Entertaining the idea of Swan or Dolphin

[Goofey Drool]

My wife is a teacher and I am wondering what experiences others have had here. Would we get a better rate than a mod with a discount teacher rate? Are the teacher rates year around or only certain times? and are the rooms any bigger than a mod...those rooms are kinda cramped when you have two early teen sons approaching 5'8 - 6'0". We have also been thinking of staying off site because I would like to stay near $150 a night. Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions.

 

[Sue M]

You can click on the Swan/Dolphin link above and on their site is a link to educators discount. It will tell you the rate for your dates. But be aware there is an additional resort fee, and if you have a car, parking fee too. I think you can also see room size on their web site too. If not look on Allears.net under Accomodations. They have fact sheets on all the resorts, and pics too.

I'd be interested to see others experience too. I can also get a teachers discount. And I love the Epcot area.

 

[Gibbygirl]

I have always wanted to stay at an Epcot area resort. This summer it's just myself & DD9 so I thought this might be the year. Knowing YC/BC & BWI were not an option ($$$) I looked at the S/D. I am also a teacher so I called about the special rate. The rate itself was good...but when I added the nightly resort fee, paying for transportation to/from the airport (since DME isn't available) and buying park tickets (even thru UT)--it would cost us about $300 more for the week vs. a mod. I just couldn't justify that for a mother/daughter trip. I weighed everything--believe me! In the end it was a no go. Then, as it turns out, I asked DD if she wanted to go back to CSR or CBR (we loved both.) She picked POP!?! So, in the end we're saving over $500. I'm fine with a value for just the two of us and now have all that extra $ for some yummy snacks! Still hoping to be able to do it one of these trips, but if not we can always visit on an Epcot day.

Good luck with your planning!

 

[Goofey Drool]

Thanks for the input....that's what I was looking for, some personal experience at these places. They look beautiful and I always wondered how people with a family liked them. It would be nice if our family could still do a value like when the kids were small. We stayed at CBR and POR in 2008 and 2009 but it was $300 cheaper then. The flights, meals, tickets are all more with the kids being teens now. I need to figure a way of cutting some corners so staying offsite might be the solution. Ugghh.... I don't want to drive from New Hampshire to Florida for a 7 day vacation but that's a saver too.

 

[MET270]

My wife and I stayed at the Swan 4 years ago and we absolutely loved it! The location is perfect, quick access to Epcot, HS, and the Boardwalk. The only down sides are no ME and no dining plan available. Since that trip we stayed at AKL, and are staying at CR this August. We would definitely stay at the Swan again!

 

[HM]

My sister and I took our two girls to Swan for a trip. We really liked the resort. The rooms were so comfortable and we had a great view toward DHS. At the end of the hall there was a window looking toward Epcot from which we watched Illuminations one night too. The location is wonderful.

 

[mrg013]

It's been a few years, but I've stayed at the Dolphin twice using my mom's teacher discount. We absolutely loved it both times and were able to get great rates that were in line with the moderates at the time.

Even if it's more money than a moderate when all is said and done, I would recommend the upgrade. The hotels are absolutely beautiful and deluxe in every way. You're definitely getting a room, location, and experience equivalent to those at YC/BC/BWI, but paying significantly less. It's not as if you're simply switching within the moderate category.

I'm also pretty sure the rooms at the Dolphin are bigger than at the moderates. They definitely felt like a nice size to us. I think they're somewhere in the 350 square foot range. I believe I read that the moderates are in the 310-315 range (However, I may be totally wrong on that).