Swan or Dolphin for DH, DW, 2DD's

[fam4jc]

Hi. We can get the gov't rate at the swan and dolphin. We are a family of four. 2 dd's are 5 & 7. Which resort would you recommend of the two? Both look great, but I want to book the one that is the most convienient for a family with little girls, ie. close to the pool, food court, transportation. But that isn't as important to us as having a nice big room. A view is great, but not a top priority either.

Thanks for you advice

 

[AndyMcV]

Hi

We stayed at the Swan in June 2003 and it was really, really nice. We have a 4 year old boy who loved it too. Unfortunately I can't tell you what the rooms are like at the Dolphin (but I think they are pretty much the same as the Swan).

Most of the "kid friendly" restaurants are at the Dolphin, the pool is much closer to the Dolphin and the rental car pickup/dropoff is at the Dolphin. I'd probably consider the Dolphin vs. the Swan next time due to the location of everything.

Reply back if you need more information.

Andy

 

[jwfla422]

Either are great for families really but if you want close access to a food court type of restaurant then go for the Dolphin. Tubbi's is a very convenient cafeteria/food court style restaurant. You can get the refillable mugs here.

There's also the Dolphin Fountain. But I also recommend Gulliver's for dinner at the Swan. Pluto and Goofy appear most nights with Timon and Rafikki on a few alternate nights.

Palios is also a great place. Our 5 yr old dd loves it and we've had great kid friendly servers there!

The grotto pool is closer to the Dolphin but the beach playground is closer to the Swan.

Both are very comfortable, room wise. The Dolphin has 2 full sized beds as opposed to the Swan's 2 queen sized beds. The Dolphin has a vanity outside the bathroom and a sink where the Swan has an extra sink in the vanity area. The rooms are similar in size depending on where it is. Some say the Dolphin rooms are slightly larger.

Boat transportation is shared so it is pretty much the same distance from both resorts. The Swan is the first stop on the bus route, the Dolphin is the second. Our dd likes both resorts, she likes to switch back and forth

 

[fam4jc]

jwfl422, Thanks for your post! I checked out the pics also! What a cutie your dd is!!

Andymcv & jwfl422: Is it true that the Dolphin is smaller than the Swan? Did you utilize the kids club (?) for an adult night out? We have never done that before at any property. We were going to, but I got nervouse about it and canceled the reservation at the Cub's Den at WL. I figured I wouldn't enjoy the evening "out" if I wasn't confident with the child care.

I appreciate any additional information you can supply. Thank you for being willing to share It is really very kind of you.

 

[jwfla422]

Thanks fam4jc DD is very spoiled with WDW as am I!!

To answer your questions, actually the Dolphin is much larger than the Swan. The Dolphin is very "lively" and the Swan is more "initmate" as far as the atmosphere is concerned.

The photo on my post is looking at the Dolphin from the Swan. We tried to use the Camp Dolphin kid's club last year unfortunately dd was in a very clingy mood that night so she didn't stay although we may try it again this trip coming up since I made PS at the Blue Zoo (a new restaurant in the Dolphin) for dh and I on our anniversary, so we'll see what happens.

Ironically the only kid's club I had put dd in is WL's Cub's Den (funny), she liked it and had a fun time. She was just 4 at that time (we used in 2 summers ago)--I actually took her to WDW myself and just took some time to go shopping and put her there for a few hours one night. She had a good time, had dinner there and played on the computers. (we were staying at WL that time), pretty much the only other resort we stay at besides the S/D which we've stayed at MANY TIMES (10-15 between both )

I'm very comfortable leaving dd at the Camp Dolphin or the Cub's Den, the Neverland Club is supposed to be one of the best--it's a neat place. I think the CM's do a good job. They have pagers if you don't have a cell, you can call and check in on them anytime. It's not like you're going really far and if you're not comfortable with that just try a kid's club at the resort you're having dinner at. (AP is great at WL, there's Kona at the Poly for the Neverland Club, Camp Dolphin at the Dolphin with several restaurants in the S/D and within walking distance.

The Cub's Den had afternoon crafts so that gave me a chance to check out the CM's there and dd a chance to check out the club although they will all let you come in to check them out when they're open.

Please feel free to PM me or email me with questions on the S/D or anything else WDW related, we're WDW pros

Check out this link which shows some photos of the Swan and our room there, this is a STUDIO room so it is larger than the regular rooms but the decor is similar throughout the Swan--our upcoming trip will be the first time we stay at the Dolphin since it's been renovated.
http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/commu...d=111669&groupid=157664&folderview=thumbs&ck=