Experiences With Priceline (Swan and Dolphin)

[MikeWazowski]

I've read about people getting rates for the Swan or the Dolphin for $69 and under from priceline. How did you do it? How long did you stay with this rate? Was it worth it?

I plan on staying in WDW for about 7 to 10 days in Jan. 2004(I know I'm planning early). I would be willing to stay a few days at the dolphin or swan if I could get such a good rate.

Tell me the all I need to know. Thanks

 

[tar heel]

Priceline is great, and you can get some really good deals. In some cities, you can almost guarantee what hotel you're getting b/c there's only one participating in a certain area/star rating, but that is not the case in the Disney vicinity. If you bid $69 for a "resort" level hotel there, you might get Swan or Dolphin, but you also might get the Hilton, the Wyndom or the Marriott.

The website, biddingfortravel.com, is great for answering your priceline questions.

 

[wdwphanatic]

... for 2 rooms at the Dolphin for one night in May. I was pretty nervous about going this route, as I've definitely seen other people get off-site hotels when they bid. Since it was only for one night, however, I figured it was worth a try. I went through the biddingfortravel.com site and followed their directions. I saw that someone else had bid $69 that morning for a resort category/Disney area hotel and had gotten the Swan, so I bit the bullet and did exactly the same thing. I would have prefered to have gotten the Swan, mostly because of the fact that they have queen-size beds vs. doubles at the Dolphin, but for $69 I guess I really can't complain!! I've heard that it's better to wait closer until your trip to try Priceline, as you have a better chance of getting the S/D, so it may be too early to bid for a January stay now. Also, I'm not sure if you'd be as likely to get this rate for a lot of nights, so I'd probably only bid for 3-4 nights... I am a pretty cautious person, however, so take that advice with a grain of salt!

Good luck planning your vacation,
Sarah

 

[chrissyk]

Definitely wait to bid! You need good info on what other people are getting for their bids in this category before you bid. Biddingfortravel is a great resource for this. Keep checking the "Orlando" hotels board, and wait until you see your timeframe come up in posts. I just used biddingfortravel yesterday to research a bid. We wanted to get the Swan or Dolphin for 5/9-5/11. From the information posted on the Orlando hotels board there, I was able to discern that the Swan and Dolphin were coming up at about $69/night pretty reliably for my timeframe. I made my bid at $69/night and got the Swan I have found the info on biddingfortravel to be VERY reliable in the past for both hotels and rental cars. Do wait until there is a good amount of info on your timeframe and category before you bid, though! Also, familiarize yourself with "free rebidding" strategies (also on biddingfortravel). Good luck! I hope that the Swan and Dolphin are also coming up reliably for your timeframe when the time comes for you to bid.

 

[All Aboard]

Just adding another success. Got the Dolphin for $69 for the weekend of May 2. Made the bid today.

 

[CarolA]

There is NO gurantee and NO way out. I bid in the $69 for this past Satu4rday, a night several others said they had gotten Dolphin,. I got the Marriott. I like the Marriott and it was not a problem, I was prepared to accept any of the "resort' hotels. I would STRONGLY recommend not using Priceline if your vaction will be ruined by something other then the Swan/Dolphin. Also, please remember that you are guranteed only 1 bed with Priceline. I understand that the hotels in Orlando are pretty good about giving you the extra bed, but just in case!