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

[TinkOhio]

I agree! This past Easter we wound up in a room at the Swan without a balcony. It just wasn't the same! We will definitely make sure that our next stay has a guaranteed balcony. Upgrades are not guaranteed!

 

[danjoan14]

We booked at the Dolphin for November using our SPG points. And yes, it was 11,000 points for a deluxe room with a balcony and a view. The fifth night was free. This enables us to stay for 8 nights instead of 7. And we only have to use points for 7 nights. Because we were using our points, I had to make our reservations through SPG. I'm glad I made them when I did. I checked the website today, and no rooms are available for the time that we are going. It pays to book well in advance.

 

[yorkshiregirl]

Hi
Just discovered that we can use the teacher or nurse discount(both apply). We have a room booked at POP Century with the ddp + park hopper tickets for 7/22/07 for 5 nights.
We would loose the DDP but overall with the discount the price is very attractive for a higher level of resort.
We are a over 40's aged couple which resort would you advise we go with.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

Hi! I have stayed at both resorts. I don't like to bash other resorts, but DH and I both agreed...POP was NOT for us.

Do you plan on enjoying the resort amenities? Or do you plan on being in the parks the majority of your time? If I were you, I would stay at the Swan or Dolphin, and I would not plan on doing parks every day (so your park hopper passes will be cheaper.) There is so much to do and see at the Boardwalk area, which is a leisurely stroll away. There is also the BW resort, the Yacht and Beach Club resort....there is just so much to do that is not park related. Lots of great restaurants and shops in walking distance of the Dolphin/Swan. At POP you will have to rely on WDW transpostation to get anywhere (unless you have a car.) We really enjoyed lounging by the beautiful grotto pool at the Swan/Dolphin. We stayed there for our "adults only" anniversary trip, and we are around the same age as you.

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

I agree! This past Easter we wound up in a room at the Swan without a balcony. It just wasn't the same! We will definitely make sure that our next stay has a guaranteed balcony. Upgrades are not guaranteed!

yeah...we had a great room and view at the Dolphin...but you feel "disconnected" from it without a balcony. Next time, I will get a balcony!

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

Hi
Just discovered that we can use the teacher or nurse discount(both apply). We have a room booked at POP Century with the ddp + park hopper tickets for 7/22/07 for 5 nights.
We would loose the DDP but overall with the discount the price is very attractive for a higher level of resort.
We are a over 40's aged couple which resort would you advise we go with.

With a discount, nothing can beat Swan and Dolphin as far as I am concerned. It is WDW's best kept secret to me!

You still get WDW transportation and a *very* attractive location combined with the luxury of being in a Deluxe hotel. I've stayed at the Polynesian and while I loved it, the rooms just aren't as nice as the Swan. The beds in the Swan are ten times better. I wish I could choose the Swan when I have my Disney wedding, but we have to block a certain number of rooms.

The pools are just as great as Disney resorts and you have that nearby Boardwalk atmosphere without the Boardwalk pricetag. I loved coming back to a quiet, relaxing place at night, didn't have to hear screaming in the pools or banging on staircases and for what it cost, I felt that I had come away with a true bargain.

If you feel like you might miss the Disney feeling, just remember that you are a five minute walk from the Boardwalk or the Yacht or Beach Club. We ate breakfast at the Boardwalk Bakery many days as we really enjoy sitting outside and watching the view and then just caught the bus to the parks from the Boardwalk or else continued our walk if we were going to Epcot or the Studios.

I was really nervous about missing the "Disney" when I was at the Swan before I went, but it turned out to be the opposite. Instead, I felt that it was more true "Disney" than the other resorts - better customer service, better value, better rooms, in a great location.

I still love the monorail resorts for their history and fabulous views of the castle, I think everyone should stay at them at least once if they can. I was surprised at the quality of the All Stars and experienced some great service there as well. The newly renovated rooms are great and the characters that flank the pools are just too cute for the little ones. Last time, we stayed at OKW and rented points and had a great time, but we kept comparing it to the Swan.

Lots of resorts have unique things to offer and I'd love to try all of them, but there is something special about the Swan and Dolphin that feels like home, that feels like I'm in on a little secret, that feels like it's the right choice for me. So, while we will always try new places for a few days, I think we'll also always come back to the Swan and Dolphin for the majority of our vacations. It is just too good to pass up.

If you are concerned about missing out on the DDP, I would just do a little cost benefit analysis and see where it takes you. We didn't miss DDP that much. It actually kind of grossed us out to see how much food was getting thrown away! We shared meals, saved a lot of money and ate every last scrap. Wastefulness bothers me, so I don't think DDP is for me anyway. Try adding up how much you would really spend also. Most of us don't order an app, entree, dessert and drink per person anyway - we usually share at least some of it.

Good luck!

I know I'm biased, but I figure you wanted positive reviews since you came to this thread.

 

[yorkshiregirl]

Thank you for the very informative replies. It all sounds lovely but the extra charges all add up so may have to stick with original booking.
We had an 'accessible' room (for DH's ECV and mobility problems) with fridge included for his meds and no charge for parking at POP so doing the sums with $9 daily parking and a $10 daily fee for the fridge it may pay us to stay at the POP.
Missing the DDP does not bother us too much as I rarely have starters and desserts anyway and eat less in the heat.

 

[DISshopkeeper]

I thought the Swolphin provided free medical fridges.

 

[restful urchin]

Only 6 more sleeps until our 8 day stay at the Swan!!!
I have a quick question.
This was posted on another thread but never really answered..(although I'm sure it's been answered before)
For self parking it's $9.00 a day. Is there a charge everytime you leave and return the lot? I would hope not as that makes no sense.. but it seemed if people were unsure when posted on another thread.
thanks so much..... I'm feeling the magic already!!!
You guys are awesome!!
Liz

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

Only 6 more sleeps until our 8 day stay at the Swan!!!
I have a quick question.
This was posted on another thread but never really anwered..(although I'm sure it's been answered before)
For self parking it's $9.00 a day. Is there a charge everytime you leave and return the lot? I would hope not as that makes no sense.. but it seemed if people were unsure when posted on another thread.
thanks so much..... I'm feeling the magic already!!!
You guys are awesome!!
Liz

I was kind of confused by this also...but just tell them you have a car when you check in and they will charge it to your room, and also program your room key so that you can swipe it to enter and exit the lot. You will have the charge of $9 a day added to your bill.

Hope I explained it ok. I am far from a Swalphin pro, but I just dealt with this a few weeks ago! We initially valet parked, and when we decided to switch to self park, we had to go back to the front desk and have them do whatever it is they do to the room key so it would swipe at the parking lot gate.

 

[restful urchin]

Thanks Wildernesslodgelover for the quick reply!

 

[madge]

It's really only 1000 points more for a balcony? If I wanted to try to change my ressie should I call SPG or can they do it on the website? Is it worth it? I have only stayed in a Dolphin standard room, no balcony.

I think so! I can remember booking standard rooms and making the choice between spending 1000 points on an upgrade to a balcony or the club level. We always chose the CL. I have 3 kids - that's a lot of breakfast, LOL.

With that said, we've always been very lucky with the upgrades, I'm SPG gold and can usually count on an upgrade to a balcony. The only exception is when the resort is booked for a convention... then it's iffy.

 

[lucysdad]

Well, we're home from our wonderful stay at the Dolphin. We planned this trip for a whole year and now it's over so quickly!! I'm having serious homesickness pains for WDW.

Our room at the Dolphin was just perfect. We had two balconies, although we only used the one with the sliding glass door entry. Our view was of the Boardwalk, Yacht Club and EPCOT. I loved sitting on the balcony, watching the Friendship boats ferry people around. I am so glad I did not take the chance on getting an upgrade for a free balcony. It was worth it to secure the type of room I wanted by paying for it. I would have been unhappy without the balcony. Also, having the corner room afforded us two windows to enjoy at night while we were in bed. Out the sliding glass door windows we could see the lighthouse of the Yacht Club and the Spaceship Earth ball all lit up. Out the windows over the desk we could see the lights of the Boardwalk filter through the leaves of the palm trees. It was magical.

The grotto poll was fun and the slide was a blast. Unfortunately, because our stay was during lovebug season, we had to contend with the drowned corpses of many a coupling! The grotto pool was a bit too cool on a couple of days, so I can imagine it would be uncomfortable during a winter stay. DD had her hair braided poolside and it's one of her favorite souvenirs!

We enjoyed Pikabu's for breakfast and snacks. It honored the 20% AAA discount. We also ate at Fresh one morning. The buffet they offered was very nice, but Pikabu's was definitely a better deal for our family. Also, at Fresh, they tried to give me only a 10% AAA discount, but my eagle eyes informed them of their error!

Our only issue of discomfort at the Dolphin was the crowd of convention goers each night in the lobby. One night there was a line to get an elevator longer than any attraction line we had stood in! Fortunately, our room was on the fourth floor, so we just took the stairs. Also, the convention groups were rather loud in the lobby, but we didn't let that bother us.

The heavenly beds and pillows were very comfortable. We had no trouble sleeping at night. DH did not like the weight of the comforter, but I found it very cozy.

My favorite hotel at WDW has always been the Poly. Unfortunately, it is out of our price range now because over the years, the rates have continued to climb and this school teacher's salary hasn't kept pace! The teacher discount at the Dolphin has allowed us to enjoy a deluxe stay at a more affordable price and, honestly, I enjoyed the balcony overlooking EPCOT just as much as the room we had in the Hawaii longhouse at the Poly so many years ago. The Poly's boats are more charming than the Friendship boats and the Poly's lobby is very peaceful, but for my money, I can't wait to get back to the Dolphin. I'm already trying to plan for my next trip by squirreling away vacation funds and earning airline mileage points. It's going to take me awhile, but I'll get back there. I'm ready to return today!

I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.
Lucy's Mom

 

[lovingthemouse]

As you arrive home Lucy, we are set to leave - tomorrow night a heavenly bed!!! Glad that you had a wonderful time. Caroline

 

[Ronald Duck]

Welcome back, Lucy's Mom...your post-trip excitement has gotten my juices flowing for our (DW and I) early August trip to the Swan!

Our room at the Dolphin was just perfect. We had two balconies, although we only used the one with the sliding glass door entry. Our view was of the Boardwalk, Yacht Club and EPCOT...I am so glad I did not take the chance on getting an upgrade for a free balcony. It was worth it to secure the type of room I wanted by paying for it. I would have been unhappy without the balcony. Also, having the corner room afforded us two windows to enjoy at night while we were in bed... The teacher discount at the Dolphin has allowed us to enjoy a deluxe stay at a more affordable price and, honestly, I enjoyed the balcony overlooking EPCOT just as much as the room we had in the Hawaii longhouse at the Poly so many years ago.

Boy, you've given us lots to think about. Like you, we were able to get the Teacher's Discount (the only way anymore we can stay at a Deluxe for more than a couple of nights), and I booked us the lowest category of room. I do have 1,500 Starwood points which I was thinking of using for an upgrade...but I'm not sure what to upgrade to! I suspect what we want is a couple of leaps above the lowest-rate rooms! I sure would like a corner room like you had...what was the room category? I know at the Swan they have great-looking Junior Suites with corner windows and balconies, but we really don't need a Junior Suite...just a nice corner room with a view at an affordable price. I'd appreciate any recommendations.

We enjoyed Pikabu's for breakfast and snacks. It honored the 20% AAA discount. We also ate at Fresh one morning. The buffet they offered was very nice, but Pikabu's was definitely a better deal for our family. Also, at Fresh, they tried to give me only a 10% AAA discount, but my eagle eyes informed them of their error!

The only 2 restaurants we are planning do at the D-S will be Pikabu's and Fresh. GREAT to know that you can get a 20% AAA discount at both of them! Did you eat anywhere else in the Epcot resort area?

I'd love hearing more about your stay. Thanks for giving me a little whiff of the Disney magic.

 

[Harambe]

Hi Lucy's Mom!

Glad to hear you thought Picabu was a good value for your family. I noticed the pictures that Blondie posted, with the prices on the blackboard at Picabus, and I kinda paniced! It seemed really expensive for a quick-type eatery. We also have one breakfast planned at Fresh - and I'll definately get the 20% discount!

Did you ever grab a bagel or croisant at the coffee place in the Swan lobby? This is where I'm planning most of our breakfasts, but I'm worried that conventioners will clog up the line (which they have every right to do - nothing against the conventioners! LOL!).

Glad you had a great trip - I am really looking forward to our first Swan stay and all my anxiety about staying at a non-Disney resort has surely vanished, thanks to this thread!

 

[Ronald Duck]

Obviously, I didn't take these pics, but since they are in the public domain I feel comfortable posting them (I'll provide links if you are interested). I LOVE what both Google and Microsoft are doing in their race to gain supremacy in the aerial photography market!

From Google Earth Plus/3-D Warehouse:

From Microsoft Virtual Earth Birds Eye View:

 

[Bichon Barb]

Holy Crow! Look at all those pools! I can't wait.

 

[Ronald Duck]

Holy Crow! Look at all those pools! I can't wait.

Leave it to a fellow upstate NY person to be excited by the pools!

 

[danjoan14]

Great photos! Thanks. I can't wait for November!