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

[jeankeri]

I may have missed this but are there certain Disney experiences that are available to S/D guests? For example, Magic Express from the airport or extra hours? My husband is unsure of booking a room at either resort because of this. Thanks for filling me in!

ME is not available, however WDW transportation to the parks (busses- same used by the Boardwalk and Beach Club) and EMH hours are. I do not think that you can charge park purchases to your room, but you can have purchases delivered there. If I am incorrect I'm sure someone will correct me .

 

[SingingMom]

ME is not available, however WDW transportation to the parks (busses- same used by the Boardwalk and Beach Club) and EMH hours are. I do not think that you can charge park purchases to your room, but you can have purchases delivered there. If I am incorrect I'm sure someone will correct me .

You have your facts correct, Jean!

Yes, you can have purchases delivered to the gift shop at the Dolphin. (I'm guessing at the Swan, too. )

You can not participate in the "Disney Dining Plan", "Magical Express" transportation to & from the airport, or charge park purchases.

The only part that I miss a little is the charging of purchases - I like all my charges in one place. But, I can stand to give that up for the pleasure of staying at the Dolphin!

Our church participates in a program called "Scrip" - they get a percentage of gift card purchases. We purchased $1000 in Disney Gift Cards and used those for all our park meals and souveniers... and our church got a donation! Win-win situation...

 

[Crazy Kanga]

ME is not available, however WDW transportation to the parks (busses- same used by the Boardwalk and Beach Club) and EMH hours are. I do not think that you can charge park purchases to your room, but you can have purchases delivered there. If I am incorrect I'm sure someone will correct me .

This is correct! We truly enjoyed the Swan. We drive, so ME is a non issue for us. Not being able to charge to the room key, also no big deal, just had to carry cash or credit card as well. The resort was awesome and the service, I must say, was better than that we have recieved at Disney owned resorts. They were over the top accomodating to us. I think it definitely helps to be a starwood member. You can sign up for free online at SPG.com. We will definitely be back, although we want to try some of the other Disney resorts too. My kids really want to try out Stormalong Bay so I think we will stay at the Beach Club for a few nights after our Disney Cruise next May.

 

[Mouseteacher]

Just my .02 cents ~~~

I have had many stays at both the S and D. We usually go in late July or August on the teacher rate. I have always received a room upon arrival which is around 10:30 / 11:00 am. We take the first morning flight out all the time. We have received comp upgrades each time, too.

I love Disney deluxe resorts and have stayed at CR and the BWI several times in the past along with stays at moderate resorts and one stay at AS. But, the teacher rate at the S/D makes it affordable for us to stay deluxe more often. And, the spg program has given us fabulous view rooms with balconies at no extra charge. The location of the S/D is unbeatable. We love the ability to dine at so many options in walking distance and have Epcot in our backyard, so to speak!

We have never encountered any major problems with transportation (boats or buses) at S/D. It seemed no different from when staying at a Disney resort. I remember a time when we were at the CR and waited quite a while for the bus to BB. It can happen at any resort.

Whatever resort we stay at in WDW is such a treat and a special time for my family that I let nothing spoil our time in the World. Life is too short -- errr, I mean --- WDW vacation time is never long enough!

 

[pixiedust247]

Thanks all of your input has been helpful...now to pass the information onto my husband...hopefully he will see the benefits not to mention the teacher discount price!

 

[MickeysFan]

I am just curious to hear some opinions about walking from the Dolphin to and from MGM and Epcot.

I have looked on Google earth, and its a little hard to determine where the foot traffic goes. Can someone explain where the two paths are?

I am wondering where you walk to get there and where the paths drop you off at...I am guessing that for Epcot it is a separate entrance, but for MGM it looks like maybe it takes you to the parking lot and the main entrance?

The big question tho, is how feasible the walk truly is for my party. We have four adults in their mid to early thirties, and four boys ages 10-15, that should be no problem. But we also have my mother and her best friend, they are both in their sixties and not very active on a regular basis. Are there benches on the way if they need to rest? Do the paths get crowded, or can they count on taking a nice leisurely pace?

Also, does it actually save time over using the ferries?

Thanks!!!

 

[Crazy Kanga]

The walk to Epcot took us about 8-12 minutes at a normal leisurley pace. I didn't trythe walk to MGM this time, but last Nov. we did it from the Boardwalk and it seemed like it took about 15 minutes or so at a fairly good clip.

 

[SingingMom]

I am just curious to hear some opinions about walking from the Dolphin to and from MGM and Epcot.

I have looked on Google earth, and its a little hard to determine where the foot traffic goes. Can someone explain where the two paths are?

I am wondering where you walk to get there and where the paths drop you off at...I am guessing that for Epcot it is a separate entrance, but for MGM it looks like maybe it takes you to the parking lot and the main entrance?

The big question tho, is how feasible the walk truly is for my party. We have four adults in their mid to early thirties, and four boys ages 10-15, that should be no problem. But we also have my mother and her best friend, they are both in their sixties and not very active on a regular basis. Are there benches on the way if they need to rest? Do the paths get crowded, or can they count on taking a nice leisurely pace?

Also, does it actually save time over using the ferries?

Thanks!!!

I have to be honest with you - I couldn't figure out where the path led to MGM!

But, the walk to Epcot was very pleasant - through the Boardwalk - as long as it isn't deathly hot. There are some benches, but not many.

I'm not sure how much time it really saves over the ferries, unless you just miss one!

 

[webray]

I am just curious to hear some opinions about walking from the Dolphin to and from MGM and Epcot.

I have looked on Google earth, and its a little hard to determine where the foot traffic goes. Can someone explain where the two paths are?


Thanks!!!

The walk to the Boardwalk is very easy, just out your door and over the bridge and you are there. The walk to MGM is a bit longer, however..the boat from the Swan/Dolphin dock goes directly to MGM without any stops, and it stops at Swan/Dolphin first on its trip back..so the boat is definately the way to go to get to MGM.

You can also take the boat to the Boardwalk, but it stops at Yachtclub first.
Sometimes when we are heading to EPCOT, we will take the boat to Yacht Club and walk rest of way to EPCOT, then coming back we will take boat to Boardwalk (first stop on way back to Swan/Dolphin) and get off and walk the rest of way back. Even walking at a very slow pace, this is faster than taking the boat the whole way. So you have plenty of options.

It would be really cool if they had those bicyle things like in Mexico..where a couple people can ride to wherever..(short distances). Would be especially nice on these really warm days.

You enter EPCOT through the back entrace and you go into the World Showcase instead of the front of EPCOT when coming from Swan/Dolphin/Boardwalk area. You enter the front of MGM no matter what.

 

[Loriannf]

For the last couple of months, I've been trying to book ANY room at the Swan/Dolphin for a couple of nights (Aug 2 and 3), only to be told the hotel is sold out to a convention!!!

We're spending the week starting the 4th of Aug at Vistana Villages, but wanted to go down a few days ahead of time to take advantage of EMH and to get my daughter some princess time. Her cousins are coming on the trip, they're boys, and they want to spend most of the time at UNIVERSAL.

Is there any chance some one at the convention might cancel sometime in the next week? I'd like to buy my airline tix soon.

Thanks.

Lori

 

[April*fools]

Hey folks, did you notice April*Fools' name and post count. I think you may be getting drawn-in hook-line-and-sinker on this one. Enjoy your future stays. I don't think these complaints are anything we haven't already seen here and elsewhere.

Um, I am a real person and this is a real post about my horrible experience. I know people love their resorts but my experience was not exactly worth the cost. We were in room 418 from 6/22-6/29. Sorry if you don't believe my post but my name is April and I was born on April Fool's day...hence my name.

 

[DisneyDotty]

April--don't sweat it. People get very defensive of their resorts. FWIW, I believe you. We stayed at the Dolphin and had experiences similar to yours. Maybe we've had similar experiences at Disney resorts, too, but we were too pixie-dusted to notice.
And it's all good, really, 'cause if everyone liked the same resort--well, it would be so booked up we'd never get in!

 

[RachelTori]

Um, I am a real person and this is a real post about my horrible experience. I know people love their resorts but my experience was not exactly worth the cost. We were in room 418 from 6/22-6/29. Sorry if you don't believe my post but my name is April and I was born on April Fool's day...hence my name.

Please accept our apologies. We don't mean to offend you. Unfortunately, the trolls were out again several days ago so the timing wasn't good. I hope you can understand and forgive us. Welcome.

 

[disneydoula]

I'm considering a stay at Dolphin in January. DH and I have three girls ages 10, 11 and 16. I see 5 people are allowed to stay in a Standard, but where will the 3rd child sleep? Will we need to bring in an air mattress or is there another option?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Blondie]

I'm considering a stay at Dolphin in January. DH and I have three girls ages 10, 11 and 16. I see 5 people are allowed to stay in a Standard, but where will the 3rd child sleep? Will we need to bring in an air mattress or is there another option?

Thanks in advance!

I've read that you can get a rollaway bed. It's supposed to be free of charge if using it for a child. You could also bring your own aerobed.

January is a lovely time of year to go to WDW, in fact we're going back then ourselves--without the kids!

 

[disneydoula]

I've read that you can get a rollaway bed. It's supposed to be free of charge if using it for a child. You could also bring your own aerobed.

January is a lovely time of year to go to WDW, in fact we're going back then ourselves--without the kids!

Hmmm...I'll bet that rollaway bed isn't exactly "Heavenly"...LOL!

Thanks for the info!

 

[duffy]

I don't have any answers to any of the recent questions, because I've never stayed at either the Swan or Dolphin, but here's my tip to use while reading this huge thread:

open up a word processing document, and if you come across what you think may be a useful bit of information, copy and paste it to your document. Keep adding info as you gather it.

So far, I'm researching the Dolphin and the Wilderness Lodge, and I have a collection of tidbits for our stay next year: how long the ferry boats are, which rooms are considered good for what reason, restaurant menus, etc.

Since I have a treo phone, I also make a copy for my phone so I can edit and organize my new info there, to read while I'm away from the computer.

 

[madge]

April said:

we couldn't use the pool until we had a room key so we carried our swimsuits onto the plane for no reason!

I'm unclear why you couldn't use the pool?

 

[Crazy Kanga]

April said:


I'm unclear why you couldn't use the pool?

I was wondering the same thing. We asked if we could swim while we waited for our room, and they said sure. They originally told us our romm wouldn't be ready for 30 minutes so we were on our way to get our suits out of our bags when our phone rang and the had found us a room so we ened up going on up first, but still they told us we could swim while we waited.
April, I am sorry if you had a bad stay, but I think the reason so many of us doubted you was because some of your complaints went directly against some of our personal experiences. Like when you originally said there was NO lifeguard on duty, then went back and said there was,but just one. Once you make exaggerated statements, people tend not to believe anything you say after that. I think your initial complaint about having to wait so long for your room was valid, but it seems to have colored your whole view of the resort, from then on, and made you blow every other thing out of proportion. Since you have never been to another Disney resort, it would be hard to compare, but as stated, wait times for buses are conistent at all Disney property resorts, so while a valid complaint, just not specific to the Swan and Dolphin.
I understand that not all resorts are for everyone and you are definitely entitled to your opinion of the place, but people reading this thread seeking accurate information about the resort might be mislead by some of you statements such as the NO lifeguard on duty and early closing time of the pool.

 

[safetymom]

Please everyone lets move on. This thread has lasted a long time helping everyone plan their vacations to the Swan/Dolphin.