Hi all I'll try to answer as many questions as possible:
Wenlitz~ re the hotwire price. A while back (maybe about 2 months ago?) there was a post re Swan and Dolphin on hotwire. We researched and were able to secure it for our trip. Not sure who the OP was but maybe if you run a search you could find the original thread? Sorry if I'm not too helpful here
#1hockeymom~ DEFINITELY hit the parks in the Am when they first open. The crowds are much smaller. We did lots of research and with the help of the Unofficial Guide and tourguide Mike followed their plans. We NEVER waited in line more than 15 minutes. We rode in the AM and then always had 1 or 2 Fastpasses for the rest of the day. Over the 10 days we were in diseny we rode RnR probably 20 times, ToT about 10, Test Track at least 20 etc. About the rental car, even though the rides to MK and AK as well as water parks were long IMHO it's better than driving. We love the fact that we never had to get in our car. However, if you don't mind driving it would probably be faster (I've never dealt with MK parking so I can't be sure of that).
As far as restaurants we only ate at Tubbies while at the Swan. We had meals at Crystal Palace, Hollywood and Vine, Chef Mickeys and Once Upon a Princess breakfast. Other than that it was counter service as we were on a major budget. Sorry can't help you with that one.
Mouseteacher~We can't believe our luck with the upgrade
The balcony we could have done without as we were only out there once or twice. However the view of the Dolphin was really pretty. e would throw the sheers open first thing in the AM and enjoy!
Ronald Duck~ We did not use the mini bar but did open it to see if we could use it to keep some drinks cool. It was definitely not really cold, just cool. Didn't use room service. However, I did call a few times to get some items for the room (bed rails and pillows on 2 different occasions). Each time I was greeted by a cheerful "Hello" and we received the items within minutes. Every we request we had was honored. It was the best service we've encountered on our 3 trips to disney. for example, on our first morning to the grotto pool I stopped and asked a CM if there was anyplace at the pool to refill our mugs. He replied that there wasn't. He then went on the tell me to go ahead to the little drink stand there and tell them that he said it was okay to fill them this time as we had brought them with us. We didn't do it and walked to the Dolphin instead but I thought that was extremely nice. We had nothing but good experiences there
dreamflight~ We did an e ride night too...it was great! Thanks for all your help and advice planning our trip
Chip 'n Dale Express~ Sorry...I hope you didn't take the transportation remark personally
. I'm a huge fan of the Disney transportation system and think you all do a great job
Much better than driving my own car. It is in no way due to the drivers but I don't understand why Disney has the 5 resorts sharing a bus. Beach and Yacht Club and Boardwalk often had to stand (bummer if you have little ones and a stroller). A few comments to help others re transportation:
A bus to Blizzard Beach may not say "Blizzard Beach" but may say "Animal Kingdom". We waited for quite a while before finally asking on of the drivers if a BB bus would be along and he said we should have taken the AK bus. Once we figured that out we did okay. Also the Typhoon Lagoon bus sometimes says "Downtown Disney" as it on that route.
also, after e ride night at MK we waited in a humongous line to leave the MK. Lots of people were really upset as we watched lots of other resorts lines empty much faster (I heard many comments about S/D not being true Disney resorts and people were upset that we shared bus with them). Animal Kingdom has it's own service as well as others. We knew this ahead of time and I'm not complaining just wanted to make others who are staying at Epcot reosrts aware that they will be sharing with all 5 resorts many times so the waits are longer. As far as the 45 minute drive it is definitely true on 2 occasions (one AK and MK) as we left at 8:15 and arrived at 9:00 for one and 7:15 and arrived at 8:00 for the other. Both occasions we had a wheelchair to load, had to wait for people who were running to catch the bus and the driver was kind enough to stop and answer questions for the many folks who couldn't fit on the bus at the Boardwalk Inn or at Downtown Disney who were chatting with him/her. The quickest we ever made it to MK was the time we didn't stop at any resort but S/D the first day we were there and it was only about 15 minutes. Plan to arrive at the bus stop at least 45 minutes before you want to be somewhere.
Now the boats are faster and never more than a 10 minute wait to catch one and 20 minutes commute time. We found on the way home it was faster to get out at the Boardwalk and walk to the Dolphin than make all the stops (I would have been fine waiting but the kids wanted to play lets see if we can get home faster than Grandma and Grandpa). Whew...did that help clarify
Jodi1989~ we requested and received turndown service. The maid was late a few nights and just knocked and gave us the chocolates (our kids favorite part of turn down). Most nights the beds were turned down and the kids animals arranged in different ways.
OH..one note about the air conditioning. If your balcony door is open at all it will not click on. We actually called maintanance and had someone come check ours because it wasn't working and it turned out that the door was open a crack..a little embarrassing
las3888~we noticed the rooms were maid kind of late too. Not a really big deal though..just as long as I didn't have to do it
Yes, being the first on and the first off the bus does have it's advantages. We always got a seat and were the first dropped off. I agree that for the price I would never stay at any of the other Epcot resorts. The S/D was really great!
Hope this helped. Once again Chip 'n Dale Express I hope I didn't offend you. I've always valued your opinion and didn't mean to step on your toes
The waits were probaby not the norm as you are definitely the expert
upgrade! We stayed at the Dolphin August 2002 and absolutely loved every minute of our stay. We are returning the end of July with a stay at the Swan this time b/c of the renovations. Can't wait! 
We are all Sleeping during EE mornings...LOL. 
It's a little faster, as there are no other stops.
