Resort Debate

[JanBlessed]

.... I'll let you know about kimonos, Picabu, and Garden Grove in a few weeks. I'm actually kinda surprised at the prices at Kimonos relative to the glowing reviews.
Multiple Pools, child care, boats, bikes, views, gym, arcade, fake beach
Able to book through Costco with one price, no hidden fees AT ALL.
Character meals every night, and also character weekend breakfasts.
60 day FP benefit, emh benefit, 180 day adr benefit (I think the adr benefit is 180)

Yes!!!please come back and give me your dining review.
All of the great comments on dining has made me interested in the resorts. My DH is big on food & dining, so it would make him very happy to have GREAT food!

 

[JanBlessed]

.....They do not receive all Disney benefits, only those they negotiate and am sure pay for.

http://www.swandolphin.com/leisureinfo/benefits.html

Thanks for the official perks list!

 

[Accident]

I skimmed but I'm just going with how I would answer the OP.

From a pure is it a disney resort, no it's not owned or operated by disney. But what if your asking the wrong question or just using the wrong terminology in your debate?

I visit disney, I pay for food out of pocket, I mostly just sleep in the resort room, I generally get a meal at some point each day from my resort, I use the bus transportation to get around. I like having the option for EMH if I want to hop and use it one day. If possible for price reasons, I'd like to be walking distance or short distance to at least 1 of the parks. I like to have special things going on at my resort to give me more options for my lazy days without going anywhere. I like to have some escape that i'm at disney when i'm not in the parks to round out my vacation time more and not overload on disney stimulation.

So if the question was "should I not overlook swan and dolphin for my on property trip to disney" than I think you get much different answers and a better debate. In some ways it's the best on property hotels because it has the greatly missed perks of the actual disney resorts. It also has the plus that it's not disney so they have their own events, special things to do around the resort, it's not under the same food umbrella so it's very different in that area. It has some of the best places to dine if not the best places to dine at disney. It also has a price savings that gets you that deluxe treatment without the deluxe price tag. It's walking distance to 2 parks and all the resort options of 3 other disney resorts which for an adult traveler is right in the sweet spot of what your looking for..

If I didn't move here, swan and dolphin was going to be my next new resort to try for a week vacation. I go into them now to dine. I watch their calendar of events like it's disney to see what they are up too. I loved the sand castle thing they just did (is it still going on?). They do their own food and wine type night at a much better price with great food. I think it's actually forcing boardwalk and yacht club to up it's game with some of it's eating locations trying to get people to leave s&d to eat in a disney owned location nearby.

If your taking this resort off the table when you want to stay on site, you're making a huge mistake.

 

[JanBlessed]

.....I visit disney, I pay for food out of pocket, I mostly just sleep in the resort room, I generally get a meal at some point each day from my resort, I use the bus transportation to get around. I like having the option for EMH if I want to hop and use it one day. If possible for price reasons, I'd like to be walking distance or short distance to at least 1 of the parks. I like to have special things going on at my resort to give me more options for my lazy days without going anywhere. I like to have some escape that i'm at disney when i'm not in the parks to round out my vacation time more and not overload on disney stimulation.

So if the question was "should I not overlook swan and dolphin for my on property trip to disney" than I think you get much different answers and a better debate. In some ways it's the best on property hotels because it has the greatly missed perks of the actual disney resorts. It also has the plus that it's not disney so they have their own events, special things to do around the resort, it's not under the same food umbrella so it's very different in that area. It has some of the best places to dine if not the best places to dine at disney. It also has a price savings that gets you that deluxe treatment without the deluxe price tag. It's walking distance to 2 parks and all the resort options of 3 other disney resorts ......
.....I watch their calendar of events like it's disney to see what they are up too. I loved the sand castle thing they just did (is it still going on?). They do their own food and wine type night at a much better price with great food. I think it's actually forcing boardwalk and yacht club to up it's game with some of it's eating locations trying to get people to leave s&d to eat in a disney owned location nearby......

excellent points! Interesting info. on the competition "from the boardwalk". Love the $avings?

 

[clapton]

Have stayed at the Dolphin numerous times for a couple of nights before or after staying at our DVC and we love it! Great location, comfortable beds and numerous dining choices. A great option at a good price.

 

[BadgerBruce]

Disney or not, the Swan is wonderful resort in a great location. An additional perk for us is the AAA discount (20%) at most of the dining locations---including our refillable mugs at Picabu.

 

[maxiesmom]

In addition to not having Magical Express or the dining plan, you also lose Resort Airline Check In staying at the Swan or Dolphin. That is one perk I really love.

 

[Nancyg56]

But I had NO IDEA that they were considered Deluxe Resorts at a Moderate Price !!!

A few years ago a friend booked a stay the S&D resorts and I was horrified. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE????? She told me to relax, it was fine. And was it ever fine! I am not sure what discount they booked under, I think it was a teacher discount, so once they factored the additional fees, which included transportation back and forth to the resort from MCO, and perhaps the resort fee, they still found the cost to be much less than a Disney Deluxe would have been. They were very pleased with the value of the stay vs all of the perks they experienced.

I have no idea what they paid or what their discount added up to, but try friend told me that her family woudl stay again in a heartbeat.

In addition to not having Magical Express or the dining plan, you also lose Resort Airline Check In staying at the Swan or Dolphin. That is one perk I really love.

Airline Checkin!!! I think this is the best perk for me! I must admit that when I travel to Disney, especially if I travel without my DH or DD, travel is one of my considerations. I am not a comfortable navigator, not at all, so I want to know that from the second I check my bags at the airport to the second I step back off of that plane, I do not need to deal with luggage or arranging transportation. I always factor that into my decision,

 

[robinb]

Disney or not, the Swan is wonderful resort in a great location. An additional perk for us is the AAA discount (20%) at most of the dining locations---including our refillable mugs at Picabu.

The biggest perk is being able to book the Swolphin at popular times with ridiculous pricing using SPG points instead.

 

[maxiesmom]

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/roach-infestation-closes-disney-world-hotel-employee-cafeteria

 

[L&Lfan]

We have 3 out of 6 of our ADRs at Swan/ Dolphin restaurants for next month's trip. We love the Swan and Dolphin!

 

[chris benton]

In addition to not having Magical Express or the dining plan, you also lose Resort Airline Check In staying at the Swan or Dolphin. That is one perk I really love.

Not sure what resort airline check in is, however, Swolphin site says they have flight check in and boarding pass kiosks located in both lobbies. no idea if that's similar. They definitely do not have DME, which seems like it would be a great perk, but, for us, the pros outweighed the cons by far. When the kids are older, staying at a true disney resort when the free dining plan is offered will probably be tough to pass up, but for now, Swolphin was our choice for a lot of reasons.

 

[JanBlessed]

Disney or not, the Swan is wonderful resort in a great location. An additional perk for us is the AAA discount (20%) at most of the dining locations---including our refillable mugs at Picabu.

Wow! That discount sounds great! I was not aware of this! Are the refillable mugs like the ones at other resorts at WDW?

 

[JanBlessed]

In addition to not having Magical Express or the dining plan, you also lose Resort Airline Check In staying at the Swan or Dolphin. That is one perk I really love.

Valid Point! For us, though, this is not a concern. We are some lucky ducks who live in FL, so we drive to WDW. We Leave the house right after breakfast and we are there at WDW by lunch time !

 

[JanBlessed]

The biggest perk is being able to book the Swolphin at popular times with ridiculous pricing using SPG points instead.

What are SPG points?

 

[JanBlessed]

We have 3 out of 6 of our ADRs at Swan/ Dolphin restaurants for next month's trip. We love the Swan and Dolphin!

Seems that the dining options are the most popular part of the Swan & Dolphin! I have never explored these restaurants - but I will look around online, now that I've read this thread . I also need to look into the pricing

 

[L&Lfan]

Seems that the dining options are the most popular part of the Swan & Dolphin! I have never explored these restaurants - but I will look around online, now that I've read this thread . I also need to look into the pricing

In my humble opinion, the Swan and Dolphin have the best Italian (Il Mulino), seafood (bluezoo) and steakhouse (Shula's) on site. We also have ADRs at STK, Yachtsman Steakhouse and Boma that week.

 

[JanBlessed]

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/roach-infestation-closes-disney-world-hotel-employee-cafeteria

I guess that they have shaped up after this ! Two of my clients* had issues w the health inspectors as well. I was present at both inspections. IMO, these inspections should occur more frequently and rotating the inspectors more often. This way, no one gets comfortable with each other. Also: they tell you the EXACT DAY that they're coming! Sometimes down to the hour. If that was the case here, then that place was way worse than what was reported. Sadly, a few critters crawling or flying around is nothing new at food prep. areas

*I open businesses, in case you're wondering....

 

[Nancyg56]

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/roach-infestation-closes-disney-world-hotel-employee-cafeteria

I saw that. I hope this was solved quickly.

In my humble opinion, the Swan and Dolphin have the best Italian (Il Mulino), seafood (bluezoo) and steakhouse (Shula's) on site. We also have ADRs at STK, Yachtsman Steakhouse and Boma that week.

Il Mulino is a favorite of mine!

 

[maxiesmom]

Not sure what resort airline check in is, however, Swolphin site says they have flight check in and boarding pass kiosks located in both lobbies. no idea if that's similar. They definitely do not have DME, which seems like it would be a great perk, but, for us, the pros outweighed the cons by far. When the kids are older, staying at a true disney resort when the free dining plan is offered will probably be tough to pass up, but for now, Swolphin was our choice for a lot of reasons.

For Resort Airline Check In in addition to getting your boarding passes you also get to hand off any bags you want to check for the flight.