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

[judirain]

FirstMickey~ The buses are Disney buses. The same one also stops at the BW and Yacht and Beach club. I am not sure about the decorations for christmas.

 

[Mouseteacher]

FirstMickey ~We just returned from the Swan and the MK, AKL/Blizzard Beach and DTD/Typhoon Lagoon busses stopped at Swan, then Dolphin, then BWI. It did not go to Y/B Club. Bus service was efficient - we did not wait more than 10 minutes for a bus.

Christmas decorations usually go up around Thanksgiving. You can't go wrong with either S or D. A point : Tubbi's is housed in the Dolphin so if you will be using it you would walk over. The walk to the Grotto Pool is a tad quicker from the Dolphin than the Swan.

If you want a continental type breakfast at the Swan, you would go to the Lobby Lounge where they sell pastries, juice and coffee. You can eat at the small tables there or bring it back to your room.

 

[judirain]

Wow, when did they stop. I stayed at the BWV in 12/00 and the buses stoped at s/d and yc/bc. That was before the beach club villas opened though, hmm.

 

[#1hockeymom]

When we were there the end of June the buses did all five resorts. I would guess that resort guest numbers would decide on when they break off the resorts for a new bus route. We always had great bus service. The only night we didn't was from MK back to our resort, and everyone seems to wait for that! To go to any park, including the water parks, I don't think we ever waited over ten minutes.

Debbie

 

[Mouseteacher]

I believe the crowds dictate the stops, too. So, while I was there perhaps that was the case. Although, the S/D did not seem overly crowded - I don't think they were ar capacity. Perhaps, Y/B/BCV were heavily booked warranting their own bus.

Debbie ~ have you finished scrubbing?

 

[#1hockeymom]

*laughing*
I am now vacuuming, using the crevice tools and everything! LOL Tomorrow will be better, as we're going to my father's house for a combined birthday party and boating. I'll have something else to keep my mind on!

I just reread my last post, and would like to state that the ride from MK back to the Swan was right as MK was closing, thus the wait. When we left in the middle of the day from a park we never had a wait, in fact many times we would be walking up to the stop as a bus was rolling in!

I think the inside main floor windows are next...
Debbie

 

[jgates]

DREAMFLIGHT!!! Are you there anywhere? I am wondering if MGM has the Guest of Honor badges that you can have engraved this summer. We went about 3 times last year because they kept telling us they were out and would be getting them later. Well, finally the last time we checked they meant later - LIKE 6 MONTHS LATER!!!!

Have you seen them in stock during your Pin or bracelet buying expeditions? We were looking in the store on the right side when you go into MGM. It goes down most of the block I believe and then ends at the corner where you turn to ToT and RnR. They had pre-engraved ones but none to be done on order.

I would love to get one of these from disney for Kendra. (Kind of an unusual name - we'd have to get that one done).

If they have them and I can convince one of you that has paypal to pick up one and mail it????

 

[ozziewags]

The Swan and Dolphin at Christmas is gorgeous! Also, keep checking the S/D website and you will see that they have some very special activities at Christmas(an elf will come tuck in your children and read a story, etc) There are special dinners on Christmas eve and Christmas day. We put lights in our room and on a tree we had shipped to the resort.
Check here for Christmas activities:
http://www.swandolphin.com/include/c_exp_pkg5.html
More info will be posted as the date gets closer.

Bus service is very efficient. I had feared DTD busses would be few and far between, but we never had that problem. Also, the busses are determined by number of guests...this July we did not pick up at Y/B. At Christmas, we did....go figure! Parks were very busy at Christmas!


The engraved badges can be bought at the Christmas store in Downtown Disney! (at the back of the store, where they do the engraving!)

 

[Mouseteacher]

I'm wondering if DF is on the cruise or headed to Key West? Is Disbug still in the World, too? We haven't heard from her on how her trip went.

DF and Disbug, Where are you?

 

[Disbug]

What a GREAT vacation! I don't think we have ever had so much fun!

~Mouseteacher~ So, sorry to have missed you! I left another message at the concierge desk, in case you checked there first. I should have let you know you could have left me a message under Disbug (they would file it under "D")! I made badges like that for everyone in our group with famous Disney character quotes on the back. I wore my Disbug tag all weekend (even like a nut) out to the pool, so if you spotted me you could say "Hello!" I wore a green visor (albeit not lime green!)

I asked Thabo about going over to the Dolphin to take pictures undercover, and he said they were going to be "exactly like the Swan" rooms. I told him I thought the layout was a little different (bed sizes and sinks, jr. suites being 2 rooms instead of an "L-shape" but that was the info he had. The Swan has started rennovating the hallways to match the new rooms and are up to the 2nd floor.

MamaT says to tell "you kids" HI from her! She IS the best. We had such fun in the morning on Club level. We had the greatest room (1256)... it was just a couple of rooms down from the club, and felt so spacious for the 5 of us I couldn't believe it. And Mouseteacher, if you had seen all the suitcases I managed to empty and creatively stack in corners and the closet area you would have thinked I moved a T-ball team in with me!

I think I am going to gather my thoughts and break my trip report into parts since we stayed 4 days at the SWAN, then 2 days at BWV, and finally 2 days at WL. I'm also going to break out my camera and download the pictures to see how they turned out and start posting! (Ozzie, I may be sending you a PM if I can't find my instructions for picture posting!) LOL... you go on vacation you have to be re-trained!

 

[Tiffany]

Hi,

We are now booked in a Lake View room at the Dolphin with the great $99 a night rate over Labor Day. We are firm that no matter if AP rates come out for the YC or not we are sticking with our Lake View room.

So, here is my question. Are all of the Lake View rooms in the wing of the Dolphin that is closest to the YC?

I have put in a request for a non-smoking, King Bed room other then that we are easy to please.

Just wondering.

 

[Mouseteacher]

Welcome, home, Disbug! I, too, am sorry we missed each other. I didn't use the Grotto pool this trip. I was alone at the pool (DH prefers to snooze in a/c ) so I chose to stay at the Swan quiet pool every afternoon. Once, I believe it was Sunday, I did take a walk over to the Grotto pool but it was busy so I just walked through - didn't want to stare at every person looking for something lime greem - people might have mistaken me for a stalker or something.

We, too, had an incredible stay. Since it was just DH and me, we spent more time at the resort. We really enjoyed our suite and sitting out on the balcony. Because we were looking toward the quiet pool, the sun didn't hit our balcony until noontime. That was the time of day, we were in the parks. By the time we got back, the sun had moved off making afternoons quite pleasant out there.

I can't wait to hear about your trip. Will you post on the Trip Reports Board?

Tiffany ~ I'm not sure about lakeview. It could be rooms that over look the lake where the Swan boats are docked near the pools. The lake that is near the Y/B Club would have a resort/Epcot view, too. I THINK that is another step up. Maybe someone knows definitely - we need DF!!

 

[Disbug]

Mouseteacher, since this thread is informational in nature, do you think it would be more appropriate to post on the trips board? If so I will make a comment here that I have posted there. If that makes any sense!

 

[Mouseteacher]

Yes, I agree, trip reports should go on that Board. But, do let us know when you do post. You can ppost here about your resort experiences.

 

[Pkdcoastrs]

I can't believe in only six days I will be in Florida! This trip was not even happening until three days ago!!!! We saw the $65.00 offer and COULD NOT pass up staying at one of our two favorite hotels (the other being the Portifino at Universal!).

Airfare was a bit steep at $260 because of the last minute booking and we are flying out of LaGuardia instead of the usual Newark. In addition we have one stop at Atlanta! Our return flight is direct from Orlando to LaGuardia!

We have a little dillema though because our flight is a day earlier than the original first night at the Dolpin (airfare was greatly cheaper by flying one day earlier). Hotwire is not showing the $65 rate and now the only option is to stay in a cheaper hotel outside of Disney (with maybe a great rate through Mousesavers) or pay $129 for the teachers rate at the Dolphin.

We are about to call but we highly doubt they will add another night at that great rate of $65.00 .

We want to send in a nice email through swandolphin.com mentioning to see if we could maybe get a renovated room or something with a nice view/or balcony. We don't want to sound demanding and know that requests are attempted to be met but not always come through.

In the past we have usually just asked at the desk and our first stay at the Dolphin we were given a INCREDIBLE EPCOT view with a balcony with the "at time $99.00 teachers rate". Last year we upgraded to Club Level, but had to use our Starwood Points.

Currently we have about 20,000 Starwood points, what could we do with that?

Any help with helping in what to say in the email /use of Starwood points is greatly appreciated, I know a lot of you in this post are Swan & Dolphin pro's...always providing the best information and help!

Thanks in advance!

Mike

 

[ozziewags]

Mike...I would definitely call and ask....they may surprise you! If you don't want to spend more than that, you might try one of the value or mods for a night. Do you have an annual pass? Check those rates too.

Welcome home, disbug. Give a yell if you need picture help.

 

[marymrg]

will get you a free night I think. Check the spg site.

 

[Mouseteacher]

Yes, I agree with mary. 10,000 points will give you a free night - that could be your extra night!

 

[TinkOhio]

Did any of you who recently stayed at the Swan or Dolphin have any problems with your room being too hot? I havn't heard anything recently about this and am wondering if the motion-activated units are better regulated now. Also, did sun exposure time play into anyone's room location request?

Thanks for your input!

Karin

 

[Mouseteacher]

TinkOhio ~ I had been reading about the a/c system before I left for our trip to the Swan last week. I am happy to report we experienced no problems with the a/c. There was a digital thermostat so that you could raise or lower the temperature. Mousekeeping put it on 70 degrees. DH likes it a bit cooler, so we would just set it at 65 or 68 and we were fine. We had 3 windows plus the sliding doors and never found the sun to be a problem. You can always keep the sheers closed during the day if that helps.