Dolphin/Swan Bell Services?

[lelei]

We are currently debating visiting in May with a pretty awesome room rate at the Dolphin. However, I'm a bit worried about the lack of DME. Does anyone know if the bell services at these hotels will hold your bags until your room is ready?

Also, on departure day, would we be able to leave our bags will bell services until its time for us to head to the airport?

Thanks!

 

[TaraPA]

Absolutely, they have a great Bell Service staff.

I've stayed there many times & have used Bell Services each one, either on my arrival day before the room is ready, or on the last day after check out if I didn't need to be at the airport for awhile.

 

[lelei]

That's a relief, we really like the price and location but are a bit scared about not using DME.

Do they have anything similar to the Disney resort refillable mugs? My BF is a diet coke addict and we are a bit worried about how he's going to get his fix without the mugs.

Did you have any bus issues while staying there? I've read they share buses, but is this really an issue? We stayed at POFQ in 2010 and didn't find the shared buses to be an issue at all then.

Thanks again for the info!

 

[TaraPA]

Yes they have their own refilable mugs to use at Swan & Dolphin, but not at other resorts or parks.

You will fall in love with the location. You can walk or take the boat to Epcot and DHS. There are only buses to AK & MK - yes they are shared with BW, BC & YC but I've never had an issue at all.

Will you have a car or do you need transportation to/from MCO? I've used town car services, cabs & the Mears shuttle in my trips to S/D, so if you have questions on any of those I'd be happy to help.

 

[lelei]

Is Mears the cheapest?

How does it compare timewise to DME? It will just be me and my BF this trip, so I don't think the towncar would be a reasonable expense for only two people.

However, we do prefer the lowest stress methods- I hate how long it takes to get to and from the airport with DME.

We really like the look of the dolphin and swan and the location seems amazing! We've always done Disney resorts in the past, but the location and price really has me excited. When you book, do you go directly through the hotel site? We found a nice deal from Southwest, but I am not sure if its the cheapest.

Have you gotten the free upgrades upon check in before?

 

[TaraPA]

Mears is around $30 per person round trip - so $60 total, for both of you approximately. It is a shared shuttle, so it will take just as long as ME, but it is your cheapest option. Last time I used it, it was a good hour til I was at The Swan. You can check prices at www.mearstransportation.com. When I travel alone I use Mears.

I prefer a taxi when it's myself & the kids, or the family. It's $65 one way plus tip, but is your quickest option. A town car will run about $130 round trip - so actually about the same as a cab.

We are Starwood members so I always book through Starwood directly. Make sure you sign up to be a Starwood member, that is how you can get free upgrades, and earn points towards free nights. They used to give free upgrades to all Starwood members, now it's just Gold and Platinum status. I've gotten upgrades on half of my stays. S/D are often full to capacity because they're conference resorts, so sometimes an upgrade just isn't available.

 

[LaurenT]

Is Mears the cheapest?

How does it compare timewise to DME? It will just be me and my BF this trip, so I don't think the towncar would be a reasonable expense for only two people.

However, we do prefer the lowest stress methods- I hate how long it takes to get to and from the airport with DME.

We really like the look of the dolphin and swan and the location seems amazing! We've always done Disney resorts in the past, but the location and price really has me excited. When you book, do you go directly through the hotel site? We found a nice deal from Southwest, but I am not sure if its the cheapest.

Have you gotten the free upgrades upon check in before?

Do you happen to live in NY or Mass? They have an awesome Superbowl special going right now...

 

[lelei]

We are actually from Chicago

The deal we stumbled upon is being offered by Southwest. We are close to booking, but still trying to decide for sure.

Is there anything that the swan/dolphin lacks that the "official" Disney resorts would offer? Also, with the price difference between the hotels, are there any truly awesome benefits for booking the swan over the dolphin?

And finally, is it possible to walk over to the minigolf course from the hotel? They look close on the map, but I know that can be deceiving.

 

[TaraPA]

Yes you can walk over to the mini golf, it's right across the street & there's a crosswalk.

The difference between the hotels is that Swan has queen beds, Dolphin has doubles. Swan has 2 bathroom sinks - one in the little room with the toilet & one outside. Dolphin only has 1 bathroom sink, outside of the toilet room.

We prefer The Dolphin when the kids are along for the fact that Picabu, the only CS place to eat, is in Dolphin, as well as the laundry, arcade & access to the Grotto Pool. If those things don't matter to you then they're both pretty much the same!

The diff between S/D and the Disney resorts, other than no ME, is that you can't get the DDP, you can't have packages sent back to the resort, and lack of Disney theming. None of those have ever bothered us. When you look out your window (or step outside if you have a poor view) and can see Spaceship Earth in one direction, and ToT in the other, that's Disney themed enough for me!

Hope that helps!

 

[lizabu]

I agree with TaraPA. We stayed at the Swan recently and while it was great we were always walking over to the Dolphin. The Fountain has longer hours if you want ice cream than the Splash (what's the name? Terrace? Cafe?). Picabu has great to go meals so we got food there a lot. Laundry is at the Dolphin (nice if you want to pack light). The grotto pool is closer to the Dolphin (the kids swam every day).

For pop I understand. I have a Diet Pepsi habit too. We stopped at the super walmart on the way from the airport to the hotel and I bought a couple bigger bottles of pop and had it right in my room. The kids needed cereal and milk too. When we ran out of supplies my DH would walk over to the Hess station and buy a few things. Sometimes he just got off the bus at Beach Club and bought what he wanted at Hess and then walked back to the hotel. There's a mini grocery at Boardwalk but DH thought Hess was cheaper (not as cheap as a grocery store though). We brought 5 kids all teens and preteens and they eat non stop at that age so you may not need to stock up as much as we had to.

 

[jujube]

We are actually from Chicago

The deal we stumbled upon is being offered by Southwest. We are close to booking, but still trying to decide for sure.

Is there anything that the swan/dolphin lacks that the "official" Disney resorts would offer? Also, with the price difference between the hotels, are there any truly awesome benefits for booking the swan over the dolphin?

And finally, is it possible to walk over to the minigolf course from the hotel? They look close on the map, but I know that can be deceiving.

I don't think they lack a thing.
You can't get DDP, ME, or charging to your room but so what we don't miss those. We LOVE the S/D and I wish that rooms were available for our upcoming trip because that is where we'd stay.
Yes, the mini course is right across Epcot Resort Blvd. Just be careful!
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/swandolphmap.htm
I recommend Picabu downstairs at the Dolphin for a good quick meal.

 

[lelei]

Thank you soo much for the info! I am really getting super excited about this resort

We visited back in September and stayed at the Wilderness, but I have a preteen daughter who was at the height of sulkiness/rebellion at the time. One of the casualties was our time at Epcot and between behavior issues and my son having stomach issues, we did not get the chance to see any fireworks at all during our 12 night stay. We are hoping to sneak back to Disney just the two of us and spend the majority of our time enjoying Epcot and actually watching the fireworks and parades

Is the Hess station truly walking distance? Also, what are the smoking policies at the two hotels? I understand the rooms are most likely smoke free, but what about balconies? Are the smoking areas a pain to get to? It seemed like our last vacation my bf spent most of his time isolated in one of those smoker corrals, so it would be really nice if we could find a place where he could at least smoke on a balcony.

Thanks!

 

[lizabu]

The Hess station is across the street from Boardwalk hotels (I think I said Beach club by mistake previously). They have a bit of a parking lot to walk across but then it's right there. You can walk to Boardwalk in 5-10 minutes.

You're not supposed to smoke on the balconies. There is smoking allowed basically outside any door. If I saw one of those planters with the ashtray on top I figured it was ok to smoke and they have them at the boat stop, bus stop, each entrance to both hotels and in a corner near the pool. All of Disney seems pretty much the same. You will know it's ok to smoke because you will see one of those ashtray/garbage or planter things.

 

[lelei]

Thanks for all the great info!

We went ahead and booked 10 nights in May at the Dolphin, I am soo excited!