NEW...DOLPHIN/SWAN..."questions and answers"...tips and hints!

[dreamflight99]

Originally posted by RobMax
Lemme check this counter thingy!

He he - that would be arrival time!

Have a WONDERFUL trip! The time FLEW PAST...and you are THERE. SAVE SOME "FUN & SUN" for me, just a mere 6 weeks and we are THERE TOO!

Ozzie..."DIS~TIME" is absolutely essential in the midst of my days. I enjoy stopping-in to "touch-base" with all of you, too. What a wonderful connection we have all nurtured...based upon our tremendous LOVE for the WDW Dolphin/Swan & all things Magical...Whimsical...FUN!

 

[RobMax]

I'll let ya'll know what's up when I login at the Swan. Hopefully they have the in room access like other westins!

 

[bunkie]

Hi. My dh and I stayed at the Swan May 4th-May 9th and I can safely say it was one of our best vacations ever! Once you go Swan, you can never go back! We loved being able to walk to Epcot and MGM! The longest line was 20 minutes, (test track) Most lines were no more than 5 minutes. It was hot but not unbearable, (low 90's). Just remember to drink plenty of water and you'll be fine.

I've always come back from vacation wondering where we will go on our next vacation, but now I can't wait to go back to the Swan.

It's official, I'm hooked!

 

[dreamflight99]

Originally posted by RobMax
I'll let ya'll know what's up when I login at the Swan. Hopefully they have the in room access like other westins!

I'll be waiting for the report from the "FRONT LINES"...using the in-room "high-speed" internet access available at the Swan/Dolphin!

bunkie...So happy to read your post, and cute quip: "Once you Go SWAN, you never go back!" I feel the same, and was never so eager to return...until we stayed at the Dolphin. I'm already thinking of 2004...and we have not even left for 2003 yet~! Now, that's the level of enthusiasm one feels after staying at these VERY SPECIAL resorts! Have fun planning.

 

[Mouseteacher]

bunkie ~ You are now officially a part of us S/D WDW addicted people... and we're proud of it!!!

Rob Max ~ can't wait to read your posts. It's fun to live vicariously if you can't be there!

DF ~ I agree (we do seem to agree on many things ) a day without DIS is like a day without sunshine.

 

[bigsis1970]

Hi ,
LOL , we are not messy - just was making sure it was the same value or deluxe far as the tipping thing.. I am glad they have hair dryers ( but won't be needing the iron/board or vaccume after all this is vacation !! hee hee ) thanks again..

robmax - have a great time !!

Michelle

 

[zurgswife]

Just went to check on my Dolphin ressies for Christmas...they had 3 separate reservations....I waited to speak to the person I made the ressies through....turns out I had Dec 26 to dec 29 in a 2brdm suite, a reg room and again in a 1 bdrm suite...Wish I had known I wouldn't have had her cancel the rooms I hadn't needed..maybe...I could have had some of you guys join me...


I only needed the 2 bdrm...

 

[MOM POPPINS]

Hi !

Kapp: The Junior suite we stayed in had a queen size pull down murphy bed in it. There was plenty of room in the jr. suite for the 6 of us. We have a jr. suite reserved for 9 nights when we return in February 2004. The suites are scattered through out the hotel, we stayed on the 14th. floor, (club level is 12 and 14) and had a good view of Epcot at night. We had to look left to see the fireworks, so if you want to look straight ahead, you would need to request a suite in the east wing with club priviledges.

RobMax: Have a great time looking foward to a trip report on your return.

Baby Kirk and I are still doing just fine.... We have another sonogram and weight check for baby on Thursday. Please keep us in your prayers.... Have a great Sunday to you all!

 

[Piper]

Originally posted by MOM POPPINS

Baby Kirk and I are still doing just fine.... We have another sonogram and weight check for baby on Thursday. Please keep us in your prayers.... Have a great Sunday to you all!

So glad to hear that! I know bed rest is tedious (and difficult with little ones), but it looks like it is working!

 

[csmommy]

Well all we are back, but I can tell you my DH & I did NOT see the magic at the understaffed, very convention like Swan.

I am sorry to report that, with the exception of Momma T & Thabo at CL, it was a very disappointing stay. I wonder if I wouldn't felt that way if I had not just spent 3 VERY magical nights at AKL.

First problem was I reserved with points, 5 days out, CL level. Checked spg.com (& thankfully printed it!) my DH spoke with the Swan 1 night before we checked-in & they said we had a CL room, but when I showed up the sarcastic man checking us in had no idea what I was talking about. I showed him a copy of spg.com & he then, went into the office for quite a long time. Finally came out, & begrudgingly "granted" us access to CL. He did not, however, change our room. Which was a lovely room expect it was on the 6th fl, & as far away as possible from the CL. Now I love a good walk, but with all the walking I do at WDW, I didn't need any extra! Later I went back to ask for the kids passports, & I swear the man was playing pocket pool! We never did get the kids exit survey. I had to ask several people several times to use my instant rewards. And since it was not done correctly, it took an extra 1/2 hour to check-out.

Regarding the resort fee. My ressie confirmation letter stated no resort fee. When we received the newspaper in the AM,I went down & showed the women my letter & she said "we do not provide the paper it is a FREE service from USA Today, not us". Well you could have knocked me over with a feather, since I thought the paper was one of the items listed under the resort fee.

The room itself was clean & nice. Housekeeping good again except they never seemed to close the sliding glass door fully so the AC was off every time we came back & the room was stiffling. Room service dishes were seen all over the hotel. I guess they did not have enough staff, because we would leave in the AM, see other peoples room service dishes left out, & come back late night & they were still there. Really didn't look nice at all. Ashtrays always full of garbage.

What offended my DH the most was walking off the Boardwalk into the Swan & walking though that bar area with DS & DD with pepole drinking & smoking. These were not regular vacationers, but convention people. Now it is not my practice to take my kids into a bar, or any smoking area. I guess the smoking laws are different in FL then in NY, but I would bet there isn't a single Disney owned hotel that would allow that in a family hotel.

All in all, it appeared that, with the exception of Mama T & Thabo, the people that worked & operated this hotel couldn't get a job at Disney. Sorry if I have upset anyone, but the 3 nights at the AKL very so far superior staffing wise & magic wise from the Swan I felt I had to let you know.

 

[KelliR]

You did not offend me at all ... I agree with you about my stay at the Swan in December. The CM, Keith, at check-in was rude and not helpful. The service was inconsistent at best. I would never stay at the Swan again. Mama T was wonderful ... but not enough to change from the Dolphin.

However, my 2 stays at the Dolphin have been phenomenal! The CM's were polite and overly helpful. The valet parking attendants were fantastic! And just the whole theme was more suited to kids. It is my daughter's favorite resort. But I will not be going back to the Swan.

I'm glad you enjoyed your time at AKL ...

 

[Athena]

csmommy: I'm so sorry you had such a poor experience. I have heard other stories about the Swan being understaffed during big conventions.

So did you actually get your resort fee waived? If you don't mind me asking, how did you go about getting written confirmation before you left? If I have to pay it, I understand, but we don't drink coffee, I don't read the paper on vacation (too depressing) and the gym is the last place on earth I'll be visiting, especially after walking through the parks all day!

MomPoppins: Wow! So glad you and the baby are doing well. Looks like we'll be in WDW when Kirk makes his first appearance, so I wish you a safe and speedy delivery!

Good morning to everyone else! Please tell me we've made the right decision in choosing the Swan for this vacation?!?!

 

[madge]

CSMommy,,
your stay at the Swan sounds just like our first stay at the Dolphin (especially the used dishes in the hall, YUCK!). I wrote a brief note to share my disappointment in the hotel, I was careful to also point out the things that worked for us as well--felt like I might catch more flies with honey I have to admit, we prefer the Swan though. I never for one second gave that bar area a thought, isn't that funny? We would never take our kids into a bar either, I guess we were always so tired that we just didn't pay attention to what was going on around us, LOL!

as far as the inconsistencies with the resort fee, I had someone at the Dolphin tell me rather rudely last year that I could not have it taken off my bill, in spite of my insistence that we would not use any of the services. We read the paper, drank the coffee, and were not charged the resprt fee. We didn't have CL access either, I never could figure it out. our reservation clearly states that the resort fee isn't added to the room rate, but will be. I am going to ask for CL access and for that fee to be waived, but I'm not holding my breath....

sorry everything didn't work out as you'd hoped....isn't MamaT the BEST, though?

 

[csmommy]

First I would like to say Mary Poppins I am very happy your baby is doing well, & am sending more prayers & good thoughts your way.

KelliR
Maybe I should have tried the Dolphin!

Athena

My resort fee was waived. When I first called to make the ressie & explained to a very nice man that I would have no time to read the paper, I would get plenty of exercise just by walking & therefore did not need the gym, & I do not drink coffee. He said he understood, & waived it. Now I understand it is no longer that easy so good luck.

madge
Mama T IS the best!

 

[dreamflight99]

csmommy...so very sorry for your inferior stay at the Swan. We have never experienced these things at the Dolphin. In fact, I even took TWO PHOTOS of the Ashtrays at the Dolphin, as I was "impressed" with the cleanliness and the beautiful DOLPHIN STAMP in the sand!

I have also never witnessed the food plates/dishes in the halls, and would be calling the desk management with some questions for this one.

The SMOKING issue is a biggie with me (non-smoker). We avoid the "bar/lounge" area of the Dolphin~(which is in an open seating area at the top of the escalators)~by simply cutting through the Coral Cafe to the elevators (The Swan lounge is more difficult to avoid). Yet, we have occasionally walked through this area, and none of the persons drinking or smoking have ever bothered us. We pass through so quickly, chatting with one another, we hardly take notice. The ventillation system in the Dolphin is more than adequate, and alleviates the smell of the smoke (to which I'm quite sensitive).

There are bars in all of the Disney-owned family resorts we've visited as well. I'm positive if the "LAW in FLORIDA" permits smoking in the bars/lounges, then "DISNEY" will permit smoking in their bars/lounges. Just as they permit it in the parks (designated areas), and also permit the purchase/consumption of alcohol.

The POR (Dixie Landing's) bar/lounge is strategically placed between the lobby and food court, and OPEN to all whom trapse/mosey past (Just like the Swan/Dolphin). Many of the bars in these resorts are strageically placed, for the purpose of marketing. The bar at the Beach Club is just off the Lobby/front desk as well, with CONVENTION persons lounging with bevs spilling out into the lobby area (on our last visit), smokes in hand. I guess I have never really even "thought" about these locations/persons until now. I just pay no heed to them, and walk right past. Most all the resorts in WDW host conventions, and all have bars/lounges/smokers. All the Deluxe resorts have interior room locations, thus making the bars/lounge areas more difficult to completely avoid.

California has the most stringent smoke-free laws in the nation. I was actually "disappointed" when I visited Family in NY last summer, and was actually offered a "smoking" section at every restaurant I visited. I do not mind walking PAST a smoker, but I do not wish to DINE with them. Has this "changed" in NY since then? Perhaps I'm spoiled by all the years of life in Cali, where every restaurant, resort, building...is SMOKE-FREE.

What happened with the check-out seems terrible. I use "express" check-out, and just leave when I wish. I have also used the Television menu form to check-out, which is very convenient. There is a SURVEY on there, where you could have voiced your concerns. Did you take the exit survey offered through this system?

All in all...I'm terribly sorry you were not able to enjoy your stay at the Swan. We have not stayed there in years (Dolphin-Lovers!), but understand the frustration associated with ALL the annoyances you mentioned. I hope your children enjoyed their time in the parks, etc. SO GLAD you enjoyed MAMA T, and Thabo in the CL/Concierge lounge. Did Thabo make any PS ressies for you? He's outstanding, and amazingly proficient. Hope you give these resorts another try...maybe the DOLPHIN next time!

MOM POPPINS....So HAPPY to read you & Baby "KIRK" are doing well! You are always in my thoughts & Prayers! Just keep doing whatever you are doing, as it seems to be working.
Be sure to post the results of the visit on Thursday, (extra prayers for you all week!).

 

[madge]

let me add one more remark about the bars/smoking/convention issue--last fall we went to the Boardwalk one night (stayed offsite). to get to the Boardwalk, we went through the lobby of the resort. It was PACKED with adults--there was a HUGE convention in town that week, and every resort in the area was very crowded, including the YC/BC, Boardwalk and the S/D. As DF99 mentioned, lobby bars certainly aren't isolated to the Swan. Now that I am remembering that night, the entire Boardwalk area was very crowded with the convention people. It was the last night, I believe, and I specifically recall that we had never seen the Boardwalk as crowded. Many conventioneers, spending their $$ and having a great time! I also remember thinking how well behaved that people were--given the amount of people we saw.

I don't know if we have ever visited the S/D when there wasn't a convention of some sort going on...

 

[Mouseteacher]

csmommy ~ sorry that your Swan visit was less than magical. I have only stayed at the Dolphin and found the CMs to be very accomodating. We did walk through the Swan on a number of occasions -when we got off the bus at the Swan stop. Like DF, we must have been too busy walking through to notice the bar area and the smoking. I must say though that we were there at the end of August and the resorts were very quiet. A convention did come to the Dolphin during the middle of our stay. They were quite unobtrusive and we hardly noticed them at all in our comings and goings.

I am sensitive to rhe smell of smoke and never once smelled any smoke odor in either resort. We did not get the resort fee waived but I did not push the issue b/c we had received a comp upgrade to CL.

We did see dishes in the hallway and I remember thinking that it did take HK longer than usual to remove the dishes. However, this was only one set of dishes near a room we passed on our way to the elevator.

 

[dreamflight99]

mouseteacher..."once again", we are right online with one another! I'm in total "oblivion" when at WDW, and hardly pay notice to anyone or anything other than my "focal" point at any given moment. And, as I've written before, I expect nothing...so I am ALWAYS surprised. I recall you quietly paying the resort fee ($10), which is a lot less than the cost of CL (comp upgrade) you received. I've also seen dishes in the halls of numerous resorts, including Disney-Owned. Yet, only on a rare occasion...have I "noticed" them in the Dolphin. This is not to say they are NOT there...I merely fail to take notice.

I DO, howver, notice the smiles on faces of folks I pass, the clear blue skies and the sweet penetrating sunshine, the characters in the parks romping/frolicking around, laughter, cleanliness of the grounds, the touch of my DD's or DH's hand, the relaxed contentment which consumes my soul, the wonderment of the aromas which permeate my olefactory senses, the obvious absence of the REAL WORLD outside, and the merriment/whimsey of the ambience in general.

I must also attest, I have been more "bothered, annoyed or disturbed" over the years by disgruntled *vacationers* bent on "making a scene"~than by ANY conventioners at ANY resort. These folks have no couth/class/shame, and will resort to belittling/yelling/striking their children/spouse in the resorts, parks, restaurants, etc. I've heard them screaming in their rooms as they obtusely threatened their family members and were blatently disrupting in general. I've NEVER experienced this with ANY conventioner/business traveler. Some people seem to get STRESSED-OUT while ON vacation at U. Studios, Disney, etc. Two years ago, I was forced to call security when a man was "threatening" to injure his family. I could not just "listen" (and believe me, I tried NOT to), as he LOUDLY proclaimed his intentions to his "pleading" wife and children. Security "handled" the matter, yet you wonder about the safety of these folks once "home". How sad. DD was especially affected and distraught by the children literally "begging" him to STOP, etc. These are the people I wish to avoid during our sojourn.

I also think it's wonderful Disney has designated "smoking" areas for those whom partake of this pastime. Niccotine is a powerfully habitual agent, and as an advocate of equal rights/consideration for all these folks, I'm glad Disney feels the same. It's easy to avoid these areas, and the smoke quickly dissipates into the Orlando sky...to be cleansed by the daily afternoon shower!

madge...your point is also well-taken. I was there last summer, and recall the convention/parties taking place in/around the BW resort. There were DJ's and contests outside, and seemingly hundreds of persons milling around drinking/smoking. I too, was in awe of the order and peaceful way everyone seemed to mesh/mingle.

Let me add...the last time we stayed at the CR, there was a HUGE convention going on...hundreds of persons participating (software co., I recall). They basically "owned" the concourse, & Cali Grill, including the upstairs patio area which was closed-off for them. We dined elbow-to-elbow with these persons. They were the most courteous bunch of folks, engaging DD and smiling "wistfully" as she recounted her day in the parks. Some professed it had been "years" since they had visited WDW, and they remembered times past with their own loved ones. It was nothing but "pleasurable", and we had no problem with them.

Last summer on the Disney Cruise line, folks walked the ship with alcoholic beverages in hand, and smoked up on the open decks. With over 2600 persons on the ship, one would expect to feel encroached/crowded at times (causing tension/displeasure). This never happened. I'm still amazed at how "spacious" it appeared, and of how we seemed to have the "ship all to ourselves" on numerous occasions.

I feel badly for csmommy, and hope she tries the Dolphin on a future visit. I've experienced everything she mentioned in Disney-Owned resorts, and other resorts owned by other corporations. I've also experienced some "negative, rude and snide" CM's in the Disney-owned resorts, too. There are bound to be a few everywhere you travel. I attempt to "kill them with kindness", which still proves effective in most cases. LOL.

Enjoy your SUNDAY!

 

[Mrs.A]

Hi everyone,

We are staying at the Swan at Club Level for 8 days in Aug.
Is there a certain place to check in for club level? Or is it at the main desk??

This is our first visit to The Swan, and we are really looking forward to it.

Thanks for any replies.

 

[#1hockeymom]

(If your name wasn't mentioned, it was an oversight on my part!)
The more I read these boards, expecially your posts and others like yours', the more I am glad that I picked the Swan to stay at when I was making our vacation plans for the end of June. I think we've finally found where we "fit" in at Disney!

Dream flight>> I totally agree with your last post! I could have not have said that better myself. Granted, I don't have the Swan to compare my experiences to, YET, but I will!

To all the great people that answered my smoking questions>> THANK YOU for not attacking the issue! My DH has always been very understanding to nonsmokers and only smokes when he thinks he is not bothering others, even if he is in a designated smoking area. I almost didn't even ask, due to the fact that sometimes even mentioning the fact that someone in the family smokes causes a panic with total outrage being thrown on the person saying the "four letter word". Instead, I received my answer in a kind and understanding manner. BTW, He tried to quit last summer. Lasted the first 7 hours of plane ride across the Atlantic. Never being to Europe before we seemed to forget the fact that deep in the back of our minds we knew that EVERYONE smoked over there! Two steps into Heathrow and my DH was a goner!

I know we are going to really enjoy our stay at the Swan. Thank you to all regulars here who have so much information to share and such thoughtfulness to others. I think I am totally addicted to reading this board!

Mom Poppins>> I haven't stated so on this board vocally, but you have had more prayers from michigan coming your way! I am sure you and baby Kirk will do well. With each passing day he is getting so much more strong!

My mind is wandering here. That is what I get for making this a yard work/ rugsteam cleaning weekend instead of getting my plans in order for the next week! I wish everyone a happy week!

Debbie