Swan and Dolphin prices

[ToyStory3]

I've seen a lot of people suggest Swan and Dolphin as an alternative to other deluxes because the prices are so much less. But, every time I price them out they're relatively the same as the other deluxe resorts. Not sure how others are getting such better prices. I'm aware that some get discounts for being nurses, teachers, etc. But, is there something else I'm missing?

I remember seeing them when I was staying at the BCR and thought they were beautiful. Would love to stay there if I can save too.

 

[roydavid7771]

Often times you can get great rates there from other sources that you couldn't get at Disney, i.e. Starwood Preferred Guest, AMEX Starwood, not to mention the discount programs that you mentioned. Just be aware that there are a ton of extra fees that they stick you with that raise the daily rate to almost that of the Disney Deluxes.

Having said that, we've stayed at the Swan several times and enjoyed our stay each time.

 

[dansdad]

Just plugged in the dates 9/6 - 9/13 with the following results:

Swan - $2158.63 Taxes and daily resort fee included (parking fee not included)

Boardwalk - $3710.25 Taxes included

Yacht Club - $3503.24 Taxes included

 

[RMulieri]

Nurses and Teachers get great discounts ( with proof )

 

[sarah4770]

you can also get a AAA discount. Go directly to the swan/dolphin site or the starwood preferred guest site. I do not know if you are pricing them through the disney site?

 

[patty57]

AAA discounts as well. I've found significant savings at the S/D over the WDW resorts, and have stayed there my last two trips. This is after many years of WDW Epcot resorts. I'm not sure why you don't find similar savings.

 

[GeorgeG]

After many years of being die-hard Disney resort fans we have been staying at Swan and Dolphin the past few years. We've found their rates significantly better than even the Disney moderates, the beds much more comfortable, and the restaurants much better. We also like the Starwood points, something Disney never offers even loyal guests. We get Florida resident rates, but other discounts mentioned are similar. As with just about any resort, the time of year has a lot to do with what discounts are available.

 

[WisconsinDad]

There are also often discounted on travel site (hotels.com, Expedia.com, etc). I priced the swan a couple of years ago and it wasn't much different than a mod.

 

[RoosMama]

I've been curious about this too. It seems like it depends on your dates a little bit. I priced a few different dates out - and I tried Sep 15-21, which gives 984 total. This doesn't include the resort fee. I guess maybe this is due to the discount that just came out? That seems like a great deal though.

 

[Marthasor]

As other PP's have mentioned, it's all about the discounts! And you have to keep watching for them. Here's my Dolphin discount story:

I decided to book a last-minute trip to WDW last December and I had missed the deadline on all of Disney's discounts for our travel period. I was traveling alone with DS5, so I still wanted something convenient, but not extravagantly expensive. I decided to give Swan or Dolphin a try, so I investigated a AAA discount at both resorts and saw I could get the best price at Swan, so I booked it - at that point, it was about $179 per night (rack rate at BWI was $375 per night for comparison). Pretty good savings! A few days later, the prices changed and Dolphin was offering a better discount, so I switched. In the meantime, I subscribed to the Swan/Dolphin thread here on the DIS, joined the Starwood Preferred Guest program (SPG) and kept checking the Swan/Dolphin website and Starwood site for more discounts. A few days later, I learned the Dolphin was offering a discount to celebrate the date 12/12/12 - rooms for $121!. One of my nights fell within the discount, so my price dropped again. THEN, the Tuesday before we left, I checked and Starwood had included the Dolphin in that week's "Starpicks" and was offering rooms at $132 per night. I called and got my other two nights dropped to that rate. By the time I checked in, I had found enough discounts to get 3 nights at the Dolphin for the cost of one night at BWI. I was ECSTATIC!

So, really long story short - just keep looking for those discounts, subscribe to the Swan/Dolphin thread and join SPG (oh yeah, because I was an SPG member, I also got a free room category upgrade and ended up with a view of the EP fireworks!)

LOVE the Swan and Dolphin!!

 

[WDWjen]

Has anyone ever done family of 5 in the dolphin? I just saw a 40% off rate for aug/sept and even with resort fees and parking it's a few hundred dollars less than the BC//YC and we love this location.. The website says $25 for a rollaway but has anyone done this? Is it too tight? Kids are 8,10,12 but we spend all our time in the parks so we are ok with one room. Currently booked at YC but thinking of switching and saving some $&

Any thoughts from larger families?

 

[campbell95]

We booked through travelocity for our upcoming trip, and we got amazing discounts.

Summer discount
Hotel + flight discount
coupon code for an extra $100 off
Booked through ebates for an extra % cash back

It was significantly cheaper to stay there than to book anywhere else, even with our AP discount. You really just need to search the deals!

 

[jade1]

Has anyone ever done family of 5 in the dolphin? I just saw a 40% off rate for aug/sept and even with resort fees and parking it's a few hundred dollars less than the BC//YC and we love this location.. The website says $25 for a rollaway but has anyone done this? Is it too tight? Kids are 8,10,12 but we spend all our time in the parks so we are ok with one room. Currently booked at YC but thinking of switching and saving some $&

Any thoughts from larger families?

We had 5 (3 kids but even older) do 2 nights at Dolphin when everything on the BW was full, its was midway thru 12 nights. Rollaway was indeed $25 per night, but the room was AAA $189-so a good deal. The rollaway fits up against the window-so its tight, but the rest of the room is unaffected. Its really more about 1 bath and snoring etc IMO.

But really a great location, hotel was very nice, room and beds were great, pools great, dining great including a food court. Will stay there before any Values or mods and even quite a few deluxes.

 

[campbell95]

Has anyone ever done family of 5 in the dolphin? I just saw a 40% off rate for aug/sept and even with resort fees and parking it's a few hundred dollars less than the BC//YC and we love this location.. The website says $25 for a rollaway but has anyone done this? Is it too tight? Kids are 8,10,12 but we spend all our time in the parks so we are ok with one room. Currently booked at YC but thinking of switching and saving some $&

Any thoughts from larger families?

I'd consider getting an air mattress. We have one that we bring on our trips (our twins don't always sleep well together, especially when they are over-hyped!). It is just 2 pounds and does not take up much space in the suitcase. I can't remember the brand now, but we bought it on amazon. It would be cheaper than $25/night!

 

[jade1]

I'd consider getting an air mattress. We have one that we bring on our trips (our twins don't always sleep well together, especially when they are over-hyped!). It is just 2 pounds and does not take up much space in the suitcase. I can't remember the brand now, but we bought it on amazon. It would be cheaper than $25/night!

I will say the rollaway was very comfortable, for what that's worth.

 

[jade1]

Actually I have a pic-its stands until you want to tilt it into place.

Here was our view:

 

[campbell95]

Actually I have a pic-its stands until you want to tilt it into place.

Okay, that is a cool feature!