Do you really like the Swan and Dolphin?

[paras4ri]

We've stayed on-site 3 times...our first was POR....our second BC......our third was the Dolphin. In August we'll be trying the Swan and next year we already have plans to celebrate our 20th anniversary at the Dolphin. Nuff said for our family - we love both resorts!!!!

 

[utahkennedys]

You can stay at a Deluxe Disney Vacation Club Resort by renting points from a DVC Member. Boardwalk in lower seasons is about $90 night (no tax!) and Beach Club Villas would be $120 or so...a great deal!!! We just bought DVC and couldn't be happier because to me staying on Disney just has that "extra magic", although I have never stayed at the Swan or Dolphin b/c the building have no appeal to me.

 

[robinb]

I have stayed at both resorts and I find them just as nice as the "official" Disney resorts. FWIW, I prefer the Swan to the Dolphin because it's a bit smaller.

When the time comes you may want to look into renting points from a DVC member at BWV or BCV. The studios are perfect for a couple and they have a refigerator, microwave and toaster in the room. If you go on a Sun-Fri (5 nights) you can book BCV or BWV for between $120-$140 per night with no extra taxes, depending on when you go (Christmas, Easter excluded). Weekends are double.

 

[picantel]

We got back from the Dolphin a couple of weeks ago and although they are nice I also did not feel the disney magic. The hotel is beautiful and the staff is excellent and the beds were nice(although they are so thick I sweated alot) but it is not the same. The good deal was eating at shulas if you have children. They give you two free hours at camp dolphin for each child we have. Since it goes $10 an hour and we had 2 kids that was like getting $40 off the bill and my kids LOVED Camp dolphin. Make your ressies at 6:30. If you get your kids there by 6:30 they get to eat free at either the dolphin fountain or tubbis(fountain unless full). They get to pick out the foods they would like and get a special surprise dessert. Since you can pick them up at 8:30(we wandered around to give them extra time) they will get some arcade time. At 8:00 the kids are taken to the arcade and the doors are locked so no escapees. They are given a handful of tokens which turned out to be a rather large amount of tokens and my kids loved it. Also, in the actual camp dolphin room they have crafts, an actual arcade game, playstation 1 and 2, nintendo, ect. My kids loved all of this more disney I think and are dying to go back. With tip out meal was around $130 at Shulas which included wine, mixed drinks, some large steaks, tip, tax, and 2 appetizers. We had a great time. The kids had a great time and ate for free. I would highly recommend this. As for staying at the dolpin/swan again- I will not simply because I find the parking charges revolting and it is a matter of principle to me even if it is only $7.

 

[tamu91]

We stayed at Swan several times, thanks to our friends who worked for Westin , and it's a great hotel. Those heavenly beds are great. My wife likes Swan better than a 2 bdrm DVC villas, thanks to those beds .

 

[swilphil]

I've stayed at both the Swan and the Dolphin. They are both just as good as a Disney deluxe, and they offer some great rates. There's plenty of Disney magic there. We've had rooms with a view of the Epcot ball, the Boardwalk, or the Tower of Terror. If you are flexible with your dates, you might be able to get in for less than $150, especially since they are getting rid of the $10 resort fee. I'm wondering if S/D will be offering some great rates again to compete with Disney's new packages. Allears and Dreams Unlimited both list some of the special deals that S/D offers.

 

[robinb]

The good deal was eating at shulas if you have children. They give you two free hours at camp dolphin for each child we have. Since it goes $10 an hour and we had 2 kids that was like getting $40 off the bill and my kids LOVED Camp dolphin. Make your ressies at 6:30. If you get your kids there by 6:30 they get to eat free at either the dolphin fountain or tubbis(fountain unless full). They get to pick out the foods they would like and get a special surprise dessert. Since you can pick them up at 8:30(we wandered around to give them extra time) they will get some arcade time. At 8:00 the kids are taken to the arcade and the doors are locked so no escapees. They are given a handful of tokens which turned out to be a rather large amount of tokens and my kids loved it. Also, in the actual camp dolphin room they have crafts, an actual arcade game, playstation 1 and 2, nintendo, ect. My kids loved all of this more disney I think and are dying to go back. With tip out meal was around $130 at Shulas which included wine, mixed drinks, some large steaks, tip, tax, and 2 appetizers. We had a great time. The kids had a great time and ate for free.

My DD loves Camp Dolphin! She asks to go there every trip. We're on the NYW dining plan in August and I might even pay for an evening there as it's not a whole lot more expensive than paying for her meal at the Yachtman's Steakhouse .

 

[travlnman1]

Oh..and I forgot one more thing..
Not only is there the $10.00 per night fee (yea..I know..it's going away soon. We'll see) and the $7.00 parking plus the $25.00 per night for a rollway but also remember..NO MAGICAL EXPRESS.!! We ended up renting a car for our 4 days. That added another $100.00 to our bill. So, think about transfers as well when you are comparing prices at hotels.