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

[anitad]

Can someone provide information on the recipe club/rate for the Swan/Dolphin?

 

[#1hockeymom]

Magicaddict>>WOW! Thank you for the comments about my children! I will pass on what you said. It definitely brings back the adage that it "takes a village". In our little village they know we hear all know all. It is nice that I can say that even in Disney! Seriously, Thank you for your lovely comments concerning their behavior! (Just told ds, who's very first comment after smiling was, "Yeah! I get to live!". I will pass on both comments to DD when she wakes up! (Glad you didn't see the "chip incident". Fourteen bags of chips in our room one night!)

anitad>>http://www.swandolphin.com/promos/recipeclub/index.html
Here is the url for the recipe club. Hope you are able to use it!
Bobump>> The recipe club card says it is only for the Swan. I would call them and see what they can do for you.

DF>> I love all of your adventures! Keep them coming! How are you finding the heat down there? Or, shall I say, how are you finding the humidity down there? I just realized you are probably used to the heat! Thank you for stopping into CL and finding Thabo. That man is one in a million! Thank you also for your update on the Dolphin. Please keep your reports coming!

MomPoppins>> So glad to hear updates on baby Kirk's progress. It sounds like he is growing fast and strong!

Enazus>> We don't have your mattresses, but I too was doubtful that the mattress could be as comfortable as my own, let alone surpass it. I came home, kept my mattress set, and have redone everything from the mattress pad on up. My best purchase was matching the down blanket. I think I found a decent match with the charisma down blanket. Let's just say I think you'll sleep very well!

How many hours do you have, Mouseteacher? Disbug?

Happy Wednesday!
Debbie

 

[renniks]

How do you guys earn so many spg points? Is there any other way in addition to staying at a hotel to earn points? I just signed up the other day and would like to earn point for our 2004 trip but woun't be doing any travelling since I am saving for 2 weeks in Disney We were thinking of staying at the BCV but dh is a local goverment employee so we are now considering staying at the Swan/Dolphin (which is better?? I'm leaning towards the Swan.) We stayed at the BC last year and it was wonderful but for the gov't rate the S/D is hard to pass up - had I only known about this site on our first trip - the money I could have saved!!

 

[Mouseteacher]

renniks ~ In addition to earning points for our last summer stay at the Dolphin, I use the Starwood American Express credit card during the year to build points. I earned enough points to stay this summer at the Swan on the "cash and points" promotion. A great deal that I couldn't pass up so this was an unexpected trip.

You should apply for the free spg membership on their website and you can also apply for the Starwood AMEX card on the site, also. But know this, the card has a higher interest rate than many other cards and there is a yearly fee that is waived the first year.

 

[TinkOhio]

Just want to thank you all for all the great information you present on this thread! I've been lurking here for a while and have learned SO MUCH!

We went to Disney this past Christmas break and found out that you can save your fastpasses and use them later that day. We got to the MK at opening and had saved lots of them by getting new ones every time our assigned times rolled around and not using our old ones. The park was jammed by mid-afternoon and we bypassed the long lines and never had to wait more than 5 minutes in fastpass lines. (I'm not sure that it is supposed to happen this way, but a disney host told us that we could do it, and it worked like a charm!)

Mouseteacher and Disbug- hope you have wonderfully FUN trips!

dreamflight99- thanks for the first-hand news and enjoy your trip!

 

[Mouseteacher]

Welcome aboard, TinkOhio.

 

[Disbug]

Hello everyone! Thanks again for the cheers from the Swan/Dolphin cheerleading brigade! We ARE in vacation mode!

Mouseteacher ~ You're departure is now in hours, not days!

Ozzie W.~ called Swan last night about 1:30 am-ish. Once again, repairs were made to the reservation. I don't know if I have the stomach to check again before we go!

Thanks again, #1hockeymom! Getting excited... need to sleep tonight though-- I get so wound up (just like a kid, can't sleep!)

Thanks also to all the lurkers and newbies "bon voyages"! We will be following Dreamflight's example, "play is serious business"!

 

[disnurse]

Mouseteacher only hours to go. I hope your all packed and ready to roll. Pixie dust your way for an awesome trip and great upgrade. (don't forget to smuggle DS's laptop so you can check in)

DF- 3am oh my god, i was almost getting up by then, massive thunder storm woke me up so i slept in. So glad to hear all the inside scopp about renovations. By the was how are those chocolate croissants?

Disbug have a great trip keep us posted.

 

[#1hockeymom]

I just wrote a pm to magicaddict rethanking her for her comments. As I was writing, I suddenly had a craving for those chocolate croissants and wrote about it in my pm! I think they (the Swan/Dolphin) need to fly us all done there for a retaste. What do you think?

*throwing sunscreen and sunglasses into disbug's and mouseteacher's luggage, right next to the rain gear*

Debbie

 

[Mouseteacher]

okay... I'm all done packing! ...have last minute items on kitchen table ready for carryon totebag including paerwork.

sunglasses -check
sunscreen -check
raingear -check LOL to hockeymom


disbug ~ Just so ya know ---- I won't sleep tonight either - just like a kid going to Disney. Hey wait a minute - I am a kid going to Disney (aren't we all young at heart when in Disney? )

 

[ozziewags]

You guys crack me up....have a wonderful and safe trip. Please be sure to post from either the Swan or when you get home...wherever you can!

disbug....so glad Andrew could help you. Isn't he great? If you have any problems or concerns when you get there, you can call him at the front desk! Not sure what his hours are...poor guy! I am sure your reservation will all be in order and you will have a great stay.

hockeymom...read the post about your kids and thought how nice to hear.....I know I am always so grateful when I find out that once in a while my kids use the manners they were taught! Usually you only hear when they have done something they shouldn't have! Congratulations!

Also good to hear about Thabo......wonder if he got switched to the Dolphin again, or was just filling in!

 

[Mouseteacher]

Just a quick "See Ya" to everyone. I won't be able to post until I return. Uh oh!! no DISing for the next few days - I'm sure I'll have some withdrawal symptoms.

Thanks again for all the send-off wishes.

 

[magicaddict]

ooh, aah, chocolate croissants! They alone are worth a return trip.

ozzie - I believe Thabo is still assigned to the Swan but fills in over at the Dolphin. (At least that's what he did while we were there.)

hockeymom - my husband reminded me that we saw your family in the hallway one evening. We were the ones with the two children fighting over who got to unlock the door (or push the elevator buttons if you saw us there). I guess at 5 and 6-1/2 that's a big thrill. Once again, I'm pleased to give you positive feedback on the great job you've done.

mouseteacher - have a wonderful trip. It was your hint to bring something special for the front desk person that gained us our additional comp upgrade to CL. Sending plenty of PD!

 

[Mouseteacher]

magicaddict ~ I'd love to take the credit for the front desk tip but it wasn't me It was DF! She is awesome!

 

[Disbug]

Now I have to know before I leave... Where are these "chocolate croissants"? Everyone makes them sound SO delicious! Got to try one!

~BYE, Mouseteacher! See you there...don't forget your trench coat, I mean rain coat! (For Dolphin-sleuthing!)

(Wishful thinking!)

 

[snwwhite]

I was just able to book 2 nights at the Swan using the Recipe Rate!! I had called last month to book at this rate and was told that there was no availability at that rate. Looks like it pays to keep checking!!!

Has anyone used the recipe rate yet? Is it good for room service?
Thanks for the help!!!

 

[Queen of My Castle]

I just have to say this, I have been "lurking" on this post for quite sometime, and besides all of the valuable information I've picked up on, I also feel like I have new freinds. Of all the threads on DIS I think I love coming to this one the most because you all are so nice. I feel like I'm just sitting here listening to friends chat, it's great!

Mouseteacher, I am also a teacher and I must say, you remind me of some principals I've had. You seem just wonderful! I bet the teachers that work with you just love you!

We are staying at the Swan in October on the teacher rate. My husband is a Chiropractor and he will be there for a convention so my 3 year old DD and I plan on having a great time while he is doing his thing. (And look forward to him joining us when his convention is over.)

I have read a few post concerning the cards for the digital camerals and I wanted to share my experience from last year. I bought a 128 mb card so I could have all my pics on one card. Once I got up around 50 pictures or so, I started getting really nervous. I was afraid I might accidentally delete the previous pictures. I did consider getting them transferred from the card to a CD (you can do this at some of the booths in the parks) but it was $25 and I didn't really want to pay that much just for the transfer.

Long story short, I came home with over 120 pictures on my card and was thrilled I hadn't lost any. When I downloaded them to my computer to iphoto (we use Macs) I clicked "delete after transfer" so my card would be "clean" once I transferred all the pictures.

I guess because there were so many pics to transfer my Mac froze (or so I thought, my husband later told me it was still transferring) so I did a "force quit" to stop the download, and when I did, I lost the first 36 pictures I had taken. Because they had been deleted off the card and not been saved to the hard drive (due to the force quit) they were gone forever.

I cried and cried. It was devasting. I'm just thankful I didn't lose more than I did.

So my advice would be: If you do get a card that holds lots of pictures, guard it with your life. (And you will notice that once it gets about 1/2 full, you'll start getting nervous with it). If you are afraid of losing pics, go ahead and spend the money to get them trasnferred to a CD. ($25 would have been a small price to pay to save my pictures I lost).

This year my husband is bringing his laptop and some CDs and we are going to transfer my pictures each night to CD so I don't worry about losing them again.

Just thought maybe someon could learn from my mistake.

You guys are great! I look forward to reading this thread until we leave in 71 days!!!

 

[ozziewags]

We are always glad to have new lurkers join us! Yes, we feel like old friends on this board because we share a love of disney. Many of us like to help out others because we have received so much help ourselves.

snwwhite....I used the recipe rate a couple weeks ago. It was a bit better than the teacher rate. It was good at all food/beverage service at S/D including room service and Shula's. They put the credit on your statement every two days, but it will only stay there for food/beverage costs. I was told that it was a 'use it or lose it' promo. At the beginning they had some trouble with folks checking out with the entire amount credited before their stay was over, thus getting the $ as a room discount. It was not intended for that. Anyway, it was a great promo and I would do it again!

Queen.... so sorry about your experience with your camera, card and pc. I have a 256mb card and love it, but am very careful with it as I have heard stories such as yours. Someone lost their camera at disney and had a big card and said that if he had several small ones he might still have some pictures even though he lost his camera. I am also worried about that happening! Once, when my ds was young, he lost his camera at MGM. It wasn't expensive at all, but he was hearbroken, so we went to customer service at told them and left a description and after we were home about a week, he received it in the mail from disney! We were quite shocked, but so pleased that they would do that for a cheap camera.....one reason we believe in the magic of disney!

Welcome to you both!

 

[snwwhite]

Thank you so much for the information about the recipe club. I am currently booked in a standard room, but I have enough points to upgrade to at least a room with a view (maybe even a balcony room). Gotta love the Starwood Amex!!! Hopefully I will get a comp upgrade and not have to use the points. With the $50 food credit, I don't see a need to try and upgrade to Club level.

Thanks to the advice on this thread, I called SPG and tried to get upgraded to Gold, but the agent was real specific about the type of Platinum Amex I had and only upgraded me to preferred plus. He did say that that was almost the same as gold, still get upgrade if available and late check out. The only thing I don't get is the extra points (2 per $ spent instead of 1 or something like that).

Once again thank you to everyone for your help!!! Now if only September would hurry up and get here.

 

[#1hockeymom]

Everyone has such great information this morning! Great advice on the memory cards, Queen of My Castle. Thank you for sharing!

Chocolate croissants>> They're not quite croissants, but I wouldn't classify them as a pastry, either. THEY'RE BETTER! You can find these at club level in the morning. Word of warning about eating them in bed. No matter how carefully you try to scoot away the fallen crumbs, somehow chocolate gets on the sheets! I felt so bad for our mousekeeper that day. The chocolate pastry delectable goodies are absolutely fantastic and need to be tried by all!

Ozzie>> I see you've changed from a frog to a beautiful Minnie! Who did you kiss?

snwwhite>> I think I remember reading about a problem similar to yours. Persistence was the key to getting the right upgrade, if I remember correctly.

Magicaddict>> Thanks again. I don't remember EVER hearing fighting/screaming anywhere in those hallways, which means your children were great, too! btw, the room card and the elevator buttons are for their enjoyment! Wouldn't it be great if we still got such pleasure out of hitting the ground floor button in an elevator?

Mouseteacher should be arriving soon. Disbug will be leaving soon. I can't wait to hear their reports! I think before the week is over I will let the news out that I booked Easter at the Swan/Dolphin. We had that "life is too short/ life can be cut so short" talk last night.

Happy Thursday!
Debbie