ANYTHING. ONce we booked, they sent us an email or three, and everything was smooth as silk. Instructions, reservation numbers - all that. Silky smooth. Grade A experience in my book.

 

[meadowlands]

I did the Costco pkg, and stayed at Swan in November - 5 nights.
Random thoughts:
The free restaurants are the Garden Grove and Fresh Meditteranean. Fresh Med closes after lunch, therefore, free dinner is Garden Grove only. I do believe it will include the buffet options at BOTH. Garden Grove offers a few different themed buffets at dinner, but it "hypes" the seafood sensation buffet on Saturday night, I believe. Reviews are all over the map for it. We did the weekday Breakfast BUffet at GG one day. It was overpriced, but decent, all in all. We didn't eat there at any other meal. We halfway planned the seafood buffet, but when I peaked in at it, it looked kinda tired. That is just my opinion. The breakfast buffet was plentiful, and the good stuff on the breakfast buffet was VERY good, but the bad stuff was VERY bad.

If you are sushi eaters, Kimonos should be a plan. It's not fantastic, but it's very good for disney for the price. It didn't seem like disney highway robbery for the quality at all. Matter of fact, if we do the Coscto package again, we'll eat at Kimonos at least twice.

Their pool complex is AWESOME. The Swan has one big rectangular pool and a hot tub, but if you take a quick stroll across to the Dolphin pool, they have a sprawling pool system. It's just freekin awesome. Two of the pools are heated, there's a slide, a kiddie splash type thing, and three or four hot tubs. Also, behind the waterfall, there's a very decent sized seating area with bathrooms. The Swolphin pool complex is AWESOME.

Ok, so you will not be able to get the dining plan, but if you do your math, and figure out that the dining plan would be a waste of money, then just throw that out of the window. Remember, you PAY for your meals on the dining plan, and if you overpay for those meals, then what's the point? Yes, you can absolutely make the cost worth it by incorporating character meals, or ordering the expensive items, I totally get it. BUt for us, NOT doing the dining plan was a no brainer for the way we eat. We'd probably wind up throwing a ton of food away (but still paying for it.)

The location - ten minute walk to epcot. Quick boat ride to both Epcot and Hollywood. And then, just to throw this out there -on top of the restaurants at Swan and Dolphin that will be a quick walk from your room, you HAVE to include the restaurants and street shows at the Boardwalk because it is basically at the hotel's back door. (Pro Tip: Ample Hills Creamery on the Boardwalk for ice cream is fkn fantastic; I thought the Boardwalk Bakery was a letdown.) You can also walk to Hollywood - 15 minutes-ish. The epcot walk is seriously 10 minutes. It's RIGHT THERE!

The Costco price is the price. There is no hidden fee. If you get a car, you will have to pay the parking fee though.

The hotel rooms and amenities are usually described as deluxe feel with the moderate price. You'll have to add some money for your trip to the hotel from the airport. I'd suggest 150.00 which will include a decent car service to the hotel, and uber to get back to the airport - (uber cannot pick you up from airport proper, or else it would be 100.00 round trip. )

Now, use the disney site to price out a value / moderate / deluxe hotel rate with the same hopper tickets. I'd guess if you wanted to be very similar, try pricing out one of the Epcot resorts?

Now factor in the dining plan vs what you'd REALLY eat for meals - really add up some restaurant costs by looking at menus of places you'd go to.

Now go back to the costco package, and remember, that price is THE PRICE. No hidden fees. I thought it was too good to be true, or maybe I was overlooking something.

I would be happy to try and answer any specifics that you post.
We had a fantastic time. The Mrs had really no interest in Disney. She is a frequent traveler, and she does stay at pretty decent hotels. She rated The Swan pretty high, and I think that helped her really enjoy the Disney experience. She wants to go again. For all who say the Swan isn't a full Disney Resort experience, I have no reason to not believe them. But I will say we had an absolute blast, and would not hesitate to book the Costco pkg again. We do not need all of the Disney "in your face, all the time" experience though. I posted a quick report in one of the Swan threads, but I'll happily try to share info on specifics if you have any questions. The Costco experience was great also. I had no questions about ANYTHING. ONce we booked, they sent us an email or three, and everything was smooth as silk. Instructions, reservation numbers - all that. Silky smooth. Grade A experience in my book.

Thanks for the info! Going through Disney, I assume they bill you for the resort fee as well? I see through Costco that the resort fee is included. Plus you get park hopper no matter what, which after reading, is probably something I would not use and just need "standard" tickets. So if I went through Costco no airfare, it comes to about $2800 with the following:

Included Extras

• $25 daily credit at Mandara Spa (valid for travel through 5/31/17, book by 3/1/17)
• Up to two children 9 and younger eat free (valid for travel through 5/31/17, book by 3/1/17)
• Extra Magic Hours: Each day one of the four Disney theme parks opens one hour early or stays open up to two hours after regular closing for resort guests
• Upgrade from Traditional Room (reflected in price)
• Complimentary transportation to the four Walt Disney World® theme parks, Disney's Water Parks and Disney Springs™

Vacation Includes

• WALT DISNEY WORLD® 5-Day MAGIC YOUR WAY Tickets with PARK HOPPER® Option
• Five nights in a Swan or Dolphin Resort-View Room
• Daily resort fee
• All applicable taxes

The other option booking directly through Disney is the same price and includes the following:

Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside
5-Day Tickets (Includes 5th Day FREE)
Disney's Magical Express Service (Complimentary Airport Transfer Service)
Round trip between airport (MCO) and your Disney Resort hotel.

The thing is I am not sure if the taxes/resort fee is included in the price.

So with Costco I do not get the airport service but all fees included.

Tough decision lol! Leaning towards Doplhin/Swan through Costco although staying on premises is nice.

 

[dprincessmom]

Hi All, first time poster!

The Wife and kid and I are looking to book a vacation from April 17-22 this year. Was checking out some of the Costco packages and wanted to get some thoughts on the value here. Booking at the Swan and Dolphin gives me all of the following:

Included Extras

• $25 daily credit at Mandara Spa (valid for travel through 5/31/17, book by 3/1/17)
• Up to two children 9 and younger eat free (valid for travel through 5/31/17, book by 3/1/17)
• Extra Magic Hours: Each day one of the four Disney theme parks opens one hour early or stays open up to two hours after regular closing for resort guests
• Upgrade from Traditional Room (reflected in price)
• Complimentary transportation to the four Walt Disney World® theme parks, Disney's Water Parks and Disney Springs™

Vacation Includes

• WALT DISNEY WORLD® 5-Day MAGIC YOUR WAY Tickets with PARK HOPPER® Option
• Five nights in a Swan or Dolphin Resort-View Room
• Daily resort fee
• All applicable taxes

For around $3,800 all in, is this a decent deal or am I better booking through somewhere else?

Thanks!

I was just pricing out a fun and sun special for 3 adults and a 13 year old at the Poly - it included 5 day tickets and a 4 night stay and was less than the price you have listed. There are a bunch of specials available directly from Disney right now that may work with your travel dates. I would check there first, if you can't find one there you could come back to this deal but I think you may do better.

 

[meadowlands]

Actually if I do change the tickets through costco it comes out to 2600 which is not too bad

 

[DizDaD7]

I was just pricing out a fun and sun special for 3 adults and a 13 year old at the Poly - it included 5 day tickets and a 4 night stay and was less than the price you have listed. There are a bunch of specials available directly from Disney right now that may work with your travel dates. I would check there first, if you can't find one there you could come back to this deal but I think you may do better.

Yes but you priced it for 3 for 4 nights, they have it for 5 nights...Huge difference right there...

 

[DizDaD7]

You can't underestimate the power that a WDW resort will have on you. That said, There's no way you can put a price on being inside the bubble...All WDW resorts have that affect. Some more than others......The Swolphin all though nice, only gives you a small dose of that at best... Definitely better than staying offsite, but never will it compare to the full experience..IMHo that is Just sayin.

 

[hodad]

I just checked deals for Disney resorts using your dates and details, and assuming you fly Spirit as mentioned above, here are the rough estimates of prices for various Disney resorts, including flights, airport shuttle and 5-day non-parkhopper tickets:

Pop Century $2700
Caribbean Beach $3100
Old Key West $3600
Wilderness Lodge: $3900
Yacht Club $4200
Contemporary $5300

And Port Orleans French Quarter isn't available for the Fun & Sun discount but still comes out to $3400 without a discount.

The price Disney quotes you includes all taxes and fees, so you pay what you see.

It sounds like the Costco deal at the Swan & Dolphin is priced somewhere between Old Key West and the Wilderness Lodge, which seems about right. The Costco deal isn't any better than Disney deals, and you should stay where you want. I'd stay at the Wilderness Lodge.

 

[chris benton]

I just checked deals for Disney resorts using your dates and details, and assuming you fly Spirit as mentioned above, here are the rough estimates of prices for various Disney resorts, including flights, airport shuttle and 5-day non-parkhopper tickets:

Pop Century $2700
Caribbean Beach $3100
Old Key West $3600
Wilderness Lodge: $3900
Yacht Club $4200
Contemporary $5300

And Port Orleans French Quarter isn't available for the Fun & Sun discount but still comes out to $3400 without a discount.

The price Disney quotes you includes all taxes and fees, so you pay what you see.

It sounds like the Costco deal at the Swan & Dolphin is priced somewhere between Old Key West and the Wilderness Lodge, which seems about right. The Costco deal isn't any better than Disney deals, and you should stay where you want. I'd stay at the Wilderness Lodge.

I don't really have a dog in the fight here, only that I think the Swan is a nice place. I have absolutely nothing against ANY of the Disney hotels. Half based on late night research, and half based on hearsay, and half based on assumption, I think the closest comparison should be to the Yacht Club (deluxe epcot resort.) Most of what I've read says the Swolphin has most of the characteristics of a Disney Deluxe Resort. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. I didn't fine toothed comb that, but I have seen that written on several of the respected sites.

My pricing was for a November trip, and it worked out to basically be the Costco pkg or value resort. Pretty close to same price. I did want the hoppers for our touring, I had no interest in the dining plan. Obviously, with better offers in play, then it changes comparisons.

Meadowlands - you'll make the right choice, just keep tinkering and comparing. Keep in mind the proximity to Hollywood and Epcot. You have the Friendship boats at your disposal, and walking is even faster if there's a big line for the boat. The onsite restaurants are said to be better than a lot of Disney restaurants, with better prices - I can't vouch for that one at all, I can only say that Kimonos was a very good value for the quality of sushi, the Fountain was probably better "diner style" food than I would expect from any Disney restaurant for the same price, and Garden Grove had both fantastically good, and fantastically horrible stuff on their buffet when we went. We also did Picabu (the cafeteria-ish style joint) at Dolphin, and I'd say it was probably right in line with Disney QS pricing, but a step up in quality with what they had on offer.

Again, I'm not really pro or con, just stating that for us, it worked out extremely well for price and convenience. We really enjoyed the room, the resort, the pool complex, and being able to walk to and from epcot before even really thinking about how far the walk was, was VERY nice. It was like you start walking, then you think, "there's the boardwalk, oh, look at that bird, I wonder if the bakery is any good," and then BAM, you're at the Epcot bag check, or BAM, you're at the hotel door. I didn't do the Hollywood walking path, but I've read it's like 15 minutes. If you plan to spend more than one day at Hollywood and or Epcot, keep the location in mind. And yes, you can customize your tickets, and even (if available) choose a cheaper room with Costco, no? Also, although the DME is included with the Disney resorts, I kinda liked being able to arrange a car service pickup and stop for groceries, and on the return to the airport, I chose what time to have Uber get me. (Uber is absofreakinlutely fantastic - super quick and cheap!)

Oh yeah. Also, the "Heavenly Beds." Read the reviews.

I probably sound like a Swan ad campaign, but really, I'm not anti any of the other resorts. Swan just really impressed us, and the Costco pkg just really fit into our plans well.

 

[Mrs.Milo]

Everyone posting here is going to have their favorite resort, and we all make our choices based on personal experience and likes. I find the Swan and Dolphin to be in the Disney Bubble and beautiful rooms. They are resort level hotels in a much better location than any moderate of Disney. I say this having stayed at the Swan or Dolphin appx 8 times over the last 15 years, plus all monorail and Epcot deluxe resorts, Allstar, POR and POFQ, Old Key, and the Boardwalk where we now own DVC.

With your style of touring parks, you might not need park hoppers, but we get them each time we go (or have an annual pass). We never do more than a half day at Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom. We usually come back to the room for a swim or to take a break in the afternoon, then can go to any park we choose for the evening.

Again, how will you your time there? I'm sure you'll have a great time wherever you stay!

 

[JerseyJanice]

First off, I just have to say it--the Swan and Dolphin ARE on site. They aren't owned and operated by Disney, but they are absolutely inside DisneyWorld and on site.

I have stayed at multiple Disney resorts at all price levels. I have positive things to say about each one. I don't think you can go wrong at any of them so whatever you decide, I think you'll be happy.

My last stay was this past October at the Swan. I was utterly blown away by how wonderful it was. Every aspect of our stay was fantastic--the rooms, the pools, the food, the service--everything was awesome.

My trip was with a large family group and we got to and from the airport in various ways. Based on our experiences, I think the most economical way for two people with a child is to take a shuttle bus from the airport and get Uber for the ride back. You really won't need a car at the resort. The location is premium, and the boat to Epcot and the Studios is a delight.

I'm near the Meadowlands so I'm a neighbor plus I'm a Costco member. I haven't used them for travel, but no way will they rip you off. My nephew joined Costco when he was planning his honeymoon in Hawaii so he could use their travel services for hotels and inter-island flights.

 

[JerseyJanice]

One thing I want to say is that I don't know how old your child is or how social she wants to be. Disney resort main pools usually have a lot of kids in them; they can be hectic. The Swan/Dolphin main pool is much calmer than what you encounter at Disney resorts. It feels spa-like. This can be a good thing--or not if your child will be looking to play with other kids.

 

[chris benton]

One thing I want to say is that I don't know how old your child is or how social she wants to be. Disney resort main pools usually have a lot of kids in them; they can be hectic. The Swan/Dolphin main pool is much calmer than what you encounter at Disney resorts. It feels spa-like. This can be a good thing--or not if your child will be looking to play with other kids.

I have to assume that this will totally depend on the number of resort guests at the time, but we went during half marathon weekend, just before "Jersey Week," and spent at least two hours at the pool every day. I'd say we never saw more than 15 people, and usually it was less than 10. Our son made quick friends whenever there were a few kids around (we brought diving sticks and water guns.)

Spa-like is a VERY apt description.
They even have scheduled pool activities (craft making, sno-cone making, trivia contests) which were laid back, and then they had the one Dolphin restaurant/bar sending servers over with drink and food menus. I really can't say enough about how chill the pools were. Spa-Like - YES!

I'm going to try to score free dining this year, but if I can't, or if the free dining+ full priced room isn't really worth it, I'll be happily booking the Costco pkg.