Swan and Dolphin question......

[mimi71078]

I was wondering if anyone can tell me the positives and negative of staying at these resorts? Also can you still do the DDP and is there transportation to and from them? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[lovingthemouse]

Mimi- take a look at the Swan/Dolphin thread. Right from the beginning, you should be able to find the answer to your questions, and if not, then feel free to post on the thread and ask away. There are so many great folks that can help you out. Hope this helps.

 

[rie'smom]

Pros:
Deluxe room for mod price with TEACH,NURSE, AAA, miltary, or gov rate.
Fantastic staff
the restaurants are all good.
The Heavenly beds are heavenly.
At the end of the day, you can get away from the mouse, or
You can walk to the Boardalk area.
Use of Disney transportation to get to the parks-boats and busses.
Can attend Extra Magic Hours-both morning and evening.


Cons:
No Magical Express-doesn't bother me because I rent a car.
Can't use your key to charge to your room-I never do that anyway.
No Dining Plan-not such a great deal anymore and I don't like to plan our trips around eating.

 

[mimi71078]

Pros:
Deluxe room for mod price with TEACH,NURSE, AAA, miltary, or gov rate.
Fantastic staff
the restaurants are all good.
The Heavenly beds are heavenly.
At the end of the day, you can get away from the mouse, or
You can walk to the Boardalk area.
Use of Disney transportation to get to the parks-boats and busses.
Can attend Extra Magic Hours-both morning and evening.


Cons:
No Magical Express-doesn't bother me because I rent a car.
Can't use your key to charge to your room-I never do that anyway.
No Dining Plan-not such a great deal anymore and I don't like to plan our trips around eating.

Thanks that'sall I need to know. We won't have a car so if there's no magical express we can't do it.

 

[fall08CP]

I think Mears can bring you from the airport to the Swan/Dolphin for a small fee. If staying at those resorts would save you any money then perhaps it might be worth looking into?

 

[Mickey_Man]

Cons:
No Magical Express-doesn't bother me because I rent a car.
Can't use your key to charge to your room-I never do that anyway.
No Dining Plan-not such a great deal anymore and I don't like to plan our trips around eating.

FYI - You can use your room key to charge to all of the places at the Swan and Dolphin. If you get the teacher/nurse/etc rate, the savings of the Swolphin over the Disney Deluxes justifies paying for the Mears transportation.

 

[Wife2Grumpy]

We leave in 18 days and will be at the Dolphin. Hubby will be doing a conference
there while I do Disney. Mears is what his company suggested to do. I have not
checked into it yet, but the conference person quoted us $32 round trip a piece.
I did some research on taxis and just renting a car at the airport and returning it
to the Dolphin. (Alamo and National, if I remember correctly) The taxi was going
to be $50 one way. The rental car would depend on the type of car you rented.

 

[mimi71078]

I think Mears can bring you from the airport to the Swan/Dolphin for a small fee. If staying at those resorts would save you any money then perhaps it might be worth looking into?

What is mears? Is there a website or is this affiliated with the hotel?

 

[carlamouse]

Mears is the shuttle services we used to take (before Magical Express) if we didn't want to rent a car or take a towncar from the airport. Mears is also the contractor that Disney uses to provide Magical Express service from the airport. To sum it up, if you are staying at an official WDW resort, take Magical Express for free. If not staying at an official WDW resort, take Mears for a fee, rent a car, take a cab, etc...

http://www.mearstransportation.com/

 

[soccerEAGLE09]

My family has stayed at the Swan Resort before. And while the resort itself is lovely, and the proximity to Epcot and MGM-Studios is VERY nice..I just felt that you were missing some of the Magic at those resorts..

 

[goofy4tink]

I've stayed at both the Swan and the Dolphin. Sure, you don't have Mickey soap and shampoo, or Mickey all over the room/bedspreads. But, there are gift shops in each resort that sell the same Disney stuff you can get everywhere else. The rooms are wonderful, the toiletries they provide are much better than what Disney provides...I actually use their shampoo, never use Mickey's!!
I love being able to run down to Picabu's at the Dolphin. The bus service is the same as the Disney owned resorts. When I stay there, I usually get a towncar service for about $100 plus tip. Or, you can use Mears. I've been on the DME bus to BW and YC//BC before and it has stopped at the S/D! Seems that there are times Mears will put their paying customers on the DME bus....it's run by Mears as well...rather than using a separate bus for S/D.

I don't think the lack of Disneyfication at either the Swan or the Dolphin is a deal breaker. I prefer the Dolphin over the Swan, but that's because of a less than stellar experience at the Swan.

 

[geokeim]

Pros:
Deluxe room for mod price with TEACH,NURSE, AAA, miltary, or gov rate.
Fantastic staff
the restaurants are all good.
The Heavenly beds are heavenly.
At the end of the day, you can get away from the mouse, or
You can walk to the Boardwalk area.
Use of Disney transportation to get to the parks-boats and busses.
Can attend Extra Magic Hours-both morning and evening.


Cons:
No Magical Express-doesn't bother me because I rent a car.
Can't use your key to charge to your room-I never do that anyway.
No Dining Plan-not such a great deal anymore and I don't like to plan our trips around eating.

Best value in the $175 to $300 range IMO

 

[glo]

When we first started doing WDW we stayed offsite in the late 70's and early 80's. Then we stayed at the Poly and the Carribean Beach. Then the Swan and Dolphin on a priceline bid of $69 way way back when the Swan and Dolphin were so uncool! My kids were 2,2, and 7 at the time, they are now 11, 11 and 17 and we will back next Jan. We have been staying at the Swan and Dolphin since then. Rooms are bigger, and I need to get away from Mickey just a little bit at night. I love the grounds and the pool is awesome my kids spend hours there. Restaurants are awesome and I can even get a charater breakfast there. Love the teacher's rate...can't get a bargan like that in Disney anywhere! No Mickey soaps or wake up calls, but from what I heard they are doing Bath and Body works toiletries now. I am so going to miss their oatmeal soap!

 

[ssawka]

I think it all depends on whether you want the DDP. For us, I won't stay at the Dolphin or Swan, because I love having the DDP.

 

[mimi71078]

I think it all depends on whether you want the DDP. For us, I won't stay at the Dolphin or Swan, because I love having the DDP.

Yeah I think that was the deal breaker, gotta have the DDP! Thanks for all the imput from everyone.