Just back from the Swan

[LucyStorm]

Any questions?

 

[twixbar]

Did you have a great time? What view did you have, and how was the service?

 

[LucyStorm]

The service was outstanding, the best thing about the hotel! Every employee that I ran into was courteous and helpful and seemed happy to be there.

Our view was of the boatlaunch and the Dolphin, so at night we had the gorgeous view of all the fountains lit up.

My only complaint would be that our room was in dire need of refurbishment. They were doing rooms down the hall, so this room should also be on the list soon.

The Swan/Dolphin cannot be beat for location. A very short walk to the Boardwalk, Yacht Club/Beach Club and Epcot. The boat service was outstanding. I did find the bus service to be a bit lacking at times. We waited about 40 minutes for a bus to Animal Kingdom, and it took an hour and 10 minutes to get to Magic Kingdom on Saturday night for Spectromagic and Fantasy in the sky Fireworks. Bus on demand seems to be working though, as our driver radioed for more busses, and two more pulled up behind us within minutes. The length of the trip had more to do with having to load and unload several times due to picking up people in wheelchairs. There were so many people on the bus, that every time we had to pick up someone in a wheelchair (twice) everyone who was standing had to be unloaded and reloaded. I felt bad for some of them as they didn't make it back on the bus and some rude people who were waiting shoved ahead of the ones who were supposed to be reloading.

 

[Muffy]

Wow, that sounds terrible about the busses. I wish they had not changed to busses on demand. Glad you had a nice time and that the busses didn't bother you. We will be at the Dolphin in Jan.

 

[DisneyVa.]

Dear LucyStorm,
We stayed at the Dolphin in August and have reservations at the Swan after Christmas. I was wondering what room and floor you stayed in since you said it was in need of being refurbished. Maybe we could try to avoid it. Thanks.

 

[KelliR]

LucyStorm...did you have a balcony? And did you eat at any of the restaurants at teh Swan or Dolphin?

 

[LucyStorm]

No balcony, but with the huge windows that we had, we didn't miss it. I noticed that those who did have balconies rarely used them. We stayed at 602 West at the Swan, the room was nice and clean, but the chairs had seen better days. The vanity both in and outside of the bathroom was wonderful with 3 women trying to get ready at the same time. I noticed that the Swan was much quieter than the Dolphin, which I really liked.

I ate at the Garden Grove, the Dolphin Soda Fountain, and Tubbi's Buffeteria. The Garden Grove was pricey, but had excellent food and service. I had prime rib, which was perfect. My friends, who ate with us, had the ribs and the macademia crusted snapper and said both were good. The Dolphin Soda Fountain had good soft drinks and ice cream, we didn't eat anything else there. I wasn't crazy about Tubbi's for the price or quality of food, but it was after 10 at night, so I don't know if it would have been better earlier.

As far as the busses are concerned, we only had problems those two times. We took the bus from Epcot to POR just to walk around and visit the resort and had no problems. We also took the bus from POR back to MGM to catch the boat back to the Swan and I noticed that the busses there were running frequently.

There were several conventions going on while I was there, and the only time it really bothered me was at the end of the day a couple of times when all the suits were trying to get on the boats to go to the parks at the same time. Other than that, you wouldn't know that anything was going on. Not many families there.

These hotels cannot be beat for location and service! It was really nice to go to the boardwalk and sit and watch the fireworks from Illuminations or watch the street performers. Disney must be listening, because I noticed a lot more street performers there this time, and this is supposed to be one of their slowest times of year.

I have to say that I didn't miss the Disney magic at all when at these hotels. If you did, it was easy to walk to the Boardwalk or the YC/BC or even Epcot. Sometimes it was a nice break to get away from the "magic". We had the Disney information channel, the busses, the character breakfasts, the boats. The only thing we didn't have was room charging privileges outside of the Swan/Dolphin or the Mickey Mouse wake up call or the soaps. They were not missed. The soap at the Swan is a really nice oatmeal soap, felt wonderful on your skin.

 

[montessori]

Hi Bonnie,
Thanks for the information about your stay at The Swan. We are staying there in November. I'll spare you the details, but we were supposed to be at The Boardwalk but that's not happening and we will be staying at the Swan for the first time. The location is really important to us and I believe we will enjoy this resort. I do hope we don't get a shabby room though. We have a resort view with a balcony, might be the same view you had. Choosing which type of room was difficult for me! I kept reading all the boards and getting more and more confused.
I'm glad you had a great vacation and thanks for posting!

 

[Blondie]

Welcome back Bonnie!

 

[suzannews]

Lucystorm,

Where in NW Ohio are you from?

 

[Ithastobe]

We are staying at Swan (1st time there for me). We have a character dinner scheduled at Gullivers - have you heard anything about that? (i.e. is is crowded, etc). I did not have any problems getting a reservation.

We'll have a rent a car - 2 kids, 2 car seats, large stroller etc., so are renting one. Sounds like we may want to drive it to the park if the busses are poor.

My husband stayed at Swan 2 years ago, and his only complaint was the transportaton! He had a meeting at another resort and he missed the meeting because he relied on the bus to get him there.

 

[lilboo]

Hooray! A WARM welcome back!

 

[LucyStorm]

I have not heard anything about Gulliver's. The Garden Grove had characters during our dinner as well.

For us, walking to Epcot was faster than the boat, as the boat made stops at YC/BC and the Boardwalk before going on to Epcot. To save our tootsies, we frequently rode the boat back to the Boardwalk and got off there and walked to the Swan. We usually beat the boat back by at least 5 minutes. The boat ride to Epcot from the Swan was usually 20 minutes due to stopping at the other resorts. It was an 8 minute ride to MGM as there was no stopping after the S/D.

Staying at the Swan also made it very easy to get to other resorts as I could just ride the boat to MGM and hop a bus to the resort I wanted, and do the reverse to get back.

I rented a car when I stayed at both the S/D and at the POR. I would not rent a car again if I was staying at the Swan unless I had scheduled something like the Hoop De Doo, but I spend most of my time at Epcot/MGM. The downside to the busses from the Swan is that you are picked up first and then proceed on to the Dolphin, the Yacht Club, The Beach Club, and the Boardwalk. I do not understand why these resorts have one bus to cover them all. If I were paying to stay at the YC/BC or the BW, I would not be happy about this.

 

[Blondie]

During the "off season" which is when we go, one way to elimiate all the stops that the bus makes is to simply walk over to the Boardwalk (a relatively quick walk at that) and hop on the bus from there!

 

[LucyStorm]

OMG Blondie! I never thought of that! But I didn't ride the busses that often. Good thinking!

 

[Magic2000]

We stayed at the Swan last summer and we loved it!!! The location is perfect!!! We always walked to and from Epcot, since it really is a short walk. We caught the boat to go to MGM, and then walked back after Fantasmic! Again, very nice walk. We usually walked it and got to the hotel before the boat did. The only time we rode the bus was for Magic Kingdom, and it was great to be first on, but then, we had to stop at the other hotels. It was good to be first dropped off too!

The CMs at the hotel were very helpful and pleasant. We were on the 5th floor at the end of the hall, overlooking the Dolphin, and we could see the boat area. We did have a balcony, and we had several windows in the room which made it so bright and cheery! Our room was very nice, and the bathroom was very clean! The Grotto Pool was huge, and so much fun!!!

 

[KelliR]

I've eaten at Gulliver's twice. I had the buffet both times. Once the characters were Goofy & Pluto and the other time it was Timon & Rafiki. (They alternate evenings). I think it was the same person as both characters, not that it matters.

I enjoyed it both times very much. It was not crowded at all. The food was very good and my DD4 loved the character interaction. There is a large selection of buffet items. And you have the choice of ordering off of the menu as well. This would be the way to go if you want to save $$$$. I enjoyed it so much because the atmosphere is so laid back and it is usually crowded. Have a great time!

 

[Ithastobe]

Thanks for the info about Gullivers KelliR...