Swan & Dolphin - A question on discounts

[DIS in Mass]

Hello everyone!
Long time reader but short on posts. Thank you for all of the great information and wonderful experiences that all of you share.

We have decided to book a Disney trip for next summer. (SO EXCITED!) We stayed at the Beach Club on our last vacation a few years ago and completely fell in love with the location. Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios being within walking distance was wonderful. My kids, DD12 and DS10 really enjoyed what these two parks have to offer.

This time around we are hoping to keep the cost of the hotel down as much as we can and are looking into the Swan and/or Dolphin as a hotel choice. My wife is a teacher and I am a police officer. I attempted to read up on the discounts that are offered at these hotels for government/municipal employees but have really only seen teachers referenced. Are the discounts for these professions the same across the board?

I am a bit overwhelmed at this stage of the planning and I am hoping to get everything rolling as soon as I can so we can work out our budget. Would I be better off going through an agent or is this something that I can handle on my own?

Thanks again for any insight/advice!

 

[patty57]

I'm not a fan of using travel agents, so my answer may be biased. It's very easy to go to the Swan & Dolphin site (not the Disney site), and click on the different discounts to see if they are the same, different, or when they are available. Just look under special offers. Also, if you book with a discount, you should look periodically at the rates because they will sometimes be discounted further.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

There haven't been government discounts at the Swolphin in a long time, you may be better off with the teacher discount.

Remember you will need to add the nightly resort service fee, the cost of airport transportation and the cost of parking if you have a car.

 

[rcraw45425]

Don't discount AAA discounts either.

 

[DIS in Mass]

Thank you all for the replies! In the past we have used SmallWorldVacations for a travel agent and everything seemed to run smoothly. I have wondered if I could do what they do with maybe a little added footwork and save a little money. I didn't even think about AAA! I will have to take a look at what they can offer. Does anyone know if the AAA and teacher discounts stack?

 

[rcraw45425]

Don't think that you can stack discounts. I'll also say this, check both hotels individually. We generally stay at the Swan when we decide to stay there. For my trip next month I checked the Swan and got a rate that was considerably higher than the Dolphin with the same criteria. Both were AAA rates too. Also, be careful if you book one of their promo rates, a lot of times they charge a penalty to cancel or modify. I could have gotten our Dolphin rate of <$200/ night for about $20 per night cheaper but it was non refundable, whereas my AAA rate for room only has the standard 5 day cancellation. Although I still have that room reserved I now have a reservation at the Wilderness Lodge as it fits our needs better for my whirlwind trip with three college girls. I need that boat to Magic Kingdom!

 

[Babsy]

Thank you all for the replies! In the past we have used SmallWorldVacations for a travel agent and everything seemed to run smoothly. I have wondered if I could do what they do with maybe a little added footwork and save a little money. I didn't even think about AAA! I will have to take a look at what they can offer. Does anyone know if the AAA and teacher discounts stack?

No, it is either the teacher discount or the AAA. The teacher discount is usually the best. Government or nurse discounts are the same as the teacher discounts. Note that the discounts offered first are standard rooms and are the best, but you can add options and still get a good discount (such as a balcony or a better view).

The resort fee and parking add more than $40 to the nightly rate (23 resort fee, 18 parking). If you don't have a car you need to add about $130 for taxi fare to/from the airport to the cost of the trip. It is still a great deal with the teacher discount for a luxury resort in the Epcot area, IMO. We stay here for at least part of our vacation almost every visit.

When you go, the Dolphin will be just refurbished. The Swan has just been finished about now. SO everything should be nice and new!

Although I prefer to book everything myself, I don't think that a TA costs you any money. The benefit to booking yourself is that you own the reservation, not the agent. That way you can jump on any changes yourself without involving a middle man.

Enjoy one of the best values in a luxury resort in WDW!!!!

 

[rcraw45425]

Also be sure to register for SPG, the Starwood rewards program. There's no fee and you are usually given a room upgrade of one category (or more depending on their availability and whim).