First Timer - S/D - Questions

[PamNC]

I'm so excited - my DH and I decided this weekend to spend Thanksgiving at Disney. We're actually leaving Turkey Day and coming back the following Monday. A quick long weekend trip. It was hard to find a room with a discount but we did manage to get the Swan for $161.00 + tax and resort fee of course.

We've never stayed at the Swan so I would love to hear from S/D veterans - tell me all your tips and why I'll love the Swan. Also have a big question. Staying at the true Disney resorts, you know you get a sheet of paper to put in your car with your resort name and check out date so you can move freely around and park at the theme parks for free - and visit the other Disney resorts. We want to do a lot of Disney resort visiting because we want to see the Xmas decorations. Do you get the same little sheet of paper with the S/D?

We booked a standard room - what type of room request would you suggest? We want a balcony and would love something to look at other than a parking lot.

Any and all help will be appreciated.

This is our first try at a non-Disney owned visit. We've stayed at All Star, CBR, CS, CR, GF, YC/BC, Poly so far. Here's hoping we'll love the Swan....


PamNC

 

[GillianR]

We recently stayed at the Swan Hotel for 1 week and I would highly recommend this hotel. As for a standard room vs a deluxe, we were lucky enough to get an upgrade to a deluxe which included a balcony. I think this was due to being a Starwood member. Depending on the rate difference I would only suggest a balcony room if it is not much more. While I was getting ready in the morning my husband would go to Tubbies and pick up breakfast. We would sit on the balcony and eat before heading to the parks. The balcony is small but if there is only two people it will be fine. We did have a view of the water which was nice but in the end we did not spend a lot of time on the balcony.

 

[PamNC]

Thanks for the info. Does this mean that no standard rooms have balconies? We love having a balcony but this trip is going to be a such a quick one so I doubt we'll do as much "balcony time." I don't want to pay a lot more for it. We've already been twice this year so we don't want to break the bank this time.

PamNC

 

[GillianR]

As far as I know standard rooms do not have a balcony. From reading dreams unlimited travel website, there are standard rooms that have a water view so maybe you could request that. I am not sure if there is a higher charge or not. I cannot answer your question regarding parking, we rented a car for a couple of days from National at the Dolphin hotel but we were not given a pass for a car. But then again we did not know to ask for that, so maybe the best thing is to e-mail the hotel.

I think you will love the Swan and if you and your partner want a nice dinner, make reservations at Schula's. We had the most amazing meal, although it is not cheap. But the meal was well worth the price and you will not regret it.

PS if you go to the Swan have a Krispy Kreme donut for me from Tubbies. I think I kept them in business during the week I was there.

 

[Connears]

We loved the Swan when we stayed 12/28-1/02/04. We stayed CL for $214 teacher's rate on 11th floor. We had a great view of TOT @ MGM, the waterway to MGM and BWV. It faced the front entrance to Swan. Everyone was so helpful and great service everywhere. You will love the convenient location to Epcot and MGM.
Connears

 

[PamNC]

Bumping - does anyone know the answer to my question about the sheets that go on your dash that you get at the regular Disney resorts?

This might be an issue for us as we want to check out the other resorts to see the decorations.

Thanks!

Pam

 

[Muffy]

Parking is free at the parks when staying at the S/D. You just show your room key. Hope this helps!

Muffy

 

[diathoney]

I requested a top floor, quiet location when I stayed at the Swan. We were on a high floor (8 or 9th I think?) looking at the Dolphin, boardwalk and boat dock. No balcony, but a nice view. If you stood off to the side of the window we could just see the Spaceship Earth. The rooms are quiet, the location is great and I love the beds! I'd definitely stay again if the price was right.

 

[finnie48]

Swan -

Hey pamNC,

We were at the Swan for a week in August and loved every minute of our stay. Had a room with balcony, but it was extra - no free upgrades this trip. Beds are fantastic! Hotel was spotless in all areas. Coffee at the Lobby Court Lounge is the best I've had at WDW - CM said it was some Italian blend. We much preferred this over what we had in the room, even though it was a bit pricey.

There is a Disney desk around the corner from check-in and right next to it is Concierge. At the Swan (would guess Dolphin too), you do not have to be at concierge rate to take advantage of this service - it is open to all guests. All the staff at both of these locations, as well as at check-in and bell services were just great.

You will not have to pay for parking at any of the parks. Would imagine you will be boating or walking to EPCOT and MGM. Have a most magical trip!!!

Peg & Bob

 

[floridagirrl2]

We were at the Dolphin this past weekend at a low Travelocity rate ($315 for 2 nights included all taxes and resort fees). Our standard room had a very nice water view and we could see parts of Downtown Disney. We were told a balcony would be $30.00 more per night--not worth it for us.

 

[Uncle Albert]

I think there is a walkway to MGM. Am I right?

Uncle Albert

 

[PamNC]

for the input. Glad to hear parking is free with my S/D room key. Question though - how about going from resort to resort? If we don't have that sheet in our dash like you get at the Disney resorts, will we be able to drive to resorts to visit? We definitely want to do this because we want to see the X-mas decorations.

I'm going to keep calling to see if we can get the YC or BC all the while keeping this reservation. We couldn't get an AP discount at either of those but they did have it at the Swan/Dolphin.

Thanks for the encouragement - I'm feeling better already. Now, once I can determine that I can visit the other resorts without any problem, I'll be very very happy!

PamNC

 

[Muffy]

Originally posted by PamNC
Question though - how about going from resort to resort? If we don't have that sheet in our dash like you get at the Disney resorts, will we be able to drive to resorts to visit?
PamNC [/B]

Yes, just show the guard your room key.

 

[chris44]

We stayed at the Swan for 3 nights, including during Hurricane Jeanne, and we loved it. We did get upgraded to a balcony room due to being Starwood Preferred Guest, but then the hurricane winds drove lots of rain water under the balcony doors and soaked our carpet. The hotel provided lots of towels so we could try to soak it up - I felt bad about the new carpet.

Anyway, as others have said, the beds are wonderful, having double sinks is really nice, and the staff was great and very helpful, especially during the hurricane. The restaurants were open, and Sunday afternoon they even had a van that would shuttle people back and forth between the Swan & Dolphin. (There's a lot more to do at the Dolphin during a hurricane - game room, more restaurants - so we went over there for a while just to get out of the room and do something different.)

We had a great experience at the Swan, then went on the cruise, then stayed at the Dolphin after the cruise and loved it too!!