Swan or the Dolphin?

[Dean1972]

Greetings all, I am planning our trip to WDW from December 9th for 6 days following a transatlantic cruise from Spain.
I am conscious of $$$ all around & find disney resort properties ( whilst beautifully themed ) are on par much more expensive than Universal & get away with it because its Disney.
I am looking for comments on the Swan vs the Dolphin as they appear to be well located & priced & while not themed still has access to a range of comparable amenities / comforts.
My wife and I typically stay in 4 -4.5 star properties & usually pay $150-200 not the $500+ to stay on official property.

 

[DisneyJanFeb2008]

Stayed at the Dolphin earlier this year (March) - it was fine if you just want a centrally located place to sleep. You can walk to Epcot/Hollywood and tons of great things to do on the Boardwalk as well (restaurants, etc.). So location is +++ and you pay less than the other two Disney resorts. BUT the hotels themselves are very basic, corporate feel, not upscale, no theming which we realized we missed. And the food at both resorts was not very good. But if you want just a place to sleep and plan to use the Boardwalk/Beach Club for eating (or Epcot) then it's good value. But the hotels themselves are basic/not that great and you don't feel like you are in Disney.

 

[cjsm&d]

I would tend to disagree with the above poster. We have stayed at the Swan and while it is not Disney themed, it is as upscale as the WDW resorts around it, they have the most comfortable beds in all of WDW, and the two or three of the restaurants restaurants are as good or better than any on WDW.

For a price on average of over $100 less per night (More if you can get a special) than YC/BC or BWI, I think that Swan and Dolphin are a great value.

We LOVE the YC, but unless we can get a big discount 35 to 40%, we would do Swan and Dolphin over it every time.

 

[Li Li]

We stayed in Dolphin this past September and loved it! Comfy beds, great view, excellent restaurants and good variety. The pool area was great too! I would highly recommend to anyone. Personally, it still felt like staying at Disney without paying Disney pricing!

 

[Dean1972]

Thanks to all for your replies & opinions

We plan on being park commando's and using hotel as bar to sleep. Glad to hear ht hey have comfy beds, which is more important to us than theming , and we plan on dining out a lot ( ie not at e hotel)
Cheers