Just Back from Swan Stay

[Feralpeg]

DD and I got home yesterday from a 4 day stay at the Swan. I will be happy to answer any questions. We had a brief but enjoyable stay. You can't beat the Swan for location! Had a great time at MNSSHP on 10/31. Sorry we couldn't stay longer!

 

[bugbugmom]

How was the bus service to the parks? Did you have to share the buses with other resorts?

 

[Feralpeg]

The bus service was good, however we only used the bus to go to and from Magic Kingdom. We took the boat to Epcot and Mgm. You do share bus service with the Dolphin and Boardwalk. The Swan is picked up first, followed by the Dolphin and the Boardwalk. The order is reversed returning from the parks.

 

[Miffy]

Hi Feralpeg.

Did you like the redesigned room? I mean, was it aesthetically pleasing as well as comfortable? I've seen pictures, but being there is of course totally different and I'd love to hear what you thought. My dh and I are going to be at the Swan (for the first time) for 9 nights soon and I'm hoping we'll like the room, since we tend to spend a bit of time there.

Also, if you think of anything else, please keep on typing! All info is much appreciated.

Thanks so much. --miffy--

 

[jwfla422]

Miffy
We're at at the Swan right now. We've stayed here at least 5-6 times in the past and this is our first stay since the renovations...I have to say now...I don't know how we could stay anywhere else anymore (except the Dolphin)..the rooms are beautiful, they did an amazing job with the decor. Almost every little thing has been renovated too. The beds are quite amazing, really.

As I posted on another thread, I'm not the best sleeper, I usually wake up during the night and then it can sometimes take forever to fall back to sleep. Although I'm still up a few times here, I fall back to sleep in seconds! The beds are so comfy, just can't explain.

We have a fabulous studio room overlooking the courtyard and Dolphin resort area. I could see the fireworks at MGM from our balcony over the middle of the hotel the other night.

Bugbugmom
We've had no problems with the bus service. We've used the bus to MK and AK in the morning. Both times we've only stopped at the Dolphin and BW after, probably because the previous bus filled up at the YC/BC after the S/D stops so the next bus skips there and goes to the BW. Takes maybe 15 minutes, sure beats driving.

During off peak times the buses usually go to the Swan, Dolphin, YC, BC and then the BW...it seems like a lot but it is still quicker than driving to a park, parking, walking to the tram, then taking the tram to the entrance or in MK's case, having to take the tram to the monorail and then finally getting to the main gate.

 

[Feralpeg]

I agree with jwfla422 on all she said. The only thing I didn't like were the pillows. There were plenty of them, but they weren't very firm. I'm used to a firm pillow. I had to bunch 3 of them together to give me the support I am used to. Small problem.

 

[Miffy]

jwfla422 and feralpeg: Thanks so much for all the info.

--miffy--

 

[mep319]

ferelpeg--have you stayed at any of the other disney resorts (which ones?) and how do they compare? Do you still feel part of it all? Thanks for the report....we were at AKL during the same period....I wish I was back!

 

[Feralpeg]

Yes, we've stayed at each of the moderates, FW Cabin and Disney Institute. The room was bigger than any of the moderates we stayed in. The beds were great and the room very nicely decorated. I must admit that I did not feel the same atmosphere that we felt at the Disney hotels (with the possible exception of the Disney Institute). It felt like any other nice hotel I've stayed at in other cities. However, I loved the location. Being so close to Boardwalk, MGM and Epcot were wonderful. The room was very quiet. We heard an occassional voice. At the Disney moderates, noise has always been an issue for me. I know that some people were concerned about the air conditioning system. Although it was a little stuffy when we first entered the room, it cooled down very quickly. DD wasn't crazy about it because the vent seemed to direct air right toward her bed. She said it made her face cold. I thought it was fine.

We did have one issue that you might want to be aware of. We elected not to run a line of credit and did not use the minibar. We had bought some water and brought to the room. On the day we arrived, I brought a can of diet coke to the room. DD had a bottle of water. We put the bottles in the trash can. When we returned to the room the following day, there was a slip indicating that we were being charged for a diet coke and a bottle of water from the minibar. The charge was $5.90. It seemed pretty obvious to me that the person did not check the minibar. They simply saw the containers in the trash and assumed we had taken them from the minibar. From that point on, we threw any drink containers away outside of the room. No, I did not fight with them over the $5.90. It just didn't seem worth the trouble.

Hope this information helps! In case anyone cares, my favorite Disney stay was at the Disney Institute. I hated to see them close!

 

[Toadi]

Feralpeg ... our family hated to see the Institute close also. We've stayed there 4 times since '96 and loved the 2BR townhouses. Granted, DI is not really themed, but we got enough "theming' during the day and loved the 2 1/2 bathrooms and room to bring my brother or adult daughter. Enjoyed the kitchen, etc. Looking forward to their re-opening to see if we can stay there again .. not sure now that it will be a DVC location. We've stayed at the Dolphin and will be at the Swan very soon, so appreciated your post. We've just had our first few days of snow and cold here in South Dakota, so looking forward to Florida weather!

 

[Lady from NYC]

totally agree about the pillows. thought they were horribly flat and had trouble sleeping on them

the buses were really crowded the first two days were were there (oct. 29th and 30th). the bus to the MK stopped at S/D, YC/BC and then BW. took awhile with all the pickups bus but not too bad the 1st night to the MK, but the second day we took a bus to Typhoon Lagoon and i am not exaggrating that with all the stops and then going to DTD and the Marketplace it took us over 45 minutes to get the H2O park then the next two days, the bus situation improved greatly--over the weekend there were direct buses from S/D to the MK. the YC/BC had there own direct buses to MK too! i guess there was high attendance over Halloween and the weekend. it was great to have the direct bus right for your resort!! the trip took like 5-10 minutes--so much better than the 5 resorts on one bus situation!!!